Finding Community Through Chamber Membership

Membership with Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce builds community and connections, and helps grow businesses.

That’s what three local businesses told us when we asked them what membership means to them as we celebrated National Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day on Oct. 18.

Gabrielle Hernandez is a proud Myrtle Beach native who is excited to see the area continue to grow.

He owns Fiesta Mexicana and recently joined the chamber. He said it’s important as a local to get involved and “the chamber is another great outlet to be involved in the community.”

Kristy Yelle also was looking for community through membership. She owns Palmetto Protection Films with her husband Matthew.

“When we started this business, it was important to me to make sure we were very involved with the our community,” she said. “The community that’s building us up, I want to be able to give back to ... and I knew that the way to do that was go and be a part of our Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.”

Yelle said her membership opened the door to opportunity for her business and her family. 

“I have learned all about volunteer service opportunities and have been able to participate in the Keep Myrtle Beach Beautiful program,” Yelle said.

“And I’ve also been able to involve my children in that. Which, as a homeschooling mom of two, it’s so important to me that those kind of morals and values are instilled in them and that they see us working so hard but they also see us giving back to the community.”

For Terrance Butler, membership is all about connections. He owns ESA Fitness.

“Having such an involved chamber allows us to connect with people that we probably normally would not talk to, run into,” Butler said. “Bringing people to my facility we gave everyone a chance to do that and we couldn’t have done that without our chamber of commerce.”

Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is grateful to the more than 2,000 businesses that invest in membership. We remain committed to our mission to promote, protect, and improve the business community for all who live and work here.

Watch the testimonials with Hernandez, Yelle and Butler.