Membership application

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It is a great honor to serve a second term as 2019 President of the Pittsburg-Camp County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.  I am pleased to announce that this year’s board has grown to 20 members, all of whom are exceptional leaders in our community. They are dedicated to this community and work very hard to make it a better place. I have always said that the Chamber represents the heartbeat of the business community, both large and small. Our goal is to make our business heartbeat the best and strongest in East Texas.

We live in a unique area that has a lot to offer, and I believe the members of the chamber board are focused to promote its opportunities. The city and county are rich in cultural and historic features including: top-rated museums, Victorian and Antebellum homes, local cuisine, entertainment, a winery and brewery, water sports at Lake Bob Sandlin, fishing and hunting, as well as having a prime agricultural climate.  We have first-rate educational facilities, great housing opportunities, a reasonable cost of living, and top physicians and medical facilities. Our historic downtown is perfect for retail sales.  We are centrally located in East Texas with two major roadways passing through our town and county. 

The Chamber has a good working relationship with, and works in cooperation with the Pittsburg Economic Development Corporation, the Main Street Organization, and both City of Pittsburg and Camp County officials in a united effort to bring additional tourism and economic development to our area.  Economic development can bring with it more jobs for our community, an increased tax base and sales tax revenues, as well as the convenience for us all to shop local.  

The Chamber strives to bring community leaders and organizations together to work in an united effort to resolve common issues affecting our business climate. The Chamber enlarged it’s foot-print in the community considerably during 2018. Christine Jackson, Executive Director, and her team of volunteers have increased membership ten-fold.  The Chamber is committed to growing its membership and promoting the local market area. My pledge to you last year was that the Chamber would sponsor events that will bring more people to Pittsburg and Camp County. The Chamber has done that! A few events to mention are: the Annual Chamber Banquet, a Chili Cook-off; the 271 Progressive Car Cruise, the Peach Queen Contest, Pioneer Days, the Chamber Christmas Open-House and the Christmas Parade. This year the Chamber added several new events including the Historic Highway 11 Treasure Trails, the Tri-County Independence Day Celebration, a “Paint Pitt Pink” Chili Cook-off that raised money for women with breast cancer, the Carson & Barnes Circus, and a Shop Small Saturday campaign. In addition, Chamber volunteers, serving as Mr. and Mrs. Claus and their elves, greeted several hundred children and answered over 600 letters to Santa. 

Chamber staff and volunteers assisted the City of Pittsburg and Main Street committee with Home for the Holidays, the Christmas Train, and Pittsburg by Candlelight.  All these events were very successful and well attended. It seems from speaking from some of you, that the attendees at these events patronized your places of business; thus bringing an increase to your ‘bottom line’. After all, that is our ultimate goal - to stimulate economic spending in our community.

In addition to sponsoring many well organized and attended events, the Chamber also grew by 45 new members in 2018 and held 13 ribbon cuttings. We look forward to continuing to increase our membership and sponsoring well organized and meaningful events. We are very excited to announce that we are adding the new ‘Hot Link Festival” in April.  The festival will be centered on the local history and families of the hot link industry here in Pittsburg and will feature cultural diversity in music, dance and folklore. Pittsburg Hot Links has a true “cult” following and I think the festival has the potential to grow into an outstanding event drawing thousands of people from all over the East Texas area.  In addition, this year we are working with the City of Pittsburg to sponsor “Pittsburg’s Countdown to Christmas”, a month long “Shop Local” campaign. 

Lastly, on behalf of myself and the Board of Directors, I thank each of you for your support of YOUR Chamber and our community. The Chamber is moving forward with your support and I believe 2019 will be our most successful year yet.

Sincerely

James W. Wallace

President, Pittsburg/Camp County Chamber of Commerce

Attorney, Wallace Law Firm and

Owner, Southern Wind Manor-Assisted Living