May 1, 2019 was a monumental day for the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce.

We unveiled a new logo, hosted a brand launch event and general membership meeting, and flipped the switch on our new online magazine too.

If you’ve been in our office any time in the last several months, you know that this has been a huge undertaking requiring the concerted effort of our entire staff, board of directors, and even a few of our members.

In some ways, when we walked out of today’s event and back into our office at the Root Building, we were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief–it is over, the logo is out, the new website is working, our members have been informed, and everything has been updated and switched over to the electric blue that now represents your Chamber.

In all of the ways that matter most, however, this is just the beginning.

The true work of bringing our new mission and vision to life has only just begun.

Rebranding is often about so much more than showing off a shiny new logo. For us, it’s about changing direction, forging a new path to reposition ourselves in the community so that we can effectively meet the needs of our evolving membership.

And, while we intend to continue to advocate for our members and support their business endeavors in some of the ways we have since we became America’s very first chartered Chamber in 1912, we also want you to know that we are going to be shaking things up so that we can be the strategic partner our board of directors has helped us determine we need to be.

They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, we say watch this.

10 Things You Need to Know About Your New Chamber

A lot of things will be different, but some things will never change.

We have a new logo, new brand colors, new processes, and new goals, but here are some things that will never change: we will always be advocates for our members, and we are dedicated to supporting them in ways that help them achieve their business goals as they benefit the entirety of the Frederick community.

As we move forward, our commitment to you is that we will use the power of this Chamber to advance our economy, opportunity and vitality every single day, and that we will be effective communicators utilizing data, technology and networking to build a better business future for each of you and your organizations.

We are eager to have you to engage with us, to partner with us, and to invest in our work as we move into the future as your Chamber.

This change has been a long time coming.

In April of 2018, the Chamber Board met to develop strategic priorities, and in August of 2018, we developed a membership survey that helped us assess our programs, events and communication, as well as member perception of the Chamber.

Together, our board’s new strategic priorities and our member’s feedback, provided critical insights that have guided the brand reimagining we’ve devoted so much time to perfecting. Considerable data analysis, expert advice, and collaboration with strategic partners have informed this process from start to finish.

The strategic priorities developed by the Board of Directors initiated this process.

These strategic priorities include:

• Becoming a communications force
• Using enhanced communication tools to effectively advocate for our members
• Creating a culture of inclusion and diversity
• Enhancing networking events, and designing a new signature event
• Narrowing the conversation to two (2) major transportation priorities and focusing communication efforts on them
• Identifying and acting upon priorities of the life sciences industry
• Developing and enhancing the role of the Board of Directors and CEO

Meeting these strategic priorities have become our primary focus.

We have a new vision.

We will work to create a culture of innovation and collaboration for the Frederick County business community.

We have a new mission, too.

The mission of the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce going forward is to create value for our members through leadership, education, advocacy and networking and to move the business community forward by promoting shared interests.

Our new strategic priorities, mission, and vision led us to develop new core values.

They are:

• LEADERSHIP
  • We strive to develop and provide cutting-edge leadership that transcends our membership and positively impacts the direction of the Frederick County business community.
• OPPORTUNITY
  • We work to provide tangible opportunities for our members that will enable their individual growth, fuel business innovation and provide economic well-being and quality of life in Frederick County.
• COLLABORATION
  • We work respectfully, cooperatively and in partnership with our members as well as with municipal, county, state and federal governments and their representatives to create strong and successful relationships.
• COMMUNITY
  • We serve as the hub and facilitator for the Frederick County business community bringing together current and aspiring leaders from all sectors of the economy to share ideas, strengths and expertise.
• EDUCATION
  • We inform the Frederick County business community through communication and collaboration with leaders to share expertise and thought leadership.

We have two websites and their purposes are different.

Our primary website remains FrederickChamber.org.

It got a beautiful upgrade in its appearance, but it is still where you go to find out about memberships, to register for events, learn about our committees and programs, and submit member news and calendar updates.

Our Insights, where we share member features, community information, and engaging thought leadership pieces written by our staff and other industry experts, has moved. You can find it here: FrederickChamberInsights.com

It’s an exciting, magazine style website that will make supporting your businesses and keeping you informed more efficient and effective for us, and more enjoyable, user-friendly and useful for you.

You’re going to love our weekly newsletter.

You’re going to notice a lot of changes in terms of content and design, but we are confident that it will be both more pleasurable to read and more effective at communicating information for and about our members.

There will be more to come.

As previously mentioned, this is just the beginning. We have a lot more changes coming up in the near future–new processes, new opportunities, new tools and new ways for our members to engage with each other.

You can expect to see more member features, new opportunities to advertise on our digital properties, including within our email newsletters, better content, and more.

Some of these will take a little time to roll out, but all of them will be created and implemented with our members in mind.

Our goal is to make this experience as beneficial and as seamless as possible for each of you, and we are always available to help you make sense of our new platforms and processes.

Please take a moment to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram–these platforms are updated most frequently and are the best ways to stay up to date on what we’re doing here at The Chamber.