The Brandon Chamber of Commerce works feverishly to put together a full-service phone book that generates income.
By JAY CRIDLIN
Published April 4, 2003
Jewell Butts will be glad when Dr. Patricia Zylman is out of her life.
She has no beef with Zylman, whom she's never met. But Zylman is the last listing in the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce's telephone directory, and after looking at 80,000 other names, Butts, the directory's operations manager, will breathe a sigh of relief.
"It kills brain cells," she jokes of the mammoth task of compiling and editing the phone book. "It's terribly tedious."
Butts and the rest of the chamber of commerce staff involved in this year's telephone directory are working overtime to make sure 90,000 copies of the book, which brings in the lion's share of the chamber's revenue, come out on time in June.
"We try not to work seven days a week, but we work six, and we work late, from February through June," she says. "There's no other way to do it."
The chamber's book, believed to be the only full-service phone book in the country produced by a chamber of commerce, provides "hundreds of thousands" in revenue for the Brandon Chamber of Commerce, says Tom Reagin, who oversees ad sales.
"It's a wonderful income generator for the chamber's programs," he says.
That makes small businesses with longtime community ties feel better about their advertising investment, said chamber president Tammy Bracewell.
Approaching its 37th edition, the directory is remarkably competitive with Verizon's Brandon/East Tampa phone book.
The chamber circulates 90,000 copies, compared to Verizon's 140,000.
Still, leaders point to the chamber's personal touches, such as special listings and advertising discounts for members and a listing of local clubs and organizations. The chamber's online directory also offers free links to members' Web sites.
Ask business owners about the chamber's book.
Their answers sound like commercials.
"The chamber will send you two or three proofs (of an ad) if that's what you need to make sure you're getting exactly what you want," says Debbie Walton, owner of PakMail International in Brandon.
With her member discounts, Walton estimates her cost to advertise with the chamber directory is about a third of what she pays to advertise with the Verizon directory.
Another independent directory was founded in 1992 by ex-chamber employee Betty Jo Tompkins. Her book had a circulation of about 60,000, but lasted only a few years.
A usage study conducted by the chamber in December and January found that 86.3 percent of Brandon residents have more than one directory, but an overwhelming 89.5 respondents said they prefer the chamber book. More than 50 percent said they use it once a week.
"Because this book's been out since 1966, we've been very fortunate - the community kind of grew up with it," Reagin says.
Bracewell got her start at the chamber of commerce by proofing and designing ads for the phone book. In high school, she won a contest to design the cover of the book; her cover ran in 1981.
Butts likens the directories to history books of Brandon. The first book, in 1966, had only 58 white pages and 30 yellow pages. Last year's book had 315 white pages and 454 yellow pages.
"We think it is the book people keep," Butts said. "Brandon feels like they own this book."
Reagin estimates fewer than 5,000 phone books were printed in 1966. As recently as 1994, only 55,000 or so books were printed.
The staff of nine full- and part-time chamber employees who put together the phone book are smack-dab in the middle of their busy season, February through June.
In August, they'll start selling ads for next year's book.
