As we move into the second half of 2014, it is a good time to look back on the first six months to see how the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce is performing and what we have planned going forward.

We have focused on our members the first half of the year by creating new ways to deliver value to them.

We pledged at the beginning of the year to continue to improve our communication with our members, so we created an electronic Chamber newsletter, and we will roll out a new website in September. In addition to improving communication, we promised to increase our membership this year. To date we’ve added 58 members, and we will conduct a membership drive in September.

A large percentage of the Chamber’s membership is comprised of locally-owned small businesses. In order to support these businesses we created a small business committee and a small business breakfast club offering high quality monthly programs to educate small business on best practices related to areas of concern that are common to small businesses. Program topics have included mobile technology, employment law, financing and leasing commercial space, and some of our upcoming topics will include how to attract and retain high quality employees, search engine optimization and creating a “senior friendly” business.

Recently we partnered with Four Athens, a technology incubator designed to help Athens-based entrepreneurs with resources for their start-up business, to provide shared memberships for members of both organizations in order to promote further sharing of small business resources in Athens and strengthen the partnership of entrepreneurs in our community.

Additionally we formed an education committee to encourage local businesses to actively support quality education. The Chamber is launching a “Chamber in Schools” initiative, providing opportunities for businesses to support quality education in our schools in order to ensure a well-trained workforce in the Athens area. On Aug. 1, we will sponsor a Kitchen Garden Corps lunch at Clarke Middle School. This program is part of a five-week, summer job training and leadership program in which students learn valuable work-related skills and have the opportunity to cultivate food in the school garden and cook alongside some of Athens finest chefs.

The education committee plans to host educational programs and support recognition and awards programs for teachers and students. We will host a “peer-to-peer” breakfast in the fall that features a panel of local business leaders leading a discussion of the importance of education and economic development with examples of how businesses get involved in local schools and benefit from these partnerships.

We continue to work with Superintendent Phil Lanoue and the Clarke County School District to educate the public on the outstanding accomplishments of our local schools. For years the Chamber has supported the Clarke County Mentor Program and sponsored the Teacher of Excellence Award. This year the Chamber sponsored the STAR Student Awards.

This spring we worked jointly with Clarke and Oconee counties and the business community to host the second POP (Perspective on Progress) Tour. POP is a collaborative effort between the two communities focused on bringing together key decision makers from across the country in the economic development world to showcase our region and what we have to offer, not only in terms of available land inventory and expert consultation, but also in terms of quality of life highlights. These efforts continue to improve the image of Athens as a welcoming destination for business and industry.

We have continued to build on what the Chamber’s board leadership, volunteers and members have worked toward — a solid economic development partnership with Athens-Clarke County and a strong working relationship with our mayor and commission. Over the last several years, with the help of our board and members, the Chamber has re-established itself as the primary advocate for business in Athens.

Our economic development partnership is stronger than ever, and we have board members working with interested groups in the Prince Avenue, Atlanta Highway, and Lexington Road Corridor studies. We all know the importance and significance to our community of the University of Georgia, and President Jere Morehead continues to commit to supporting economic development.

This year has gotten off on the right foot and we promise to have more exciting news throughout the remainder of 2014.

Christy Terrell is external affairs manager for Georgia Power, and chair of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors.

About Christy Terrell