The Chamber

The mission of the Greater Artesia Chamber of Commerce is to foster positive economic opportunities and a favorable business climate. Additionally, our aim is to contribute to the quality of life for the City of Artesia and Eddy County.

Furthermore, through informational sessions, business recruitment and retention, and advocacy, the Artesia Chamber of Commerce promotes the interests of its members and Artesia. Community events and marketing are key aspects to aid in the betterment of Artesia. These measures are in place to ensure that our community stays a great place to live, shop, play, and work.

History of Chambers of Commerce

Chambers of Commerce are nothing new and today, most people take them for granted. Yet, there is much more than meets the eye with these organizations. Rather than simply being organizations to help local businesses, today's Chambers do much more. To understand how, a little bit of history is in order.

Did you know that the first Chamber of Commerce Started in 1599?

Map of France, with pin dot on Marseille Map of France showing the location of the City of Marseille on the northern edge of the Mediterranean Sea. It was here that merchants persuaded the City Council to establishe the first Chamber of Commerce in 1599. Map Source: Google.[/caption]

Working with the City Council of Marseille, France, local business leaders formed the first Chamber of Commerce to better compete with other traders in the Mediterranean Sea.

The first order of business was to appoint four deputies who would work to promote the interests of the Port of Marseille and the traders who used the port.

Although it would be another 65 years before any other European city formed a similar organization, by the time Napoleon III visited Marseille, the Chamber of Commerce had been successful it had moved into the newly built Palais de la Bourse.

Today, the Building not only houses the Chamber of Commerce, but also the Marine Museum, which outlines the history of this first Chamber. It is also better known as the Stock Exchange Building.

In other words, the first Chamber of Commerce was also one of the earliest foundations for world stock exchanges.

Chambers of Commerce Today

Chambers of Commerce represent the interests of businesses. As such, they do what is best for the economies where they operate. Some mistakenly get the impression that a Chamber of Commerce should build parks, maintain recreational facilities, or even fix streets.

Although at times a Chamber of Commerce may do all those things, that is not specifically their responsibility. Such quality of life and maintenance issues are generally best handled by local government. Because chambers are not government entities, but rather private business organizations operating under the approval of local government, they are not authorized to take any actions which local governments do not approve.

Still, chambers can be very instrumental in getting such things done when doing so makes good business sense. To be sure, any Chamber of Commerce largely helps the community by helping local business owners grow and prosper. When businesses prosper, they are often more inclined to help their local community.

This, in turn makes the community more attractive to companies which may be looking for opportunities and the cycle repeats itself.

The Artesia Chamber of Commerce

 

 

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