MARQUETTE, MI-- Officials with the re-formed Marquette Chamber of Commerce are excited about its prospects.
Executive Director Jason Schneider says the chamber is a member-owned business affiliation that works for the City of Marquette, Chocolay Township and Marquette Township. He says it’s meant to help businesses share information and have a voice in the community.
“And so it’s really a way to help businesses talk to businesses and get the information they need and help businesses understand local government and help local government understand what the local business needs are,” he says.
Schneider says the Chamber has been up and running for two months as is seeking memberships. He notes one of the chamber’s first projects is to utilize a survey that looks at time and money businesses waste dealing with their municipalities, and vice-versa.
“We’re looking to play a third-party role, kind of between the two, in analyzing our own systems in the community to figure out how we can save both businesses and local government time and money in revenue-neutral ways that can really help everybody else out.”
The Chamber of Commerce is meant to be different from the Lake Superior Community Partnership and Marquette Downtown Development Authority. Schneider says The LSCP is an economic development corporation that focuses on business attraction, the area’s large employers and making sure we’re represented in Lansing, while the DDA is a municipal authority that takes care of several municipal services, which allows it to capture an additional tax base in the community.
For more information about the Marquette Chamber of Commerce go to marquettechamber.org.
