The annual Greater Barrington Chamber of Commerce Open House was held on Tuesday, January 28, 2020, at the new office location of 748 Calef Highway, Barrington NH 03825. The turnout this year was greater than expected - there were over 35 people in attendance this year. It was a packed open house, full of current members, past members, and people who wanted to know more and become new members. Membership rates are determined by the type of organization and the number of employees within the organization.
Membership benefits not only cover the networking and business connections that a person makes within the chamber but also include the community building, a virtual team of other business owners, direct email and marketing blasts to other chamber members, member discounts and the ability to use the actual chamber offices for meetings.
The focus of the open house (besides networking) was to engage chamber members in participating in the annual events sponsored by the chamber. There are several annual chamber events such as the Peepers 5K Run/Walk, the annual Golf Tournament, the Barrington Village Festival, the Scholarship committee, the Bingo event, and the annual dinner.
Each event has a specific purpose and will be covered in more detail in future articles. Since the Greater Barrington Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization, the money raised in each event is used for specific reasons. The upcoming next few events are as follows:
Peepers 5k Run/Walk: This event is used to fund the scholarship program in the Barrington chamber, which actually gives away more scholarship money than any of the other Regional Chamber of Commerces in our area. Volunteers are needed for race day, sponsoring opportunities, and runners the day of the event. This year’s event is May 9, 2020 – Registration begins at 8 am.
The Annual Golf Tournament: The golf tournament helps fund the operating expenditures of the greater Barrington Chamber of Commerce Dues in the chamber is the lowest in the region, so annual events help offset costs. The next golf tournament is Friday, June 5th, 2020 - 8:00 am.
“On the first Friday, each June The Greater Barrington Chamber of Commerce is proud to host what is arguably the most fun golf tournament in southern NH. This event is hosted at the Nippo Lake Golf Club, In Barrington. Golfers are encouraged to dress to coincide with the theme of the year. Some notable past themes have included, Circus, Baseball, Roaring 20s, and Woodstock.” --(The Greater Barrington Chamber of Commerce Web Site)
The Scholarship Awards: Scholarship Awards are to be held on May 14th, 2019 at Nippo Lake Golf Club. The Chamber awards up to three (3) $1000 scholarships, one (1) $500 scholarship and one (1) $250 annually. Students in Barrington and family members of Chamber members are eligible to apply. Applications must be submitted by Monday, April 8, 2019. Applications can be downloaded here.
The new website was also reviewed at the open house, with a walkthrough of the uses and benefits for chamber members. This is a banner year for the Greater Barrington Chamber of Commerce, with much more yet to come.