Blue Water Chamber Invites the Community to Put Thought into Action During Small Business Season
November 13, 2026
Media contact: Jorja Baldwin, President/CEO
(810) 985-7102 | jbaldwin@bluewaterchamber.com
Release date: November 9, 2026
Blue Water Chamber Invites the Community to Put Thought into Action During Small Business Season
PORT HURON, MI — NOVEMBER 9, 2026 — The Blue Water Chamber of Commerce invites residents, businesses, and community organizations to support local entrepreneurs during Small Business Season, November 1 through December 31, 2026. This year's theme, "It's the Thought That Counts," celebrates the care behind local businesses — and how one thoughtful action can connect them with new customers.
Local businesses make the holidays special, from preparing meals and finding meaningful gifts to providing services that ease busy days. All year long, they also create jobs, shape the character of our community, and support the causes neighbors care about.
"Our community shines at Christmas. There's something endearing about twinkling lights and big grins, and our small businesses are behind so much of that," said Jorja Baldwin, President/CEO. "A recommendation, a review, or a purchase can introduce someone to a business they might otherwise never discover. Small Business Season lets us recognize the people behind those businesses and put our support into action."
Throughout the season, the Chamber will share social media posts, offer networking opportunities, and promote members online and by word of mouth — and encourages the whole community to do the same. Businesses can email their events and promotions to info@bluewaterchamber.com and are welcome to tag the Blue Water Chamber's official accounts to expand their reach.
About the Blue Water Chamber of Commerce
The Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce traces its roots to 1908, when a group of Port Huron business owners and entrepreneurs volunteered their time and money to grow the greater Port Huron–Marysville business community. Incorporated in May 1917 as a countywide chamber with 905 members, it spent its early decades recruiting industry while building a $100,000 industrial fund, and merged with the Marysville Chamber of Commerce in 1953 to become the Greater Port Huron-Marysville Chamber of Commerce.
In the decades that followed, the Chamber's work widened well beyond industry recruitment. It launched a tourism bureau and the first Blue Water Visitors Guide, lobbied for the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway and the Mackinac Bridge, pushed for an airfield and the county airport, and helped form the Industrial Development Corporation now known as the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County. Its community commitments have ranged from school financing reform and the Lunch Buddies mentoring program to a 501c3 Community Benefit Fund supporting academic achievement awards and earning the Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals' Chamber of the Year Award in 2007.
Long known as the Greater Port Huron Area Chamber of Commerce, it has operated under the assumed name Blue Water Area Chamber of Commerce since 2009. Today the Chamber represents more than 500 member businesses across the greater Port Huron area — advocating for their interests, connecting them to one another, and helping them grow.
About Small Business Season
Small Business Season began with one simple belief: small businesses deserve more than a moment — they deserve a season of support. What started as a vision in 2008 became a movement in 2020, when communities rallied to keep small businesses alive during a global crisis and chambers of commerce proved the power of local support when it mattered most.
Today, Small Business Season equips chambers with tools to spotlight local businesses, inspire consumers, and unite communities. Each year more chambers join, more businesses thrive, and more consumers choose to shop with meaning. From purchases and referrals to reviews and words of encouragement, the season celebrates the many ways a community can help the people often called the "backbone of the community" feel like one.
