The mission of the Spring Hill Chamber of Commerce is to positively influence our business culture to create a better Spring Hill. It has been my experience that the attainment of any undertaking starts with teamwork and partnership. Henry Ford said “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”
One of the primary targets for the 2020 Strategic Plan established by the Chamber is
the engagement of key partners. These partners include the City of Spring Hill, leadership of Maury County, Williamson County, and other nearby municipalities; the continued work together with surrounding Chambers such as Williamson Inc., Maury Alliance and other similar organizations; engagement of centers of influence and other leaders within our communities; and lastly, the exploration of other key partners that go beyond the norm.
The Spring Hill Chamber is currently made up of over 390 members, which include everything from
international corporations to in-home businesses. Maury Alliance has over 475 members and Williamson Inc. has in excess of 1,400 members with similar diversity of members. These three organizations represent over 2,260 likeminded business leaders throughout our area that see the value in being part of organization to improve their business while giving back to others in their communities. Another benefit of these organizations is a collective voice that can have positive influence on decisions in our communities for the betterment of our businesses. Working together, these organizations can provide more robust and diverse resources for its members.
There have been a number of accomplishments that are a result of our ongoing partnerships. Recently, there was a referendum regarding a sales tax increase in Maury County to support school growth and
improvements. The Spring Hill Chamber of Commerce Committee of Political Affairs (COPA) partnered with Maury Alliance and County Mayor Andy Ogles to provide a unified message to educate voters on the minimal impact of the increase to residents while providing substantial revenue for the County School District. The referendum passed, in part, due to the common message provided through this partnership. The COPA has also worked with the City of Spring Hill to address a substantial increase in waste removal fees for the businesses that were the result of a recent negotiation and contract renewal. While this topic is still in discussion, the COPA was successful in opening up talks on behalf of the business community with the City to research alternatives.
Williamson Inc. has an annual “Day on the Hill” that provides direct contact with our State’s legislators, which this year included Governor Bill Lee. The day is filled with networking opportunities, meet and greets, as well as updates that directly impact our business community. This year the Spring Hill Chamber and Maury Alliance were provided invitations to participate. This was an opportunity to have a strong presence at the event from Spring Hill and Maury County. Our business community and local government were well represented and fully leveraged the opportunity to participate and engage with presenters and attendees.
Joint activities have provided a number of forums for businesses to network and get to know each other.
These forums allow for the sharing of ideas to learn from one another, discussing common obstacles with
potential solutions, and an opportunity to grow their businesses through referrals and networking. These
activities include open invitations to luncheons, morning coffees, lunch and learn sessions, advanced
classroom-style learning opportunities, and forums to meet centers of influence in our community and state.
As the 2020 Board Chairman, I am looking forward to the continued work together that is already in place as well as cultivating new opportunities to expand our knowledge and impact. As a member of the Chamber or resident of Spring Hill, I encourage you to look into upcoming events and how they can benefit you or what you may be able to contribute for the betterment of our shared community because together we make a better Spring Hill.
– Rob Ferrara, First Farmers and Merchants Bank, 2020 Spring Hill Chamber Board Chairman
