Benefits of the Chamber. How do your associations help you?

This is an article I wrote for the Chamber newsletter. Think about what you might get from various professional associations.

People regularly ask “What do you get out of your Chamber membership?” This really is a good question. Chambers of Commerce differ in the way they focus on providing value to their membership. Our Chamber’s mission is fairly simple and clear: to sustain, promote and grow business and to enhance the quality of life of the Seal Beach community.
With that mission in mind, the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce is the single largest event producing non-profit in our City. We produce many of the largest: the Classic Car Show, the Christmas Parade and the Summer Concert Series. Beyond this there are over a dozen other events. In addition to the opportunity to volunteer, network, and sponsor at these events, they fulfill the need to enhance the quality of life in the Seal Beach community. Special thanks are in order for all those members who participated and sponsored the recent USS Dewey events: Boeing, O’Malley’s on Main, Grace Community Church, Hennesey’s, Main Street Wine Cellar and the LIONS. It was an incredible event that showcased our town at a national level. Just ask Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chief’s of Staff, he was here!
Recently in partnership with Boeing and the Small Business Administration (SBA), we have launched the EDGE: Educate to Drive and Grow the Economy, business seminar series. These highly informative 2 hour lunch meetings bring real information and resources to bear for many of our small to mid-size firms. Mitra Novin, of Boeing and Doug Dare of the SBA are both instructors for the series. I was delighted to be the kick off session facilitator on business planning. If you haven’t checked it out, you really should! If you are interested in teaching a session, let us know. We are always looking for ways for our members to contribute.
Finally, as you may be aware, there has been a great deal of movement on the government front where the Chamber is working for you to help promote business. We are working through concerns in the Title 11 zoning code and also with position papers to not only our City Council, but also Assemblyman Jim Silva and State Senator Tom Harman. Erik Dryer-Goldman went to a meeting with the Assemblyman to work on some state issues. Steve Blount continues to represent us at the Regional Military Affairs Committee (RMAC) at the Joint Forces Training Base. We are also thankful for US Congressman Rorhabacher joining us for our April 8th meeting to give us a breakfast briefing!
Remember as always to shop, network, refer and spend locally. Join us at our next breakfast meeting or networking event and be sure to RSVP for an EDGE seminar. After all, what you get out of the Chamber is what you put into it!