Coffee With the Chamber Event Kicks Off Wednesday

Southern Ocean Chamber celebrates 100 years.

In 1914 Long Beach Island was enjoying Victorian splendor, with expanding rail service and the opening of the car bridge, large hotels and amenities were ready to serve the finest from Philadelphia, New Jersey and beyond.  As businesses expanded to meet the demand, so did the need to establish a business and tourism group to represent them; and thus the Long Beach Island Board of Trade, which later changed its name to the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce was formed. In preparation for the organization's centennial, a 100-year committee was formed last year to commemorate a century of service to the community. Kicking off this month and continuing right through 2014, the regional chamber along with local business groups and …

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Record-Breaking Attendance Noted At Wedding Road Show

Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce members and wedding industry leaders brought this premier destination wedding showcase into its fifth anniversary.

Overnight stays, wedding banquets, after parties and all the services needed to help a happy couple obtain wedded bliss were presented during a self-guided tour of the wedding venues of the Long Beach Island Region last weekend. For its fifth year, the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce along with its tourism branch - the LBI Region Destination Marketing Organization - collaborated with Wedding Industry leaders and almost 60 of their members to create a progressive party atmosphere that sells the region year round as a wedding destination. Entertainment, passed hor d oeuvres,  photography, video, concierge services, floral and table displays, invitations, ceremony ideas, cake sampling, accommodations, even Stand up Paddle Board …

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Hurricane Sandy

Assemblywoman Discusses Rebuilding Efforts After Sandy

Gove notes that revenue generated from the Jersey Shore as a major tourist destination is significant when measured against other aspects of New Jersey’s economy.

Assemblywoman DiAnne C. Gove this week provided an update on New Jersey's rebuilding efforts at the Southern Ocean County Chamber’s annual State of the Chamber, which was held at the Sea Oaks Country Club in Little Egg Harbor. In addressing area businesses owners, Chamber officials and invited guests in attendance, Gove said, she, "along with my fellow 9th District Representatives Senator Christopher Connors and Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, will continue to press upon our legislative colleagues the critical economic and cultural importance of rebuilding the Jersey Shore."   Gove said that to date, much of the state’s immediate efforts in terms of financial assistance for businesses have been directed through loans from the EDA’s Main Street …

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Local Businesses Build Relationships After Hours

The Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce sponsors a networking event for local companies to exchange business cards and conversations

It’s all about building relationships at the Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce. Over 65 businesses attended an after hours networking event at ConvexSERV Technology Solutions, LLC on in Forked River Aug. 24. “We wanted to get our name out there and help support other businesses,” Office Manager Ruth Feeney said. “It’s all about networking and mingling. It’s not just about ConvexSERV. It’s definitely about giving back to the community. It’s going to come back to you anyway.” Businesses from party planning companies to realty and florists attended the event to exchange business cards and conversations. “It’s not just one venue,” Feeney said. While most of the businesses were based in Forked River and Lanoka Harbor, some hailed from …

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Barnegat Food Pantry Gets Big Boost From Fundraiser

Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce to cut pantry $10,000 check following annual benefit dinner

Barbara Slamp got a shock when she opened the mail last week. The director of the Barnegat Emergency Food Pantry was at her desk in the pantry's downtown building when she opened a plain-looking brown envelope stamped with 84 cents worth of postage. After a glance at the letter inside, she screamed for one of the volunteers in the next room. “I almost fainted,” she said. “I was in tears.” In the letter was word that this year’s Taste of Southern Ocean Hunger Relief Dinner, a fundraiser for local food banks organized annually by the Southern Ocean Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Ocean County Community Foundation, was issuing the pantry a check for $10,000. Slamp said it’s the largest single donation the pantry has received in the …

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Race to Economic Recovery Goes to the Tortoise

State of the Chamber 2011 keynote speaker forecasts solid job growth by summer

After a new slate of Southern Ocean County Chamber of Commerce officers was installed and elected officials from local municipalities spoke, Joel Naroff, president and founder of Naroff Economic Advisors, delivered a cautiously optimistic business forecast at the 2011 State of the Chamber Meeting in Manahawkin on Feb. 24. Naroff, who had addressed the group at the height of the economic downturn two years ago, said there's been significant change since then.   “The problem we have with this recovery is that it is really slow, but it is also the recovery we were always going to get,” Naroff said. "If you think of a recovery as a race, what we wanted was the hare and we got the tortoise. But the tortoise is steadily making its way towards …

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