Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce
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The Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, doing business as the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, is a regional chamber of commerce. It is one of the nation's largest chambers of commerce, representing 4,000 businesses and nearly over 500,000 employees in southwestern
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, northern
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
and southeastern
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, also known as Greater Cincinnati, or the Cincinnati–Northern Kentucky metropolitan area. It was twice named national Chamber of the Year.


History

The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce was founded on October 15, 1839, by 76 companies and individuals who placed an ad in the ''Cincinnati Daily Gazette'' urging local businessmen to attend a meeting at the Young Men's Mercantile Library Association headquarters in the old Cincinnati College Building at Fourth and Walnut Streets. This Chamber's founding preceded the
United States Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is the largest lobbying group in the United States, representing over three million businesses and organizations. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urgin ...
, which held its first meeting in Cincinnati, by 73 years. The Cincinnati Chamber celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2014. The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce met in six different temporary locations until in 1876 they started to build a permanent office, inviting local architects to compete in a selection competition.
Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...
's design won, and it built the new headquarters building in 1889. A fire in 1911 caused substantial damage to the building, leading to the discovery that only $90,000 of insurance was carried on the building, which had cost $772,674.05 to build, and so it could not be repaired. When the property was sold, much of the granite from the building was saved and stored in Oakley, Ohio. In 1967, University of Cincinnati Professor John Peterson coordinated an effort to build a memorial to
Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...
out of the surviving stones. A design competition whose jury included's Richardson's grandson was held in 1968 and the design by student Stephen Carter (architect) was selected. The memorial was completed in 1972 and resides in Burnet Woods. According to Charles Ludwig, a journalist in the 1920s and 1930s for the ''
Cincinnati Times-Star ''The Cincinnati Times-Star'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, from 1880 to 1958. The Northern Kentucky edition was known as ''The Kentucky Times-Star'', and a Sunday edition was known as ''The Sunday Times-St ...
'', the Chamber had been involved in most of the city's significant developments since its creation. As Cincinnati grew and became an eight-county metropolitan area in the mid-1960s, the Chamber changed its name to the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce to reflect its regional representation of businesses throughout Southwestern Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana. It is now called The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. The phrase "Cincinnati USA" is used to indicate that Greater Cincinnati extends beyond just one U.S. city and state. Cincinnati USA is a region of 15 counties (In Ohio: Butler, Warren, Hamilton, Clermont and Brown Counties. In Kentucky: Boone, Kenton, Campbell, Gallatin, Grant, Pendleton and Bracken Counties. In Indiana: Franklin, Dearborn and Ohio Counties) located in three states (Ohio, Kentucky & Indiana).


Presidents


John P. Williams Jr.

Williams served as President from 1984 to 2001. After graduating from
Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
in 1963 and
University of Cincinnati College of Law The University of Cincinnati College of Law was founded in 1833 as the Cincinnati Law School. It is the fourth oldest continuously running law school in the United States — after Harvard, the University of Virginia, and Yale — and the first in ...
in 1966, he became an attorney at
Taft Stettinius & Hollister Taft Stettinius & Hollister, commonly known as "Taft", is an American, white-shoe law firm founded in Cincinnati, with offices in Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton and Delaware, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Detroit, Michigan; Indianapoli ...
."Memorial John P. Williams Jr. '63"
''
Princeton Alumni Weekly The ''Princeton Alumni Weekly'' (''PAW'') is a magazine published for the alumni of Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New ...
'', November 13, 2019. Accessed April 23, 2021.
His time at Taft Stettinius & Hollister was interrupted by service as an infantry officer leading a rifle company in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
where he was the recipient of the Bronze Star Medal with "V" and two
Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...
s for wounds sustained in combat. During his 17 year tenure at the chamber, he spearheaded efforts to revamp the
riverfront A riverfront is a region along a river. Often in larger cities that are traversed or bordered by one or more rivers, the riverfront is lined with marinas, docks, cafes, museums, parks, or minor attractions. Today many riverfronts are a staple of ...
and bring two new stadiums into the area. He also helped bring the
Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA) is the holding company for Toyota's automobile manufacturing and research and development operations in North America. Although the company still exists for legal purposes, the c ...
headquarters into the area. Additionally, he had the chamber organize two important events for Cincinnati,
Oktoberfest Zinzinnati Oktoberfest Zinzinnati is an annual weekend festival in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Based on the original German Oktoberfest, it is billed as the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the United States and second largest in the world. First he ...
and Taste of Cincinnati. In 2017, he was recognized as a "Great Living Cincinnatians"."Chamber to honor 4 as Great Living Cincinnatians"
''Movers and Makers Magazine website'', Cincinnati, January 24, 2017. Accessed April 22, 2021.


References


External links


Cincinnati Chamber History
{{coord, 39.100769, -84.513231, display=title, format=dms Buildings and structures in Cincinnati Government of Cincinnati Commercial buildings completed in 1982 1982 establishments in Ohio