The Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce is an organization of interested businesses in the Greater Merced Area that desires the promotion of economic vitality for Merced County.
Directed by an elected board of twenty-one directors and advised by another nine honorary directors, the Chamber promotes a strong local economy through legislative advocacy, economic development, and community stewardship.

The Chamber has a staff of three professionals who carry out the operational functions of the organization. The staff is supervised by a President & COO who is hired by the board to assist the volunteer leadership to achieve the organization goals.

Vision Statement:

The Chamber is an active partner with business, government and community leaders as it collaborates to promote a strong local economy. The Chamber is there when a voice for business needs to be heard. The Chamber offers a meeting place for ideas to be shared and a where a community consensus can be reached.

Mission Statement:

The Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce is the premier business resource advancing ecomomic development through advocacy, education and networking, guided by our core principles.

In all the work of The Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce, we are mindful of our core Principles:

Promote a Strong Local Economy
Advocate on Behalf of Businesses
Advance Effective Leadership
Foster Productive Citizenship
Support Responsible Community Stewardship

We know that there is direct relationship between the level of vitality in a community’s business sector and the quality of a life in a community.

When business does well, the tax base improves. We get the good things such as parks, safer roads, and better schools that define great communities.

When a greater regulatory and tax burden is placed on the business sector, effort is wasted as energy is used to navigate through the red tape. We believe this effort should be channeled into making our businesses stronger, adding workers, and creating new investment.

Advocating on behalf of business before government.

There’s an old saying that goes like this: “if you want to go into business, get into politics.” Business owners have a strong voice in government. But often, they are too busy running their companies to spend much effort on legislative advocacy. The Chamber is effective in presenting of the business side of an issue before local, state and federal governments. The Chamber makes sure that a business perspective is presented.

The Greater Merced Chamber also has a political action committee and a Government Review Council. We recognize that political involvement is critical to the success of our member businesses.

Providing networking opportunities.

The Chamber is the meeting place. It is where we bring our members together for a number of programs that help business grow. It is where we take the Chamber message out to the community through our events and activities designed to bring business people together. Through our strategic relationships our board members have with other aspects of the community, the Chamber is kept in the forefront of critical business decisions in the community.

Enhancing business through community stewardship.

Merced is blessed to have thriving civic groups, UC Merced and other respected institutions of learning, a revived downtown, and so much more.

Our community understands that we are stewards of our future. Just as the Chamber and other organizations banded together in the long struggle to get UC Merced built, greater challenges lie ahead.

In Merced, business gets it. We know that we must leave behind a community that is better than it was when we came into maturity. Stewardship is fundamental to the success of a community. The Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce has a 501-C 3 charitable foundation, The Growing Merced Foundation, as a means to accept contributions to further of stewardship efforts in the community. Upon membership acceptance, you may elect to make a voluntary donation to the Foundation.

Bruce Logue
Chairman of the Board
Life Spring Church
bruce@lifespringchurch.net 

Mark Melville
Vice Chair, Government Affairs
Strategic Consulting Group
mdmelvillescg@gmail.com

Peggy Biddison
Vice Chair, Special Events
State Farm Insurance
peggy.biddison.mb13@statefarm.com

Carole Whitehill
Treasurer
Whitehill Accounting
CaroleW@inreach.com

Congressman Dennis Cardoza
Stacie Dabbs
Stacie.dabbs@mail.house.gov

State Senator Jeff Denham
Kristine Hansen
kristine.hansen@sen.ca.gov

Merced County Board of Supervisors
Kathleen Crookham, Representative
dist2@co.merced.ca.us

UC Merced
Heidi Petersen, Chancellor’s Representative
hpetersen@ucmerced.edu