Othello chamber looks at extending presidency

Scorup assumes title from Lackie in July

OTHELLO — John Lackie has been president of the Greater Othello Chamber of Commerce for the past year, but now he's looking at a longer term.

Chamber vice-president/president-elect David Scorup assumed the new position as Adams County Central Services Director in Ritzville in June. He would like more time to adjust to the new job before taking on chamber duties as president, he said.

A chamber board meeting Dec. 13 discusses the issue, Lackie said. Scorup said he would assume the presidency around the beginning of July 2007.

"I don't think there's an IT director out there that knows everything," Scorup explained. "I just would feel a lot more comfortable getting a few more of the important technologies under my belt. Consultants are hit and miss in terms of quality and their availability. I just want to be able to be a little more solid about some aspects of the IT business that I'm not familiar with."

Scorup hails more from the information side of the business than the communication side, he said, with a background in database management, custom programs and accounting.

"We've got a digital phone system that's fairly new technology in the industry," he said. "We've had it for two years, but I want to feel better about it before I roll it into Ritzville. It's only in Othello, and we need to get the whole phone system on the same technology, but before that can be done, I feel like I need to understand it better."

As director, Scorup is looking at an option to increase fiber optics in Adams County.

"We don't have Grant County PUD, so we need to come up with our own way of getting broadband capability here," he said.

In the chamber, Scorup wants to spend more time with chamber members and find a way to gather their opinions about improving the Othello economy.

"You solve your own problems just by getting everybody involved, and that's what I would like to do is somehow find the time to talk to the members, and bring their ideas into play," he said. The board would filter the ideas and set policy. "I think we probably have the answers out there, if we could just get all the players involved."

Lackie said the last few years have been a rebuild for the chamber.

"It's been a slow, continuous growth," Lackie said.

One of Lackie's goals is to offer more profitability and more cost-free options to supportive businesses rather than continue to ask for their financial support.

"What I'm really proud of is kind of a mental change as far as where we're going — trying to bring in more fund-raisers, more events that will build the community and also build our bankroll, so that we can support our events without going back to our people and asking for sponsorship and more money," he said. "We're not there yet, but we're moving along those lines."