Lubbock named 2012 Chamber of the Year finalist - KCBD NewsChannel 11 Lubbock

From Lubbock Chamber of Commerce: 

The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce was named a finalist for the 2012 American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) Chamber of the Year award.

In 2008 the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce won ACCE's prestigious Chamber of the Year Award. However, since competition rules prohibit a Chamber from applying within four years of winning the title, this is the first opportunity for the Chamber to apply since winning the award.

"We are incredibly honored to be named finalists again," said Tim Collins, Chairman of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce. "As a business owner, I know both the Chamber and the Lubbock business community have put a lot of hard work and dedication into the programs and opportunities that were submitted in our application."

Preliminary judging is based on the Chamber's excellence in operations, member services, and community leadership. Applicants were also asked to include examples of electronic and printed communications, the Chamber's strategic plan and documentation related to two chamber-led initiatives to better the community.

Started in 2006, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce's unique health care plan outshined competition during the 2008 Chamber of the Year selections. Since then, the Chamber has only improved this program as more than 7,600 members from more than 900 local businesses receive their medical insurance through the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce Employer Health Plan.

In addition to the health care plan, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce also submitted a new program, Chamber University, with its application.

Chamber University is an innovative business seminar series designed to address critical business topics and to offer tools to navigate and thrive in the ever-changing demands of the 21st century workplace.

"There are only a handful of chambers in the United States that are offering similar programming," said Dr. Kathy Crockett, chairwoman of the Chamber University Steering Committee. "We believe Lubbock's program to be unique as it was developed as part of the Chamber's leadership program. It is a tremendous validation of Chamber University to be reviewed with favorable comments by the American Chamber of Commerce. We look forward to continuing the program into 2013 with Covenant Health System as the Presenting Sponsor."

The Chamber's member retention plan received high remarks from the judges, who wrote, "Finally, a chamber with a well-structured and documented retention plan…I have been judging apps for years and this is the most thought out plan I have seen."

The judges also praised the Chamber for its efforts to improve the business community, saying that the Chamber's programs, "…address workforce issues. It helps people be more valuable to employers and helps businesses improve their bottom line."

The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce will travel to the ACCE Annual Convention in Louisville, Ky., in August to interview with a panel of judges. The Chamber of the Year winners will be announced at an awards banquet on August 3, 2012.