Chamber Looks Back at Last Year

The Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce looks back at the year that was.

During Thursday’s annual awards banquet, the Chamber recapped the last 12 months.

Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce President Julie Paysen said that it has been a great year at the Chamber.

According to numbers provided by the Chamber, it added 72 new members in the last 12 months, held 18 ribbon cutting celebrations, and welcomed nearly 15,000 visitors through the doors at the Welcome Center in downtown Toccoa.

In addition, the Chamber saw 2,100 visits to its website every month, added more than 300 videos to its online library, has gotten more than 3,000 likes on its Facebook page, and was re-accredited this year as a four-star chamber.

Paysen said she appreciates the support of everyone who helps the Chamber in its efforts.

“We are so grateful for our volunteers, for our board, for our staff, and for our community and it takes an entire village to get this done,” said Paysen.

Clay Fisher served as the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce board for the past 12 months.

He said he has been proud to chair a board this year that did a tremendous job.

“Our theme last year was ‘One Band, One Sound,’ to be unified, to be a group of people that worked for a common goal,” said Fisher. “Nobody gets credit. All of us just succeed. I am so proud of this group. We did such a good job of that.”

Taking over this year as Chamber Board Chair is Stacy Miller.

She said she is honored to serve in the post and follow in the footsteps of the past Chamber Board Chairs.

The 2016-2017 Chamber Board of Directors was also recognized at last week’s banquet.

The Chamber’s year runs from July 1 to June 30.