Blogs

Leaders from 20 chambers of commerce, representing communities throughout the United States, have been selected to participate in ACCE’s Fellowship for Education and Talent Development. This is the fifth cohort of Fellows to participate in this program. 

The Fellowship is an immersive professional development program that provides chamber of commerce professionals with education, peer connections and tools to improve the education and workforce development outcomes in the communities they serve.

Throughout the year-long experience, participants develop regional action plans to address a specific education attainment or workforce development issues in their communities.

Congratulations to this year’s Fellows!

Danielle Britton
Talent & Education Director
Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce
Binghamton, New York

Eric Brown
Vice President of Economic Development
Salina Area Chamber of Commerce
Salina, Kansas

Anthony Edwards
Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Attraction & Retention
Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
Fort Worth, Texas

Angela Finding
Director, Education & Workforce
Greater Cleveland Partnership
Cleveland, Ohio

Rod Garvin
Vice President of Talent & Workforce Development
Charlotte Chamber
Charlotte, North Carolina

Theresa Harvey
President & CEO
North Orange County Chamber
Fullerton, California

Deana Karem
Vice President of Regional Economic Growth
Greater Louisville Inc.
Louisville, Kentucky

Stephanie Keinath
Director of Public Policy & Economic Development
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce
Dayton, Ohio

Meg Lindsay
Director Education & Workforce/Spokane STEM
Greater Spokane Incorporated
Spokane, Washington

Sarah Moylan
Senior Director of Talent
Greater Omaha Chamber
Omaha, Nebraska

Anna Osland
Manager, Policy Initiatives
One Acadiana
Lafayette, Louisiana

Samantha Perez
Director of Education Policy
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Nashville, Tennessee

Beth Rinehart
President & CEO
Bristol TN/VA Chamber of Commerce
Bristol, Tennessee

Paige Sharpe
Program Manager
Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce
Springfield, Oregon

Betsy Sikma
Vice President, Talent & Economic Inclusion
Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce
Spartanburg, South Carolina

Kwee Lan Teo
Vice President of Talent & Workforce
Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce
Austin, Texas

Melissa Thompson
Director of Talent Development
Baton Rouge Area Chamber
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Adrea Turner
Director of Talent & Workforce Solutions
Greenville Chamber
Greenville, South Carolina

Kami Welch
President
Arvada Chamber of Commerce
Arvada, Colorado

Robin Willis
Associate Vice President of Talent Pipeline Strategies
Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
North Charleston, South Carolina

Learn more about the Fellowship here. ACCE will begin accepting applications for the next Fellowship cohort in May 2019.

Tags: ACCE News, Education Attainment, Education Attainment Division, Fellowship for Education Attainment

Eleven chamber of commerce leaders from eight states have recently joined an elite roster of professionals who have earned the Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) designation.

Since the first CCE designation was conferred some 40 years ago, more than 500 chamber professionals have become certified. More than 250 people have an active certification today.

ACCE celebrated this year’s Certified Chamber Executives — Steve Baas, Marvin Bond, Lisa Hermes, Tony Howard, Jamee Jolly, Christine Kennedy, Sandra Lindquist, Roy Nascimento, Lynn Olberding, Jodie Perry and Erin Williams — in Des Moines at the #ACCEAwards Show on Wednesday, July 18.

“The CCE program assesses and tests the applicant's knowledge of core chamber management areas —management, planning and development, membership and communication, and operations,” says Bob Quick, CCE, president and CEO of Commerce Lexington Inc. and 2017-18 CCE commission chairman. “Chamber professionals who are designated CCEs have rightfully earned this outstanding recognition through hard work, countless hours of dedication to their field, and leadership of their chamber to achieve the chamber’s goals. We are proud to have this year’s class join a long tradition of professional excellence.”

Congratulations, from your friends at ACCE!

Steve Baas, CCE          
Senior Vice President for Governmental Affairs & Public Policy    
Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce
Milwaukee, Wis.

Marvin Bond, CCE      
Vice President of Investor Relations        
Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce
Irving, Texas

Lisa Hermes, CCE       
President & CEO              
McKinney Chamber of Commerce
McKinney, Texas

Tony Howard, CCE     
President & CEO              
Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce
Leesburg, Va.

Jamee Jolly, CCE         
President & CEO              
Plano Chamber of Commerce
Plano, Texas

Christine Kennedy, CCE           
COO and Executive Vice President           
Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance
Lynchburg, Va.

