Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce | |
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| Founded | 1906 |
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| Headquarters |  Newport Beach, California |
| Key people | Richard R. Luehrs, President & CEO Jeff Parker, Director of Operations |
| Focus | Business advocacy & federation |
| Website | NewportBeach.com |
The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce promotes economic opportunity through business and community leadership. The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce is a business organization of almost 1,000 members representing over 25,000 employees. The Chamber—with its five councils, committees, staff and valuable members—works with city officials, local businesses and the community at large to promote the local economy.
[edit] History
On March 12, 1907, sixteen men calling themselves the "Harbor Boosters" established the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce. Each man contributed five dollars to cover the initial expenses of the first commercial body formed in the city.
When the final reclamation of the bay was complete thirty years later in 1936 nearly all of the Charter members were gone, but many of them devoted their lives to the creation of Newport Harbor. Through its life, the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce played an active part in fostering the various improvement measures, which have contributed to the harbor community of today. Not only did it concern itself with the harbor, industrial and municipal matters, but it also initiated and sponsored the various celebrations and civic events of diverse kinds which are essential in a resort community.
For a period of eight years, from 1919 to 1927, there existed two chambers, Balboa Islandand Newport Beach. In 1927, the chambers merged into the Newport Harbor Chamber of Commerce. The city was divided into six districts, each of which was entitled to two directors on the board of twelve. These sections were: 1) Newport Heights and West Newport, 2) Newport Beach, 3) East Newport, 4) Balboa, 5) Balboa Island, and 6) Corona del Mar.
In 1976, the word "area" was added to the name to better reflect the character of the surrounding communities, which compose the membership. In the same year, the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce reached a significant milestone when it moved into the new headquarters building of 10,000 square feet at its present location at 1470 Jamboree Road.
In 2001 the Chamber’s official name was changed to the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce to better reflect the marketability of the Newport Beach name for its members. Today, the Newport Beach Chamber, which started modestly on March 12, 1907 with only 16 Charter members has grown to nearly 1,000 members, representing a cross-section of the harbor area, and is one of the largest regional Chambers in Orange County. However numbers alone cannot measure the success of the Chamber. It is the quality and dedication of the individual members who, working together as a team, make major contributions- not only to preserve and advance the free enterprise system, but also to improve the quality of life in the community. It should also be noted here that the Newport Beach Chamber receives no subsidy from the City. Total support is through membership dues and special event income.
