The McAllen Chamber of Commerce, with a membership of 1,300 and a staff of 21 was founded in 1925, and its forerunner, the McAllen Businessmen’s Club, founded and drove the creation of the City of McAllen in 1911. The McAllen Chamber is the largest chamber in a 15 county area and is broadly seen as the most innovative, cutting edge, and progressive chamber in the region. The staff of the McAllen Chamber has been integral in creating and developing cooperative efforts in the region.
The mission of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce is to help McAllen businesses be successful and make money, accelerate connections, create economic momentum, and enhance the image and quality of place of McAllen. The Chamber will also lead, partner, or applaud efforts to improve McAllen.
The Chamber continues to focus on addressing issues and impacting areas important to our community’s success and concentrates its time, energy, and resources to make a difference in the following areas:
- Creativity in several forms, especially the arts;
- Innovation by encouraging new ideas and business opportunities;
- Convention Sales that our Convention & Visitors Bureau brings to McAllen thereby encouraging people to spend their money in McAllen as well as Tourism where we concentrate on attracting Mexican Nationals and Nature Tourists to also come to our city and boost our economy;
- Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship by developing new programs and events that help small businesses make money and become more successful; and
- Quality of Place programs, issues, and events where we can help to make McAllen an interesting, exciting and progressive place to live.
Since 2014, the McAllen Chamber has been designated a 5-Star Accredited Chamber of Commerce by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber staff, the board of directors, and volunteers of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce spent countless hours completing the Accreditation process. The Chamber excelled in 9 core areas ranging from finance, program development, and government affairs to technology and facilities. The result of its hard work is evidenced by this impressive rating. This was truly a milestone achievement as only seven other Chambers of Commerce in Texas (at the time when the McAllen Chamber was first accredited) were accredited, and the McAllen Chamber is the only accredited Chamber in the Rio Grande Valley.
Purpose
The purpose of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce is to represent the McAllen business community at all levels, to drive economic growth, innovation and development, and to be a catalyst to grow the economy through marketing, making connections, and increasing tourism/visitors in McAllen.
Key Drivers (Goals)
- To advocate and promote McAllen businesses and community issues.
- To drive economic growth, innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and economic opportunity in McAllen.
- To market, promote, advertise, and enhance McAllen as a community of opportunity and growth in the United States and Mexico.
- To drive business success in McAllen by providing networking, connecting and growth opportunities through wealth creation and value-added programs.
- To create and enhance key partnerships and to grow the culture of collaboration and success.
- To drive and increase McAllen visitors/room nights and create economic opportunities through the growth and development of tourism.
Core Values
- Integrity: To be an organization that does the right thing by taking responsibility, building trust, and acting genuinely and authentically with customers, community, and stakeholders.
- Respect: To be an organization that treats people with respect and follows through with commitments and promises. Recognizing our words and attitudes have an impact on customers, community, and stakeholders.
- Customer Service: To be an organization that meets or exceeds our clients’ expectations for events, meetings, programs, and impact outcomes through problem-solving, creativity, and innovation. Making sure our customers are successful.
- Collaboration: To be an organization that fosters collaboration and shared direction, transparency, and focuses on shared information, no hidden agendas, and experiencing success is a crucial driver for individuals and the organization.
- Leadership: To be an organization that leads by modeling the way and building positive relationships and strategic partnerships. To be known as a high-performing, innovative and creative organization. To be recognized as a positive influence in the community and marketplace.
Customer Bill of Rights
- We exist to serve our customers; our customers do not exist to serve us.
- Our customers have the right to expect our best service.
- Our customers have the right to be treated courteously through our words, manners, and actions at all times.
- Our customers have the right to our full attention.
- We will find solutions to our customers’ problems and respond quickly and accurately to their inquiries or issues.
- We will strive to be a quality organization and will do the extra things that will enhance our services.