It was a casual but festive atmosphere at the Grand Theater in downtown Knoxville on Tuesday night, as members of the Chamber of Commerce came together for their annual gathering.

It’s a yearly opportunity to look back at the achievements the Chamber has made during the past year, and look ahead to what it can do. And looking ahead has become a much higher priority for the Chamber, as its Board of Directors follows a guideline of objectives which stretches out as far as a decade into the future.

Megan McKay is the Chamber of Commerce President; she tells KNIA/KRLS News having a long-range plan helps bring continuity to the organization.

“The big problem that we’ve had often, and with most volunteer-led organizations, is a new administration comes in; and you spend half the year planning, and you start doing a little bit of stuff, and then all of a sudden it’s time for the next group to come in and take over,” McKay says.

“So we really wanted to set a good long-term strategy that we could lay the plan out, so it was easy for the next group to come in and continue that on.”

During the meeting, it was announced the Young Professionals of Knoxville will soon be formally joining the Chamber of Commerce as a partner, serving as one of its main committees. Details are still being worked out, but the Young Professionals should become a formal arm of the Chamber within the next two or three months.