Chambers of commerce provide valuable resources and relationship connections that can be vital to the growth of a business. Joining a Chamber of Commerce can significantly improve visibility, connect to local government affairs, provide resources for marketing and other networking opportunities and supplement vital information for opening a business in an area. During the pandemic, businesses were in a tailspin trying to survive lockdowns and other restrictions, but what about the chambers of commerce themselves? Area chambers of commerce around our region experienced the same lockdowns while still trying to provide for their membership. Thinking outside the box as they upped communication via email and changing events from in-person to virtual became commonplace in this past year, but as we come out of the COVID pandemic, area chambers of commerce are seeing growth in membership as businesses resolve to regroup and redefine their place in the community. 

Shari Fiveash, president and CEO of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber, has seen new growth since beginning her role in May 2021.

 “Our Chamber has grown by over 100 members in recent months. We’ve been careful about what events we have held, looking at if we need to have them virtually or in person, but our business networking breakfasts and coffee clubs are still going strong,” she said. 

Their regular events have been altered with COVID, but have continued. 

“One of our largest events, [The Valor Awards] usually includes a meal, but with COVID safety in mind, we gave out gift cards so they could get lunch on their own. We’ve been careful while also looking to see how we can provide for our members.” 

As far as the growth of the Chamber, the upswing has continued through membership and staffing. 

“A lot of Chambers have been folding, and we are growing. We were down to two employees and now back to seven. We hope to be able to further grow that staff so we can continue to add more services and programs for our members.” 

With small staffs, the Fayetteville Chamber has been able to use the resources in the area to partner with other organizations with smaller staffs including Cool Spring Downtown District and the Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau for events and marketing. 

“When everyone is short staffed, we can partner together,” said Fiveash. 

Fiveash also credits the Chamber resources for helping members through the pandemic and beyond.

“We have had several members who have needed help with marketing opportunities. Our staff has been able to come up with some unique ways for those members to help them build relationships and, in some cases, rebuild because of the COVID lockdown. The Chamber has online programs and networking events. We can help them build those relationships. Some have said they really should have done this before. They may have been struggling, but using the resources we have here, they are introduced to people they didn’t know before,” said Fiveash. 

Cindy Kern, the executive director of the Lumberton Area Chamber of Commerce, said “We are slowly rebounding. We are having events and membership is increasing. We have some great members who remained with us throughout COVID.” 

The Lumberton Area Chamber of Commerce is producing new city and county maps for 2022, hosting ribbon cuttings for new businesses like the Gibson Cancer Center and the Robeson Art Guild. Recently, they hosted the Lumberton Christmas Parade on Nov. 20. 

“We just hosted the Lumberton Christmas Parade, which was wonderful. It’s our largest event and we had a lot of great volunteers who helped make it happen this year,” said Kern, “Our calendar is back to what it was before, and it is nice to see things come back to order.” 

Elizabeth McNeill, executive director of the Raeford-Hoke Chamber of Commerce, started her position in July 2020 when everything was shut down, but was able to start the plans this year for Hometown Christmas held on Dec. 3. 

“Hometown Christmas is our first major Chamber event since the COVID lockdown. We shut down Main Street for the hayrides, vendors and performances,” said McNeill. 

McNeill credits the huge support from the City of Raeford and Hoke County for partnering with the chamber when new businesses are opening. The Chamber was able to provide support for businesses needing information on PPP loans and other details during the lockdown. 

“We’ve had everyone rejoin along with some new businesses who have been here for 20-30 years, but never been members until now. There’s been an uptick of new members and we will start our Business After Hours again in January,” said McNeill. “We are up and running now. Our office is starting to open up more now and we want our members to stop in, even for a cup of coffee and some conversation.” 

Lauren Strickland, office manager for the Lillington Chamber of Commerce, said, “We’ve noticed our membership is eager to get back to our calendar. Our slate of events for 2022 is pretty booked with safety in mind. We have four major events and for our annual banquet, we have moved it to a larger space at the Harnett County Resource Center so we can space out a bit more.” 

Strickland said over the past year they have kept weekly newsletters and social media posts with member hosted events to help support their membership. She said they have also noticed an increase of phone calls with both community members and those moving to the area asking for direction on local businesses. 

“Lillington is growing. People are contacting the chamber needing everything from a realtor to a dentist. They contact us to find out where to go,” said Strickland. 

Strickland said each of their events like the Love Lillington 5K, the Cape Fear Fest or the kayak race on the Cape Fear River has brought people out who are coming to Lillington specifically for the event and are finding places to eat and shop while they are here. A couple of their members, Cathis Farm and Cape Fear River Adventures, also bring thousands of people to the Lillington area with their events. 

"It’s felt good to have our events back,” said Strickland. 

Linda Parsons, president and CEO of the Moore County Chamber of Commerce, said their Chamber did pretty well considering the impact COVID had on our business community. “We made the decision early on to not bill our members during the total shutdown period. While financially this was an impact, it was not overall as we ended the year with 93% retention rate. Our members appreciated our understanding of the situation they were facing and in turn supported us back,” said Parsons. 

All Moore County Chamber events in 2020 were cancelled except for the Economic Summit, held in January prior to the shutdown and, during COVID, the Chamber did have to reduce staff; however, when events resumed in the fall of 2021, there was overwhelming response, selling out of all programs and events. 

“We did a few smaller virtual events in the spring of 2021 and in person and these were successful as well due to the curated nature of the programming. We also hosted several virtual programs throughout 2020 to ensure connectivity with our members,” said Parsons. 

The Moore County Chamber opened a new co-working space, which was being built during 2020, in January of 2021. 

“This new space had already been planned prior to COVID, but with the rise of virtual work it has become one of the greatest things we have done for our Chamber and community. We’ve had over 1500 people through the space in nine months with bookings almost daily. Individuals can book for a day, purchase a monthly membership or book our conference room for meetings/trainings. The space is open to Chamber members and community members for a fee,” said Parsons, “We continue to have members join the Chamber monthly and have seen consistent growth in the last several years.”

 The Hope Mills Area Chamber of Commerce, the Erwin Chamber of Commerce and Sanford Area Chamber of Commerce are also continuing with membership and community events.