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Enhancing Greater Waco as a center of economic excellence and the community of choice for business.

For more than a century, the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce and its precursor, the Waco Business Men's Club, has played an important role in the lives of people in Central Texas by enhancing the economy and casting a long shadow in making the community a thriving marketplace. The Chamber remains committed to leading not only from a business standpoint, but economically, socially and environmentally as well.

Here are a few ways the Chamber is working to make the community a better place to live and work.
Education
The Chamber works closely with Waco Independent School District to promote partnerships between member business and local schools. The Chamber's mission also includes developing strong alliances with our high education institutions to develop a workforce for our business community.
Environment
The Chamber is committed to being good stewards of our natural resources. That begins with using recycled paper and practicing recycling in our office. Our new Chamber headquarters is being designed to be the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) -certified building in Central Texas. The designation emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

 

Energy
The Chamber joined forces with the City of Waco, McLennan County and the Texas Clean Air Coalition to fight the building of 11 coal-fired generating plants in Central Texas. Keeping Greater Waco in non-attainment status is of particular concern to community leaders.
Health Care
The Chamber strives to promote quality health care in our community through the Greater Waco Health Care Alliance. Health care is one of six target industries identified in our strategic plan.
Legislative Issues
The Chamber's Legislative and Governmental Affairs Committee monitors issues at the state and federal level that are relevant to the local business environment. The Chamber also represents member businesses' interests and works to advance community goals with local, state and federal governmental officials.
Transportation
As a vibrant community centrally located in Texas, the Chamber sees transportation as one of the most vital issues to the local business community. The TransTexas Corridor is on the horizon, and Interstate 35 is the path that connects Waco to Dallas and Austin. The Chamber also works to beautify the gateways to Waco.
Veterans Administration Hospital
One of the Chamber's 10 Breakthrough Initiatives established in 2005 was to make saving the Veterans Administration Hospital from closure a priority. A rallying call brought together concerned citizens, the City of Waco and elected officials to support this institution, which provides essential services to area veterans. An announcement in November 2006 brought the news the mission is accomplished. The hospital will remain open and efforts to make use of some of the buildings on the campus are underway.
Water Quality
The Chamber's Water Quality Committee demonstrates the business community's commitment to quality water and become better-equipped to make informed recommendations for the protection of the North Bosque River, Lake Waco and their source watershed. For more information on water quality in Waco, click here.