Reaching out across county lines

The Belgium Area Chamber of Commerce has crossed county lines in the name of business networking.

The Chamber already participates in the Ozaukee Network Chamber Exchange (ONCE) luncheons that include the Grafton, Saukville, Cedarburg and Mequon-Thiensville Chambers, and now it has expanded beyond that.

The Chamber on Tuesday, Jan. 30, held a Tri-County Chamber Happy Hour with two chambers from southern Sheboygan County — Random Lake and Oostburg.

“We work in conjunction with other Ozaukee Chambers to bring our respective Chamber members educational and networking opportunities such as the ONCE luncheons, all of which have been very helpful,” Belgium Chamber Executive Director Tara Williams said.

“However, being located on the northern end of Ozaukee County, we thought our members would also find it beneficial to make connections across county lines to Belgium’s surrounding communities, many of which are similar in size to ours,”

The event was held in a central location, the Koffie Trader in Cedar Grove.

Any member of the three Chambers could attend the event for free, and they had a chance to win a big-screen Toshiba TV thanks to Plus Group Wealth Advisors in Belgium.

The event included introductions by each person via 30-second elevator speeches. Then the floor was open to networking.

Williams and Oostburg Chamber Director Robyn DePagter said the event was a hit.

“It was very well received and a huge success. Everyone in attendance had positive responses to being able to network with their neighboring businesses and to make some new connections,” DePagter said.

Willaims said, “I was excited to see members from all three chambers getting the chance to meet new business leaders from our immediate area. I really feel these types of events are a ‘win’ for everyone and hope to see them continue. Smaller communities like ours work better together, and we’re excited for the chance to work more closely with the Random Lake and Oostburg chambers.”

The three chambers are planning to discuss holding future joint events.