Rochester's leading business organization passed a major milestone this month.
The Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, the largest chamber based entirely in Minnesota, recently passed the 1,400 member mark.
When Aynsley Jonessigned up The Doggery, he made history by becoming the chamber's 1,400th member. The Doggery is his new bar located at 18 Third St. S.W.
The chamber has added even more since then and now has 1,410 members. That number comfortably places the Rochester chamber as the largest in Minnesota.
The Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, which includes the Bloomington and Northeast Minneapolis chambers, has a combined membership of about 1,000. The Duluth Area Chamber of Commercehas 1,050 members.
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The Rochester business community has been particularly active in recent months in the wake of Mayo Clinic's Destination Medical Communityinitiative.
"This is an exciting time of growth for our community, and it's great having over 1,400 businesses recognize the value of being a member of our Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce," said Chamber President John Wade.
The Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce will meet this week for its annual member gathering. On Thursday, members will gather at the Rochester International Event Center for a dinner event to hear from the chamber leadership, watch the presentation of local awards and listen to a keynote speech.
This year's keynote speaker is Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, a professor of medicine and author. He wrote "Leadership by Example: The Ten Key Principles of all Great Leaders,"which was published in 2012. -- Jeff Kiger
