VALLEY — Acting as a physical manifestation to bookend their year of expansion and growth, the Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce has set up shop in a new, larger office.

Now located at 2918 20th Avenue in Valley, in the Chambers Square shopping center, the white office building is now emblazoned with the GVACC logo, welcoming chamber members and the rest of the community alike.

The move comes after the chamber outgrew their location in the 900-square-foot Chambers County Development Authority building. 

“In the last two-and-a-half years since I have been the director we have seen growth in our board, in our ambassadors, in our committee and in our Junior Ambassador program,” Executive Director Ashley Crane said. “Honestly, we were just running out of room.”

The new office’s 2,800 square feet will offer them plenty of room, something that Crane says will allow for even more internal expansion within the organization.

“It was hard for us to move forward with ideas and things we saw ourselves doing in the future because we didn’t have the space or the room,” she said. “The possibilities are pretty much endless at this point.”

Walking into the foyer of the new building, one is met with the partitioned off reception desk that will soon to be occupied by GVACC interns, according to Crane.

Two hallways are dotted with office space and a kitchen, eventually leading to a 650-square-foot board room in the back.

The board room will be instrumental in chamber operations, Crane said, especially when considering that every table and chair is easily folded and rolled out of the way, allowing for different room orientations to accommodate meetings and events.

While the inside of the building was important to the GVACC board when considering a new location, the outside was just as important. The name and logo are visible from Highway 29, something that Crane said is important to the chamber’s purpose.

“The board wanted to make sure they picked a location that wasn’t going to put us off the beaten path or out of people’s minds,” she explained.”

We have worked very hard to establish a presence in the community and so our location was a big factor in making sure that we remain present and visible.”

Crane said that the GVACC plans to hold an open house soon to allow the community to see the new offices, and a ribbon cutting is planned for early next year.

“I think [the move] is just one more example of how this community is growing,” Crane said.