Sandra Lindquist, CCE               
Executive Vice President & COO
New Orleans Chamber
New Orleans, La.

Roy Nascimento, CCE               
President & CEO              
North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce
Fitchburg, Mass.

Lynn Olberding, CCE 
Executive Director          
Marshalltown Area Chamber of Commerce
Marshalltown, Iowa

Jodie Perry, CCE          
President            
Richland Area Chamber of Commerce
Mansfield, Ohio

Erin Williams, CCE      
President & CEO              
O'Fallon Chamber of Commerce & Industries
O'Fallon, Mo.

Learn more about the Certified Chamber Executive designation and meet our CCE Commissioners.

Tags: #ACCE18, #ACCEAwards, Certified Chamber Executive

Last week at the annual #ACCEAwards Show, nearly one-thousand community-builders gathered at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines to celebrate winners of many special awards, including Chamber of the Year.

Sponsored by MemberClicks, Chamber of the Year is the most prestigious and competitive award presented by ACCE and is the only globally-recognized industry award that honors top chambers of commerce for exemplary work.

Category One
Des Moines Downtown Chamber
Des Moines, Iowa

Category Two
Round Rock Chamber 
Round Rock, Texas

Category Three
Plano Chamber of Commerce
Plano, Texas

Category Four
Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
North Charleston, S.C.

State/Province Category
Chamber of Commerce Hawaii
Honolulu, Hawaii

This year's competition drew entries from chambers throughout the U.S. and Canada. To ensure the fairest competition, applicants are grouped into five categories based on: annual revenue, membership, area population, and several other factors.

Learn more about Chamber of the Year here.

Tags: Plano Chamber of Commerce, Round Rock Chamber of Commerce, #ACCEAwards, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, Chamber of the Year, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Des Moines Downtown Chamber, MemberClicks

ACCE’s Awards for Communications Excellence, sponsored by Golden Openings, Inc., celebrate top-notch marketing work that effectively communicates policy work, the accomplishments of the chamber of commerce, community advancement and economic development initiatives, membership attraction and retention, events and more.

The top three entries — one from each size category — are presented the Best in Show award.

At the #ACCEAwards Show in Des Moines, Iowa, on July 18, three organizations — Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce (S.C.), Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce (Mo.) and Champaign County Chamber of Commerce (Ill.) — were recognized as this year’s Best in Show winners.

Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce 
Quarterly Report Series

Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce
Springfield Region Digital Brochure

Champaign County Chamber of Commerce 
Chamber Zone 

Judges of this year’s Communications Excellence awards selected one entry — submitted by the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce (Neb.) — to receive a specially-created recognition called the “Total Eclipse” award. The entry was honored for its creative execution and attention-grabbing results for the advertising surrounding the Great Solar Eclipse in 2017, which included various signs scattered throughout Lincoln in August 2017.

Lincoln Chamber of Commerce
Eclipse Seasonal Signs

In addition to celebrating winners of the Best in Show and Total Eclipse awards, Grand Award winners took to the stage and Awards of Excellence winners were recognized. (Check out this blog post, where we announced Grand Award and Award of Excellence winners.)

Tags: Marketing, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, #ACCE18, #ACCEAwards, Champaign County Chamber of Commerce, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Communications, Lincoln Chamber of Commerce

Nancy Keefer, CCE, president and CEO of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, will be named chair of ACCE’s board of directors during the organization’s annual meeting July 18.

“Nancy has been a long-time leader within our association and across the entire chamber industry,” said outgoing ACCE board chair Jay Chesshir, president and CEO of the Little Rock Regional Chamber. “She is the perfect leader to guide ACCE over the next year as it implements a new strategic plan to strengthen the industry and showcase the positive impact chambers have in communities across the country.”

ACCE is a professional development organization serving the women and men who lead local, regional and statewide chambers of commerce and similar private sector-led economic development organizations around the world. The Alexandria, Va.-based association represents nearly 10,000 professionals who work for and with more than 1,300 chambers of commerce.

ACCE board chairs serve one-year terms, and Keefer’s term will span July 2018 through July 2019. In this role, she will oversee activities of a 70-member board of directors that provides leadership and strategic direction to the association’s 30-person staff.

“I’m honored to chair an organization that focuses on providing chamber professionals with the tools, tactics and research necessary to help businesses grow and communities prosper,” Keefer said. “ACCE has meant a great deal to me throughout my career, and the work we are undertaking now will empower chamber leaders to create meaningful change in the communities they serve.”

A recognized leader in the profession, Keefer is a 30-year chamber veteran, having worked in leadership roles at the Chemung County Chamber, Bonita Springs Area Chamber, Chester County Chamber and Daytona Regional Chamber. Keefer received her Certified Chamber Executive designation from ACCE in 2006. She has served on the ACCE board of directors for 10 years, and she currently serves on the U.S. Chamber’s Committee of 100. She is immediate past chair of the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals, and she previously chaired the Pennsylvania Association of Chamber Professionals.

Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Membership Achievement Awards! These chambers of commerce (listed alphabetically) are in the top 10 for their total revenue range in one or more of these categories: member retention of accounts, member retention of dollars, or new member retention of accounts. These statistics were compiled from ACCE’s Fiscal Year 2017 Operations Survey via Dynamic Chamber Benchmarking (DCB). DCB is open year-round for survey participation, but for the Membership Achievement Awards, chambers who submitted FY 2017 data through March 23, 2018 were eligible for the awards.

Dollars listed based on the chamber’s annual revenue

Up to $450,000

Member Retention

Anson County Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
Cortland County Chamber of Commerce (N.Y.)
Dorchester Chamber of Commerce (Md.)
Fitchburg Chamber Visitor and Business Bureau (Wis.)
Gardner Edgerton Chamber (Kan.)
Minden-South Webster Chamber of Commerce (La.)
Rowan County Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
Sault Ste. Marie Chamber of Commerce (Ont.)
Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce (Wis.)
Venango Area Chamber of Commerce (Pa.)

Dues Retention

Cadillac Area Chamber of Commerce (Mich.)
El Dorado Chamber of Commerce (Ark.)
Gardner Edgerton Chamber (Kan.)
Great Falls Area Chamber of Commerce (Mont.)
Minden-South Webster Chamber of Commerce (La.)
Muskego Chamber of Commerce and Tourism (Wis.)
Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)
Plymouth Chamber of Commerce (Wis.)
Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce (Wis.)
Wells County Chamber of Commerce (Ind.)

New Member Retention

Charles County Chamber of Commerce (Md.)
Fitchburg Chamber Visitor and Business Bureau (Wis.)
Greater Smithfield-Selma Area Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
Marion Area Chamber of Commerce (Ill.)
Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce (Ga.)
Murray-Calloway County Chamber of Commerce (Ky.)
Muskego Chamber of Commerce and Tourism (Wis.)
Richmond County Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce (Wis.)
Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce (Wis.)

$450,001 to $900,000

Member Retention

Dixon Chamber of Commerce and Main Street, Inc. (Ill.)
Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)
Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Iowa)
Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Wis.)
Missoula Area Chamber of Commerce (Mont.)
Putnam County Chamber of Commerce (Fla.)
Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
Westmoreland Chamber Of Commerce (Pa.)
Wilmington Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)

Dues Retention

Dixon Chamber of Commerce and Main Street, Inc. (Ill.)
Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)
Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce (Pa.)
Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Wis.)
Putnam County Chamber of Commerce (Fla.)
Shoals Chamber of Commerce (Ala.)
Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
Wayne County Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
West Des Moines Chamber (Iowa)
Wilmington Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)

New Member Retention

Burlington County Regional Chamber of Commerce (N.J.)
Granbury Chamber of Commerce (Texas)
Greater Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce (Ariz.)
Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Iowa)
Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce (Iowa)
Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Wis.)
Pocatello Chubbuck Chamber of Commerce (Idaho)
TwinWest Chamber of Commerce (Minn.)
Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
West Des Moines Chamber (Iowa)

$900,001 to $2,000,000

Member Retention

Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association (Colo.)
Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce (Wyo.)
Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce (La.)
Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)
Ludington and Scottville Chamber of Commerce (Mich.)
Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce (N.J.)
Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce (Wis.)
Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce (S.D.)
Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce  (S.K.)
Vail Valley Partnership (Colo.)

Dues Retention

Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership (Pa.)
Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)
Ludington and Scottville Chamber of Commerce (Mich.)
Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance (Va.)
Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce (N.J.)
Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership (Fla.)
Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce (Wis.)
Texas City-La Marque Chamber of Commerce (Texas)
Vail Valley Partnership (Colo.)

New Member Retention

Columbia Chamber of Commerce (Mo.)
Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership (Pa.)
Frederick County Chamber of Commerce (Md.)
Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association (Colo.)
Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce (Kan.)
Halifax Chamber of Commerce (N.S.)
Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce (Texas)
Ludington and Scottville Chamber of Commerce (Mich.)
Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce (N.J.)
Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce

$2,000,001 to $5,000,000

Member Retention

Community Development Foundation (Miss.) 
Greater Green Bay Chamber (Wis.)
Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce (Texas)
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce (Mont.)
Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce (Kan.)
North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce & CVB (S.C.)
Ohio Chamber of Commerce
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce (Mo.)
St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce (Fla.)
Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)

Dues Retention

Buffalo Niagara Partnership (N.Y.)
Community Development Foundation (Miss.) 
Greater Green Bay Chamber (Wis.)
Greater Louisville Inc. (Ky.)
Knoxville Chamber (Tenn.)
Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce (Kan.)
Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
Ohio Chamber of Commerce
St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce (Mo.)
Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)

New Member Retention

Alliance Southwest Louisiana
Buffalo Niagara Partnership (N.Y.)
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)
Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Wis.)
Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce (Texas)
Greater Louisville Inc. (Ky.)
Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce 
Louisiana Association of Business & Industry
Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce (Kan.)
Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)

Above $5,000,000

Member Retention

Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce (Idaho) 
Greater Cleveland Partnership (Ohio)
Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce (Okla.)
Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce (Neb.)
Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce (Ala.)
Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce (Ill.)
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (Wash.)
Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce (S.D.)
The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia (Pa.)

Dues Retention

Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce (Idaho)  
Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce (S.C.)
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber (Ohio)
Greater Cleveland Partnership (Ohio)
Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce (Okla.)
Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce (Neb.)
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce (Ala.)
Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce (S.D.)
Tulsa Regional Chamber (Okla.)

New Member Retention

Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
Association of Washington Business
Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce (Idaho)  
Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce (S.C.)
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber (Ohio)
Greater Cleveland Partnership (Ohio)
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (Wash.)
Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce (S.D.)
Tulsa Regional Chamber (Okla.)

Tags: #ACCEAwards, Awards, Membership, Membership Achievement Award

The Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives today announced finalists for the 2018 Chamber of the Year competition, sponsored by MemberClicks.

Finalists for 2018 Chamber of the Year are (sorted by category):

Category One:

Des Moines Downtown Chamber 
Des Moines, Iowa

Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce 
Valparaiso, Indiana

Category Two:

Conway Area Chamber of Commerce
Conway, Arkansas

Greater St. Charles County Chamber of Commerce 
St. Charles, Missouri

Round Rock Chamber
Round Rock, Texas

Category Three:

Greater Green Bay Chamber 
Green Bay, Wisconsin

Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce 
Humble, Texas

Plano Chamber of Commerce 
Plano, Texas

Category Four:

Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce 
North Charleston, South Carolina

Greater Louisville Inc. 
Louisville, Kentucky

Tulsa Regional Chamber 
Tulsa, Oklahoma

State/Province Category:

Chamber of Commerce Hawaii

Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce

In the final phase of the competition, a judging committee conducts in-person interviews with leaders representing each finalist chamber. One winner from each category will be named at the 2018 ACCE Annual Convention in Des Moines, Iowa.

Learn more about Chamber of the Year here.

Tags: Des Moines Downtown Chamber, Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce, Greater Louisville Inc., Greater St. Charles County Chamber of Commerce, Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce, #ACCE18, Lake Houston Area Chamber of Commerce, #ACCEAwards, Plano Chamber of Commerce, Awards, Round Rock Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of the Year, Tulsa Regional Chamber, Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Conway Area Chamber of Commerce

The Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives today announced winners of its Communications Excellence awards program, sponsored by Golden Openings, Inc.

In June 2018, five marketing and communications leaders from Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C. gathered at #ACCEHQ to carefully review more than 150 award submissions. We thank our judges for joining us in Alexandria, Va., and lending us their eyes and expertise for this year's competition: Sybil Topel (Chattanooga Chamber); Ken Brady (Charleston Metro Chamber); Anna Stokes (The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia); Susan Farhang (United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce) and Elaine Gilligan (Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce).

These entries highlight some of the freshest and most innovative marketing and communications work coming from ACCE member organizations of all types and sizes.

Each submission was organized by type — advertising and marketing, campaigns, digital and publications — and by the submitting organization’s total annual budget range: under $1 million, $1 to $3 million and above $3 million.

In addition to awards listed below, three “Best in Show” awards will be announced during the #ACCEAwards Show on Wednesday, July 18 at #ACCE18 in Des Moines, Iowa.  

