The Central Chamber Report: What does the Chamber do in Central?

    In June of 2005 the Central Area Business Association incorporated the Central Chamber of Commerce.  Thus, in 2015 the Central Chamber celebrated ten years of service to the business community and to the City of Central.  Over the last ten years the chamber has gone through an evolution!  This evolution has allowed the Central Chamber of Commerce to become the voice of business in the Central community and to become the go-to organization for networking, information, representation, and development for years to come.    
    To mark the tenth year of the Central Chamber, we unveiled a new logo in 2015.  The Board of Directors wanted to develop a brand that truly exemplified the goals of the chamber as we move forward.  Thus the phrase “Serving Business and Community” appears at the base of the logo.  “Serving Business and Community” truly is the foundation of our organization and a clear description of what we do in Central.  The three colors on the large “C” represent our values to Care, Connect, and to Collaborate.  We strive to Care for our businesses and community, we serve to facilitate the Connecting of businesses to other businesses, governmental leaders, and organizations, and we help to Collaborate efforts between various civic, governmental, economic, and nonprofit groups.  
    Over the next few articles I will discuss the areas of Care, Connect, and Collaborate so that you can know what our business community’s organization, the Central Chamber, is accomplishing.
CARE 
    In a “Community that Cares,” we strive to care for our businesses and our community!  The chamber has developed several programs and initiatives that help to care for our investors.  The best way we care for our investors is by being alert to changes that could affect them and by providing them with services and opportunities to excel in their representative businesses.  Our Education, Public Policy/Business Development, and the Membership Committees help to assure that the strategic plan of caring is accomplished.  As the chamber takes part in various governmental meetings and committees and stays active and visible in the community, we continue to be the voice for the business community.  Programs such as the Shop Small Business Saturday, the "Shop Central First" Campaign, the "I’m In" promotion, the Chamber Business Directory, our online services, ribbon cuttings, educational seminars, and "Chamber 101" all help in supporting our investors’ success.
    We care for our community by continuing to promote Central and enhance the quality of life.   The Krewe de Centrale' Mardi Gras Ball, Health and Business Expo, Miss City of Central Pageant, the Elf Run 5K, community Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, and the 30th Annual Central Christmas parade all help to promote the City of Central, provide special events for the community to enjoy and enhance our city's quality of life. 
    We are unashamedly biased!  We believe that Central is the best place around to live, shop, work, and play!  Therefore, we strive to put forth our best efforts to help care for our businesses and community and create an environment where all can thrive in Central, “The Community that Cares!”
Ron Erickson
President – Central Chamber of Commerce