Soroptimist International Apple Valley is a new Service club here in the High Desert. We chartered on May 6 2006, and thanks to the Apple Valley Chamber we have had many opportunities to grow and prosper. Soroptimist is an international volunteer organization of business and professional women, some men, who work to improve the live of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world. We are very proud to be a new Soroptimist club, and our members are striving for excellence in achieving this mission. There are approximately 3,000 clubs with over 90,000 members in 126 countries. It is necessary to have 15 members to charter a new Soroptimist club, and we chartered with 40. How did we charter with 40 members you ask? With the help of the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce we received names and addresses for our local mailers, our chartering committee was extremely busy networking at each chamber meeting (handing out club business cards and sharing our mission). Janice Moore CEO of the Apple Valley and her efficient and helpful team supported us in every way possible, they have been letting us use the chamber office at the Spirit River Center for our Board meetings and we also held our first awards dinner there last April. Whenever we walk into their office we are always greeted with a smile and asked “how may we help you?”. I know of no other chamber of commerce with such a beautiful facility like this one that offers it so 2generously to their members to use. One or more of our members are almost always at the monthly Chamber luncheons and we enjoy this networking experience. We also utilize the “Sound Bites” every chance we get to announce our upcoming events. All of our members want to give the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and especially the staff, lots of kudos. “We are women at our best helping other women be their best.”

My name is Misty Perry from the Hawthorn Suites in Victorville; Being a member has helped our company greatly! Apple Valley really doesent have to many hotels, so working with Apple Valley has been a great pleasure! We are always looking to be apart of the community!

Being successful in this very competitive world is all about developing and keeping the right relationships. The Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce has helped Desert Communities United Way (DCUW) developed the local relationships needed to help us prosper and serve this community. These relationships have helped DCUW (and service organizations our staff belongs to) in many ways. For example, on many occasions the chamber has generously provided a meeting room at the beautiful new Spirit River Center, Mayor Rick Roelle honored us by being the welcoming speaker at a conference in October, when we have an event we utilize the sound-bite at the monthly membership luncheon to get the word out, and being a member helps us to stay informed. DCUW must know the needs of our community, and do our best to address them. During the recent fires DCUW partnered with our local High Desert Chapter of the American Red Cross collecting and distributing the clothing and food items to the people who needed help. Our community is very caring and generous so all we had to do was collect it and direct it, sounds simple, right? After dozens and dozens of truck loads of donated goods arrived, it was a good thing we had been planning for the “Big One”. DCUW is proud to be a member of the Apple Valley Chamber. We tell local businesses, almost on a daily basis, how important it is to belong to their local chamber.

It's important to know what new commercial centers and housing projects are coming to Apple Valley for my business to stay ahead of the competition and locate in the right place. The Chamber gives me information on new projects and businesses before it hits the newspapers because most new people seek out information from the Chamber before they decide to do business here. If you care about where the customers and competitors are or will be, you have to be in the Chamber. It's a great place to receive and share business information with others."

We want your testimony! How has your membership with the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce benefited your business? We want your story! Please send us a testimony on how you feel your business has progressed with the Chamber and you will be featured in one of the upcoming newsletters, “The Source”. This is a great opportunity for your business’ success to be published. Email your story to nyesha@avchamber.org , or fax to (760) 242-0303. For more information, contact the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce at (760) 242-2753. We look forward to hearing your voice and testimony!