About the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce

Established in 1973, on the heels of amalgamation of three diverse founding communities in the City of Cambridge - The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce was formed through a merger of two Chambers in Galt and Preston with the Hespeler Merchants' Association.

But long before the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce's formation, industry was shaping the community and its people. The first mills earned Galt, Preston and Hespeler strong reputations for entrepreneurial and industry successes. From the beginnings of the Galt Board of Trade, formed on April 4, 1924, with Companies like Gore Mutual and Babcock and Wilcox, who still remain active Members, until today with world renowned ComDev in the aerospace industry, and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada makers of the first Lexus to be built outside of Japan, Cambridge is widely known as diverse and innovative.

Today, Cambridge's business community is vibrant and prosperous, showing signs of continued strong growth and development potential.

At the centre of the city's vital business community is the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. Commanding a leadership role, the Chamber brings local businesses together as a single voice, supports quality and excellence, and helps to enhance the city's economic prosperity. Currently the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce is over 1880 members, making us the 2nd largest Chamber of Commerce/Board of Trade in the Province of Ontario.

A non-partisan organization, funded solely by memberships, the Chamber works hard to address concerns of business, provide access to information resources and represent members at the municipal, provincial and federal levels of government. We continually develop working relationships with any and all levels of government and politicians. Our strength is in our numbers, our ability to achieve is in our numbers, and the catalyst of our success over the last few years is in the innovativeness and creativity of our Members. The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce can’t help but be successful surrounded by prosperity and a vibrant, active business community.

Working hard to bring added value to the membership, community and visitors, we invite you to look at Cambridge, within a days drive of the wealthiest population in the world. Cambridge could easily be called the centre of the business universe, come meet with us and we will show you around the best community to locate your family and your business.

Then & Now

While the history of the Chamber in this community dates back to the formation of the Galt Board of Trade in 1924, the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce began operations at the time of amalgamation of the communities of Galt, Hespeler and Preston into the City of Cambridge. On January 1, 1973, the Chambers of Galt and Preston and the Retail Merchants Association of Hespeler merged to form the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. Today our membership stands at over 1880 members.

The role of the Chamber has changed over the years, moving from a vehicle of promotion for the city to a highly recognized voice of business dealing with all levels of government, as well as providing a wide variety of tangible member benefits.

The Chamber has always been the major source of tourism promotion and information in the city and in January of 1981 contracted with the City of Cambridge for the operation of Cambridge Tourism. It is the mission of the Chamber to develop tourism initiatives and build partnership that pool ideas and resources to promote Cambridge as a viable travel destination.

In June 2001, the Chamber of Commerce opened it’s doors to our new "Cambridge Business & Visitor Centre" located at the corner of Hwy. 24 and 401. A state-of-the-art business and visitor information centre, and the home of the administration for the Chamber of Commerce. The Gateway, is strategically located to be the first contact with visitors for both leisure and business, and has a very attractive, 3,000 sq foot visitor centre, and 5,000 sq ft of office and meeting space. This was an aggressive initiative by the Chamber in 2000, but one that has inspired entrepreneurship and excitement in and around the business community.

The Chamber has over 20 staff, looking after membership, special events, seminars, tourism, general administration and our famous Toyota Plant Tour program that allows the Chamber to escort over 20,000 visitors a year through the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada facility in Cambridge, where they build the Corolla, Matrix crossover utility vehicle and the only Lexus built outside of Japan, the Lexus RX450 SUV. This initiative proves that the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce is not only committed to promoting prosperity, we contribute to it as well. The plant tour program contributes over 3 million dollars a year to the local economy.

The organization is under the leadership of President / CEO, Greg Durocher, an individual who has a long history of making things happen, serving his community, and developing new and innovative approaches to business success. Greg joined the Chamber in December of 2000, when we had less than 800 Members. Through his leadership, and his ability to rally the Board and Members, the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce has become a nationally recognized organization committed to the values of prosperity and, the 2nd largest Chamber of Commerce in Ontario.

Our Mission Statement

To Our Members

The mission of The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce is to deliver the highest quality of service with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and community spirit to ensure that every Member feels respected, valued and appreciated.

To Our Governments

As the Voice of Business, we will listen, adapt, and cordially represent the position of our Members with integrity, sincerity, passion, a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride and community spirit.

To Our Staff

We are committed to providing our Employees with a work environment that offers equal opportunity for learning and personal growth. Creativity and innovation are encouraged for improving the effectiveness of all areas of the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce. Above all, Employees will be provided the same concern, respect and caring attitude within the organization that they are expected to share externally with every Cambridge Chamber Member.

The Gateway Centre

(The Gateway Centre) The Gateway Cambridge is an 8,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility, symbolizing the entrepreneurial spirit of the Cambridge business community, and providing a highly visible presence for a community determined to hold its own in a competitive environment.

Executive

Chair
Brian Butcher
Advertech Design Communications
Chair's Message

Chair Elect
Helen Jowett
McDonald-Green

Treasurer
Terry Kratz
Hemmerich, Flanagan, Kratz & Associates

Secretary
Ted McCollum
McCollum and Associates

Executive Director
Uel McFall
PAC Building Corp

Directors
Mike Doersam
Sam Purdy
Michael Ritchie
Michael Jones
John Cosman
Don McClure
Gary Hauser
Cory McRae

President & CEO
Greg Durocher
President's Message

Vice President
Jim Anderson

Committee Structure

The Cambridge Chamber of Commerce is a volunteer-driven organization. Strong leadership and development of policy are part of the mandate of the Board of Directors. Elected for a two year term, the Board of Directors meets monthly to Govern the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce.