Director of Programs and Community Development for the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce Julie Klingler gave a presentation on the local chamber Tuesday afternoon to the Kiwanis Club.
Precious Grundy | The Lima News
LIMA — The Kiwanis Club learned the mission of the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday afternoon. Director of Programs and Community Development for the Lima/Allen County Chamber of Commerce Julie Klingler discussed the chamber and what it can add to local businesses.
“The mission of our chamber is mostly to help businesses in their communities grow and thrive,” Klingler said.
Klingler also said chambers were first created in 1599 in the country of France. Today there are chambers around the world.
“Our local chamber was established in 1884,” Klingler said. “Just within the last few months, we discovered that it may actually be 1872. This means our chambers have been in existence for anywhere from 136 to 151 years in our area — the Ohio Chamber of Commerce was established in 1893 — the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was created in 1912.”
Klingler shared several benefits of joining a chamber including networking opportunities, publicity and credibility and access to legislative advocacy.
“Networking is one of the main advantages, meeting other members and developing those relationships,” Klingler said. “It leads to business partnerships, business growth, expansion and development of your business. That is really the purpose behind joining that chamber is so that you can network through events, programs and other groups.”
Reach Precious Grundy at 567-242-0351.
