Featured Chamber: Central Rhode Island

As an organization, the Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce seeks to support and advance the business community in Rhode Island. We provide a myriad of benefits to our membership, and continually strive to find new ways to help our members succeed. The Central Rhode Island Chamber is a leader in pro-business innovation and advocacy. We have approximately 1,000 members statewide in towns including Warwick, West Warwick, Coventry, and West Greenwich. Our members’ loyalty is the best yardstick of our performance, and they continue to speak very highly of our services.

The Central Rhode Island Chamber had numerous successes over the last year, despite the tough economy. Our members have leveraged the benefits of membership with their own ingenuity to realize strong results of their own. Together, we will seek to build on these successes moving forward and revitalize Rhode Island’s economy in the process.

The Central Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce is a member of the Rhode Island Chamber of Commerce Coalition, which speaks with the voice of over 12,000 Rhode Island businesses. Through the coalition, we successfully advocated against many pieces of bad legislation that would have adversely affected our members. The Coalition’s E-Advocacy network allowed us to mobilize our members and get them involved on the issues that mattered most to the small business community. If you helped support of the issues at the State House through www.RIBUSINESSVOTES.com thank you. If not please visit the site and click on the “Take Action” tab and see how easy it is to get your message heard. Richard Hittinger, Chairman of the Board, believes wholeheartedly that the Chamber plays a vital role in keeping our membership informed of legislation and its implications, while also providing “a valuable voice for the business community in Rhode Island.”

“Our many, diverse events provide our membership with great networking and business development opportunities. Chamber membership yields greater company visibility within the community”, according to Leah Prata, Centreville Bank.

Business Assistance: Our business assistance services are the meat and potatoes of what we do at the Central Chamber. Our staff meets with members and potential startups to help them realize their goals and attain new successes. Through our Central Rhode Island Business Information Center we provide business consultants who help current and would-be small business owners. Joseph Oakes, VR Industries Inc., called the Chamber a “wealth of information,” and “a great business resource,” that is “very responsive.”

Networking: The Chamber offers numerous networking opportunities with events such as Business After Hours, Coffee Connection, and LEADS Luncheons. “The number of networking opportunities that the Chamber provides is impressive,” according to Steven Kitchin, New England Institute of Technology. Additionally, John Smith, BankRI spoke to the value added to his organization by events such as the Business After Hours, saying “It was a great experience, which has broadened my business contacts throughout the state.”

Save Money: We strive to create as many ways as possible for our membership to save money. Our current benefits include discounted rates on advertising and rental space, money saving coupons from local businesses and other special promotions.

Opportunities for Growth: We host various workshops, seminars, roundtables, and presentations on a broad range of topics. These events offer our members the chance to further their knowledge and broaden their opportunities for success.

Communications: The Chamber provides our members with a plethora of media through which to increase their communications effectiveness. We offer such services as direct mail and email, press releases on member news, and the monthly “ChamberWorks” statewide publication. Jeremy Doran, Signs By Tomorrow, and his company turned to the Central Rhode Island Chamber for help with their effort to reach out to the community, and he was pleased with how much easier the process was on his business thanks to our facilitation.

Tourism: We distribute brochures for local businesses to hotels and car rental agencies throughout the area. In addition, the Chamber provides information and encouragement to businesses and individuals nationwide who are looking to relocate to Rhode Island.

Community Support: Through the participation of our members and staff in a wide array of local events and initiatives, the Chamber is an active member of the community gaining the tangible benefits of increased community visibility and networking opportunities, as well as the intangibles of being good business citizens and giving back to the community.

The Central Rhode Island Chamber provides many important benefits to our membership. The menu of benefits is extensive. We will continue to work to advance Rhode Island’s business community and we hope to realize many more successes in the coming year with the help of our members.

3288 Post Road
Warwick, Rhode Island 02886
401-732-1100
www.centralrichamber.com

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