Wow. That’s all we can say about the annual Greenwood-Lelflore County Chamber of Commerce Meeting, Taste of Greenwood and Business Expo last week.
It was so heartwarming to see the community come out for our gathering, and I was so moved to see folks of all ages, backgrounds and businesses in attendance.
It truly was a “community” gathering of the best kind. The food, the awards, the people. It was all just great.
At that meeting, we shared a copy of our chamber annual report with everyone, and, in that report, we shared some impressive numbers from 2013. I don’t think we can tout the numbers enough, so I’m going to share it again with you. And, you’ll probably see these numbers a lot in the coming weeks and months as we tell our story.
In 2013, we:
nRepresented more than 500 member businesses
nConnected with businesses of all sizes from more than 25 different sectors
nMade more than 679,000 business referrals (including Website, maps, visitors, phone inquiries, email and social media)
nOrganized and hosted 15 ribbon cuttings
nWelcomed 40 new chamber member investors, eight of which were first-time start-up entrepreneurs
nOrganized eight community events, which involved more than 400 volunteers and impacted more than 8,000 people
nEngaged more than 50 youth and adult participants in our various leadership programs
nAdded two new community events (Tour de Grand and AgFest)
Those numbers are accurate, and they tell a story of how great our community is. This can’t be accomplished by one person, an office staff of three or even four officers and 20 board members. This is a culmination of the entire chamber base and even many outside the base who give so unselfishly of their time, talents and resources to make these numbers a reality.
As Tim Kalich put it so eloquently in his recent editorial about the chamber’s annual meeting, “The chamber, as we’ve said many times, is the largest, most diverse and most encompassing organization in this community.
It brings together people across racial, generational and professional lines — all of whom have a desire to work toward and encourage the economic and social development of this area. There are many attributes that make this community stand out among its peers. One of them is an active, inclusive and progressive Chamber of Commerce. It is something to celebrate.”
We couldn’t have said it better. If you’re not a part of what we’re doing, what are you waiting for? We welcome everyone to come and find out what makes our organization so strong.
• Beth Stevens is the executive director of the Greenwood-Leflore County Chamber of Commerce. Contact her at info@greenwoodms.com.
