The South County Chamber
The SOCO Chamber
WE ARE
here to raise
THE STANDARD
This is home. And home is worth showing up for.
We are just getting started.
What does “raise the standard” even mean?
It means acknowledging that what’s been done isn’t cutting it, and refusing to accept things as they are.
It means a transformative, collective push toward a better South County. Not just the businesses that can afford to join a chamber, and not just the big dollars that make an impact financially, but the people who make up this community. The ones who own the businesses that hold it together. The places we gather, the places we worship, the places our kids go.
It’s the neighbors and the neighborhoods. It’s investing in something bigger than your own customers, and something bigger than your own storefront. Because when you invest in South County, South County invests back in you.
In the end, it means doing things the way they should’ve been done all along. Bringing this community together in a way nobody else has. And becoming the standard everyone else gets measured against.
We’re not here to be another organization that says it’s a community partner.
We’re here to show them what one actually looks like.
WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT
We're not a chamber of commerce.
We chose not to be.
We looked hard at that model — the restrictions, the red tape, the things you're required to do that don't make sense, and the things that would make sense that you're not allowed to do.
If we're here to raise the standard, why would we build something we already know doesn't work?
So this was never really a choice. It was the only thing that made sense for South County.
If you don't grow the community you're in, you drain it.
JIM SHELVY / FOUNDER
SO WHAT ARE WE?
We're not a 501(c)(6). We're not a 501(c)(3).
We're a social enterprise, formed under Missouri's LLC act, chapter 347.
We reinvest in the community, and the community is who we answer to — not a set of rules that are outdated and don't work.
What We Do
What We Ask
We show up.
Ribbon cuttings, grand openings, the crowd in the room. Your presence is worth more to this community than your money.
We listen.
The Leadership Council is the community. The people steering this are your neighbors and the business owners down the street, not a boardroom somewhere else.
We take action.
Ribbon Cuttings. Celebrate South County. Discover SOCO. SOCO Cares. Shop SOCO Weekend. The SOCO Awards. Protect SOCO.
We invest.
Money, time, knowledge, ideas — put back into South County instead of taken out of it. It's our responsibility, all of us, to build a better South County together.
We welcome everyone.
Everyone deserves a seat at the table. Nobody gets turned away.
PARTNERSHIPS
It's free.
And it stays free
as long as it needs to be.
Residents join free. Businesses that can't afford it join free. Not a trial, not a teaser. We're not asking you to take a seat at the head of the table — we're saying nobody gets turned away from it. Pull up a chair.
When you can invest, invest. Community Partner · Growth Partner · Impact Partner · Lasting Impact Partner · Founding Member · Legacy Partner · Donations. Starting at $29.
What kind of South County will we leave them?
The answers are already here.
They're written above you.
We can do what we've always done, or we can form a community that shows up together, that listens to each other, that takes action for each other, and that invests in the future.
Local Business. Lasting Impact.