LANSING, MI– The Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals (MACP) recognized the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce with the 2015 Outstanding Chamber of Commerce Award—Large Chamber Category at the MACP Leadership Conference & Annual Meeting on October 29, 2015. This is the fourth time the Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber has been recognized for excellence in organization leadership and the most wins for a large chamber application.

“The Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce received this award based on its accomplishments in leadership and governance, financial stewardship, business advocacy and member programming,” said Bob Thomas, Director for the Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals. “Among the chamber’s noted achievements were its leadership in state and local policy issues and economic development, its role in the “Watch Muskegon” image campaign and community development, and best practices in leadership development.”

The Outstanding Chamber of Commerce award is presented to one chamber of commerce in each of three membership categories (small, mid-size and large chambers of commerce) and based on a comprehensive application judged by chamber of commerce professionals from seven regional states. Applicants must demonstrate quality, innovation, and effectiveness of programming in the areas of leadership and governance, finance, business advocacy and programming/membership development.

The highest scoring applications receive the annual award. The award is modeled after the US Chamber of Commerce Accreditation process for recognizing best industry practices.

MACP also presented 2015 Outstanding Chamber of Commerce awards to the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce in the Mid-Size Chamber category and an honorable mention to the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce in the Small Category.

The Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals is the industry association for almost 300 chambers in Michigan. Its mission is to build excellence in chambers of commerce through organizational and board-level resource support, professional development for chamber staff and to promote the importance of chambers of commerce across the state.