Grand Awards

Advertising and Marketing

Champaign County Chamber of Commerce (lll.)
Chamber Zone         

Salt Lake Chamber
Utah Tax Modernization

Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce (Mo.)
Springfield Region Digital Brochure

Campaigns

Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce (Texas)
Preserving Public-Private Partnerships in the Chamber Industry – Legislative Advocacy Campaign

Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce (Mo.)
A Better KCI

Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce (Ark.)
Love, Little Rock Campaign

Wilmington Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
Choose Cape Fear

Digital

Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce (Ind.)
Valpo Chamber Video Newsletter Highlights

Indy Chamber
The New IndyChamber.com

Round Rock Chamber (Texas)
Skilled Trades Image Campaign

Publications

Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce (S.C.)
Quarterly Report Series

Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce (Colo.)
Northern Colorado Prospers Quarterly Report  

Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce (Texas)
2018 Membership Directory, Relocation & Island Guide

Awards of Excellence

Advertising and Marketing

Lincoln Chamber of Commerce (Neb.)
Lincoln Beer Tour

Lincoln Chamber of Commerce (Neb.)
YP Week

Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce (Va.)
Superhero 5K 2018 Marketing

Plano Chamber of commerce (Texas)
Plano Chamber Story – Member Testimonial Campaign

Robins Regional Chamber (Ga.)
SOAR

Campaigns

Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montréal
Metro Cities Chambers for NAFTA 2.0

Detroit Regional Chamber
Detroit Regional Chamber Campaign for Civility

Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce (N.Y.)
Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce Rebrand Bash

Greater Des Moines Partnership (Iowa)
Economic Development and Talent Attraction Digital Marketing Campaign

Greater Des Moines Partnership (Iowa)
Maximizing Momentum 2022: Investor Campaign for the Greater Des Moines Partnership

Greater Oklahoma City
Safer Streets, Better OKC Campaign

Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce (Mich.)
Grand Rapids Chamber Rebranding Campaign

Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce (Fla.)
Minority Business Accelerator

Huntsville/Madison County Chamber (Ala.)
2017 School Tax Renewals

Jefferson Chamber of Commerce (La.)
LiveWell Jefferson Campaign

Lincoln Chamber of Commerce (Neb.)
Eclipse Seasonal Signs

One Acadiana (La.)
One Acadiana South Louisiana Branding Initiative

Sanford Area Growth Alliance (N.C.)
Prelude to Progress

State Chamber of Oklahoma
OK2030 Campaign

Tulsa Regional Chamber (Okla.)
Tulsa Regional Chamber Economic Development Campaign

Digital

Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce (Ala.)
Eastern Shore Elf

Edmonton Chamber of Commerce (Alb.)
Digital, Blog, Brand Lessons Learned from the City of Champions Debate

Fayette Chamber of Commerce (Ga.)
Video: 2017 Chamber Accomplishments

Garrett County Chamber of Commerce (Md.)
Deep Creek Virtual Reality Experience

Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce (Mich.)
Grand Rapids Chamber Breakfast with Legislators Social Media Campaign

Greater Aiken Chamber of Commerce (S.C)
AikenHasIt.com Digital Campaign

Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce (Ark.)
Small Business BingoFest

Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce (Texas)
New Website – www.IrvingChamber.com

North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce
Chamber Video Testimonial Digital Campaign

Northwest Metroport Chamber of Commerce (Texas)
Economic Development Video

Plano Chamber of Commerce (Texas)
Plano Chamber Building Blocks Emails

Round Rock Chamber (Texas)
PRO Round Rock

Seminole County Regional Chamber of Commerce (Fla.)
Riverside Dash 5K & 15K Event: Influencers/Race Ambassadors Campaign

Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce (Ohio)
EPIC Toledo Website

Wake Forest Area Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
Open for Business Podcast

Publications

Chandler Chamber of Commerce (Ariz.)
How We Stand – Chandler Chamber of Commerce

Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce (N.C.)
2018 Visitors & Relocation Guide

Fayette Chamber of Commerce (Ga.)
Fayette Community Source Magazine

Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce (Ga.)
Annual Report

Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce (Ga.)
Gwinnett Chamber Annual Report

Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce (Ark.)
The Good Life Destination Guide

Learn more about ACCE's Communications Excellence awards here.

