On Thursday night, the King Ford showroom was full of music, food and spirits all in the name of celebration for the Greater Valley Area Chamber of Commerce’s 55th year. With representatives from each of the 270 GVACC members there to celebrate everything that has been accomplished in the last year, it was a lively time of reflection and a good peek into the future for the chamber.

Something that people who aren’t directly involved with GVACC may not realize is that the future of the chamber of commerce is tied directly to the future of the area as a whole. Chamber members are businesses that provide the services we enjoy every day. From the restaurants we visit to the stores we patronize to the industries we rely on for everything else, the GVACC is a network of businesses that promotes the success of them all.

The GVACC recruited 69 new members in the last year alone, making the already established network that much bigger. This network doesn’t only help the businesses themselves by offering them a local support system, it benefits us as consumers, because of what that support system creates.

Promotions and deals occur more frequently when businesses are succeeding, more customers using these deals help that success grow the businesses and the overall success built from all of this leads to more companies wanting to come to the area.

The GVACC’s growth is really the growth of the Valley, so their celebration Thursday night was well-deserved. How this growth will continue to develop is up to us, the consumers, and how and where we spend our money. Let’s give them more reason to celebrate.