October is Chamber of Commerce Month in the Commonwealth. Governor Tom Wolf issued the following statement – “Our local chambers of commerce play a critical role in supporting the needs of our vibrant business community and are essential to the commonwealth’s continued economic growth and advancement.” His proclamation also stated - “I commend Pennsylvania’s local chambers of commerce for representing thousands of businesses, and I am certain their efforts to enhance our communities will serve as an inspiration across the commonwealth for years to come.” We have great plans to take full advantage of this special designation. But we had some great things happen in September that are definitely worth mentioning.
It is my pleasure to introduce the newest member of our small, but mighty, TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce team. Hailey Heimbach joined our team as our Marketing and Communications Director on September 13. Hailey attended Coastal Carolina University where she obtained her BS in Marketing and her Master of Business Administration. During her four years at Coastal Carolina University, Hailey was an officer for the American Marketing Association and for the Universities Co-Ed business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. Hailey was also the MBA Representative, Treasurer, and Social Media Coordinator for the Graduate Student Association.
Our Leadership TriCounty Class of 2022 started their journey on September 16 and September 17. Some facts regarding the Leadership TriCounty program: the Class of 2022 will be our 20th class; the very first class graduated in 1993; there are over 250 alumni of this program; out of the 16 companies with a participant in the class of 2022, 11 have had previous participants. COVID-19 had an impact on Leadership TriCounty, and we chose not to run the program for the 2020-2021 class year. So, we are elated to be able to provide this great resource to our Chamber Member employees so they can grow and succeed in their roles.
Leadership TriCounty is a special program and something the TriCounty Chamber has been passionate about providing since that first class participated in 1992. Another special program that we are so passionate and excited about is Chamber Chat which returned from a summer break and launched into its 7th Season on September 27. Each show airs on Facebook Live every Monday and Wednesday at 1 PM. We have a full slate of guests already scheduled to broadcast as part of Season 7 from September 27th through to the Season 7 conclusion on November 17th. We love being able to use this opportunity to benefit our Members and tell their stories one episode at a time.
One unfortunate bit of news for September was the postponement of our Annual Dinner scheduled for September 23. The health and safety of our members and their guests is the most important thing for us to keep in mind. Due to the rise in COVID cases in our area, we made the decision to wait until a later date to hold this event. Our Membership, the venue, and our keynote speaker have all been very supportive and we look forward to holding the event on April 27, 2022. Save the date! We look forward to hosting this event and providing our Members with an event worth waiting for!
We are going to keep our momentum going and have programs, special giveaways, and recognition of our Members scheduled for Chamber of Commerce Month in October!