The Dallas Regional Chamber, formerly known as the Dallas Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce—is a

chamber of commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

that represents businesses and institutions in

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

, including the

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

metropolitan area.

History

The Dallas Regional Chamber was founded in 1909 as a combination of three smaller organizations: the Commercial Club (founded in 1893), the 150,000 Club, and the Freight Bureau—and the Dallas Board of Trade, established in 1874. The Dallas Regional Chamber is supported by roughly 3,000 businesses and organizations across twelve counties, and its members represent nearly 600,000 area employees. The chamber's mission statement: The chamber is led by a board of roughly 100 business executives. In 2020, the chairman of the board is John Olajide, founder and CEO of Axxess; the chairman-elect for 2021 is Michelle Vopni, Dallas Office Managing Partner, Ernst & Young, LLP.

Dale Petroskey Dale A. Petroskey (born August 17, 1955) is the current president and CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber. He is the former executive vice president of marketing for the Texas Rangers baseball club, a former executive of the National Baseball Hall ...

has served as president of the Dallas Regional Chamber since April 2014. Mr. Petroskey is the former Executive Vice President of Marketing for the Texas Rangers baseball club. He is a former executive of the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

and the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, natural sc ...

, and a former political appointee in the administration of United States President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. Recent notable speakers before the Dallas Regional Chamber include

Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of ...

Chairman

Ben Bernanke Ben Shalom Bernanke ( ; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist who served as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. After leaving the Federal Reserve, he was appointed a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Insti ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

CEO

Steve Ballmer Steven Anthony Ballmer (; March 24, 1956) is an American businessman and investor who served as chief executive officer of Microsoft from 2000 to 2014. He is the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He i ...

, former

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

James Baker James Addison Baker III (born April 28, 1930) is an American attorney, diplomat and statesman. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 10th White House chief of staff and 67th United States secretary ...

, and Dallas Mayor

Tom Leppert Thomas Chris Leppert (born June 15, 1954) is an American businessman and former politician who is the former CEO of Kaplan, Inc., one of the world's largest education providers. He had oversight of the company's operating divisions (Kaplan Test ...

References

{{Reflist Chambers of commerce in the United States Organizations based in Dallas Organizations established in 1909 1909 establishments in Texas