2009 was a very important year for the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce as the organization worked to gain its footing independent of City of Seattle funds that had helped boost it in the past. One key to this footing: recruitment. Getting more of the some 3,000 businesses executive director Jack Hilovsky says operate on Capitol Hill to join the Chamber is a critical component of its long-term survival as a valid community group.

According to the Chamber’s holiday card, they’ve done pretty well in the recruitment category. 

Part of the organization’s ‘season’s greetings’ message is a note that the Chamber added 53 members in 2009. CHS was one of them, by the way. That’s a 44.5% increase bumping current membership up to 172 businesses.

Of course, when you look at in terms of the 3,000 businesses, you’re still only talking about 5.7% of the Hill’s biz entities. But it’s the holidays so let’s put a positive spin on it. Still lots of room to grow!

We’ve written in the past about why you should care about the Chamber and whether it succeeds or not. While you might not always agree with how it uses the power, you have to acknowledge that an organized group of Capitol Hill business owners can have the economic clout to get things done. Or, at least, get the mayor-elect to show up at your Christmas party. Plus, their influence is still growing. Coming in 2010: a new Capitol Hill Web site managed by the Chamber. A Capitol Hill Web site? We all know how powerful that can be.