From Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, the Chamber reeled in new members during its “Get Hooked on the Chamber” membership event with the help of approximately 100 member volunteers. The event featured a fierce competition between teams made up of area business leaders. These teams were chaired by Scott James (Talk 92.1), Tim Carroll (Farmers Home Furniture), Jeff Hanson (Southwest Georgia Bank), Terri Lupo (Georgia Power Company), Ron Borders (Real Living Realty Advisors) and Susan Steel (Steel’s Jewelry).Each of these event chairs selected 5-6 more business leaders as their team captains, who then gathered volunteers to participate in the event by making phone calls to their own contacts in effort to recruit new Chamber members.

Hanson was excited to see businesses working toward a common goal. “It was awesome to see so many people from a wide array of businesses come together in a friendly but competitive environment. The camaraderie of the teams working side-by-side together in the same room at the same time made the event fun and exciting,” he said. “I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to all of the volunteers, and offer a warm ‘welcome’ to the businesses that joined during the event.” 

The teams competed to generate the most members and highest dues revenue. Steel’s group secured the win with 54 new members, and Hanson’s team followed closely, adding 42. Lupo’s group placed third with 21 members, trailed by Carroll’s group with 19. James led his team to a fifth place finish adding 11 new members, while Borders’s group placed sixth, bringing in 8. Altogether, the Chamber gained 155 new members during the two-and-a-half day event.

The Chamber sincerely thanks the State Farm offices of Kelly Barr, Angie Crawford, Paul Cribbs, Bubba Highsmith, Christi Marsh, Travis Pate, and Brian Sumner for making this event possible. According to Kelly Barr, the event was essential to the area’s economic health. “Gaining more members helps the Chamber actively assist and grow businesses in the local community,” she said. 

The Chamber will host a welcome event for new members on Oct. 9 and will soon deploy the green-jacketed Ambassadors to begin cutting ribbons at each of the new member locations. 

If you missed the event or would like more information about Chamber membership, please contact Miranda Moore at (229) 247-8100 ext. 231 or visit www.ValdostaChamber.com/join-the-chamber.htm.