About the Chamber

Executive Board     |     Board of Directors     |     Committees     |     Chamber Staff

These questions and thousands of others are asked of the Port Arthur Chamber when citizens or visitors are seeking information and don’t know who else to ask. The Chamber is the information center of the Greater Port Arthur area.

Membership in the Chamber is an investment in Port Arthur and the surrounding communities. The following page lists some of the returns of membership investment.

The Chamber:

• works with local industry, public entities and major purchasers to help ensure that they do business with local companies;
• provides demographic and economic resource information to those looking to expand or open new businesses;
• works with developers and businesses investing in our community, providing information about local companies with which they can do business;
• maintains information about sites and land available for business ventures;
• works with businesses opening in the area to assist with employment efforts especially in areas such as job fairs offering employment opportunities to area residents;
• offers lobbying efforts to assist with issues critical to our area such as working for approval of street and highway expansion and improvements, ports and waterway developments, air traffic service, and various other types of legislative issues;
• works with city, county and other officials to create a business-friendly environment;
• assists members with development and growth of their business, helping with ways to market their business locally as well as through trade shows, and with manufacturer’s representatives for product distribution;
• responds to surveys and requests about our area to those looking to move here or visit;
• works with groups to address the needs of youth, education and crime;
• provides public-relation volunteers to welcome new business with ribbon-cuttings and other business celebrations;
• maintains a Business Resource Library with information available to assist with business start-up and operation, personnel and training, business laws and requirements, personal and professional development, and research material;
• responds to student requests for information for school projects, papers, etc.;
• works with community groups to support cooperative efforts among cultural and social groups;
• sponsors a Business Expo in conjunction with the Greater Beaumont Chamber, providing low-cost opportunities for members to showcase their products and services to potential customers from throughout southeast Texas;
• assists with commemorative and historical celebrations and events;
• maintains directories of clubs and organizations, manufacturers, churches, media, and VIP’s;
• coordinates volunteer efforts of members and the public, working through various Chamber committees;
• distributes current local maps and telephone directories;
• publishes a monthly newsletter, the Greater Port Arthur Chamber's Business Report ,(with circulation in excess of 800 members), that is published in The News;
• meets with international officials regarding import/export trade opportunities;
• provides certificates of origin verifying origin of products being supplied; and
• encourages the public to shop and buy local.
  

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