The Chamber is a citizen-driven civic organization, and to me this shows the amount of support that OKC has been gaining steadily from the citizens for improvement of quality of life. When compared to cities like Vancouver, Minneapolis... our chamber won. That says a lot about the spirit of our metro.
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City Chamber wins top honor for excellence
From Staff Reports
The Oklahoman
The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce bested the nation's biggest chambers to win the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Award for Excellence.
"We are doing things far and away above the average metro chamber in the United States," said Roy Williams, president and chief executive officer for the Oklahoma City chamber.
The award recognizing excellence in financial performance, member programs, internal operations and organizational mission, was presented Aug. 19 at the American Chamber's convention in Cleveland.
The Oklahoma City chamber qualified by topping national averages in net member growth, member dollars and retention. The local group was competing at the highest level, among all chambers that collect more than $1 million in annual dues.
New membership programs have fueled the chamber's recent growth, said Brenda Jones, chamber vice chairman for membership. Among the new programs are offerings that allow business leaders to sit on a chamber advisory panel and help provide employee health insurance to small-business owners, Jones said.
"This is a huge honor for the chamber and the incredible staff who are dedicated to growing our business community and making sure programs are meeting the needs of businesses of all sizes," Jones said.
From 2005 to 2006, the Oklahoma City chamber grew about 10 percent, and now has some 4,500 members, Williams said.
"I think it's because this chamber is held in high esteem by the business community and elected officials," Williams said. "We have the top leadership of this community engaged."
After being named a finalist, leaders of the Oklahoma City chamber were interviewed to determine the winner. It's the first time the local chamber has won the award, Williams said.
Williams said the chamber likely will use the award to market itself locally, highlighting the organization's wide acceptance in the business community to recruit new members.
The award and growth demonstrate that the chamber is among the best when compared to its peers, Williams said.
"If you're not doing the right things, that doesn't happen," he said. "You're not going to increase membership and member dollars if you're not responding to what members want."
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City Chamber wins top honor for excellence
From Staff Reports
The Oklahoman
The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce bested the nation's biggest chambers to win the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Award for Excellence.
"We are doing things far and away above the average metro chamber in the United States," said Roy Williams, president and chief executive officer for the Oklahoma City chamber.
The award recognizing excellence in financial performance, member programs, internal operations and organizational mission, was presented Aug. 19 at the American Chamber's convention in Cleveland.
The Oklahoma City chamber qualified by topping national averages in net member growth, member dollars and retention. The local group was competing at the highest level, among all chambers that collect more than $1 million in annual dues.
New membership programs have fueled the chamber's recent growth, said Brenda Jones, chamber vice chairman for membership. Among the new programs are offerings that allow business leaders to sit on a chamber advisory panel and help provide employee health insurance to small-business owners, Jones said.
"This is a huge honor for the chamber and the incredible staff who are dedicated to growing our business community and making sure programs are meeting the needs of businesses of all sizes," Jones said.
From 2005 to 2006, the Oklahoma City chamber grew about 10 percent, and now has some 4,500 members, Williams said.
"I think it's because this chamber is held in high esteem by the business community and elected officials," Williams said. "We have the top leadership of this community engaged."
After being named a finalist, leaders of the Oklahoma City chamber were interviewed to determine the winner. It's the first time the local chamber has won the award, Williams said.
Williams said the chamber likely will use the award to market itself locally, highlighting the organization's wide acceptance in the business community to recruit new members.
The award and growth demonstrate that the chamber is among the best when compared to its peers, Williams said.
"If you're not doing the right things, that doesn't happen," he said. "You're not going to increase membership and member dollars if you're not responding to what members want."