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National Honor Energizes Chamber of Commerce
Staff at the Greenville chamber are, clockwise from top left: Scott Senatore, Susanne Sartelle, Lauren Rivenbark, John Bacon, Stacy Gaskins, Frances Faust, Allen Smith and Phyllis Gibson.
Creative thinking‚ hard work and a five-inch-thick application paid off handsomely for the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce when it was named one of the top three chambers of its size in the country for 2007.
The Greenville chamber outranked hundreds of others across the nation – and became the only North Carolina chamber to make the finals – in the contest sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives.
“This is an awesome honor for us and a very exciting time to be named one of the top three chambers of our size in the nation‚” says chamber president Susanne Sartelle. “It doesn’t get much better than that.”
The chamber competed against other U.S. chambers reporting annual dues incomes of between $200‚000 and $499‚000.
While the victory is sweet‚ the road to recognition was long and at times arduous. Initially‚ there was an application so chock-full of information that it was five inches thick – “a rigorous‚ time-consuming application‚ but a good learning process‚” says Sartelle.
How does a chamber make itself stand out in a large field of able competitors? Sartelle found the answer when asked to highlight two noteworthy programs. The Greenville-Pitt County chamber could point to its successful 2006 membership drive‚ in which the chamber achieved its goal of reaching 1‚000 members as well as its unique partnership with the Pitt County Department of Social Services in the Work First program.
Through Work First‚ traditionally underemployed groups in the community are assisted with finding and keeping jobs‚ while the business community is supported in hiring and training these employees. The chamber’s role is in promoting‚ marketing and distributing information about the program to businesses.
“It’s a win-win situation‚” Sartelle says. “First‚ we are promoting a program that helps people get off welfare and into jobs. Second‚ we are promoting a program that is beneficial for the business community and the community as a whole. It’s a unique partnership working together for workforce development.”
After being named one of three finalists‚ chamber officials were invited to Sacramento in August 2007 to meet with ACCE’s judges.
While it did not win the top honor‚ being included among the three best chambers of its size in the country is reward enough‚ says Sartelle‚ who credits the chamber’s success to its staff and volunteers.
Story by Laura Hill
Photo by Michael W. Bunch
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