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Delta Chamber has a mission

ESCANABA — Did you know that October is designated as Chamber of Commerce month in Michigan? It’s true! And, while the month of October has come and gone, we still want to take this opportunity to communicate with our waterfront community the mission of the Delta County Chamber and describe the role of the Chamber and our members in community development.

The official mission statement reads, “The Delta County Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary organization established to promote civic, commercial, industrial and agricultural progress of the community and district which it serves and to work for sound legislation and efficient administration at the community and all levels of government.”

We prefer this “easier to repeat” version — The Chamber exists to make the community a better place to live. Period. A Chamber of Commerce provides an avenue for our business people to play a leadership role in building a healthy, vibrant community. We are a partner to every community, every business, and every citizen.

The Chamber’s Board of Directors understands the importance of the Chamber remaining a dynamic organization, setting goals, and developing new initiatives to meet the ever-changing needs of our members and community. They also realize that the Chamber is only as strong as its membership.

So, how does the Chamber support its members? Consider this.

The Chamber is the community’s best source for business representation and referrals. We are the first place many people call for information about the area. Most of the time our referrals are to businesses that are Chamber members, which adds value to membership.

The Chamber Lifestyle and Business Directory serves as the primary referral source when a person calls the Chamber and wants information about the community and local businesses. Packets, which include the directory, are sent to fill requests for information to those interested in relocating to Delta County, tourism activities, economic development, and area businesses.

In addition to the printed directory, we have an online membership directory as part of our web site at www.deltami.org. We update the on-line directory on a regular basis. As an extra benefit of Chamber membership, direct links are provided to each business that has an e-mail address and/or web site of their own.

The Chamber offers access to people. Most of our events are designed to be networking opportunities for our members. We want to connect you to the people you need to know so your business will grow and prosper.

The Chamber is known as the source of information for the community. We take thousands of inquiries every year and, believe me, some of the questions are very interesting! We try to field all the questions cheerfully and if we don’t have the answer, we direct the person to someone who does.

The Chamber unites its efforts with other groups and organizations to find solutions to local problems and issues. Everyone working together can accomplish more than any of us alone. When we pool our ideas, resources, and energy, we can make things happen.

The Chamber, over the years, has been actively involved in a variety of issues affecting the community and business development. Sometimes we have a very visible role in a project and other times we work quietly behind the scenes.

The Chamber is actively involved in workforce and economic development. Economic development is inherent in all that the Chamber does. Many of the questions we answer usually relate to the local economy in some manner. Members of a Chamber of Commerce are actually stockholders in the community’s future. They are investing in an enterprise, which has the ability to pool the community’s financial and voluntary resources in the hopes of improving the overall economic wellbeing of the county.

During October and all the other eleven months, the Chamber and our stockholding members work together to make the community a better place to live, period.

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Vickie Micheau is the executive director of the Delta County Chamber of Commerce

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