The Grand Strand Area Chamber of Commerce opened its doors Tuesday morning. Organizers said it’s there to help local businesses and community members in Horry, Georgetown and Brunswick counties.
Chamber founder, Ward Shepherd told News 13 that the chamber will mostly help small local businesses do better by more marketing and advertising. In addition, the chamber will focus on creating more jobs.
"We're talking about jobs that deal with green initiative,” said Shepherd, ”we're talking technology computer jobs web designing, with technology they're so many opportunities out there and we need to just harness it.”
Shepherd said the chamber is even talking about a buying club where restaurants will be encouraged to buy produce from local farmer's market.
Anyone who joins the chamber will be able to use the office, its classroom for meetings and trainings and computers with wireless internet.
Organizers said the chamber had more 30 business already registered as members on just the first day.
Alicia Piner the owner of Moozie’s Closet said the addition of a new chamber is necessary.
“I think that they're going to bring attention to us on a local basis,” said Piner, “we need to get local people in here because we're in kind of strange area where we're hard to find and they're committed to helping us."
Shepherd said the chamber is thinking about ways it will work on lowering the area’s sales tax to help with the Strand’s job outlook.
"Let's get it under 10% let's strive to be the lowest taxed tourist destination in America, then you'll see job stimulation," Shepherd said, “I'm really focused on creating jobs and then having people come to me later and say listen I was able to get my children clothes or I was able to take my wife to dinner and I was able to enjoy life because of the opportunity you produced."
Those in favor of the new chamber said the addition isn't there to take away attention from an already existing chamber of commerce organizations, instead they said they simply have a different plan.
"Of course their (Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce) focus is on tourism and bringing tourists to Myrtle Beach, our focus is a stable local economy where tourism is actually like icing on the cake,” said Shepherd.
"We need both chambers,” said Piner, “I don't feel like it's a competition at all, I like the fact that the Myrtle Beach chamber focuses on the tourism side of it and the Grand Strand will focus on the locals."
At Tuesday’s ceremony, former Myrtle Beach City mayor and now Chamber President Mark McBride said there are still decisions to be made such as the number of board members the chamber will have.
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