You can live in a community for decades and still be surprised by the people working a few streets away. Someone has the skill a nonprofit needs. Someone knows a business owner looking for help. Someone else would gladly volunteer, if only they knew where to begin.

When Erica Lewis visited Xemplar Club on October 15, 2025, she described a chamber of commerce as a place where those separate pieces can meet. As business development manager for the Greater Farmington Area Chamber of Commerce, she encouraged members to think about participation, introductions, and follow-through. A name in a directory is a starting point. A relationship develops through what happens next.

Look beyond the business card

A networking event can feel like an exercise in exchanging names. Lewis offered a more useful purpose: learn enough about people to understand when you might be able to help them.

What does their organization actually do? Who do they serve? What problem are they trying to solve? Those questions make a conversation more memorable than a hurried sales pitch. They also give you something useful to remember when a neighbor asks for a recommendation a month later.

For an established professional, this might mean introducing a younger business owner to someone with relevant experience. For a retiree, it could mean connecting a volunteer organization with a person who knows accounting, maintenance, or event planning. Years of local knowledge can become a practical community resource.

Membership opens a door; participation builds trust

Lewis emphasized that paying dues alone does not produce the benefits people hope for. Relationships need time and repeated contact. Chamber gatherings, referral groups, ribbon cuttings, and individual conversations provide opportunities to become familiar with one another.

That does not require attending everything. A manageable routine is more useful than a burst of activity followed by months of silence. Choose a gathering you genuinely enjoy, return regularly, and remember something about the people you meet.

The same principle applies outside a chamber. At a service club, neighborhood organization, or community event, people learn who follows through. Reliability can begin with a small promise: send the information, make the introduction, or arrive when you said you would.

Ask what you can contribute

One of the strongest threads in Lewis’s talk was the connection between local businesses and community service. She described efforts to bring nonprofit organizations together and examples of businesses contributing practical help.

These partnerships work best when the need is specific. An organization looking for warehouse help needs a different connection from one seeking publicity or a meeting space. Being clear makes it easier for another person to recognize an opportunity to contribute.

If you are involved with a nonprofit, try describing one immediate need in a sentence. If you run a business, consider which skills, materials, or relationships you could reasonably share. A useful match often begins with a modest request that someone can actually fulfill.

Use the directory with a human purpose

A member directory can help you discover services and organizations nearby. Lewis encouraged people to explore the chamber’s resources and learn about its members. She also stressed the difference between making connections and treating the membership list as a collection of cold sales leads.

Start with a genuine reason to reach out. Perhaps you have used someone’s service, share an interest in a community project, or want to ask about an event. Explain that connection and respect the person’s time.

Supporting a local business can be equally straightforward. Visit, make a purchase when it fits your needs, or tell a friend about a good experience. Attendance at a ribbon cutting is encouraging; becoming a thoughtful customer helps the relationship continue after the photographs are taken.

Make room for people at different stages

Lewis’s presentation also highlighted the value of bringing experienced professionals and younger entrepreneurs into the same room. Each group has something useful to offer. One may know the community’s history and institutions; another may bring a new service, a fresh approach, or a different network.

A productive conversation does not require either person to have all the answers. Ask what the other person is working on. Share an experience when it is relevant. Offer an introduction only when both parties would benefit, and check before passing along personal contact information.

That kind of exchange helps a community carry knowledge forward. It gives newer participants a place to begin and longtime residents a meaningful way to stay involved.

Try one useful introduction this week

Think of two people or organizations whose interests overlap. Ask whether they would welcome an introduction, explain the reason, and then let them take the conversation forward.

Lewis’s message makes community building feel approachable. You do not need to organize a major event to make a difference. You can begin by noticing what someone needs and remembering who might help. Thank you, Erica, for reminding us how much possibility already exists among our neighbors.