The Chamber

On Friday I spent the day with Ed, Kathy and Lizzie who are the entire Chamber of Commerce staff! It is amazing the amount of work they have to do and it's just the three of them! The Chamber functions as the Voice of Businesses that are located in Marana or those that want to/already do business in Marana. I got a taste of this at the networking breakfast I attended on Tuesday. The Chamber provides an outlet for the business community to expand and access additional resources. They also put together a review of legislation to show what is important both from the Town's perspective as well as the business community's.

The Chamber works to reach out to businesses after they have decided to locate in Marana. While Josh's department does not actively go recruit businesses, he is involved in the planning before the business has made the decision to locate here, while the Chamber provides resources after. This help includes how to get permits and what contact should be made with the Fire District. It seems like a great relationship between the Strategic Initiatives Department and the Chamber.

The Chamber is run by a Board that is made up of both large businesses and smaller businesses. About half of the board members are small business owners, and that helps to keep balance. They are there to be objective and listen to any issues that arise within the community and present a way to resolve some of the issues, if applicable. There are no term limits and they conduct interviews for finding new members.


There are monthly breakfasts and lunches to bring members together for networking and to introduce new members. They also give Informational Sessions about the community as well as specific business courses. One of the most exciting things is that they plan international trips for the business community to reach out to other nations. They are going to China this year!

While I was visiting I was able to sit in on an advertising meeting discussing some in-kind benefits the Chamber might be able to receive, and was able to work on their website. They are looking to update the website so I sat with Lizzie and talked about how to make sure the sponsors names appear clearly and at the top, and how to reduce the drop downs and make it more reader friendly.

I really enjoyed my time with the Chamber, they are very friendly and very good at what they do. If you ever need any information about something to do in the area check them out! They are also a registered visitors center!