What the heck is a Chamber of Commerce?

After meeting so many Shorewood area residents during first few weeks of the Summer programming at Towne Center Park, one question keeps coming up.  "What the heck is a Chamber of Commerce?"  We thought we would take a few minutes to answer that....


The saying goes that, "if you've seen one Chamber of Commerce, you've seen one Chamber of Commerce." While many communities throughout America, and even around the world, have a Chamber of Commerce, each one is unique in both the services that they offer and the businesses they represent. 

What is a Chamber of Commerce? 

A Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary organization of the business community. It unites business and professional individuals and firms, thus creating a central agency which lends itself to improving business and building a better community. A Chamber of Commerce is people and although these are predominantly the members of the business community, there is a place in the Chamber for all who share the desire to improve the community. 

The Chamber organizes and directs the energies of those who believe that, a community worth living in is a community worth improving. The Chamber enables these people to accomplish collectively what none of them could do individually. The strength of the organization lies in attracting the greatest number of individuals creating a pool of resources from which can be drawn ideas, energy and finances. 

The major responsibility of a Chamber of Commerce is the community’s economic well-being. It works to increase wealth and prosperity by facilitating the growth of existing businesses and fostering new ones. 

If you are interested in learning more about our programs, volunteering at an event or joining the Chamber, give us a call or find us on the web at ShorewoodChamber.com