Joining the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce is a great way to support your community as well as promote your business through networking and inexpensive advertising. 

A Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit, professional, membership organization of local businesses, often associated with other civic organizations such as a Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.  The Chamber of Commerce is typically the only recognized business support center in the community.  There are local, state, and national, Chambers of Commerce, with members ranging from individuals and small business’ to major corporations.  The main function of a Chamber of Commerce is to promote interest in local business possibilities and economic growth in the county. 

Another way of looking at it is that a Chamber of Commerce is an organization of citizens who are investing their time and money in a community, working together to improve the economic, civic and cultural well being of the area.  The work of the Chamber is financed by the members who support it on the basis of their ability to pay membership and their interest in the progress of the area.

The Chamber of Commerce works within the community as a leader of civic projects such as the Annual PLAN Retreat (People Looking Ahead Now) held each spring.  The Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce, located in the W.E. Knox Civic Center, is also the official welcome center and is the lead role in tourism efforts for the county. The Chamber is involved in a myriad of other efforts in the community, such as the Scenic Byway on Hwy 11 in Jones County and the Georgia Certified Work Ready program which is aimed at increasing the graduation rate and improving the labor force in Jones County. The Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce has also led the Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative in the community, a program designed to attract and retain entrepreneurs. The local government often turns to the Chamber of Commerce first when seeking the opinion of the business community. Prominent local business leaders generally view membership in the Chamber of Commerce as a powerful endorsement.

The Chamber of Commerce helps to create job opportunities through stimulation of industrial and commercial growth.  It partners with government agencies and civic organizations to seek the improvement of community facilities such as streets, highways, parks, and schools.

In short, the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce seeks to promote the local business community by living out its mission statement: