The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce was recently recognized as one of the top 10 chambers for membership retention.

Kristi Bailey with the St. Joseph Chamber said they were notified by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives that they were recognized for having placed in the top 10 for membership retention in their division for Fiscal Year 2017.

“That’s really a point of pride for us. What membership retention is, is basically how many… of our members stay members year after year,” Bailey said. “Sometimes you might think it’s easy to get someone to join up for a chamber membership, but it’s not always easy to keep members. So we were very excited to place in the top 10 for our size chamber because it means that what we’ve been doing has been working.”

Chamber President and CEO R. Patt Lilly said businesses join the chamber for different reasons.

“(They join) to increase foot traffic in their doors, to support economic development, to have a larger voice in legislative advocacy efforts, but why they stay is important,” Lilly said. “We’ve seen high retention rates, because members recognize that not only do they receive benefits like educational and networking opportunities, but being a part of the Chamber is a way to support their community.”

Other chambers in the division to receive the top 10 recognition include the Greater Green Bay, Wisc., Chamber and the Toledo, Ohio, Regional Chamber of Commerce, among others.

For more information about the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce go to saintjoseph.com.