The C4 Report

Still Growing!

This year, the United States Chamber of Commerce celebrates its 100^th anniversary of “Standing Up for American Enterprise”!  I’ll be honest, up until 4 years ago, I knew that Chambers of Commerce existed but I really didn’t know much about their history or the extent of their function.  I basically thought they existed to welcome people to the community, put on events, and to help you find a good restaurant, recreational park, church, or a particular business.

Over four hundred years ago, in 1599, the term “Chamber of Commerce” was first used by a group of business owners in Marseille, France.  Since 1599, business owners have been joining together in a untied effort to promote their local commerce and in many instances their local community as well.

The first Chamber of Commerce formed in the United States was the New York State Chamber of Commerce in 1768.  In 1773 the first local Chamber of Commerce was formed in Charleston, South Carolina.  Since then, over 5,000 local Chambers of Commerce have been formed across America.  Chambers have been around for a long time and now exist on a local, state, national, and international levels carrying on a wide variety of functions.

The City of Central Chamber of Commerce was established in June of 2005, a mere 7 years ago.  Compared to 1599, 1768, 1773, and even 1912 we are but youngsters in the Chamber world!  However, built on the foundation of the Central Area Business Association, the Central Chamber continues to grow.   We realize that we are still growing and through the dedicated efforts of our members we are becoming a resource for area businesses as well as the local community.  You can help us continue to grow!  Contact the Chamber Office at 261-5818 or on the Web at cityofcentralchamber.com and find out how you can come grow with us!