FLORENCE, Ala. — The Shoals Chamber of Commerce is celebrating 35 years of service to businesses and organizations across Lauderdale and Colbert counties.

To commemorate the occasion, the chamber hosted the inaugural Shoals Chamber of Commerce Day at its office building on Hightower Place in Florence.

Each mayor of the Quad Cities read proclamations and spoke on the chamber’s impact in the Shoals.

“We all have our four different entities but when it comes to people on the outside, we’re one entity, the Shoals, and so, they help glue us together,” Tuscumbia Mayor Kerry Underwood said.

Leaders from different businesses were present for the festivities, many that were affected by COVID-19, like the Shoals Symphony Orchestra. Development & Operations Director Cain Yarbrough said the symphony wouldn’t have survived without the chamber’s assistance throughout the pandemic.

“Performing and having live audiences was the biggest effect on our seasons as the Shoals Symphony,” Yarbrough said. “We went with some virtual concerts that the chamber helped promote, and then the resources that they provided in different ways have really helped us.”

Chamber President Caitlin Holland said the pandemic was a time in which the chamber could really highlight how important those partnerships can be.

“As Mayor Underwood said earlier, we serve four cities that have very unique identities and unique challenges, but they are so good when they work together toward a common purpose and common goal,” Holland said. “For us, it’s the economy, it’s the local economy, local businesses supporting those businesses, and that can really be done as a united effort.”