Steve Little

Retired Gen. James Jones, a former Marines commandant, had been scheduled to speak at the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting Jan. 11. Jones' schedule changed after he was appointed special envoy by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Lawrence Chamber of Commerce is preparing to start the new year with its traditional buffet and celebration and is turning to a new speaker to address the crowd.

The chamber, the city’s largest business organization, had announced Nov. 26 that the speaker for its annual meeting would be retired Gen. James Jones, a former Marines commandant, NATO commander and adviser to Congress on the readiness of Iraqi security forces.

The announcement came just days before Jones was appointed to a new post by Secretary of State Condolezza Rice: special envoy, to help guide the Bush administration on a range of Palestinian and Israeli security issues.

Now that Jones – who had been expected to address energy issues – has new duties on the international stage, the chamber is turning to another professional: Steve Little, a speaker, consultant and writer on the subject of business growth.

Little – a senior consultant for Inc. magazine who addresses more than 10,000 owners and managers of growing businesses each year – will follow up on the theme of last year’s annual meeting speaker, who had led the audience through a visioning exercise.

Little’s topic: “Ready:Set: Grow!”

“This year we want to say, ‘We did the visioning, now what?'” said Cathy Lewis, the chamber’s vice president for membership, who is organizing the annual meeting. “The goal is to look to the future and pursue the future.”

Up to 600 chamber members and guests are expected to attend the meeting, set for Jan. 11. The event opens with the speech and presentations beginning at 6 p.m. at Liberty Hall, to be followed by food and a reception from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Eldridge Hotel.

The chamber already has lined up event sponsors for the meeting. Chamber members can register for the event by visiting www.lawrencechamber.com or calling 865-4411. Cost is $60 per person.

Joan Golden, the chamber’s chairwoman, said she was looking forward both to Little’s “high-energy” presentation Jan. 11 and to the possibility that Jones might be able to address a chamber crowd sometime next year, provided his international duties wouldn’t get in the way.

“It would be an incredible opportunity for the community if we could have a speaker of Gen. Jones’ stature,” she said.

“However, having the other demands on him at this time just emphasizes his importance on other issues.”