The Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce announced today a restructuring effort aimed at increasing emphasis on small business support and growth. In addition, the Chamber will consolidate responsibilities and eliminate three positions.

“We believe we need to place an even more significant emphasis on the small business segment of our membership,” said Bryan Derreberry, President and CEO. “This focus has helped define our need for restructuring, but we also were affected by the current economic conditions and a fundraising campaign that fell short of expected goals.”

The Chamber will hire a senior level staff person to oversee small business services. Small business is more than 80 percent of Chamber membership and a potential growth area.

“Restructuring always comes with hard choices and difficult decisions,” Derreberry said. “Our goal is to assure the Chamber continues to be an organization that is streamlined and responsive to our members and the community.”

The Chamber will consolidate the Marketing and Communications team and the Government Relations team into a joint function, eliminating a senior internal position. During the 2009 legislative session, the Chamber will work with a contract lobbyist.

In addition, in the area of workforce training, the Chamber will be eliminating two senior level staff people. “We are proud to be a catalyst for workforce training and are confident that the many organizations and partners that have stepped up to meet the collective need for workforce training will continue to have a record of success,” Derreberry said.

“Throughout these difficult changes and restructuring, the Chamber is and will remain focused on aggressively delivering value to our business members and advancing our business community,” said Derreberry.