"We believe that promoting business and building community go hand-in-hand." —Joanne Webster
“The San Rafael Chamber of Commerce is a member based, business advocacy organization, that provides a strong voice in support of the economic vitality of our community,” says Joanne Webster, president and CEO. It also has the notability of being the largest chamber in Marin County, with more than 600 members representing nearly 26,000 employees.
With such a wide reach, it’s only natural the organization is unique in many of its events. “We’re the only Chamber in Marin County to recognize educators at our annual Excellence in Education event, as well as in our “Educator of the Month” newspaper feature,” Webster details. “We also host a leadership training program,” she says. The San Rafael Leadership Institute “is Marin County’s premier leadership development program for professionals seeking to make a difference in their community and understand Marin from the ground up.”
Everyone working at the chamber keeps busy. “We host and participate in more than 50 events per year,” she says. “Our signature events include the Business Showcase, Women of Industry Luncheon, State of the City Dinner, Forecasting the Future Marin Economic Conference and our New Teacher Welcome.
“All of our events are targeted to the business community and the community at large,” she says proudly. “We believe promoting business and building community go hand-in-hand. Our Business Showcase is more than just a business –to-business; it’s the best way to get to know your local businesses, neighbors and friends in the community.
“My favorite event is the State of the City dinner,” she confesses. What makes it so special? “It’s more
fun and relaxed than other signature events.” The dinner features A Taste of San Rafael, with culinary samples, an awards ceremony to celebrate Citizen of the Year, Employee of the Year, the Small and Large Businesses of the Year and Green Business of the Year. There are cocktails along with dinner and the program. Simply put, says Webster “It makes me happy to see so many incredible businesses that give back so much.”
How many people attend a given event varies widely. “We can have 25 people at a coffee with the mayor meeting, 450 at the State of the City dinner and 1,000 at the Business Showcase.” But the chamber is prepared for all of it, even when it has to accommodate change. “Our State of the City dinner is now so popular that we’ve outgrown the ‘Taste of San Rafael’ component of the evening,” she admits. “So next year, we’ll host a new event that includes the ‘Taste of San Rafael’ model in a different location and make the focus on the wonderful, high-quality foods grown here in Marin.”
Above all, Webster knows that this work is a team effort. “Our chamber relies on the passion, time and expertise of our volunteers to help us create indispensable tools and experiences,” she says. “On behalf of the entire Business Showcase team and the Board of Directors, I’d like to thank the readers of NorthBay biz for voting our events number one. It’s an honor, and we’ll continue to bring you quality, fun and relevant events next year.”
