“It is the purpose of the Marietta Chamber of Commerce to perfect an organization of Marietta citizens so that at all times they be prepared to act concertedly in all matters that pertain to community improvement and usefulness and business prosperity.” So begins the statement of purpose for the Chamber dated May 12, 1915.
Founded as a Board of Trade in 1887, the organization became a chamber of commerce in 1915, Headquartered in the St. Clair Building, this “Citizen Committee of the Hundred” formed the Chamber because “We feel that the enterprising people of our City must get together, and work together, and the one place where they can best do so is the Marietta Chamber of Commerce. Its motto will be One for All, All for one, and All for Marietta.”
Tonight the members of the Chamber and guests will come together at the 95th Annual Meeting of this Chamber. While the scope of the Chamber now extends outside of the limits of Marietta, as we recognize that the economic well-being of Marietta and that of the Mid-Ohio Valley are linked, the Chamber’s driving purpose remains the same as it was 95 years ago: working together “to increase the development and growth of business interests.
Each year as we prepare for this dinner, I spend some time in the Chamber archives, reading the minutes and reports, looking for how our past leaders dealt with the issues of their times, and discovering how constant the mission of the chamber has remained over those many decades. I would like to share some of the goals of the 1915 Marietta Chamber of Commerce: “To give active assistance in placing the affairs of the City, in all their interests and relationships, upon a business-like and thoroughly modern basis.” In recent times the Chamber has encouraged the city and the county to work together and establish a single building permitting office to ease and streamline process for improvement and development of our land and properties. The Chamber urges our elected officials to act in a business-like manner, to watch costs, to be efficient, and to provide good customer service to its customers, the taxpayers, businesses and residents alike.
Another goal: “To increase the business of the local dealers, both wholesale and retail…sustain all the general and co-operative movements that may be undertaken by the merchants to bring buyers to the City…to conduct energetic campaigns directed against the pernicious feature of mail-order concern methods; create conscientious scruples in the minds of local people against buying goods in other cities.” Our Marietta Bucks gift certificate program keeps $130,000 in our local economy each year. We support and promote the historic district events, such as Merchants and Artists Walks. We continually encourage shopping locally, pointing out that dollars spent locally provide jobs for our residents and provide the tax revenues for our schools and public services.
There were a number of other goals in that 1915 document. When I read through the annual reports of this organization for these 95 years, much of what was planned was undertaken and throughout the years much has been achieved. Tonight at our 95th gathering, we will reflect on the Chamber’s recent activities and honor men and women who, through their work and their volunteerism, have contributed significantly to this community.
As was written in that 1915 report: “To Sum Up: There is nothing which affects the citizens of Marietta, whether small or large, that will not find a ready response from the Chamber of Commerce. Our citizens may differ in their political faith, in their religious creeds, and in their individual views on many phases of life and conduct, but all must agree that there is, one platform on which they can all unite, the platform of the Marietta Chamber of Commerce, which means a bigger and busier Marietta, briefly expressed thus: One for All, All for One, and All for Marietta.”
In these troubling times, we need to remember that we have gone through many difficult times in the past. The pioneering spirit and the strength of the people of this river valley has endured and will continue to endure as we unite to work for the future of our community, to leave a good place for our children, grandchildren, and their children.
