What is a Chamber of Commerce?

A Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary membership organization of business and professional people, non-profit agencies, and individual community members. Chambers of Commerce have been in America since before the American Revolution. During the first half of this century, the Chamber movement grew rapidly, and there are now more than 5,000 Chambers of Commerce operating in communities across the United States.

The Fayette Chamber of Commerce (f.k.a. Central Fayette Chamber of Business and Industry & The Greater Uniontown Chamber of Commerce) has been in existence since the 1920’s, and was formally incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1945.

Who Can Be A Chamber Member?

Traditionally, Chambers of Commerce come from the business and professional sector of a community. However, because of the unique needs of each community, there is no hard and fast rule. Anyone who has an interest in community development may join the Chamber and work toward its goals of economic progress and improved quality of life for all citizens.

Fayette Chamber of Commerce members are primarily small business owners (businesses who employ fewer than 10 employees make up the majority of the members), professionals such as lawyers, physicians, accountants, and other business services consultants. About 20% of the members represent larger community employers like banks, manufacturers, and hospitals and other health care organizations. Nearly 10% of the membership are employed in community service organizations, are self-employed, or retired individuals who are concerned about progress in the community.

Members join the Chamber for three reasons: reduce their costs and develop their businesses; to build a healthy local economy that will benefit businesses and to work toward making our communities better places to work and live. They know that together they can make more of a difference than they can working alone and individually.

What Do Chambers of Commerce Do?

Chambers may adopt different names or change their names over time to better reflect the unique needs of the communities in which they are organized. Some Chambers concentrate more heavily on political and governmental affairs that relate to business; others are most involved in tourism promotion and information; still others function exclusively as community service organization.

But most Chambers in smaller communities wear many hats, with broad goals to:

>  help businesses prosper and grow
>  increase job opportunities
>  encourage planned growth and development of all segments of the community
>  contribute to a healthy economy
>  encourage and promote private enterprise appropriate to the community’s needs
>  provide information about the area to the public

Because Chambers of Commerce broadly reflect their communities, they have become recognized as a central source for information of all sorts about their communities. Therefore, most Chambers perform a vital function as a community information bureau for their areas.

The mission of the Fayette Chamber of Commerce is to promote a healthy business climate for members and their communities, and to provide leadership and support for local businesses in their efforts to improve the local economy, education systems, political environment, and overall quality of life.

The Fayette Chamber of Commerce has several volunteer committees who concentrate on activities in different areas of community development, including local, state, and national issues that affect the community, education, special community events, and transportation, and economic development in conjunction with Fayette Forward, the county’s strategic plan.

Who “runs” the Chamber?

The Chamber is run by its members. They elect a Board of Directors that determine policies and priorities. Most Chambers have a President or Chairman, and a committee of officers, all of whom are volunteers from the membership. Day-to-day operations of the Chamber are usually provided by paid full or part-time staff who are employed by the Board to administer membership services, provide services and information to the public, and to provide staff support services for the Chamber’s membership committees and their projects.

The Fayette Chamber of Commerce has 326 member organizations in the greater Fayette County area. The 38-member Board of Directors represents virtually all sectors of the community, including retail, manufacturing, banking, services, non-profit agencies, health care, media, education, and community service agencies. The Chamber employs a full-time director, an assistant, and an office manager/secretary. The office is located at 65 West Main Street in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.

TEAMWORK!  Together Everyone Achieves More!