LAPLACE — March 18, 2009, will officially mark the fifth anniversary, from the date of the first board of directors meeting, of the River Region Chamber of Commerce. Since then, the Chamber has grown by over 250 members throughout St. Charles, St. James and St. John parishes.

To celebrate this milestone, the Chamber will host a gala at the Hilton New Orleans Airport on Friday, Feb. 6. The celebration will kick-off with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m. followed by dinner, program and awards at 7 p.m. The keynote speaker will be Tim Barfield, Executive Director of Louisiana Workforce Commission.

To date, the sponsors for the gala are ADM, Advent Communications, Aegis Construction, Dow, Echo Ventures, Entergy, International Matex Tank Terminals, Louisiana Federal Credit Union, Marathon Petroleum Company, Motiva Enterprises LLC — Norco Refinery, N P Stein CPA, Pannu Enterprises, Reserve Telecommunications, Rewarding Events and Incentives, The Basketry, Valero St. Charles Refinery, and Workforce Alliance.

The registration cost is $65/Chamber member and $80/Non-chamber member.

Please call the Chamber at 985-359-9777 to reserve your space today.

The history of the River Region Chamber of Commerce began in the fall of 2002 when a core group of volunteers, known as the River Area Council, banded together to create an organization to support business and promote regionalism throughout the River Region.

Over the next year, the organization was structured and on Jan. 20, 2004 the River Region Chamber of Commerce was formally incorporated.

During the first quarter of 2009 the Chamber will expand its member benefits. One of the benefits will include an in-house SCORE representative. SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). A representative will be on-site one day a week to provide business counseling. In addition, member discounts are available for credit card processing and office supplies.