Nearly $170,000 has been raised for the Fleming House Renovation and a number of in-kind donations were made.

The Chamber’s operating procedures, policies and policy guidelines as well as the personnel manual were totally revamped in 2007 and approved by the Chamber Board in December.

Membership input was gathered through a variety of means to obtain information for the new strategic plan (2008-2010). A survey was conducted via the internet among all main contacts of members (1,000) with a 36 % response rate. Small Business Resources and Support was the top priority among primary members. Also, secondary contacts were also asked for input through another survey which was conducted among chambers in the Carolinas. Lastly, focus groups were held to “drill down” on topics (i.e. minority businesses, young professionals, small business owners).

The Strategic Planning Task Force, chaired by Sue Collier, met during the year to implement the strategic planning process. A specific timeline was created and the final planning took place at the annual board retreat in October. The new plan, fluid yet designed to be the umbrella for 2008-2010 planning, was approved by the Board of Directors in October.