Change is inevitable, but growth is not.

In the world of business, growth results from hard work, doing things the right way and paying attention to details. The Northern Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce's (NLCCC) recent relocation will allow the organization to do more good, to do greater good and to promote additional business growth.

"We're here to serve our members," said Liz Ackerman, who's been NLCCC's executive director for the last six years. "But we exist for anyone who wants to be doing business in northern Lancaster County. We also have a whole lot of members who come from outside of northern Lancaster County. Our members are people. They're not just numbers to us. Our membership is as diverse as the people of northern Lancaster County, and we're proud it's reflected in that way."

On June 26, NLCCC officially opened its new offices at 4139 Oregon Pike, Ephrata. The 5-mile move from 124 E. Main St., Ephrata, where NLCCC had been headquartered for the last seven years, will allow NLCCC to serve its growing membership better.

The new location, which is convenient to routes 222, 722 and 772, also allows for convenient access from Leola, Lititz, New Holland and Denver.

NLCCC is open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. by appointment.

"(The Brossman Business Complex) was a great location, but we outgrew it," said Ackerman. "We knew eventually we were going to need to look at getting new office spaces because we were wanting to accommodate our members. At the old building, we grew exponentially, from 285 members to 565. We wanted to have event space that was part of the chamber space, and we wanted to be able to offer it to members."

"The opportunity of this (new) building arose, and it turned out to be the perfect space for us, and everything fell into place very quickly," continued Ackerman. "It was the right place at the right time. You don't always get to direct things. You just have to trust the process."

NLCCC conducted a drop-in open house on Aug. 28 to introduce its new Oregon Pike space to the community. The event included a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony and refreshments.

"There's a lot of excitement from our members about the new chamber of commerce location, and we're excited about it," said Ackerman, a resident of Reinholds. "This is something we want to share with our members. Our members have made this possible. We love the fact that our members consider us their chamber of commerce."

In addition to new office space for NLCCC's two-person staff, the new location features an all-purpose room that can accommodate up to 76 individuals for training, education and employee and business partner meetings.

"We have consistently added over 100 members in each of the last three years," said Ackerman. "More and more businesses and people are realizing the geographical and the economic abilities of northern Lancaster County. We do business here in connecting ways to support each other. More and more businesses want to be part of this vibrant community."

NLCCC represents the interests of traditional businesses, entertainment companies, manufacturers and entrepreneurs located north of Route 30 and east of Route 72, those generally located in the Conestoga Valley, Ephrata, Warwick, Garden Spot and Cocalico school districts.

"The overall purpose of the chamber is to provide opportunities for our businesses and communities to be able to connect and showcase their services, and to support the economy of northern Lancaster County," said Ackerman. "The growth is wonderful to see, and it brought these conversations forward. Hiring a third person is something we're considering in the future. One of the comments we receive most is: 'There are only two of you? How do you do all of this stuff yourselves?'"

NLCCC was originally established as Ephrata Chamber of Commerce in 1922, before taking on its current handle in 2018.

"Our region is growing," said Ackerman. "That is reflected in the chamber's need to reevaluate how we can serve our members. We have strong businesses, we have strong nonprofits, and we have strong communities."

For additional information, go to https://northernlancasterchamber.org.