what chamber membership can do for you chamber membership can do for you. ... projects, councils,...

WHAT CHAMBER MEMBERSHIP CAN DO FOR YOU

MEMBER BENEFITS OVERVIEWChamber membership is an important part of being in business in the greater Savannah area. Our mission is to provide quality customer service and programs that meet the needs of our members, improve the economic environment of our community and build a legacy of leadership for the next century.

Networking/Relationship BuildingPeople like to do business with people they know. Meet area business professionals at our 30+ annual events. Exchange business cards and educate potential clients about yourself while building relationships and growing your company.

Advocacy/Legislative Representation The Chamber serves as the “Voice of Business” at all levels – local, state and federal. We speak for and represent the interests of the business community while providing information to our members on government issues that affect them. To see this year’s Legislative Agenda, go to SavannahChamber.com > Public Policy > Legislative Agenda.

Member-Only Sponsorships & AdvertisingAll members are listed in the Chamber’s online membership directory, but to gain additional exposure and visibility members can sponsor events and/or take advantage of advertising opportunities. Depending on their type of industry, members have opportunities for publicity through an assortment of publications and websites.

Communication/Up-to-Date InformationStay informed and heighten your knowledge with the Chamber’s bi-weekly e-newsletters. Members are kept abreast of not only Chamber events, but also information including changing governmental laws, new members and other opportunities to participate in valuable community events and programs.

SavingsMembers can give and receive discounts through our member-to-member discount program. Membership also includes a complimentary subscription to Georgia Trend Magazine, South Magazine and the BiS (Business in Savannah) news.

Educational OpportunitiesFrom webinars to seminars to monthly SMART lunches, the Chamber provides educational opportunities for business owners/managers/CEOs and their employees. The Chamber pulls together The University of Georgia’s School of Business, the Georgia Chamber, and other top professionals and organizations to give instruction on timely, relevant topics of importance.

Programs of InterestThe Chamber hosts annual breakfasts/lunches in conjunction with Chamber councils such as: Eggs and Issues Legislative Breakfast, Economic Outlook, Military Updates and Annual Meeting. These well-attended events have community leaders, government officials and members in attendance to hear important updates on our economy, our region and our world.

Other Publications and Resources:The Relocation Guide: 15,000 printed copies and an electronic version on the Chambers website, offers newcomers information on the Chamber members that offer goods and services they need when planning a move to our area. The Economic Trends Booklet: produced by SEDA, this booklet gives an economic breakdown of our region and gives detailed information on the various economic drivers such as tourism, manufacturing, military, etc. The Member-Only Extranet: which is username and password protected, allows Chamber members access to their account for adding contacts or updating contact information as well as allows members to offer and/or receive discounts from other members.

COUNCILS AND CONNECTIONSVisit Savannah Visit Savannah is the biggest division of the Chamber and is the designated destination marketing organization for the Savannah area. Annually, Savannah welcomes more than 12 million visitors with an associated spending of more than $2.1 billion. Visit Savannah provides the vehicle for individual local area businesses to market their operations to travelers, tourists and convention, meeting and trade show attendees. This improves our area economy and stimulates increased overnight spending from visitors. Visit Savannah’s sales and marketing efforts lead to direct economic prosperity in our community through visitor spending. Member involvement by tourism businesses are found in cooperative sales and marketing projects, councils, task forces and committees. In total, there are more than 22,300 tourism-related jobs in the Savannah area.

Visit Savannah’s website is aimed at educating and recruiting potential visitors.• VisitSavannah.com – which lists hospitality members and receives more than one million unique-users annually.

Visit Savannah Publications:• The Official Visitor Guide – lists hospitality members recommended for visitors. Around 550,000 printed copies are published and an electronic version is posted on the Visit Savannah and Chamber websites.• The Visit Savannah Monthly E-Newsletters – sent to more than 100,000 visitors who signed up to receive interesting information on upcoming events as well as fun things to do and see when traveling to our area.

