Frederick County Chamber Of Commerce Reaches Membership Milestone

It recently reached 1,000 in membership numbers.Frederick, Md (KM) A major milestone was announced recently by Frederick County Chamber of Commerce President and  CEO Rick Weldon. “We crossed the thousand-member threshold two weeks ago,” Weldon announced on WFMD’s “Morning News Express.”He said this is a far cry from five years ago when many businesses were forced to close to help slow the spread of COVID 19.   “We lost over 300 members during COVID,” Weldon said. “Remember that two-and-a-half-year stint where the government said you had to lock the doors of your business. Well, we literally lost 360 members. We were down to a about 670-member chamber back then.”The state did allow  businesses that provide essential services  and products  to stay open, such as grocery stores and pharmacies.  The rest which were closed,  were allowed to reopen later  with some restrictions.”I hope we learned a lot and nothing like that ever happens again,” Weldon says. “This was literally devastating to people who had put all that they had into starting their business and their entrepreneurial dream.”There are many reasons why businesses join the Frederick County Chamber of Commerce. Weldon says one reason is  to network with other businesses, and meet with potential customers or  suppliers. “A business-to-business network is huge. Everyone who joins checks that box. They want to meet new clients, customers, vendors, and make relationship connections, and that happens a lot, ” he says.But Weldon says the Chamber can also be an advocate for local businesses. “They used to say you can’t fight city hall, and that’s probably true if you’re an individual or a small business owner and going in to your local government to fight a local regulator. It’s tough. When I come;  when I sign up to testify, I’m speaking on behalf of a thousand businesses, and 45,000 potential voters. So we get listened to, ” he says.For more information about the Chamber of Commerce, go on line to frederickchamber.org, or call (301) 662-4164.By Kevin McManus