Mission
The purpose of the Wausau Region Chamber is to strengthen our Member businesses and enhance our community by building business success.

Vision
We are the region's indispensable source for business connections, opportunities and solutions

History of the Chamber

The Chamber of Commerce as a wholly voluntary institution in the United States is eight years older than the Declaration of Independence. The first chamber, the New York Chamber of Commerce, was organized in 1768.

The Wausau Chamber of Commerce has its roots in the Wausau Board of Trade and later formalized at a public meeting which was held on Monday evening, March 11, 1912 at the Courthouse in Wausau. Purpose of that meeting was to organize a commercial club, then called the Wausau Advancement Association.

The purpose of the organization was to "foster, protect and advance the commercial, industrial, and civic interest of the City of Wausau and County of Marathon, bring the advantageous location and natural advantages of the territory to its highest stage of development, utility and attractiveness and promote progressive thought and action in all that will make for an enlightened, contented, and prosperous commonwealth"..

The next day, the local newspaper reported that "With an earnestness and enthusiasm unprecedented in local movements of this kind, the citizens of Wausau to the number of five hundred or more met last night in the civilization of a society having for its object the promotion of the welfare of the city".

In those first years, efforts were devoted to such projects as: appointment of a committee to "look after entertainment of visitors and do what we can to secure other conventions for Wausau", development of plans to make Wausau a "greater buying center", formation of a committee to make Wausau safer from fire, and development of new industrial prospects. The organization devoted many of its resources to retaining and attracting new businesses to the area. It also promoted tourism, raised money for improving the road between Wausau and Merrill, and encouraged better relations between the city and surrounding communities.

In May, 1916, the name of the organization was changed to "Chamber of Commerce". As a result of the geographical broadening of its interests, the name was changed again in 1961 to the Wausau Chamber of Commerce. And in 1999, the name was once again changed to Wausau/Marathon County Chamber of Commerce.

Virtually from the beginning, the Chamber has seen its responsibilities as much broader than to promote the interest of businesses and business people. It has recognized that, in the words of one past Chamber official, "The business community isn't healthy unless the total community is".

Today, the Wausau Region Chamber of Commerce has nearly 1,200 Member businesses. It is a non-stock corporation organized under Chapter 181 of the Wisconsin Statutes and is designated as a 501(c)(6) by the Internal Revenue Service, which permits dues to be deducted from federal income tax as a business expense.