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Hicks named chair of regional chamber group Brad Hicks Thursday Feb 15, 2018 at 4:32 PM Feb 15, 2018 at 4:54 PM Greg Stiles Mail Tribune @GregMTBusiness On a shelf in Brad Hicks' downtown Medford office is a copy of "Chamber of Commerce Management," which describes how to run a successful chamber of commerce. The 1950s edition was given to Hicks by the late Bill Haas, his mentor at The Chamber of Medford Jackson County. Haas, in turn, received it from Gerald W. Hathaway, who was chairman of the Western Association of Chamber Executives back in 1971. Hicks, the 25-year chamber veteran followed Hathaway's footsteps earlier this month when he was voted chairman of the WACE board at the organization's annual conference in Las Vegas. Hicks, who engineered the local chamber's growth and clout, is the first Oregonian to chair the 94-year-old organization, which covers 19 Western states and three Canadian provinces. "It's a huge honor, but it makes you a little nervous when you're standing in front of 600 peers and they're voting aloud," Hicks said. "This association has meant more to my personal and professional development than anything I've done; so the chance to be chair for a year is a big honor." During the past 18 years, Hicks has served on the WACE board multiple times, filling the vice-chair role at times. "WACE attempts to help people doing what I do to do a better job when they return to their communities," Hicks said. Through opinion polls, surveys and continuing education, WACE equips chamber leaders with tools to better serve their communities. In addition to maintaining the organization's present influences, through training programs and conferences, Hicks would like to see his peers be able to expand their branding and messaging capabilities.  "We live in an era when people are less inclined to join and belong to things," Hicks said. "Whether it's a country club, Rotary, chamber, or any membership organization, it's more important than ever to make sure people understand your message and mission." One thing chambers could do better is remind people what they do, Hicks said. "Chambers are the mortar between the bricks, and the mortar never gets the credit," he said. "Five or 10 years after a freeway interchange, higher education center or sports park get built, people forget. It can be frustrating when someone asks what a chamber does when their daughter works at the HEC, son plays soccer at the sports park and their company uses in the interchange for its business every day." His tenure as chairman will continue until next February during the WACE conference at Disneyland. — Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness or www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31.