The Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce are among the 20 largest chambers in the state of Arkansas as ranked by the number of members, according to Arkansas Business.
The Little Rock-based weekly’s ranking shows the Batesville Area Chamber has 590 members and is ranked 16th on the list. The Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce, coming at 18, lists 560 members, and Mountain Home’s chamber has 525 members. It ranks 20th on the list of 59 chambers in Arkansas.
The largest chamber is the Little Rock Regional with 2,191 members and a budget of $3.1 million. A close — very close — second is the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce serving 2,094 members in northwest Arkansas, using a budget of $3.9 million.
The Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce, chartered in 1951, has a budget of $335,000, according to Arkansas Business.
The Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce came into existence in 1919. Under the guidance of President/CEO Crystal Johnson (pictured), the Batesville Area Chamber operates on a budget of $608,000 as it serves Batesville and north central Arkansas.
The Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce was chartered in 1946 and is under the leadership of Buck Layne. This year’s budget is $487,000.
Other area chambers highly ranked are:
- The Heber Springs Area Chamber of Commerce with 279 members is ranked 36th. Ginger Harper is the chamber’s leader.
- The Randolph County Chamber of Commerce at Pocahontas with 215 members is 46th. The organization’s numbers are from 2019. Former broadcaster Tim Scott is the CEO.
- Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce (Walnut Ridge) is led by Lesa Walter and is ranked 47th. Lawrence County has 211 members.
- At 48th is the Newport Area Chamber, one behind Lawrence County at 210 members. The Newport Chamber was chartered in 1939 and is under the leadership of Julie Allen. The Newport Chamber is operated on a budget of $119,000.
The listing was published in the Aug. 24 issue of Arkansas Business.
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