Be sure to save the dates for our 2024 PACP events:



2024 Chamber Day at the Capitol

Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Capitol & PA Chamber Offices

Harrisburg PA

2024 PACP Chamber Professionals & Leadership Conference

Monday - Wednesday, October 28 - 30, 2024

Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square

Lancaster, PA

The Current - A Business Blog from the PA Chamber

At its Annual Membership Meeting in November, the PA Chamber elected Manuel Mar of Santander Bank as its new chairman. As Senior Relationship Manager at Santander Bank, Manny brings significant experience in the financial sector, an emphasis on collaboration and community, and a commitment to seizing this transformative time in our organization’s and Pennsylvania’s history. We’re proud to highlight Manny’s background, his historic status as the PA Chamber’s first Hispanic American Chairman, and his plans for the future in the following Q&A found here.



Forbes Management Self Employed Podcast

Are your business owner members leaving money on the table? To find out more, please click here.

FFEE is pleased to welcome Alison Shughart as their new Community Outreach Manager. Alison will be working remotely from her home office in the Selinsgrove area where she’ll be responsible for making those all-important connections with organizations, schools, businesses and other stakeholders passionate about youth economic education. She’ll help the Foundation expand our partnerships with school districts to get more students involved and new businesses and organizations to help with our fundraising efforts. Her location also opens up the opportunity for us to attend events in the central and eastern regions of the state and expand our social media outreach and corporate communications far beyond what we have been able to do in the past. 

We are proud to share that our President, Brian Francis, will be joining the faculty of the US Chamber’s Institute for Organization Management. Brian will likely be teaching Effective Government Affairs Programs, Advocacy and Alliances and PACs and Political Endorsements. Interested in building your advocacy program in 2024? There is still time to enroll in our January cohort of the Advocacy Framework. Visit www.advocacyframework.com to learn more.  

Happy New Year 2024! Starfish Partnerships will be offering chamber staff specific private focus groups in 2024 – for Executives, Membership, Events and Office staff members. Investing in your team not only fosters confidence but also promotes empowerment. Each virtual group can accommodate only 30 participants, ensuring ample time for sharing and deriving maximum benefit. These sessions involve in-depth discussions on outlined topics and includes a 10-15 minute presentation followed by discussions, brainstorming and idea-sharing. It’s less than $25/month and paid annually at only $297.  In addition, I’m offering a study group on the book Lead Like Jesus. The best part? It’s free! The only cost is for you to purchase your book. This opportunity is open to everyone so feel free to share this with your friends too. Register for both of these by January 26^th! 

You can register here: https://www.starfishpartnerships.com/2024-programs.  I shared the All Things Chamber program information with you in December – look for additional information on it from the state association soon! If you want to explore options for partnerships in 2024, please reach out to me at teri@starfishpartnerships.com. 

The Chamber is pleased to share its Annual Report. The Chamber (CCCBI) saw immense growth from 2022 to 2023. Under new leadership, the Chamber has appointed three new staff members and expanded available positions that were eliminated during the Covid-19 pandemic, designed a new logo, website and re-branded its image, utilized a new CRM system to optimize the membership experience and analytics, all while organically growing membership. The new leadership has resulted in fourteen new board of director appointments and a new executive committee. Most notable statistics, CCCBI saw a 105% increase in event attendance and a 106% increase in new memberships from 2022 to 2023. Even more impressive, memberships are recorded in 148 different zip codes. CCCBI also has an email list for their weekly newsletter, which hits over 8,500 mailboxes with a 26% open rate. CCCBI looks forward to building off the successes of 2023 into a rewarding 2024!

Each fall the Chamber partners with the Bucknell SBDC, the Ben Franklin Partnership-NEPA, the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit (CSIU), and The Daily Item (our local CHNI affiliate newspaper) to host an Innovations Summit. Keynote topics at four of the last five Summits have dealt with information technology which has attracted Service Electric Cable Vision, various other local internet service providers, and IT consulting firms as participants and sponsors. For this year’s Summit, held on December 15^th, Chamber members jumped into the deep end of the Artificial Intelligence pool. Based on our Chamber’s experience, Artificial Intelligence is absolutely a topic which fits perfectly into the mission of most, if not all, Chambers of Commerce. Click here to learn more.

The Chamber is excited to announce they are approaching their first large community event for people of every age to have some winter fun and enjoy time with family & friends in a festive setting! 2024 Schuylkill Winterfest will be held January 20, from 11a.m. to 7p.m. in Downtown Pottsville PA! There will be various activities throughout the day such as Craft & Food Vendors, Live Entertainment, Yuengling Beer Bar, Chili Cook-Off, Boilo Contest, Kidz Corner with various activities for the kids, & more! For more information on 2024 Schuylkill Winterfest please click here.

AskACCE - Free Online Q&A Service

With ACCE’s far-reaching network of members, we are able to collect and share innovative best practices and industry benchmarks. If you are struggling with a chamber management challenge, ACCE is here to help. AskACCE, our free online Q&A service, is an exclusive benefit of your chamber’s membership. Click here for a few questions our team answered recently. 

Effective Emergency Response Plans

If current events have taught us one thing it is this: emergencies DO happen. As a result, insurance premiums for many facilities are skyrocketing, the cost of defending against lawsuits is rising, and regulatory agencies are paying closer attention to industries’ preparedness programs. Anticipating emergencies and planning your response can greatly lessen the extent of injuries and limit equipment, material and property damage. Click here to read the blog.

Unclaimed Property

Be sure to check if your Chamber has any unclaimed funds available. Check out the website here or contact Jesse Streeter at jstreeter@patreasury.gov.