Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence

By Joe Mayer

Chairman, Board of Directors

Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce

2012 is the 50th Anniversary of our Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.  What a tremendous milestone and achievement!  Our Chamber, like America’s human space exploration program led by NASA’s Johnson Space Center, has grown substantially over that time contributing to our quality of life and our economic prosperity.

There are a lot of factors that contribute to the success of a Chamber, a community and a space program, but the word that comes most to mind is “investment”.  People invest their time, talents, energy and financial resources to build a legacy of achievement and excellence that will last for generations to come.

Fortunately, the Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce has had the good fortune of people, companies and organizations that have willingly made just those kinds of investments.  (Check out our “50 Years, 50 Faces, 50 Stories” project on the Chamber’s website to read about some of these outstanding individuals: www.clearlakearea.com )They have joined their efforts together to do what no single individual or entity could have achieved alone.  They have extended a vote of confidence in our community and our future.

There are a variety of reasons people support the space program.  Some do it because they believe U.S. leadership is important for our security.  Others are fascinated by the adventure of space and see exploration pushing the bounds of innovation and technology.  Many understand that space has greatly benefited and changed our lives here on Earth.  And some owe their very livelihoods to the space program for their jobs and careers.  No one explanation by itself serves to explain the broad public support that exists for America’s space program.

Likewise, people and companies join and participate in the Chamber for a variety of reasons.  They invest because they enjoy and/or expect a return on that investment in the form of business growth and opportunity.  Those who decide on a business growth/opportunity basis recognize that their chances of success are greatly magnified when they fully engage in what the Chamber has to offer in the form of networking, branding, sponsorships and professional development.  The higher the level of direct engagement, the higher the prospects for direct business return on investment.

Many Chamber members see the benefit of adding their individual investment to the resources brought to bear by the full scope of members in order to magnify the value of that investment to our community overall.  In other words, there is strength and impact gained by a group of relatively small investors joining together as one to accomplish significant goals on behalf of our community.

These investors may personally get involved in Chamber activities or they may simply let the Chamber work on their behalf for the greater good, thereby creating business opportunities for all as we build a vibrant local economy and promote a fantastic quality of life environment that serves to retain existing enterprises and attract new businesses and jobs.

The bottom-line stays the same whether we’re talking about U.S. leadership in space or our Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, the investments we make are sound with multiple payoffs in the form of a prosperous, competitive nation and community and an ever-improving quality of life that benefits all our citizens.

We salute our Chamber members.  We thank them for their support.  We celebrate our 50th Anniversary.  And we welcome all to join our ranks in building the best place for our businesses and our families to live and thrive.