Why should you belong to the Sabine Chamber of Commerce?

by Garland Anthony, executive director of the Sabine Parish Chamber of Commerce

Why should my company belong to the chamber? What has the chamber done for my company lately? In response, let me ask the reflective questions: “Why should you belong to your company? What has your company done for you lately?”

Just as many of us belong to our companies because our companies allow us to earn a living and in so doing, serve our role in our communities, so should be chamber serve its membership. Let’s face it - any of us would stop being part of a company if we made no contribution to it, and if the company, in turn, made no contribution to us. So the chamber is only as strong as its constituent members.

Just as there are strong companies because of bright ideas for innovation, execution of those ideas and proper management, so does the chamber rely on its community members. It can provide strong, supportive services not able to be achieved in other ways. A company choosing to belong to the chamber can and should have an edge over its competitor that doesn’t belong.

What does the chamber do? Its services are varied, and fit different-sized companies differently. At a chamber retreat workshop, we outlined how a small business of less than 10 employees is helped via membership and networking, whereas a big business of more than 1,000 employees is helped by legislation the chamber supports in their favor. Many of its services overlap.

What is an ideal chamber? One with a strong mission to serve its people. We promote economic prosperity, serve as a business advocate and celebrate the achievements of our region.

In the chamber’s 63 years, it has achieved a number of milestones, as well.

To avoid complacency in the here and now, we need a call to action to help the individual businesses and each’s needs. We need input to make this happen -- so instead of apathy, we need constructive suggestions that can achieve results. This will involve collaboration between the city council, mayor’s office, local congressman, state and federal officials, and of course, each of us in Ebarb, Florien, Fisher, Many, Zwolle, Noble, Negreet, Ft. Jesup, Pleasant Hill, Converse and the Toledo Bend Lake area.

Where individual communities have taken this strong attitude, it has led to remarkable results.

If you are not a member of the chamber, you need to be.