Bob Hendrickson, IOHT

Community and business go hand-in-hand. You can’t have one without the other. For a business to grow a community needs to support it by utilizing the service or products offered.

Building a business has some basic concepts and when done right can lead to a vibrate and successful outcome. Building a community is a bit more complicated. It involves many businesses, schools, churches, government and other organizations working together to create a place people can call home and be proud of.

The phrase “It takes a village,” can be applied to many aspects of building a healthy community. When everyone has some buy-in it creates success. The Greater Ishpeming-Negaunee Area Chamber of Commerce takes that on as part of the mission we provide to our membership.

The GINCC not only connects members with the community, we actively take on a role of championing our membership by attending city and community meetings, volunteering for events and promoting the West End of Marquette County as a great place to live.

The GINCC has a wealth of business resources in our network to provide our members when needed. But it is the intangible attributes the chamber provides our membership that make it most beneficial. The GINCC works hard to represent the membership with pride and professionalism in all we do.

With every membership-based organization, it is ultimately the membership that decides the level of success. In order to maintain the quality of service and ultimately grow we need to retain and recruit members. The base fee is $165 annually, and is structured based on the size and type of business. GINCC works hard to make membership affordable.

Want to lean more about what a membership can do for your business or organization? Check out one of our events.

TruNorth Federal Credit Union will be hosting the next Business After Hours this Wednesday, March 4 at River Rock Lanes & Banquet Center in Ishpeming from 5-7pm. The event is free to attend and open to the public. It’s a great opportunity to learn more about the GINCC and the members involved.

Editor’s note: For more information on GINCC opportunities offered visit the website at www.gincc.org or call 486-1111.