Over 1,400 regional business professionals gathered at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce’s 211th Annual Meeting last month to celebrate the Chamber’s accomplishments from the past year, explore its initiatives for the upcoming year, and welcome the newest members of its Board of Directors. In addition, the program featured an interview with ABC “World News” Anchor Diane Sawyer by 6abc Action News’ Jim Gardner (video below).
At the event, Chamber President and CEO Rob Wonderling highlighted several of this past year’s achievements, including the Chamber’s Summer Internships program, Read to Me Early Literacy event, Young Professionals Network and CEO Access Network program. He also introduced the Chamber’s new Member Referral program and unveiled the Chamber’s redesigned website.
In addition to a cleaner look, the new website is easier to navigate, with pages such as “Why Join” and “Member Tools” in place of the old “Membership” and “Resources” pages. The “Why Join” page focuses on the benefits of membership, while “Member Tools” is the new home for existing members to find what they need. The website also includes a new “Advocacy” page, which updates members on the Chamber’s public policy efforts and Relay initiatives.
Mr. Wonderling also acknowledged the Chamber’s various advocacy efforts on behalf of regional businesses, and encouraged attendees to join the conversation in the Chamber’s advocacy campaign, RELAY. The campaign identifies priority issues of the region’s business community and develops a broader advocacy network surrounding four key issue areas: business climate, infrastructure, workforce and quality of life.
Similarly, GPCC Chairman of the Board of Directors William P. Hankowsky, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Property Trust, revealed the Chamber’s new education initiative, emphasizing that Philadelphia needs good schools to prosper both civically and economically. As part of that initiative, a core group of Chamber Executive Committee members will be working with the school reform commission, mayor and governor over the next several months to create a unified, multi-year strategy to improve education in Philadelphia.
The interview between Diane Sawyer and Jim Gardner featured a discussion on Ms. Sawyer’s career, the economy, the Wall Street protests, and more. View parts one and two of the interview below.
Part 1:
Part 2:
The Annual Meeting serves as the Chamber’s largest signature event of the year and celebrates its membership of 5,000 organizations across 11 counties in three states. View photos from the event.
As a “newbie” to the Greater Philadelphia Chamber I was very impressed by the quality of guest speakers that the 211th Annual Meeting attracted. Having Diane Sawyer as a guest speaker spoke volumes about the Chamber’s commitment to quality. With over 1400 regional entities present it also showed a professionalism that made me glad the Grand Hotel of Cape May has chosen to join. I look forward to the opportunity of introducing the Grand Hotel of Cape May as a perfect venue for anyone’s next business meeting!