Eugene area chamber named national chamber of the year finalist

The Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce is trying to show that a chamber can be more than a networking group. Its finalist spot for 2026 Chamber of the Year rests on housing work, workforce training, advocacy and economic development projects that have touched employers across Lane County.

The Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives announced June 4 that 11 chambers are competing for the award, which it calls the chamber industry’s most prestigious and competitive recognition. Finalist interviews are scheduled for July 20 in New Orleans, with winners to be announced July 21. Chamber of the Year has been presented annually since 2007.

For Eugene, the significance goes beyond the trophy. The chamber’s case is built on three years of work that extends well past member lunches and ribbon cuttings, including efforts tied to housing stability, hiring pipelines and public policy. Chamber leaders say Brittany Quick-Warner has served as chief executive since 2017.

One of the clearest examples is A.C.T. Now Lane, a coalition of more than 40 partners that brings together nonprofits, businesses, government agencies, educators, neighborhood groups and unhoused residents. The effort has backed workforce training pipelines for people exiting homelessness, tying a business group directly to one of Lane County’s most persistent economic problems: whether people can get and keep stable work while local employers struggle to fill jobs. Public descriptions of the coalition say its long-term goal is to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.

The chamber is also pointing to Elevate 2028, a five-year regional economic development initiative launched with Onward Eugene after consulting hundreds of business and community members. The plan targets $299 million in new labor income and 3,800 new jobs, with nearly $5 million in private investment commitments already secured. In practical terms, the pitch is that a chamber can help shape the region’s labor market, not just react to it.

Its Voice of Business effort is another measure the chamber is using to argue for relevance. The chamber says it increased business community engagement in public processes by 220 percent year over year, helped influence 13 state legislative bills and brought more than $10 million in state infrastructure funding to the community. One visible payoff is the Clear Lake Industrial Area in northwest Eugene, between Eugene Airport and Highway 99, where the city received $6 million in state funding in 2025 for infrastructure improvements. The site covers about 650 acres and could support about 3,000 jobs in the expansion area alone, with broader infrastructure pushing capacity to 6,000.

The chamber’s membership retention rate of 87 percent is also above the national median for organizations of similar size, a sign that its local business base is staying engaged. For Lane County, the finalist label will matter most if it matches the outcomes already taking shape in Eugene: more housed workers, more business investment, stronger legislative influence and a clearer path from chamber advocacy to jobs on the ground.