GEORGIA: There are 3,000 plus businesses in Valdosta, most of them small or very small, and each with their own special needs, situations and wants. How can they be heard over the booming voices of the big guys. How can even the big guys in town get their words and positions out.Membership in the Valdosta Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce, said Ron Borders, 2015 chairman of the Chamber Board of Directors.
Many businesses have the luxury of belonging to large trade associations, Borders said, complete with lobbyists on the state and national levels to protect their interests.But who speaks up for the hundreds of businesses that don’t belong to a trade association, and who represents businesses on the local level. Borders said Valdosta’s business community has a voice through the chamber.
As a former small business owner myself, I know how important it is to have an advocate like our chamber keeping an eye on legislation that affects us, said Tim Golden, a Georgia Department of Transportation Board member.As a former state senator and currently a member of the Georgia DOT Board, I make a point of checking in with the Valdosta Lowndes Chamber regularly to help me keep a finger on the pulse of our local business community, said Golden.
