Through her active membership with the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce, Maureen Maidlow, investment advisor with OverRidge Wealth Advisors, found a close-knit community.
“I joined the Chamber to get more involved,” Maidlow said. “I wanted to meet people in Arlington and get to know the city.”
Even though she’d lived in Arlington for many years, Maidlow always worked in other cities. The first thing she did after becoming a Chamber Member in 2015 was join a Networking Group, weekly meetings structured to maximize networking opportunities by having one industry represented per group.
“They really became my people,” she said. “I sat with them at BOB (Business Over Breakfast). I attended events with them. They became my core community at the Chamber.”
For her, Networking Groups provide a small-town-type of community in a bigger city.
“You get to know their life,” Maidlow said. “It gives you a sense of relationships that are hard to find. If you stay with the group for years, they become an extra layer of community supporting you through hard situations.”
Each week, you learn more about each other’s business, families, hobbies, pets and so much more. These are people who always say hi when they see you at the grocery store or walking in the park, she said.
“‘Together, We Succeed’ means my agenda is not more important than yours,” Maidlow said. “It means if I do well, I can lift you up to do well, or if I’m struggling, you can lift me up to do well.”
Maidlow said Chamber Staff creates an atmosphere that truly focuses on championing economic and community prosperity. Something Maidlow loves doing at Chamber events is making introductions, connecting people and helping them build not only business relationships but friendships.
“The staff helps us make connections and make it easy to be an active part of the Chamber,” she said.
Becoming a part of the Chamber community starts by attending events. When she first joined, Maidlow found Business Over Breakfast (BOB), an event where members share 30-second elevator pitches to 100+ attendees, to be the most beneficial.
“BOB was really important for me because it exposed me to the most people in the shortest amount of time,” she said.
Now, she finds Chamber After Hours, a more traditional happy hour at a different location each month, to be the most beneficial.
“Chamber After Hours, to me, is the place that you need to go if you want to meet the people that are leaders in the community, financial donors in the community and the nonprofits that make the community thrive and grow,” Maidlow said.
While these events provide a space to get to know a variety of people, Member Groups provide a space to meet like-minded people.
“Member Groups are where you’re going to find people that have similar values, interests and concerns that you do,” Maidlow said. “Find the place you feel the most at home and invest your energy and time into it.”
Maidlow encourages new members to take the time to make connections and volunteer on Member Group subcommittees.
Getting involved with the Women’s Alliance and their annual Inspired Women Luncheon wasn’t a hard choice for her, and some of Maidlow’s core memories at the Chamber are working with other Women’s Alliance volunteers to stuff swag bags and set up the room for the annual event.
She also encourages members to attend major events like State of the City and State of the County to stay informed on what’s happening in the community.
Since upgrading her membership from a General Member to a Corporate Leadership Council (CLC) member several years ago, Maidlow said she’d never go back.
“Being a CLC gives you so many more opportunities to see and be seen by community leaders,” she said.
Outside of the typical monthly events, Major Investors are invited to exclusive events, including the quarterly Morning with the Mayor, tours of major facilities in Arlington, important updates from the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau and so much more.
Maidlow’s biggest advice to new members is to build their community by actively attending events.
“If you join the Chamber of Commerce with the intent of only getting business, you’ve missed the entire concept of the Chamber,” she said. “It’s about your business, but equally about your community. The best way to build your community is to go to events, meet people, develop the relationship, and if it’s appropriate, the business will follow.”
The Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce is the catalyst for growing our members’ business, fostering economic prosperity, amplifying the voice of business and developing our community’s future. Through year-round events, members build lasting relationships and learn crucial strategies to grow their business. Interested in becoming a member? Contact Bryan Weatherford, Director of Member Recruitment.
Learn more about how OverRidge Wealth Advisors can help you invest and plan for retirement here.