Chamber Begins its Centennial Year

In 1910 the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce came into being as the organization we know it today. Its predecessor, the Burlington Board of Trade, existed as far back as 1889. The Annual Report from that year makes very interesting reading.

Read a Chamber of Commerce Newsletter from 1922 - many issues seem to be very similiar to today.

It is not surprising that to some degree, for as much as the world has changed over that time, the issues and the concerns facing business remain the same. We can see that reality reflected in the committees that existed in 1889. They included Real Estate, Manufacturing, Finance, Legislation, and Municipal Affairs. Today our committees are called Permit Reform, Tax and Fiscal Policy, Government and Regional Affairs, and Economic Development. The members making up the Board of Trade were bankers, lawyers, manufacturers, educational institutions, doctors, newspapers, politicians and pharmacists. Add today’s technology sector and that membership remains virtually the same. Impressively, the names of some of the businesses from then are recognizable today. The Free Press and the Merchants Bank are still here. The Howard Bank, Burlington Trust Company and the Burlington Savings bank all live but under different names. City Hall Park was prominently featured in the Report but referenced as a place to pasture horses. In 1889, Blodgett & Co. was renown across the country because of their popular ovens as they are today.

So, as the Chamber begins our second century, it is fair to ask what value and relevancy a Chamber of Commerce has in the 21st century. Is it a vestige of the time when men wore three piece suits and puffed on cigars while drinking martinis at lunch or does the Chamber offer the same type of value proposition to its members in today’s nanosecond world? To me and to the nearly 2500 businesses that make up the Chamber, the answer is that we absolutely do offer relevancy and purpose. The definition might differ from member to member but annually business vote with their time, treasure and talents to remain actively engaged with us. Some join to network with other businesses, others for insurance, still others for our educational and leadership programs, and some for our legislative advocacy.

I find this diversity to be the strength of the Chamber. We are multi-dimensional and meet members’ needs across the spectrum. If there is a unifying force that binds the diversity together it is the philosophy that is the foundation of this organization. We conduct our advocacy for members guided by three principles: Community Responsibility, Environmental Sustainability and Issue-based non-partisan advocacy.