Each month the Arrowhead Park Association features one member. This month, learn more about your local chamber.
You may know the Maumee Chamber of Commerce for its well-attended and welcoming monthly lunches. Don’t miss the variety of other membership perks. Our business-focused Chamber offers much more!
A Regional Networking Organization
According to Mayor Carr, Maumee has about 15,000 residents, but every day 30,000 people come into Maumee to work. Each of those people has business relationships in Maumee and takes those connections back where they live. These connections make the Chamber a regional networking organization.
The Chamber also participates in local community events. Another organization, the Maumee Uptown Business Association (MUBA), coordinates neighborhood events like the Summer Fair, Memorial Day Parade, Easter Egg Hunt, and Holiday Lights Parade. With MUBA handling the planning of these, the Chamber is free to put its focus on business.
Opportunities to Connect
The Maumee Chamber offers local businesses and employees many choices to meet and build working relationships with local businesses.
- Popular Monthly Luncheons (held virtually at this time) provide networking opportunities and a variety of speakers with local news, like the Mayor of Maumee, Chief of Police, and the President of St. Luke’s, plus inspirational and educational speakers.
- The Business Expo. This annual event is a business-focused luncheon with an inspirational speaker, proceeded with a vendor fair with over 90 participating booths.
- The Chamber is an information source sharing notices from the US Chamber of Commerce, in addition to our Governor, County, and City recommendations and regulations.
- A Weekly Email Newsletter provides links to useful information, events, and announcements from the government and members.
- A digital directory, flip-book directory, and printed directory.
- Morning networking events, Coffee Connections, each month, and occasional after-hours events hosted by member businesses.
- A Golf Outing Last year, 124 players plus 30 guests participated to network. This year’s event is planned for the fall.
- The annual Hometown Heroes Banquet with almost 270 people attending this year. The outstanding citizen award has been given for over 50 years, initially by a local church. The Chamber has been hosting Hometown Heroes for more than 40 years, adding the Golden Apple education awards and Outstanding Business Awards to the event. The picture at the top of the article is the Former Maumee Fire Chief, Don McConnaughy, the 2020 Hometown Hero award recipient with Kristin Meyer and Colleen Tankoos.
- Muddy Mini – A half marathon, quarter marathon and 5K that begins in Uptown Maumee and ends at the Mud Hens Stadium in downtown Toledo. The proceeds from this race help support Chamber scholarships that we award to graduating Seniors in Maumee.
- Group Insurance -The Chamber offers a group rate discount for health insurance through Paramount Health Care. This is a fantastic option for a small business to provide top rate health insurance at a group rate.
- The Chamber welcomes new members and new businesses by sponsoring Ribbon Cuttings, Grand Openings and Anniversary Celebrations. We invite the business community, fellow members, City Council, the Mayor, City Administrator and Police and Fire Department to commemorate these occasions.
Members
The Chamber has a variety of business sizes. Several large businesses like Dana, St. Luke’s, and William Vaughan support the Chamber through sponsorship and participation from many of their representatives. All member employees are eligible for membership benefits. According to Ms. Meyer, “We encourage everyone who has not been using their membership to plug into the luncheons! It costs you nothing. You never know what you are going to get out of the meeting with so many fellow businesses who are working around you in your community. You will be pleasantly surprised by what you take away.”
Many members are small businesses looking to connect with other local businesses. Memberships to the Chamber are quite reasonable, starting at $165/year for sole proprietors, and $195/year for 2-5 employees. All member employees can take advantage of the chamber offerings, request the newsletter, and bring guests to the events.
Reactive to Community Needs
Local employers were struggling to get new employees before this pandemic. Addressing the shortage, the Chamber organized over 40 businesses for a job fair at the High School. Fifty attendees were graduating seniors looking for opportunities, and 75 more job candidates stopped in looking for a change. Participant businesses varied from the National Guard to the Pinnacle and the Toledo Zoo. The event was very successful. The Chamber is hoping to host another after this crisis to help employees and employers connect.
Pandemic Changes
The Chamber lunch has always had high participation numbers (120-150 attendees at lunch) and a supportive community. In reaction to the coronavirus lockdown, Ms. Meyer shared, “We quickly had to change how we provide those things. To keep the personal touch in the virtual meetings, with attendance as high as 90, we added break-out rooms, where you can interact on a personal level for part of the luncheon. When we do eventually have our first luncheon in-person, we hope to keep the digital aspect option so that people can choose to attend virtually, hear the speaker and announcements, and promote their business.”
Be Their Guest
If you hear about a Chamber event, you are welcome to join in as a guest. You can RSVP for upcoming events on maumeechamber.com and see announcements on Facebook.
