Affiliate Chamber Spotlight: 2020 Grimes Chamber & Economic Development

Chamber Name + Website

Grimes Chamber & Economic Development

Elected leader for 2020

Ben Butzke, Board Chair

Professional Staff Leader of the Chamber

Brian Buethe, President, CEO

Number of Members

316 Members

How Does a Business Join Your Chamber?

Businesses can join Grimes Chamber & Economic Development by visiting GrimesIowa.com. Alternatively, prospective members can visit the organizations office at 404 SE Main Street, Suite 200, Grimes, IA 50111.

What Inspired You to First Get Involved with Your Chamber?

My wife (Jacque Butzke) and I established a business — Inspiring Dance — within the Grimes community. It seemed like a natural fit, as a business owner, to be involved and engaged in the local Chamber of Commerce.

What is a Signature Offering of Your Chamber?

Grimes Chamber & Economic Development is unique in that it provides traditional Chamber of Commerce benefits, as well as operating as a full-service Economic Development Organization (EDO), while also providing for local tourism promotion; a trifecta of services that benefit businesses across the spectrum.

What is Your Chamber’s Biggest Accomplishment in the Past 12 Months?

Grimes Chamber & Economic Development has proactively responded to the COVID-19 global pandemic, which has impacted its members in a variety of ways. Collaboration and communication have always been important, but became even more so in recent months as important information needed to be shared with members and the general public needed to be informed on how they could continue to support local businesses.

What Initiative/Project Are You Looking Forward to in the Upcoming Year?

We are looking forward to helping lead the effort to reinvigorate our local economy by providing information, education, promotion and safe networking opportunities that will benefit our members and the community in which we reside.

What Partnership Tools/Resources Have Been Most Beneficial to Your Chamber Members?

Traditionally, we have greatly valued the opportunity to engage with over 6,000 regional member businesses and organization via the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s platform of events and services. This year, the access to ideas and information on best practices by industry have and will continue to prove crucial to ensuring that we are on the right economic path going forward.

What Are Your Upcoming Events?

While our events may look and feel a bit different in the short term, we still look forward to hosting ongoing events such as Lunch & Learns, Percolate AM Networking Events, and (fingers crossed) our 15th Annual GCED Golf Outing. #LoveGrimes #DSMStrong

The Greater Des Moines Partnership is the fourth largest regional Chamber of Commerce in the nation. Learn more about Partnership Affiliate Chambers, browse the Membership Directory and read additional Affiliate Chamber spotlights.