For an organization that has been around for more than 100 years, the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce has remained relevant, supportive and driven.

All of those characteristics were on display Tuesday during the chamber’s annual luncheon, in which it not only honored individuals and businesses of note from the previous year, but also laid out a plan of action for Vicksburg’s future.

Incoming Chamber president Mark Buys has said he wants the Chamber to help lead the effort to find property for the Port of Vicksburg to expand, likely finding a spot south of the I-20 bridge to increase Vicksburg’s impact on shipping and navigation along the Mississippi River.

The plan is bold, but the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce is good at big plans.

From the very beginning, the chamber has been focused on not only building business in Vicksburg, but also being a catalyst for needed changes and improvements.

The chamber kick started the Leader in Me program in area schools and has played an active role in the planning for the implementation of the Ford Next Generation curriculum in our high schools.

The chamber, early in the 20th Century, helped find and secure land for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, now the county’s largest employer.

Changes are coming to the structure of the Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce. Executive director Jane Flowers is leaving the chamber to spend time with family, and business and community leaders are currently working to restructure how the chamber will be managed, along with the Port Commission and other economic agencies.

Change — if for the right reason — is always positive. Speed bumps may occur along the way, but if the right people make the right decisions with the right goals in mind, such bumps will not get in the way of progress.

The chamber’s history has been littered with success stories and has a track record of being a driving force in Vicksburg and Warren County.

These changes will do little to change that mission and should go a long way in ensuring the chamber is relevant for another 100 years.