It’s been an exciting year for the team at San Rafael Chamber of Commerce. It’s advocated on several significant businesses and community issues, including professional baseball in San Rafael, the proposed airport sports complex, the Grady Ranch development, the proposed Target development and several state initiatives including extended producer responsibility. Two of its past board chairs were elected in November to serve as Mayor and City Council members in San Rafael, and its overall financial and membership numbers have stabilized and are continuing to grow.
Nearly all of the Chamber’s annual events are attracting more participants, promising more fun energy, and are getting fantastic feedback in large part because of the work of Joanne Webster, director of marketing and community promotion, who joined the Chamber team last year. The Chamber is getting ready to launch a new marketing and branding campaign and online headquarters, which it’s very excited about. “Of course, the upcoming area elections should provide an interesting conversation as well,” adds President and CEO Rick Wells.
In addition, the Chamber has recently extended its alliance with the Green Chamber of Commerce to help promote and support one another. It applied for an official Green Business Certification for Marin County and will be awarding a Green Business of the Year award in 2012.
The State of the City dinner, which it co-hosts with the city of San Rafael, took place April 27 at Embassy Suites in San Rafael and included Business of the Year awards. This year, the perennial sell-out event featured 12 great local restaurants. The Chamber also has a Business Showcase scheduled for September 12, which is organized by a committee that works year round to ensure the event is a fun and rewarding experience for everyone. Its popularity has increased dramatically over the past few years.
Wells mentions that last year’s Business Showcase was amazing: “A person could look in any direction and see dozens, if not hundreds, of other people exchanging business cards, talking about their companies and building their business connections. That’s really what our events are all about, strengthening the local economy and building business networks,” he says.
“We are extremely grateful for the recognition by NorthBay biz readers,” he continues. “We’ll work extra hard to make sure this year’s events are even better!”
