The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro held its 83rd annual meeting at the end of February to update its membership on its operations and ongoing efforts.
Hundreds of community members gathered in the Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Bell Hall on Feb. 26 to network and hear from the chamber’s leaders about the activity of the business-focused entity, as well as to learn who earned the chamber’s annual awards. President and CEO Aaron Nelson, the outgoing and incoming Chair of the Board of Directors, and sponsors gave updates on the chamber’s advocacy campaign, membership, and vision for 2026.
Here are some key takeaways from the annual event:
Chamber Membership is Increasing and Satisfied Amid Turbulent Year
Outgoing Board of Directors Chair Betsy Harris shared data on the vitality and operations of the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro, which set a new record for added members in 2025 (102 businesses). The organization’s total annual revenue exceeded $1.5 million and, in addition to the new members, kept its active members happy — with a reported 99% member satisfaction rate in its survey.
Those numbers come even as the chamber was kept busy in 2025 responding to both local and national challenges. Beyond a cloud of economic uncertainty with President Donald Trump’s administration taking power and passing tariffs while the cost of living continued to rise, staff were called to action in July when Tropical Depression Chantal brought historic levels of rainfall and flash flooding. The chamber helped provide and coordinate direct emergency support to 92 businesses negatively impacted by the storm, as well as promoted many re-openings for those that were able to remediate flood damage.
“The Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro punches above its weight,” said Harris. “We make a real difference in our towns, our region and beyond. But we’re more than just a sum of our parts: we are a network of members who care about each other, and whose chamber cares about them. Each member organization and each individual representing those organizations matter.”
Outgoing Chamber Board of Directors Chair Betsy Harris (left) and new Chair Elie Abou-Rjeileh (center) speak with David Jospeh at the Chamber’s annual meeting on Feb. 26, 2026. (Photo via the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro.)
Five-Year Chamber Campaign Sees Progress in All Three Priorities
One example of the chamber’s efforts to make a difference is its ongoing Campaign for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Nelson shared updates on the effort, which aims to turn advocacy into action to help drive local workforce development, small business growth and housing options.
In year 2 of the campaign, all three of those pillars saw progress. The chamber is preparing to launch a digital hub for finding local jobs, called ChapelHillCareers.com, to help feature employers and connect applicants to high-priority areas for the community. The website comes after the chamber held Orange County’s first employer-led Workforce Council in 2025, which gathered stakeholders together to identify four main sectors to focus on recruiting more employees to: healthcare, skilled trades and construction, hospitality and culinary, and technology. The goal is to reach 5,000 more Orange County residents earn local employee and create 1,000 net new local businesses by the end of 2028.
For the small business growth and support priority, the chamber created and filled its first Business Success Navigator to coordinate with business owners, connect them to available resources, and create a “regional entrepreneurial support ecosystem.” Taylor Gay, the current navigator, was hired in 2024 and shared her experience with the gathered crowd on Feb. 27 to specifically highlight the community’s history of Black and brown-owned businesses.
The housing component has also seen progress — albeit, more financially and infrastructure-wise compared to physical units. The chamber campaign’s goal is to reach 1,500 new affordable housing units built and 3,000 new units total by the end of 2028. Nelson cited the Town of Chapel Hill’s extension of the water and sewer boundary line, the public’s approval of a new affordable housing bond in 2024, and the creation of an affordable housing loan fund through UNC Health as wins so far.
“Progress is being made and we’re really grateful,” said Nelson. “More than 100 individuals and companies contributed to the campaign, and we really appreciated their investment. Many made a multi-year commitment…and our local governments participated also, contracting with the chamber in order to help make this work happen.”
Chapel Hill Police Chief, former Board Chair and ‘Prolific Volunteer’ Earn Recognition
As part of each annual meeting, the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro’s Board of Directors Chair distributes awards that recognize local leaders for their work alongside or for the chamber. This year, those recipients were Chapel Hill Police Chief Celisa Lehew, UNC Health employee Dan Lehman and longtime Chapel Hill resident Mae McLendon.
Harris awarded Lehew the 2025 Chair’s Award for Public Private Partnership, citing the chief’s emergency response to Chantal’s flooding and an arson at the Siena Hotel in the last calendar year as recent examples. But she also credited Lehew for using the business community’s feedback to improve safety in downtown Chapel Hill and working to add more women to the police force since becoming chief in 2022.
Chapel Hill Police Chief Celisa Lehew accepts her 2025 Chair’s Award for Public Private Partnership. (Photo by Brighton McConnell/Chapel Hill Media Group.)
McLendon won the Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award, which is given each year to a resident who leaves a positive mark on the community. As shared by Duke Energy’s Sara Stephens, McLendon was an easy choice for her extensive volunteer work since moving to Chapel Hill in 1964. Beyond her work in the North Carolina Department of Corrections, she used her time to contribute to the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services, the Chapel Hill Planning Board, the Lions Club Precinct, the Northside Conservation Task Force, the Marian Cheek Jackson Center, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and many more organizations. McLendon’s daughter accepted the award on her behalf.
Harris honored Lehman with the 2025 Chair’s Award for Service to the Chamber. Lehman has spent 11 years on the Board of Directors, choosing to stay on after serving as its chair and taking up leadership of the Chamber’s 501(c)(3) Partnership. He also set the record for most new members recruited by a Board of Directors member in 2025.
More information and details about the Chamber for a Greater Chapel Hill-Carrboro’s annual meeting and advocacy efforts can be found on the organization’s website.
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