ALEXANDRIA, Va. — https://alcchamber.org/.
Go ahead. Click on it.
You’ll see that it’s not just any website.
In fact, it’s among the best chambers of commerce websites in the country and it belongs to the Athens-Limestone County Chamber of Commerce
The Athens-Limestone Chamber received the Award of Excellence for “Best Website” in their category by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE).
The award was presented for one of the chamber’s 2024 projects: An in-house revamp of their website. The chamber was one of 12 Awards for Communications Excellence winners by the ACCE.
ACCE is based in Alexandria, Va., with more than 1,600 chambers of commerce and related business and economic development organizations as members, representing more than 9,000 professionals in the industry.
“Accessibility is everything and streamlining the online process for our members has been a huge priority for us,” Chamber President/CEO Pammie Jimmar said. “I can’t truly express just how excited and honored we are to represent our community in this way.
“Best. Team. Ever.”
The chamber undertook the project in 2023 as part of a rebranding campaign and partnered with Red Sage Communications to design and launch a website.
While the structure of the original site was solid, the chamber did not have the bandwidth at the time to maintain and update it.
By 2024, the staff noticed that a large portion of the photos, verbiage, and links were outdated or confusing to navigate. So, the team got to work.
Over the course of several months and without any financial support, the chamber staff undertook a comprehensive effort to give their website a facelift.
Using the original structure as a backbone, they created and/or reorganized 38 pages and integrated more cohesively with their CRM system.
Today, the website is visually stimulating, brand cohesive and easy to navigate.
Visitors can sign up for the chamber’s newsletter and texting program, register for events, read community news articles, listen to the chamber’s in-house podcast, and more all in one place.
The chamber said website views jumped to 65,500 in 2024 compared to 43,000 in 2023 (51% increase), 89 members joined via the integrated membership form (up 10% from 2023) and there was a 31% increase in event registrations.
ACCE’s Awards for Communications Excellence program is designed to showcase top communications and marketing work of chambers of commerce and similar organizations from all over the U.S.
A panel of communications and marketing professionals from 12 U.S.-based chambers of commerce valuated the entries submitted for this year’s competition. Entries were organized by category — based on the chamber’s annual revenue and entry type: Digital media, campaigns, print and electronic publications and websites.
“Innovative, engaging communications are essential for chambers of commerce to
demonstrate their impact and amplify their communities’ stories,” said ACCE President
& CEO Sheree Anne Kelly. “This year’s winners have creatively celebrated their
communities, strengthened local identity and showcased their commitment to inspiring
progress and building vibrant, thriving regions.”
The 12 winning entries will compete for the Best in Show title within their categories. The three winning entries will be revealed at ACCE’s annual convention in Philadelphia in July.
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