Lakewood Chamber of Commerce

I lived in Lakewood for a little under two years and I operated a business in the area for a little over two; during this time I joined the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce.
I found it to be a very supportive group. Not only did joining the chamber help drum up a lot of business, but their events were fun and informative, and I met a ton of interesting people. I always enjoyed the chamber meetings… they offered an opportunity to meet all sorts of interesting and important people in the community, from business owners to local politicians.
The staff who run the chamber are a cheerful bunch and are hard workers and are eager to help new businesses succeed. I am very grateful for their support and guidance. The group was also a positive group: Lakewood is culturally and politically very diverse and over the course of my membership I saw a number of controversial and potentially divisive issues arise, including a school tax levy and an issue of eminent domain use that drew national attention. The chamber did exactly what I think any organization should do: they took thoughtful stances on these issues, but were careful to avoid giving the public the impression that their official stance reflected the views of all its members.
I would recommend anyone running a business in or around Lakewood to consider joining the chamber of commerce. Compared to other business networking groups that are often dominated by people interested primarily in self-​promotion, I found the Lakewood Chamber to be a place full of sincere, honest business owners and community members. Joining the chamber and going to their events can be one of the best ways to get tied into the lakewood community.