Chamber Building Community

A Great Start Investments made in early childhood are investments in the area’s economic future. Studies show that putting an emphasis on educating children from birth to five years is an imperative element of a healthy community. Chamber President and CEO Doug Luciani co-chairs this initiative that brings together leaders from all sectors of the community to support the area’s youngest residents and ensure they have the resources and support to succeed.

The Tipping Point Recently, the Chamber was involved in the search for the new superintendent of Traverse City Area Public Schools, which resulted in the hiring of Steve Cousins. Cousins later said that the Chamber’s involvement in education was the tipping point of his decision to take the job.

Promoting Diversity The Chamber promotes diversity in our area, partnering with Northwestern Michigan College and the Dennos Museum to bring the Global Diversity Series to Traverse City. Just a few examples of the performers include guitarists, acrobats and painters, with artists hailing form China, Africa, Peru, Scotland, and Canada.

Scoring Points for You Partnering with SCORE, counselors to America’s small businesses, the Chamber provides easy access for members by housing SCORE meetings at no cost, providing administrative services, and sponsoring the Traverse City area chapter.

You CAN Get There from Here In the 1980’s, the Chamber put money up front and guaranteed dollars to subsidize Northwest Airlines’ foray into providing jet service to Cherry Capital Airport. If the number of passengers wasn’t high enough, the Chamber had to make up the difference – and so they did for a couple of the early years until the service funded itself. Fast forward to present day, and again the Chamber has stepped up as an advocate for the airport. Last year, the Chamber granted $25,000 to the airport for increased service for travelers. Recently, U.S. Senator Carl Levin asked the Chamber to provide him with evidence of how airfares affect their businesses, the result was a 59-page document with more than 300 personal stories from Chamber members. The Chamber continues its efforts to connect businesses with airlines and was even featured in a New York Times story about air service at smaller airports.

A "Public" Service The Chamber provides public restrooms to shoppers and beach-goers alike, offering a valuable service to downtown merchants. In turn, the Chamber’s brochure room gets plenty of traffic, especially during the summer months. Make sure your brochure is on display to get in front of plenty of visitors.