Communications Excellence winners: 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013

Tags: #ACCEAwards, Awards, Awards for Communications Excellence, Branding, Communications, Marketing

Cleveland, Ohio, and many other large cities such as Washington D.C., New York, and Los Angeles have Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), which are non-profit organizations formed through tax-supported/elected special improvement districts and funded through local tax assessment. In Cleveland, the Downtown Cleveland Alliance works with the Greater Cleveland Partnership, but they are separate entities.

The Downtown Cleveland Alliance supports the face of business improvement through a team of paid ambassadors in their Clean and Safe Ambassador Program. These are paid positions, with a mix of part and full-time individuals who are very friendly, well trained, serve as extra eyes and ears to police, report panhandling or other issues with off-duty police officer), and help with clean up, gardening tasks and picking up trash. Ambassadors wear bright yellow and blue uniforms and work from 7 am to midnight, 7 days a week through Block by Block Services.

When incidences occur, the Alliance serves as a convener - aka council or mini town hall - to support the businesses, city/county officials, and stakeholders. The Clean and Safe Ambassadors work on the “see something, say something” model. The Alliance serves as a conduit to support the stakeholders.

In a not-crime-related instance, a major downtown street shut down for construction and the Alliance served as a convener for the local businesses to host a big downtown block party with music, food, retail, etc. A mini-stakeholder meeting was held to plan out the party details.

BID meetings or townhall sessions are generally scheduled ad hoc, as needed, and then pushed out to stakeholders and through the Chamber notices.

The BID encourages the community to talk to each other through these meetings. The meetings are hosted by different “owners,” like officials from the city, county, nonprofit org, business owners, or property managers.

The Cleveland BID has 10 year history and is well established. The director stressed that they truly serves as a convener, conduit of info, and serves as a community organizer.

For the BID and Chamber relationship, the Chamber serves as area’s overall business attraction and retention; whereas the BID works for tax payers only in downtown Cleveland. The BID is separate from Chamber, but they have a strong relationship. The BID is a non-profit org with its own board and staff.

If your community does not have a BID, one idea is to look into this formation; and another idea is to have the chamber serve in the same function as a BID – essentially, a convener and info conduit for area stakeholders and business owners to meet, discuss, plan and come up with community-based solutions.

I’m happy to talk more or if you’d like to schedule a conversation with the Cleveland BID director, please let me know and I’ll e-introduce you. I hope this is helpful and please let us know if we met the mark or how we can further assist.

St. Louis, Missouri’s newest venture sounds like something out of a science fiction movie. The city is vying to become the first in the world to host a hyperloop—a proposed mode of high-speed transportation, in which passengers travel in pods that levitate magnetically in systems of airless tubes.

It’s doing it through the Hyperloop One Global Challenge, a competition in which metro regions from around the world propose prospective routes to house the first-ever hyperloop built by Virgin Hyperloop One, the Los Angeles-based company looking to commercialize hyperloops as a more efficient mode of transit.

At just over a half-hour, the planned route between St. Louis and Kansas City would shave roughly three-and-a-half hours off the current commute by car between the two major population centers.

“If we can link St. Louis and Kansas City into a single megaregion, we would have more than 5 million people in that workforce,” said Andrew Smith, vice president for entrepreneurship and innovation at the St. Louis Regional Chamber. “That would catapult us to the 9th largest economic development region in the country.”

To promote the proposal, the chamber teamed up with the University of Missouri System, the Kansas City Tech Council, the Missouri Department of Transportation, the Columbia Innovation Center and others to form the Missouri Hyperloop Coalition. The coalition’s first move was to raise $1.5 million for an engineering feasibility study, which began in February and will run through the end of the summer.

“Right now, we are one of only two regions in the country that are at that stage—the other being Colorado,” said Smith, adding that, “Virgin Hyperloop One is now calling us one of the top three routes under consideration in the world.”

When the study wraps up in August, the coalition will have the benefit of a detailed roadmap, with details on costs, route alignment, regulatory framework and environmental impact. Following that, the focus will shift to onboarding additional partners with the capabilities to build the large-scale project.

“This is mostly a private-sector-led effort, and we’ve been very up-front about the fact that we aren’t using taxpayer money to fund it,” said Smith. “This is going to be more like building an airline or railroad than a public highway. We just have to find the right partners to build, own and operate it.”

Want to see your story featured in the #ACCESpotlight? Share it with Ben Goldstein.

Tags: #MetroCities, #MidwesternChambers, Economic Developmen, Hyperloop, Technology, Transportation