Tinian Chamber of Commerce reactivates

After two years of silence, the once very active Tinian Chamber of Commerce is reforming and calling a general membership meeting on Monday, May 6, 2002 at 6 pm, at the Tinian Dynasty Hotel Broadway Restaurant.

Former Tinian Chamber President Phillip Mendiola-Long said, “A lot of people have been coming up to me and asking me what is going on with the Chamber on Tinian and I have reluctantly had to tell them that times are hard on Tinian and interest is low.”

“Because of the recession, the last thing business people think of is attending a meeting, not to mention paying their membership fees. But since things are not getting any better and since the issues facing the CNMI and Tinian specifically address our recovery as a business community, I believe that the business community on Tinian must come together in order to form a unanimous opinion on issues. This is the only way we will protect our interests and have our voices heard. That is why I have called a new meeting for May 6,” Mendiola-Long said.

All business owners are encouraged to attend in order to voice out their opinions on various issues such as the tiered-wage, local employment preferences, the Tinian wharfage fee, discussion of a Marianas Chamber of Commerce with the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, poker house impact on the economy, tourism advertising revenue for Tinian, Chamber membership fees, Chamber events and the Tinian Hot Pepper Festival.

“Hopefully, the business community on Tinian will once again come together so we can address these issues. If they elect me again as president, I will be sure to limit the meetings and allow members to respond to faxed surveys to poll their opinions on issues. This will allow the member to have more free time and attend to their businesses and will not have to attend frequent meetings. All they would have to do is answer some questions and fax me back their response. Once these responses are accumulated the result will be formal stance of the Tinian Chamber. But one thing is for sure, there are way too many issues that Tinian needs to respond to and we have to start addressing them now.” Mendiola-Long said.

In addition to discussing a multitude of issues facing Tinian businesses, the Tinian Chamber will be holding its election of new officers, as well as discuss possible reduction in annual membership fees to encourage more members.

“I don’t think we need to raise money in membership fees, so my suggestion is to be to reduce the membership fee to $30 for the entire year. We do not have an executive director nor do we have an office, so the overhead cost of the Chamber is minimal. Any other expenses that we cannot raise from membership fees will be collected through fundraising activities such as the Tinian Hot Pepper Festival and the Business Person of the Year Banquet. I think our current fee if $125 discourages membership.” he added.