Springfield chamber qualifies for national excellence award

Up to four chambers will be recognized for excellence in operations, member services and community leadership.

Chambers across the country submitted applications for the award earlier this year. To qualify, chambers had to meet certain criteria related to net income, current ratios, net assets, annual expenses, net gains in membership dollars, member retention in dollars and member retention in number of accounts.

In the next step, a panel of judges will score each qualifying applicant, and the top three applicants in four categories based on revenue size will be interviewed individually.

Results will be announced Aug. 3, during the American Chamber of Commerce Executives’ annual convention in Sacramento, Calif.

The Springfield chamber has nearly 2,000 members, about 80 percent of which are businesses with 25 or fewer employees. A volunteer board of directors representing member businesses directs the work of the chamber, which has a full-time staff.