The United States Chamber of Commerce today awarded the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce with 5-Star Accreditation for its sound policies, effective organizational procedures, and positive impact on the community.

"Accreditation validates a Chamber as having programs that benefit their local economy and for positively influencing action in their community,” said Raymond P. Towle, IOM, CAE, U.S. Chamber Executive Director of Political Affairs and Federation Relations. "We applaud this organization for advancing the principles of free enterprise.”

Accreditation is the only national program that recognizes Chambers for their effective organizational procedures and community involvement. In order to receive Accreditation, a Chamber must meet minimum standards in their operations and programs, including areas of governance, government affairs and technology. This extensive self-review can take more than six months to complete.

"We are truly honored to receive this recognition from the U.S. Chamber. 5-Star Accreditation places the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber in the top 1% of Chambers in the nation. We believe that this process has further illustrated our goal of providing our more than 900 members with quality programs and services,” said Drake Pothier, President & CEO, Houma-Terrebonne Chamber.

The Houma-Terrebonne Chamber joins the Greater Shreveport Chamber as the only two 5-Star accredited organizations in Louisiana.

Local Chambers are rated Accredited, 3-Stars, 4-Stars, or 5-Stars. The final determination is made by the Accrediting Board, a committee of U.S. Chamber board members. The Houma-Terrebonne Chamber has been accredited since 1994 but has never achieved 5-Star status until now and was as recently as 2004 awarded 4-Star accreditation.