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Greater Coachella Valley Chamber outlines membership growth, new Indio campus and local programs
Summary
Brandon Marlin, president and CEO of the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce, told Indio City Council the chamber has about 1,000 members valley-wide (348 in Indio), moved into the College of the Desert Indio campus and is expanding workforce, internship and ARPA-funded small-business support.
Brandon Marlin, president and CEO of the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce, told the Indio City Council on Nov. 5 that the chamber has grown since its 2016 merger and now represents the Coachella Valley business community from several cities and tribal nations.
"We strive to enhance the overall business climate for our membership by being a catalyst for local commerce," Marlin said, noting the chamber has roughly 1,000 members across the valley, 348 in Indio and 104 new Indio members in the past year. He said the organization retains about 85% of members annually and reaches more than 6,500 email subscribers and 20,000–25,000 social followers.
Marlin announced the chamber has relocated to the College of the Desert Indio campus (Building A, second floor) and invited council members to a ribbon-cutting and open house scheduled for Friday the 5th. He said the new location will support workforce-development programming, internships and partnerships with state agencies and local colleges.
"We have some internship programs that we have in the works…they get some credits for that," Marlin said when asked about student opportunities.
The presentation highlighted the chamber's events calendar, including the Southwest Arts Festival (more than 10,000 attendees last year and roughly $750,000 in art sales), the BMW relay race and a gubernatorial candidate series beginning Nov. 14. Marlin also noted an ARPA-backed small-business workforce program he said has returned about $600,000 to businesses in the region, with grants of about $9,600 per small business.
Council members thanked the chamber and offered city support for ribbon cuttings, business outreach and collaboration. Mayor Miller said the city will help publicize the chamber's programs and staff offered contact information for follow-up.
The presentation ended with council encouragement for the chamber's ongoing outreach and a reminder to contact city staff about partnership opportunities.
