ZANESVILLE, Ohio – With 2018 winding down, the Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce spent time reflecting on the past year.
President Dana Matz said it was a great year for them. He said they saw growth in their safety council, worked hard to make sure Southeast Ohio would see positive effects from economic development in Ohio, and strengthened their communication efforts. Matz said overall though, they are most proud of their membership for 2018.
“As a chamber, we’re very proud on our membership retention. We had 94% retention,” said Matz. “And in our industry anything above 85 is good, so we’re very proud of that. How did we do it? We definitely communicated better with our members, we had more opportunities for our members to get together and we try and offer more services.”
Matz said they were also happy with their educational outreach this year. He said a record number of students participated in the National Manufacturing Day they hold for high schoolers around the area. Matz said as far as plans for 2019 go, they want to focus on their Hyperlocal Campaign.
“We’re definitely pushing what we’re calling our #hyperlocal campaign,” said Matz. “And hyperlocal is be local, buy local, dine local, shop local. Think about local first.”
Matz wants to encourage everyone to look locally first for the things they need before going to other sources. He said overall, just be local.
