Someone walked into the Chamber this week declaring that he wanted to join because his business needed a “new best friend.” The company is still under construction, and won’t be open for several months, but he knew that he needed to get started on connecting with the community and that the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce was the best way to start.

We’re proud to say that we have over 750 member companies and that businesses that aren’t even open yet have heard that there’s value in Chamber membership. Just like any “best friend,” you’ll need to show up, communicate, listen, and get involved. It’ll be worth it, we promise.

We’ve been planning lots of events and programs for our members and January of the new year is a good time to get acquainted, or reacquainted with us, fellow members and the community.

Let’s talk about some of the events for 2019.

The Four Chamber Business Expo is February 21at the Elks Lodge in Palo Alto. This event has been one of our most popular mixers over the last few years. The crowd is always fresh and new since it involves all of the Chambers in the area, and let’s face it, we’re better together. It’s four times the size of a regular networking event.

Celebration of Leaders is March 1st at Computer History Museum. It’s the perfect event to learn about, and meet all of the non-profits in the area. Each of them will be honoring someone from their organization, and the Chamber will also be announcing the recipients of Outstanding Business, Outstanding Organization, and Outstanding Business Person of the year. We’ve had more nominations than ever before and we’re expecting this event to sell out early. The success of this glamorous awards ceremony certainly reflects the booming economy of the Mountain View area.

Technology Showcase is our newest event, and also the fastest growing, since it directly corresponds to the amount of technology coming out of our community. It is the opportunity for tech companies to speak face-to-face with community members who don’t normally have the chance to meet each other, since tech companies don’t just let anyone walk in their front door. Residents meet the people who are creating the products that are changing the world. We can’t tell you how proud we are to partner with the city on this event and to showcase the most incredible companies, and products, in the entire world.

Our Annual Mixer is when we swear in our new Board members. This is your chance to meet the local leaders that we’ve chosen to help run our organization. They come from all different kinds of businesses in our community, tech, healthcare, schools, military, and small business owners. This sexy, summertime mixer is always the “fun” one and well attended because we promise to have plenty of food and drinks. Let’s just say we know how to throw a good party.

The final event that you need to have on your calendar is the Art & Wine Festival on September 7th and 8th. It’s a massive display of art, music, food and drinks. It reflects the colorful diversity of the Bay Area and yes, you can get your company involved in it, either as an exhibitor, sponsor, advertiser or your team can volunteer as a group to pour wine.The festival our largest fundraiser, and it allows us to continue bringing you even more programs and events that support local businesses.

There are over 90 networking events, ribbon cuttings and regular monthly meet-ups scheduled on our calendar of events for 2019. Add your email to our newsletter list so you don’t miss anything. You can pick and choose topics that you’re interested in and we would never sell your information.

If you would like to sponsor any of these events, please let us know. Sponsorship can mean anything from having the name of your company on main stage at the Art & Wine Festival, and on all of the festival marketing material that reaches 750k Bay Area residents, to having your logo the flower arrangements on each table at Celebration of Leaders, or the beverages, or DJ at a mixer. Anything is possible.

It’s time to join the Chamber if you aren’t already a member, or dust-off your membership if we haven’t heard from you in a while. Remember, we’ll be your new best friend in 2019 and membership definitely has it’s advantages.