Today is Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day, and we thought it was a perfect time to thank you for your investment in our chamber and business community, and for those who aren’t members and might not understand what we do, here’s an overview of the last couple of weeks:
September 30:
We celebrated two Ribbon Cuttings recognizing two very different, but momentous occasions! Queen City Engineering and Design celebrated their tenth anniversary of taking concepts to production by engineering, designing and manufacturing prototypes, along with custom design barriers and sheet metal fabrication. Cabarrus County owners Rex and Ashley Carriker chose their home county to grow their business and their family.
Later that day, we celebrated the opening of the Harrisburg YMCA. We called this “The Little Y That Could,” because it took 25 years from ideation to opening the doors! A steadfast group of volunteers and Y professionals designed and built a beautiful facility for everyone to enjoy!
October 1:
We met with our Cabarrus County-based Blue Cross Blue Shield brokers to discuss The Chamber’s upcoming Carolina HealthWorks plans, a MEWA through the NC Chamber where Chamber members with 2 – 50 full time employees will be eligible for 23 insurance plans designed specifically for small businesses. The Chamber has advocated and worked hard for over nine years to bring affordable healthcare options for small businesses, and we are so excited to be able to roll this out to our membership once it has been finalized with the Department of Insurance! Stay tuned for more details!
October 2:
Workforce issues and needs inform the work of our Advocacy Committee. At our meeting, Dr. Jessica Grant. Executive Director, Healthy Cabarrus, presented the latest findings from the Cabarrus County Community Needs Assessment. The top four identified
needs are mental health, affordable housing, childcare and transportation. Stay tuned to follow up work on these areas from your chamber.
October 3:
“Beyond the Business Card!” The Chamber offers members many opportunities to network, but how exactly do you get started? We tapped a panel of our best networkers for a discussion on how to build relationships through networking and Lauren Ansley, Program Director, Corporate Training and Executive Education, UNC Charlotte, led a workshop on networking fundamentals. Everyone left meeting new friends and ready for our next networking event!
October 6:
Cabarrus Connections, a casual, small-group networking event, met at Gibson Mill Market. We also host a second group in Harrisburg at Bubba’s Bunkhouse on the fourth Thursday of each month. A great way to build relationships with fellow members and learn from each other.
October 10:
We celebrated Dermatology Group of the Carolinas new Harrisburg location with a ribbon cutting! For 34 years, this group is Cabarrus County’s trusted provider for state-of-the-art dermatological care, and now they’re bringing that care to Harrisburg.
Our partners at Pinnacle Financial Partners continued their Business Mastermind Series with members where they’re working through Michael Gerber’s The Emyth Revisited, helping small business owners navigate challenges.
October 14:
Last night, we hosted our annual Brew N Cue, presented by Uwharrie Bank at Cabarrus Brewing Company! It was perfect “chamber of commerce weather” for 350+ members to fellowship and network while enjoying The Smoke Pit’s finest and enjoying our Tap Takeover Sponsors (Charlotte Motor Speedway, Evermore Productions, F&M Bank, Great Wolf Lodge, and Sharp Business Systems.) Ben Mynatt Family of Dealerships and Kannapolis Cannon Ballers brought the fun with games and Market Street Studios captured it all on video for us! Other sponsors were City Wide Exterminating, Promo Logic, Truliant Federal Credit Union, Hilbish Ford and LMB Travel.
We are thankful for our Cornerstone Investors, Atrium Health, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Duke Energy, F&M Bank and Lilly for their year-long support that helps us continue to grow programming and resources.
This is an example of the wide range of services and programs your chamber offers. Behind the scenes, we are working on your behalf with our local, state and federal officials, connecting members to resources to make their businesses more successful and convening groups to address challenges.
We are so grateful for your membership and support! We look forward to the rest of 2025 and can’t wait for 2026!
Love,
Your Chamber
