Chamber Awards

Newnan-Coweta Chamber Named 2015 National Chamber of the Year, First in Georgia to Receive National Honors

The Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce was named the 2015 Chamber of the Year in its category by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). Chamber of the Year is the nation’s only award recognizing the dual role chambers have in leading businesses and communities.

Those honored with the Chamber of the Year designation have demonstrated organizational strength and made an impact on key community priorities, such as education, transportation, business development and quality of life.

“We are deeply honored and proud to have won the 2015 Chamber of the Year Award,” said Chamber President and CEO Candace Boothby. “It’s such a great accomplishment for our members and community.”

The award represents “a true team effort,” Boothby said, adding, “I’m so happy the work of our volunteers, members and staff is being recognized."

Qualifying for Chamber of the Year is a rigorous process. Chambers compete based on meeting key performance criteria on the ACCE Annual Operations Survey. Qualifying chambers then enter the competition with a written application addressing all aspects of organizational operation and programmatic work. Finalists then participate in a judges’ panel interview, the third and final round of competition.To ensure the fairest competition, applicants are grouped into five categories based on: annual revenue, membership, area population and several other factors.

There are more than 7,500 chambers nationally. Out of the 33 chambers nominated, the Newnan-Coweta Chamber competed with chambers not only in the United States but also Canada and Europe. The Newnan-Coweta Chamber is the first chamber in Georgia to be named a National Chamber of the Year.

Applications are scored by peer chamber executives to determine finalists. Winners are selected from among finalists based on an in-person interview before a panel of experienced chamber professionals.

Newnan-Coweta Chamber awarded coveted 5-Star Accreditation status by U. S. Chamber of Commerce

Recognized in the TOP 1% of chambers nationally, The Newnan-Coweta Chamber is a 67-year old pro-business, advocacy organization serving more than 1,000 members.  Boasting an impressive history of strong results, this 5-Star Accredited chamber is one of only 95 chambers nationally to have earned a 5-Star designation. Accreditation with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is a prestigious honor that distinguishes the high quality, expertise, and strong leadership displayed by accredited state and local chambers of commerce. There are 7,022 chambers in the United States with only 207 of these chambers accredited and only 95 recognized as 5-Star chambers.

“While we’re thrilled with the 5-Star Accreditation, our real goal was to improve our Chamber’s processes and operations measured against the rigorous standards of the U. S. Chamber. We wanted to identify any gaps in our Chamber practices and improve them and that’s what the accreditation’s true value to us is,” said Candace Boothby. “But we are absolutely thrilled to know that we are among the top one-per cent of chambers nationwide.”

Georgia Certified Chamber Program

 The GACCE Georgia Certified Chamber program is designed to promote public awareness of the intent of the chamber of commerce brand as a not-for-profit community development-based    business  membership organization by providing a peer review process of generally accepted chamber of commerce organizational benchmarks.