Business Today
The Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama (CCAA) recently announced that nine chambers of commerce, including The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, have received the Accredited Alabama Chamber of Commerce distinction (AACC). The Shelby Chamber is the only Chamber in the Birmingham area to receive the honor. “Receiving this accreditation is a strong testament to the Chamber’s five year Strategic Plan, ShelbyOne – Next Level Up! and our current program of work. What’s most gratifying, however, is the positive recognition which the time and effort put forth by the hundreds of volunteers serving on the Chamber’s Board of Directors and our Work Groups receive with this achievement,” shared Kirk Mancer, President & CEO of The Shelby County Chamber, adding “We are truly blessed to have the business leadership we have here in Shelby County who want to ensure we continue our efforts to make our communities even better places to live and do business.”
One of the most prestigious programs of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama is the AACC program which sets standards of excellence for chambers in Alabama. It recognizes chambers that have achieved those standards while offering guidelines for those to improve their effectiveness. The program is designed to promote public awareness of the intent of the chamber of commerce brand as a not-for-profit community development- based business membership organization by providing a peer review process of generally accepted chamber of commerce organizational benchmarks. The program looks at six standard topics: Organization, Mission Focus, Professional Administration, Financial Management, Communications and Advocacy. “The Accredited Alabama Chamber of Commerce program shows that each chamber receiving the distinction is committed to the highest standards of organization management. This distinction recognizes local chambers of commerce in Alabama that strengthen free enterprise by protecting their local business environment,” said Dean Mitchell, Exec. Dir. of the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce and the CCAA’s 2020 Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Since its beginning in 1937 as the Alabama Association of Commercial Organizations, what is now known as the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama has remained dedicated to advancing the goal that chambers of commerce are the premier local business advocate in the State of Alabama. In conjunction with the Business Council of Alabama (BCA), a non-partisan organization, the two groups, through the BCA/CCAA Partnership represent the interests and concerns of over 1 million working Alabamians every day.
Those receiving the AACC in alphabetical order were: Calhoun County Area Chamber and Visitors Center, Coastal Alabama Business Chamber, Demopolis Area Chamber of Commerce, Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, Opelika Chamber of Commerce, Southwest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce, The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama and The Shelby County Chamber. Learn more about The Shelby County Chamber at www.shelbychamber.org or call 205-663-4542. †
