Billings Chamber of Commerce Receives Chamber of the Year Honor

 

Billings, MT, August 12, 2015: The Billings Chamber of Commerce was designated as the top Chamber of Commerce in its category in the United States today, according to the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). The Chamber of the Year designation puts the Billings Chamber on the map as the best chamber among hundreds of comparable chambers nationwide. There are 7,000 chambers in the United States.

According to ACCE, chambers honored with this distinction have not only demonstrated organizational strength, but also have made an impact on key community priorities. “Chamber of the Year is the nation’s only award recognizing chambers for their integral role in leading businesses and developing quality of life for a community. We are privileged to have an incredible staff of professionals who push to constantly improve our community and our organization,” said Billings Chamber President & CEO John Brewer. “Our visionary and progressive board members do not shy away from taking tough positions for the sake of a better business environment and community quality of life,” Brewer continued. “We especially owe our thanks to past Chairs Karen Fagg and Ron Yates, current Chair Jeff Walters, and incoming chair and chair of the Chamber Trails Committee Bill Cole for helping lead the initiatives resulting in this designation.”

The Billings Chamber of Commerce complied with a series of stringent requirements operationally in order to qualify to apply for the Chamber of the Year award. Applicants must meet minimum thresholds in performance areas including net revenue, net assets, reserve funds, membership account retention and membership dollar retention to be eligible. Once these criteria were met, an extremely comprehensive application was compiled locally using two strategic initiatives to demonstrate the strength and success of the Billings Chamber of Commerce. These projects were the Chamber of the Future initiative and the Billings Trails initiative.

Brewer also shared that, “We are a 5-Star Accredited chamber through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, putting us among just 1% of chambers nationwide. This new recognition from ACCE showcases the incredible board of directors and staff leading the Billings Chamber of Commerce. Their hard work and visionary spirit continues to place your Billings Chamber at the top of our industry across the country.”

Applications for the ACCE Chamber of the Year award were judged independently by a volunteer panel of chamber peers across the country. Judges evaluated applicants based on total revenue, member accounts, service area population, number of businesses in the service area, and restricted revenue as a percentage of total revenue, followed by an intensive in-person interview earlier this week during the annual ACCE convention in Montreal, Canada.

View the special section published by The Billings Gazette on September 27, 2015. It details why we won, where we’re going, and more. Click here to explore this special report.