(July 19, 2017) Chattanooga, Tenn. – The Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce received the 2017 Chamber of the Year award today, ranking it the top chamber of commerce among many of the largest chambers in North America.
“I thank our 1,900 Chamber member businesses, who represent more than 80,000 area employees. We’re grateful for our many volunteers, our board members and our Chamber staff,” said Bill Kilbride, Chattanooga Chamber President & CEO. “We were recognized in particular for our leading role in the Chattanooga 2.0 education and workforce readiness initiatives in Hamilton County, our creation of the Greater Chattanooga Economic Partnership, the continuation of the Thrive 2055 initiative, and the work of our 12 area Councils to support our Chamber mission and goals. We’re also honored to see our professional excellence in membership marketing and communications recognized. We're justifiably proud of our Chamber and our business community. ”
The Chamber of the Year award has been given annually since 2007 to chambers in four size categories to recognize excellence in operations, member services and community leadership.
Presented by Alexandria, Virginia-based Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), Chamber of the Year recognizes chambers of commerce for their work in fostering businesses and fueling economic growth and is the nation’s only award recognizing the leadership role chambers have in their communities.
The Chattanooga Chamber is also one of 12 recipients of ACCE’s Grand Award for Communications Excellence for its Literally Perfect economic development campaign with a twist, as well as an Award for Communications Excellence for its Greater Chattanooga Economic Partnership website.
In fact, ACCE created a special Literally Perfect Award to recognize the Chamber’s creativity in its approach to talent recruitment.
The Communications Excellence awards program is designed to celebrate exceptional work in the areas of advertising and marketing, campaigns, digital and publications.
A panel of communications and marketing executives from chambers of commerce around the country evaluated submissions. Award-winning entries represent the work of 41 organizations in 23 states and the Cayman Islands.
About the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives
The Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, founded in 1914, uniquely serves nearly 8,000 individuals who manage chambers of commerce. The mission of the Alexandria, Va.-based organization is to support and develop chamber professionals to lead businesses and their communities. Learn more about us by visiting ACCE.org.