Member Benefits

WHAT DOES THE CHAMBER OFFER?

Since 1921 the Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce has been enhancing and promoting the growth of business and commerce in Harlingen and the surrounding area.

Provide Marketing Opportunites

Ribbon Cuttings, Ground Breakings and Grand Openings
We will help you celebrate company milestones, whether you have opened your first, second, or eighteenth location, recently expanded your business, or celebrated your first or hundredth year in business. We will bring the ribbon, big scissors or shovels, take the photo and post them on our website. Click here to view photos. If you are a Chamber member, download, fill out and submit the Event Request Form below.

   Click to download: 
   Event Request Form 
   Ribbon Cutting Online

Online Membership Directory & Upgraded Listings
We provide exposure for our member companies in our online directory. Not only is general information about your business listed by name and by type of business, your website is automatically linked to ours. And, you can upgrade your listing, which adds a map link, email link, and 35-word description with logo of who you are and what you do. Additional website advertising is available to increase your company’s visibility.

Membership Directory and Business Resource Guide
We provide exposure for our member companies in our published annual directory. The guide is distributed to all chamber members, business prospects, relocating businesses and families and used as a resource by area newcomers, hotels and real estate agencies. Your business receives one listing both alphabetically and by category. Additional listings and advertising are available for a nominal fee.

Business Matters
Published in the Valley Morning Star on the last Sunday of each month in the Business Section with a circulation of 35,000. We also direct mail it to Chamber members. In each edition, you can see what the Chamber and other member businesses are doing, and even include yourself in a member spotlight.

Summer Showcase Business Expo and Preview Party
This is an excellent opportunity to spotlight your products and/or services to potential customers and other business exhibitors. A huge Business After Hours Mixer kicks off the show each year. The following day it’s open to the public with over 1,500 attendees. Sponsors of this event step out of the office and promote themselves directly to the public and other businesses.

Member Calendar of Events
If you are having an event, we will advertise it free on our website. Think of us as another place to send your news releases.

Business Marketing Center at the Chamber
Over 500 people visit the Chamber office monthly. Only Chamber members are allowed to display business cards and/or brochures at the Business Marketing Center located in the Chamber lobby.

Sell More. Target Your Market
Our Chamber member mailing lists can be purchased to use for your company’s advertising and marketing mailings. You can reach over a thousand fellow members.

Email or Fax Broadcast Your Message to the Membership
We can send your message out to the members’ email addresses or business fax numbers. Member 2 Member Offers are sent out twice a month to the membership. Limited to three times a year for a nominal fee.

Verbal Referrals
The Chamber receives hundreds of calls each month from the public requesting information on different types of businesses. When we receive a request, we refer our members. It’s a great business generator.

Members-Only Website Access – (coming soon)
Our website provides members access to the exclusive “members-only” section which provides free business tips and lists of resources, highlights new and existing members with photos and stories, lists our member-to-member discount program participants, and more.

Special Member Pricing
Just by being a member, you will get exclusive discounts on the Chamber’s ticket prices, tradeshow booth fees, and advertising rates.

Upgrade Your Membership Benefits
Increase your company’s exposure by participating in our Chamber Partner Plus Program. Partner Plus offers an up-front commitment for sponsorships in Chamber events, as well as a variety of benefits. Ask the Chamber for more details.

Expand Your Market and Client Base through Networking Opportunities

Buenos Dias Harlingen, Business Before Hours Coffee
Buenos Dias Harlingen is held monthly at the Chamber and gives members an opportunity to network with fellow Chamber members, learn what the Chamber is doing and discuss issues and hot topics impacting our community.

Network Express
Occurring three times a year, and free of charge, the Chamber’s coolest networking event, called “Network Express,” aims to connect you with your future clients, future customers and even future friends! This event will occur in different locations around Harlingen to help you make the connections you need to make. The event will be absolutely free for members to attend. All attendees will receive light lunch, listing of all attendees who have registered, and the chance to win fabulous door prizes.

Business After Hours Mixers
BAHM are held monthly and hosted by members to showcase their products and services at their business locations. These events provide opportunities to network with hundreds of members in an informal environment. By hosting these events, sponsors promote their businesses by inviting potential new clients to tour office or facility and meet their staff.

Maximize Your Membership Orientations
Now that you are a member of the Harlingen’s largest business organization, come have free lunch on us. Learn how to get the most out of your investment through an overview of the Chamber’s programs and services from the staff and volunteers. This is a casual lunch event held every quarter at the Chamber and it is open to both new and existing members.

Annual Chamber Golf Tournament
The Harlingen Area Chamber Golf Tournament has a long and proud history. It is the first major outdoor networking event of the year, allowing the Harlingen area business community to kick off the summer season. The golf tournament is a great day of networking that includes golf, cart, lunch and prizes. You can enter as a threesome or as an individual and, best of all; you don't have to be a golfer to have a great time.

Provide Training and Education

Specialized Training
At the request of our member businesses, the Chamber will provide assistance in organizing specialized training sessions, locating industry-related professional presenters, and providing the facility and equipment needed for the training.

Small Business Counseling
Through a joint partnership with the University of Texas Small Business Development Center, SBDC offers a series of free monthly workshops to help Harlingen Area’s small businesses succeed. Topics such as “How to Hyper Grow Your Business” to “Business Contract Remedies”. Other services offered by the Small Business Development Center are:

• Small Business Start-up Assistance; Market & Feasibility Studies; Business Plan Development; Identification of Financing Sources; SBA Loan Packaging; and International Trade Assistance.

Membership Seminar Event
Annually, we host a nationally recognized speaker to give you solid strategies for improving your business.

Additional Small Business Services

• Access to legislative information; Access to business-related information; Research assistance; Assistance in improving your business operations; Business referrals; Wage and benefits survey; and Assistance in promoting your business

Recognition of Members

We Are Watching!
If we see that our members are recognized in the media, we will recognize your achievements on our website and/or in our newsletter!

Advertising Assistance

Sponsorship Opportunities
The Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce has a variety of partnership opportunities throughout the year. By sponsoring a Chamber event or program you will not only be doing something good for your business, but also the community. The money raised enables the Chamber to strengthen its voice in the business community. It also allows us to enhance our special events, services, programs and activities that are designed to help your business thrive. We offer a variety of ways to reach our members, from advertising in our annual publications to sponsoring our events, we can help you match up your needs with the opportunities we have.