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FIVE-STAR AWARD
Chamber's designation is first in North Carolina
BY JASON DEBRUYN
Staff Writer
MONROE
Union County Chamber of Commerce officials were rewarded for their efforts in becoming the first five-star accredited chamber in North Carolina history.
The United States Chamber of Commerce awarded the Union County Chamber a five-star accreditation award on Wednesday morning; an honor shared with only 37 other chambers nationwide.
"The leadership and staff is what got us where we are today," Union County Chamber Chairwoman Lisa Hildreth said.
Chamber President Jim Carpenter expressed his gratitude to those who helped with the accreditation process: "We have a fantastic staff, fantastic volunteer leadership and this (accreditation) application is a reflection of that."
U.S. Chamber of Commerce representative Mathew Wasserburger presented Union County chamber officials with a plaque and complimented them on being the first chamber in North Carolina to earn a five-star accreditation. There are almost 7,000 chambers in the nation; 298 are accredited and 38 have a five-star rating, Wasserburger said.
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In order to become accredited, a chamber must complete an application showing why it deserves the designation. "(We look for) exceptional innovative ideas that benefit the community ... and business environment," Wasserburger said. "... We are looking for things that foster pro-growth, pro-jobs."
The five-star rating requires a chamber to earn a 90 percent rating in all eight of the benchmark categories. During the presentation, Wasserburger said the Union County chamber even received a perfect rating in human resources, program development and technology and facilities. "The Web site is very impressive," he said. "We like to see the five-star chambers be innovative, take member referrals online, (and have) online message boards, and blogs."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce does not release scores.
"It just goes to show all the hard work here in Union County, most particular what the chamber is doing for the ... county," Monroe Mayor Bobby Kilgore said. "We got a lot of good volunteers, a lot of good hard workers and a great president ... so I congratulate them on what they've accomplished."
Carpenter said he worked on the application "almost every night and weekend for about three or four months," but added that he was "just the journalist. It was a culmination of all these years worth of effort and work" that culminated in the five-star accreditation.
Although Carpenter and Hildreth were pleased with the honor, they do not want to become stagnant.
Wasserburger said that "even a five-star chamber needs to continuously look inward at its policies, look where it is, where it's going and where its been."
In an effort to continue to better the chamber, Hildreth told about plans of starting a youth leadership program and wanted the "chamber to be a vital part in watching our youth become leaders."
"We emphasize the long term," Carpenter added. "We try to do the right thing, not the easy route."
"Issues that we think are going to be pro-commerce, we are going to be involved in," Hildreth said, talking about her plans for 2008. "We're gonna have a stand and have a say-so about what we think is going to help business."
"This is not an award that has been given," Union Power Cooperative Executive Vice President Tony Herrin said. "It is an achievement that has been earned."
— Jason deBruyn can be reached at (704) 261-2243 or jdebruyn@theej.com. | |