Other member resources:• The Member-Only Extranet – As a hospitality member, you can use the member-only extranet to create a member page for your business or service, which includes a space for a description, a Facebook and Twitter feed and a Yelp and TripAdvisor review as well as the option to post a photo or two. The extranet, which is username and password protected, also allows you to offer discounts to visitors or other members. And, you can take advantage of discounts provided from your peers. • Depending on the type of industry, members may place approved brochures in our Visitor Information Centers.

Other websites from Visit Savannah:• SavannahIDo.com – listing members that cater to the bridal industry, this is the perfect website for destination brides receiving more than 18,000 unique-users annually.• SavannahMeetings.com – designed for meeting planners to help with planning conventions, conferences and meetings in our city.

AmbassadorsThese hard-working volunteers perform a key role in member relations and retention by working as a liaison between the Chamber and the public, connecting with new members who have just joined and following up with members halfway through their first year of membership. Ambassadors also assist the Chamber staff at Chamber events. The Ambassador Council is a team of around 50 individuals for which applicants must fill out an application, and go through a referral and

selection process. Due to the high numbers of applications and limited spaces, there is normally a waiting list for this council.

CEO CouncilThis council is restricted to CEOs and meets every other month to discuss community issues including workforce development and other matters that affect the successful operation of business in Savannah and Chatham County. Its membership consists of the CEOs of our larger private sector employers. Participation in the CEO Council is by invitation only and requires an annual fee.

Governmental AffairsThrough this council, members are updated on discussions and meetings surrounding politics affecting the Savannah area. The Chamber provides a pro-business voice that supports, grows and sustains our businesses within the government. This council meets in the fall to produce a legislative agenda and then follows up with a local Eggs & Issues Breakfast and the important Savannah-Chatham Day in Atlanta in January.

LaunchSAVANNAHDesigned to foster an environment that attracts and retains young talent in our community, LaunchSAVANNAH was created as a council that focuses on empowering and developing the area’s next generation of leaders. It serves as the primary resource for emerging professionals ages 22- 40 by connecting with peers, learning from leaders, growing professionally, becoming part of the process and giving back.

Leadership SavannahLeadership Savannah seeks to inspire individual leadership growth by providing learning experiences and preparing potential leaders to meet the challenges of the present and future. The program also leads a forum for exchange of community information, resources and viewpoints. Class size is limited and all applicants must go through a selection process and pay the program tuition to be accepted into the class. These leaders are active in business, education, arts,

religion, government, community-based organizations, and ethnic and minority groups and reflect the diversity of the community.

Manufacturer’s CouncilThis council meets only as needed to monitor issues of importance to manufacturing companies which have one of the largest economic impacts on our area. It ensures that manufacturers’ interests, which totals around $2.4 billion in our area, are being protected and the industry is recognized for its impact. This council is the single forum where all

member manufacturers and other supportive interests can have their issues heard and responded to. The council provides members with relevant information and advocacy that assist them in maintaining the growth of their operations in the Savannah area. More than 15,000 people are employed in manufacturing here in Savannah.

Military Affairs CouncilOne of the Chamber’s top priorities is to preserve and enhance the military value of this community. This is accomplished through community leadership, participation in the Military Affairs Council, and encouraging and strengthening community awareness and involvement. This committee conducts most business through informative emails to its members and is committed to our men and women in uniform. The military accounts for $4.4 billion in economic impact and almost 30,000 employees.

LaunchSAVANNAHConnect • Develop • Lead

Owners CouncilThis council meets six times per year to protect, grow and sustain local small businesses in Savannah by acting as one voice for the viability and good of the community for today and beyond. Participation in the Owners Council is limited, is by invitation only and requires an annual investment. PR CouncilThe PR Council meets around 10 times per year to provide educational and networking opportunities specifically for public relations professionals. Members discuss relevant case studies and current PR events within the community.

Small Business CouncilThis council provides small businesses with resources they can use to help their businesses grow. Our membership is 80 percent small business and the top request we receive is networking opportunities. In addition to providing monthly member luncheons and after- hour business connections annually, the Chamber strives to provide a voice and venue for those members through our Small Business Council.

