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About
the Chamber
MISSION AND HISTORY
1920's
The
May 19, 1925 edition of the Fairfax Herald carried the news
of a new
organization, dedicated "to work to the advantage of the county,"
with a
simple, direct lead: "The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce
has been
launched."
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Family Farms generated much of the commerce
in Fairfax County during the 1920s, and the Home Demonstration
Clubs offered farm wives and
children opportunities to improve their
knowledge and "learn by doing" things such
as cooking, canning, sewing, gardening,
first-aid and other skills. (Photo courtesy of the Fairfax
County Public Library Photographic
Archive)
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Acting
as Temporary President, George B. Robey presided over
the inaugural meeting, where the Chamber's first Board of Directors,
with equal representation from each of the county's six magisterial
districts, was appointed. Soon, the Board included wheat farmers
and dairymen, several retailers, attorneys, bankers, real estate
agents and at least four women.
From
the start, the Chamber has assumed its role as a forceful advocate
for the Northern Virginia business |
community.
Within three months of its
inception,
the Chamber lobbied against the C&P
Telephone Co.'s request to increase rates for
its Northern Virginia customers. Pointing out
that the company's Washington customers
received
better service, including free local exchange
calls for lower rates, Chamber President M.F. Church,
a pharmacist from the Town of Falls Church, formed a committee
to protest the rate hike to the State Corporation Commission.
While
the Chamber fought the phone company, local employers waged
a battle against employee tardiness. So dire was the situation,
the Fairfax Herald reported, bosses imposed fines on
tardy personnel and awarded bonuses to those who made it to
work on time.
In a late October 1925 keynote of an ultimately successful bid
for Governor, and in a harbinger of anti-tax pledges in the
latter part of the century, Harry F. Byrd, Sr. promised
to repeal the state tax on land and tangible property. The State
Senator from Harrisonburg also restated his opposition to issuing
state bonds to finance road construction, advocating a pay-as-you-go
system that Virginia still employs.
In
late 1926, the Chamber began to implement an economic development
program in earnest, recruiting business groups from throughout
Northern Virginia to form a coalition named Piedmont, Inc. Simultaneously,
the Chamber initiated a membership recruitment drive that featured
regular advertisements in local papers.
In a Christmas Day 1926 editorial, the Chamber was praised for
its efforts to build a hydroelectric plant in Great Falls. The
Chamber leadership was especially credited for successfully
rallying the support of its counterparts in the U.S., Washington,
D.C. and Alexandria Chambers of Commerce.
Throughout the early years, extensive advertising was used to
promote Chamber membership to Fairfax County businesses. The
Chamber's work was lauded in one ad, stating: "The Fairfax
County Chamber of Commerce is functioning. Its possibilities
have been demonstrated by the influence it has been able to
exert in matters of public interest."
In the organization's first attempt at branding, the Chamber
awarded first prize in a slogan contest to Hazel Kirk of Herndon,
who took home $15 for her winning entry: "Fairfax County,
Agricultural, Residential, Historical." The new slogan
was used in all of the Chamber's promotional and marketing material.
"Chamber
of Commerce Favors Small Tax for Fire Fighters"
In less than a year, the Chamber established itself as a force
for change in Fairfax County. When the business leaders of the
county wanted to extend fire protection to the county's rural
areas, the Chamber organized a community meeting to sway the
Board of Supervisors.
At the meeting, fire officials from Montgomery County testified
to the potential life and property-saving value of county-wide
fire protection. The Chamber also arranged for fire chiefs L.L.
Freeman of Vienna, R.E. Kendrick of Falls Church,
Thomas R. Keith of Fairfax and George Harrison of
Herndon to publicly urge the Supervisors to approve a new tax
to raise the $4,500 needed annually to implement county-wide
service.
Radio was the dominant medium in the late 1920's and the Chamber
had its own radio show every Thursday evening on WSJV from Mt.
Vernon Hills. One widely publicized program in February of 1927
featured Chamber President Allen discussing the Chamber's
latest initiatives with Delegate L. L. Freeman, Congressman
R. Walton Moore and Captain Thurlow White, with
musical entertainment provided by members of the Herndon Glee
Club. Many Chamber radio shows entertained listeners with songs
from the Falls Church Quartette and the Herndon Music Club.
In another example of the Chamber's early business advocacy,
when Virginia proposed using a portion of the state's transportation
funds - generated by the gas tax and intended to finance road
projects - to fund the public schools, the Chamber went directly
to Governor John Garland Pollard with its protest.
At the same
time, the Chamber created its first Legislative Affairs committee,
chaired by Martin T. Webb of Annandale, to protect the
business community's interests in the upcoming 1927 session
of the General Assembly.
From the beginning, the Fairfax County Chamber and its members
seized the leadership role in promoting the interests of the
business community.
A promotional pamphlet produced by the Chamber around 1928 argued
that the county "is now at the beginning of extensive suburban
residential development" owing to the "new, broad
boulevards and new bridges" under construction, linking
Fairfax County with the Nation's Capital. In the ensuing decades,
the Chamber would continue to play a role in guiding the policies
that have made Fairfax County a great place to live and do business.
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Though farmers still used beasts of burden for
many farm chores, this prize-winning, Fairfax County
soybean field was being seeded with a tractor drawn
seed drill when Agricultural Extension Agent Harry
B. Dern took this photo in 1925. (Photo courtesy of
the Fairfax County Public Library Photographic Archive)
1930's
1940's
1950's
1960's
1970's
1980's
1990's
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