This week marks National Chamber of Commerce week- and gives us reason to reflect what a Chamber does and how a Chamber can help you, your business, and the community at large. Here at the Lodi District Chamber of Commerce, we pride ourselves on being a 3 C Chamber. What is a 3 C Chamber, you ask? The 3 Cs stand for: Catalyst, Convener, and Champion. 

• Catalyst- the Lodi Chamber acts as a catalyst of business growth and success in Lodi. As part of our Vision 2020 project, we have worked diligently on Economic Competitiveness and Business Development and will continue with both of these with the Grow In Lodi phase to be unveiled later this year. 
• Convener- our goal is to be a convener of leaders and influencers in our community to inspire POSITIVE change. Because we are a member driven organization, we are able to create opportunities for important members of our community to meet, network, and foster great ideas that would be beneficial to our town. 
• Champion- while the Lodi Chamber understands the need for business growth and a healthy business community, we also take great pride at being a Champion for the community. Where there is good to be done or where we can help in any way, we try our best to. Whether that's shine a light on organizations like The Village or the WOW Museum and their fundraising efforts to volunteer opportunities with the City or Love Lodi, we work alongside our members and citizens of Lodi to make our town the best it can be. 

We take our mission very seriously, and in addition to focusing on these three significant tasks, it is the Chamber's duty to act as an advocate for business at a local, state, and federal level. That's right, we get POLITICAL when need be! The Lodi Chamber has a Government Relations Committee comprised of members from a wide array of represented industries in town. These members vote on pieces of legislation and how the Chamber should side. We partner with CalChamber to get information about bills, workplace issues, and more to all of our members so that they can stay informed on what's coming down the pipeline from our legislatures at the Capitol. After a rigorous interview process, we endorse political candidates who we feel would be the best for business, and the community at large. We engage our local, state, and federal leaders and representatives to get our collective voices heard (an example of this is AB 516, the NO TOW bill that would take away police authority for removing vehicles parked on streets longer than 72 hours OR vehicles with expired registration. The Chamber heard this bill was making its way in Sacramento and brought it to the lobbyists in Sac for CalChamber, and the bill has been DEFEATED in committee). 

The Lodi District Chamber of Commerce also provides a huge benefit to Chamber members in terms of CONNECTIONS with hundreds of networking events each year. On top of networking events and mixers, the Chamber hosts free monthly seminars- open to ALL business owners - to learn from titans of industry on topics like "marketing", "DIY video making", "Hiring The Right People For Your Team," and much more! These seminars are graciously sponsored by Wells Fargo and provide an immeasurable amount of information to local business owners. It's just another way your local Chamber works FOR YOU. 

We also want to hear FROM you, our members! What have you found to be MOST beneficial about joining the Chamber of Commerce? And what would you change or like to see added to your membership? 

#NationalChamberofCommerceWeek