Savannah Sports Council (SSC)The SSC is a division of Visit Savannah that markets Savannah and Chatham County as a site for major local, state, regional, national and international sporting events. The SSC supports a wide range of events that offer a diverse opportunity to athletes of all ages and all sports, creating increased economic impact to the City of Savannah, Chatham County and other surrounding communities. Annual marquis events for the SSC include the Savannah Tire Hockey Classic, The Rock ‘N Roll Marathon and the ENMARK Savannah Bridge Run.

Trustees CouncilThis 60-member council serves as an additional and continued source of leadership for the Chamber. Because of the quality and depth of business leadership in the Savannah area, the Chamber and the community benefit from the knowledge, experience and interest of corporate CEOs and other business executives not currently serving on the Chamber’s board of directors. Council members pay a minimum membership of $2,000 or more annually to help support the Chamber and its programs.

Tybee Island Tourism Council (TITC)The TITC is made up of a board of directors representing the island’s tourism industry stake-holders. The council promotes year round tourism through marketing and promotional efforts. It also supports the operation of the Tybee Island Visitor Information Center, which helps educate visitors on the businesses of Tybee Island and surrounding communities.

Facebook:

Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce: 2,100+ likesVisit Savannah: 122,000+ likes Visit Savannah - Meetings & Conventions: 400+ likesSavannah I Do: 800+ likes Savannah Sports Council: 950+ likes

Twitter:

Savannah Chamber (@SavChamber): 3,350+ followersVisit Savannah (@VisitSavannah): 26,000+ followersVisit Savannah Meetings (@SAVMeetings): 1,600+ followersSavannah I Do (@SavannahIDo): 1,450+ followersSAV Sports Council (@SavannahSports): 1,500+ followers

MEMBERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO FIND US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER:

Also, check out:Savannah Secrets Blog: blog.savannahvisit.com

Small Business Council SMART

Luncheon(100 attendees)

EconomicOutlook


16th AnnualHockey Business

Connection(400 attendees)

Savannah-Chatham

Day in Atlanta(800 - 1,000 attendees)



15th AnnualOyster Roast

BusinessConnection

(400 attendees)

LaunchSAVANNAH Young Professionals

Event (100 attendees)



13th Annual Taste of

DowntownBusiness

Connection(2,000 attendees)

Breakfast with the President – New Member

Welcome (20 attendees)






Welcome(20 attendees)



“Making the Connection”

Speed Networking(150 attendees)



4th AnnualSand Gnats

BusinessConnection

(450 attendees)





MilitaryAppreciation






MEMBER BUSINESS-BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES*Mark your calendars for these annual Chamber events! We believe that people like to do business with people they know, and our networking opportunities provide our members with the perfect venue to make important contacts and get maximum exposure.

All company employees are welcome to attend Chamber events as representatives of their company at the member rate.

To partner with us by sponsoring an event, please contact Stephanie Boaen at 912.644.6458 or [email protected].

For more information on upcoming events, visit us regularly at SavannahChamber.com.

*This is only a partial listing of events. Others are added throughout the year. Please remember dates are tentative and subject to change.

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN



2nd Annual Summertime

Business Connection

(350 attendees)





18th Annual Taste of Tybee

BusinessConnection

(800 attendees)





AnnualEggs & Issues

Legislative Breakfast

(250 attendees)

8th Annual Chamber Cup Golf

Tournament(144 attendees)













Business Expo(1,000 attendees)

Awards Banquet(450 attendees)





Holiday Oyster Roast Business

Connection(200-400 attendees)

208th Annual Meeting

Luncheon (500 attendees)



JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

For more information about joining our 2,200 business members with more than 5,500 active business professionals, please contact Tina Hinson, business development manager, at 912.644.6407 or [email protected].

Savannah Area Chamber of CommerceP. O. Box 1628

Savannah, GA 31402912.644.6407

what chamber membership can do for you chamber membership can do for you. ... projects, councils,...

Documents