Contributed article
SAFFORD — Executive Director Vance Bryce recommended to the Graham County Chamber of Commerce Events and Finance Committees to discontinue organizing the Gila Valley Balloon Extravaganza starting this year. The members of each committee accepted the recommendation. Last New Year, the event drew 20 hot air balloon pilots to the Gila Valley in a spectacular aerial display of bright colors and skillful maneuvering.
Unfortunately, the Chamber’s sponsor communication strategy, vendor contracts, and funding plan were not adequate to make the event financially successful.
Reed Richins, president of the Chamber Board said, “The business model didn’t work. We can’t have events that lose this much money. I have confidence that Vance is learning hard lessons from this and changing how we do business.”
All Chamber events are funded through staff negotiating sponsorships and soliciting in-kind donations. The goal is to break even or make a little income in the process. In the case of the Balloon Extravaganza, the Chamber was unsuccessful, and had to draw on much needed operating funds to pay all the bills. While the Chamber brought in $11,241.89 of revenue from sponsors and product sales for the event, the expenses were $39,169.16, leaving a deficit of $27,927.27 in the funding plan.
The Chamber staff and board are disappointed, but understanding of the decision to discontinue the event.
“I’m certainly learning a lot about where I failed in leading this team. I didn’t have a plan B for bad weather or understand how much I underfunded the event. It was clear to me that the model that we used to pay for the event was critically flawed, and that I needed to recommend discontinuing our event,” Bryce said. “A first-year event is always challenging when it comes to paying all the bills, and we expected to make an investment the first time around, just not this big of an investment. I wasn’t able to come up with a plan that would be different enough from the first year to make a difference to justify having the event for a second year.”
Some procedural changes Bryce is implementing to create more sustainable events include a significantly more robust budgeting process, a better sponsor communication plan, clear and binding vendor contracts, and incentives for all chamber staff to raise funds to create amazing events for everyone in the Gila Valley and beyond.
“I am disappointed in my performance. I’m using this as fuel to do much better moving forward. I’m grateful for the patience of our team. I think the only people more disappointed are our most significant vendors, the staff and volunteer crew of our local balloon pilots. I’m terribly sorry that we aren’t able to continue to organize this event. I’d like to invite the community to please contact me with your concerns and recommendations at my email address, director@grahamchamber.org.”
The mission of the Graham County Chamber of Commerce is to increase the quality of life for everyone in the Gila Valley through connection, leadership, and tourism. The Chamber and Safford Lions Club will host the popular SalsaFest on Sept. 23-24 at Firemen’s Park in Safford.
