Delta Chamber achieves highest level of national accreditation
DELTA, BC (August 17, 2009) The Delta Chamber of Commerce evaluated itself, and then was evaluated, against rigorous national standards of policy, service, and performance and has achieved Accreditation with Distinction from the Chamber Accreditation Council of Canada (CACC). The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the Council, will formally recognize the Delta Chamber at its annual general meeting in Victoria October 3-5.
The rigorous accreditation process itself provides an opportunity to document and streamline internal chamber and board functions and to
clarify practices for directors, staff and members. The accreditation seal on stationery, web sites, promotional literature, signage and elsewhere is a chamber’s commitment to the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s unique value proposition as “the voice of business” in communities across Canada.
To date only six out of 130 chambers and boards of trade in BC, including BC Chamber of Commerce and the Vancouver Board of Trade, are CACC accredited, only 12 in Western Canada and only 62 out of 350 chambers of commerce and boards of trade across Canada.
The letter announcing Delta Chamber’s success in achieving Accreditation included the comment, “…you join a group of elite chambers of commerce in Canada who are demonstrating to the business community within which you operate that your chamber is run in a strategic and professional way and that your operations reflect standards of business excellence.”
By achieving the national standard of CACC Accreditation a chamber of commerce assures its members, the community it serves and chambers in networks across the province and the country that there is a strategic focus on core chamber activities, uniform practices and policies that align with those across the chamber network, dependable governance procedures, a distinctive brand identity when compared to other business organizations and a stronger “voice of business” in the local community as well as an increased role in national and international policy advocacy.
Delta Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Peter Roaf, says: “Accreditation covers five areas: Policy and Advocacy, Membership Programs and Services, Organization and Administration, Governance and Strategic Planning. We had to meet the standards in the large chamber category and completing the last two areas gives us the ‘Distinction’ designation. We are grateful to the Chamber Accreditation Council of Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce for, first of all, providing us with the opportunity to assess ourselves against the national standards to see how we are performing by way of continual quality improvement. Now the Council has provided a third party assessment by chamber experts at the national level and that has proven successful. The process has pointed out various areas where we could be doing a better job for our members and we are working on those now. Of course, we listen to our members regularly through surveys and that gives us important direction too.”
“As Peter says, it’s all about our members and doing the best job possible for them,” says Delta Chamber of Commerce Chair, Greg Muirhead. “The board, committees, staff, office volunteers and members all should be proud of this national level recognition. But it’s not just those here today who should take a bow, there are the many hundreds of people who have built the Chamber and served the business community over the past almost 100 years here in Delta. So thank you to those who have gone before. It is up to us today to keep trying to do a better job for our members, the local business community and all of Delta through economic development. We can always do a better job.”
The Delta Chamber of Commerce is a 400-member association of businesses in Delta which acts as the voice of business locally, and with other chambers provincially and nationally, and which provides its members with discounted services, learning opportunities and business networking.
For a copy of the news release >>click here>>
CONTACTS:
Greg Muirhead
President
Delta Chamber of Commerce
604-351-2920
and
Peter Roaf
Executive Director
Delta Chamber of Commerce
604-946-4232