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FROM STAFF REPORTS 

The Shelby County Chamber is among nine chambers of commerce in the state of Alabama to receive the Accredited Alabama Chamber of Commerce (AACC) distinction, the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama announced Monday, Aug. 10.

Those receiving the AACC in alphabetical order were:  Calhoun County Area Chamber and Visitors Center, Coastal Alabama Business Chamber, Demopolis Area Chamber of Commerce, Lake Guntersville Chamber of Commerce, Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, Opelika Chamber of Commerce, Southwest Mobile County Chamber of Commerce, The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama and The Shelby County Chamber.

The announcement was made at the CCAA’s Summer Convention in Point Clear.

One of the most prestigious programs of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama is the Accredited Alabama Chamber program. The Accredited Alabama Chamber of Commerce program sets standards of excellence for chambers in the State of Alabama. It recognizes chambers that have achieved those standards while offering guidelines for those to improve their effectiveness.

The Accredited Alabama Chamber of Commerce program is designed to promote public awareness of the intent of the chamber of commerce brand as a not-for-profit community development- based business membership organization by providing a peer review process of generally accepted chamber of commerce organizational benchmarks.

The Accredited Alabama Chamber of Commerce program looks at six standard topics: Organization, Mission Focus, Professional Administration, Financial Management, Communications and Advocacy.

“As one of CCAA’s most prestigious programs, the Accredited Alabama Chamber of Commerce program shows that each chamber receiving the distinction is committed to the highest standards of organization management.  This distinction recognizes local chambers of commerce in Alabama that strengthen free enterprise by protecting their local business environment,” said Dean Mitchell, Executive Director of the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce and the CCAA’s 2020 Chairman of the Board of Directors. “They most certainly represent the highest standards in our profession.”

Jeremy L. Arthur, President and CEO of the CCAA, said the nine local chambers of commerce are a true testament to the chamber profession.

“The accreditation process is very rigorous and highlights that each chamber is truly the ‘best of the best’ across our state,” Arthur said. “The commitment shown by each local chamber that receives the Accredited Alabama Chamber of Commerce distinction shows their continued commitment to the highest professional standards and assures their business members they are investing in an organization working on their behalf for the greater good.”

Since its beginning in 1937 as the Alabama Association of Commercial Organizations, what is now known as the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama has remained dedicated to advancing the goal that chambers of commerce are the premier local business advocate in the State of Alabama. In conjunction with the Business Council of Alabama (BCA), a non-partisan organization, the two groups, through the BCA/CCAA Partnership represent the interests and concerns of over 1 million working Alabamians every day.