Chamber of Commerce member?

[zenstyle]

I'm taking classes at GROW (Grand Rapids Opportunites for Women) and more than once they have encouraged membership in the Chamber of Commerce.

I have a CC packet in front of me and have been reading through their materials.

But several of my classmates as well as myself have this image of the CC as a roomfull of fat, white men slapping each other on the back and holding prayer meetings. Not something GROW would ever dream of recommending!

So I'd like to hear from current CC members; has the CC entered the 21st century? What have been your experiences with them?

[GRDadof3]

Speaking of stereotyping I don't currently belong to the GR Chamber (my boss made me join the Rockford Chamber). It certainly could use some more diversity too, so I say go for it! The Chamber cannot do any good if it's all people who just sit around agreeing with each other, IMO.

[terra firma]

I'm taking classes at GROW (Grand Rapids Opportunites for Women) and more than once they have encouraged membership in the Chamber of Commerce.

I have a CC packet in front of me and have been reading through their materials.

But several of my classmates as well as myself have this image of the CC as a roomfull of fat, white men slapping each other on the back and holding prayer meetings. Not something GROW would ever dream of recommending!

So I'd like to hear from current CC members; has the CC entered the 21st century? What have been your experiences with them?

Sorry to say, I think it is a total waste of time. I have not engaged myself in any of the 'meetings' but I did join a year ago. What it has done is filled my mailbox with solicitations from other chamber members and result in tons of calls from other members looking to have me be their customer.

I'm sure there's value in it if you are going to use the programs they offer -- BUT you'll be able to see what those programs are before writing the check, and I would strongly encourage you to do so.