Chamber celebrates 65 years

It's grown from a budget of $10,000 to one of almost $500,000.

The Jacksonville-Onslow Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 65th anniversary Tuesday with an open house where those in attendance reflected on how far the chamber has come since its inception in 1944.

"I believe that 65 years mean that the Chamber of Commerce has a very well-established place in this community and meets the needs of the business community as well as the citizens," said Mona Padrick, president of the chamber. "We're a solid part of the community."

While the chamber's main function is to support the local business community, Padrick said the organization also provides many qualify-of-life functions to residents as well, such as parades and forum Onslows.

"All of these quality-of-life projects that we take on help everybody, the whole community, which in turn we believe, does help the business community because the business community is made up of employees and their families and their children in school," she said.

Along those lines, Padrick said another key aspect of the chamber is its Minority Business Services Division and the chamber's attention to small businesses in the area.

"That has, I really think, opened up a lot of doors for a lot of people," she said. "Their needs are different from big businesses and industries that we have, so we try to do a lot of projects to aid them to be able to grow their businesses."

Ron Lingle, president of Coastal Carolina Community College and a member of the chamber's board of directors, said the chamber's dealings with small business are one of its "hallmark" accomplishments.

"I was just amazed to see how much focus there is from the chamber president, the staff and the board of directors ... on reminding everybody just how important our small business network is in this community," he said. "Small businesses are the meat and potatoes of the chamber ... and certainly that has been a huge part of the success of the chamber: They always focus very strongly on its mom and pop small businesses."

Lingle said he was impressed by the chamber from the moment he arrived in Onslow County in 1988.

"I have never seen a chamber that is as vital to its community and sort of the nerve center of the community to the extent that this one is," he said.

Among its crowning achievements is the creation of the Military Affairs Committee.

"I think that's one of the big things that was started early on to foster better military-civilian relations," Padrick said.

In addition to the Military Affairs Committee, the chamber also started Project CARE, a service that provides direct support and acts as a conduit between military families and businesses in need and the community services able to help them, such as child care and vehicle maintenance.

"That was a community need that arose out of the first Gulf War event with that mass deployment and the community responded," Padrick said. "I think it's important for the well-being of the community and its citizens ... I think there's a lot to be said for it as well in terms of just knowing that we help offer that community support to our military folks so that they do know we appreciate what they do."

Padrick said outside support and an abundance of volunteers have been crucial to the chamber's success.

"We don't try to do anything alone. We try to partner wherever we can and use the strengths of other entities, as well as ours, to try to get projects accomplished," she said. "One of the reasons we exist and do as well as we do is through our volunteers."

Lingle said the chamber is "highly respected" within the community.

"It's something people take very seriously here. When you come here in a leadership position people tell you, there's not a choice if you're going to be a part of it. It's just a question of where you're going to fit in," he said. "It is an incredibly valuable part of this community."

In looking forward, Padrick said the chamber will continue to meet the needs of the community and its members.

"I think we should all be very proud of the chamber's success because I think it has made us a better community so there is a certain amount of pride there," she said. "But I think that my biggest feeling is the satisfaction that we make a difference."

Contact Molly DeWitt at 910-219-8455 or mdewitt@freedomenc.com.