Make Plans to Join Us in Lancaster!

The PACP Board of Directors is pleased to invite you to join us for our

2024 PACP Chamber Professionals & Leadership Conference to be held:

Monday - Wednesday, October 28 - 30, 2024

Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square

Lancaster, PA

The 2024 event is being hosted by the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce,

and they are hosting a fun evening in Lancaster on Monday night that you won't want to miss!

We've got a great event lined up for you with the following sessions:

CEO & Staff Roundtable Sessions

Alive with Purpose: Spark Transformation in your Life and Leadership

Breakout Sessions - Membership, Events, Advocacy, Communications, and Marketing

GrowthZone 2024 Chamber Survey Results

Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) at your Chamber

CLICK HERE for the conference agenda and to register.

PACP is pleased to partner with Teri Smiley and Starfish Partnerships for an All Things Chamber Webinar Series. This is perfect for new staff members or a refresher for current staff.

The All Things Chamber bundle provides pre-recorded material, averaging a hour per module, plus downloadable notes pages of the PowerPoints and additional PDF documents.  Participating chambers will have access to the website through December 2025.

The fee for the program is $195 per chamber. CLICK HERE to register. Participating chambers will also be invited to a private Facebook group for Q&A and connecting with fellow chamber members across the country. 

PA Chamber Article - July 2024

Summer is one of state elected officials' busiest times of the year. As one fiscal year ends and the next begins, state House and Senate lawmakers and Gov. Shapiro are working to reach consensus on the FY 2024-25 spending plan and its corresponding code bills – which means the PA Chamber’s pro-business advocacy efforts are also in high gear.

Click here to read the full article.



PACP is pleased to welcome a new Vendor Member:

Factor4 

Stephen Sargenti, Business Development Manager

484-471-3963

stephen@factor4gift.com

Factor4 is a leading gift card and loyalty program provider. They empower businesses of all sizes to identify and monetize customer loyalty. For more information, please see their website below:

https://factor4gift.com/

We will be scheduling a Zoom soon so that they can tell our members more about their services.

Win a $100 Visa Gift Card AND Get 30 Free Tips on Chamber Advocacy!

We’re gearing up for a brand new campaign to help chamber directors improve (or start) their advocacy programs! Starting on July 8, each day for 30 days our CEO Brian will be sharing a tip on chamber advocacy. Since we know Chamber Executives love to shop local to enjoy their favorite things while supporting their members, we are encouraging you to like or comment on each post to get entries into the $100 Visa Gift Card Drawing. Each “like” is worth one entry and each comment is worth two entries (max of 3 entries per post). So, click here to follow Brian on LinkedIn and don’t miss a single tip!

Retreat Facilitations 

“Thank you again for a successful retreat. I cannot think of a better retreat we’ve had!”

Tommy Jennings, President & CEO, Barrow County (GA) Chamber  

Through Starfish Partnerships, I facilitate a variety of retreats for chambers – Leadership Program Retreats, Board Strategic or Annual Planning Retreats and Staff Retreats. Now is the time to book your retreat for this 2^nd half of 2024! If you’d like to learn more about our facilitation services to see if they are a fit for your chamber, please reach out to me this month. I only have a few dates left for retreat facilitations this year. 

“Having an outside facilitator is key to engagement of the board when providing training. Through Teri’s guidance and planning, we were able to establish an agenda to achieve our goals for the day. Her expertise in all things chamber was such a valuable resource.” 

Laura Strickland, Sylacauga (AL) Chamber

Teri Smiley 770.315.8031 or – teri@starfishpartnerships.com.

Joe Hurd, the Chamber's President & CEO, will be retiring in August. The Chamber will be hosting a Retirement Party for him at PNG Field, home of the Altoona Curve, on August 21. Click here for the invitation - be sure to RSVP if you're able to join us!

The Chamber is pleased to welcome Basil E. Bacorn as their new Executive Director. Click here for the official press release.

The Chamber is pleased to welcome Benita Rannie as their new Event Coordinator. 

This past May, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) announced the investment of more than $4.8 million in Direct Care Worker Job Quality grants that would be used for programming to improve job quality and workplaces for direct care workers in Pennsylvania. The Chamber's Foundation was honored to be awarded $600,000 in grant funds for the Talent for Tomorrow Initiative which will utilize the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Talent Pipeline Management© model to address direct care worker vacancies through strategic recruitment, hiring, and skills advancement in collaboration with postsecondary institutions and community organizations. Click here for the press release.

Local chambers of commerce from across Pennsylvania submitted a letter to state lawmakers urging them to address Pennsylvania’s continuous child care crisis. The letter, signed by more than 50 local chambers of commerce and economic development agencies, calls for a state investment that directly helps child care providers to recruit and retain their teachers. The letter explains, alleviating the child care workforce shortage, means classrooms can remain open or reopen, increasing the availability of child care for the tens of thousands of families that need it to remain in the workforce and contribute to Pennsylvania’s overall economy. Click here for the press release.

The Chamber's Foundation awarded $50,000 in scholarships to 32 volunteer firefighters and emergency medical technicians during its annual Celebration of Hometown Heroes on June 6. Click here for the official press release. 

On June 14, 2024, the Chamber graduated 10 community professionals from their Leadership Wyoming program at The Beaumont Inn. Click here for the press release.

On Saturday, June 22^nd, the Chamber welcomed about 700 passengers via train from Nesquehoning, PA. People came from far and wide to ride the excursion and experience the town’s Founder’s Day festival, organized by the Tunkhannock Business & Professional Association. Upon arrival, the chamber handed out cold waters complimentary of Tunkhannock’s Weis Markets and maps of the festival created in collaboration with MoodUS Media. 

The Chamber will host their Midsummer Mingle on July 18 at Scranton Canoe Club. Enjoy a delicious summer boil prepared by Chef Bruce, perfectly paired with wine and beer selections from Nimble Hill. DymondCutter will keep us entertained with music from all eras, and we’ll have exciting casino-style games with great prizes. All of this takes place overlooking beautiful Lake Winola from the patio of the Scranton Canoe Club.

2024 Annual Convention Registration Open

#ACCE24 is one of the most anticipated chamber conferences of the year. The event is scheduled for July 16 - 19, 2024 in Dallas, TX. Winners will be announced for Chamber of the Year and communication awards, sales accomplishments will be recognized and we will celebrate our newest CCEs. CLICK HERE for more information and to register for the event.