Growing up, my family didn't go for beach vacations.

You probably think about Chattanooga as a city of nearly 200,000 people, but did you know that the population of our 16-county region is more than 1 million?

The Chattanooga Chamber's 2019 Aug. 20 Annual Meeting honored local companies over 100 years old (check out the full list at ChattanoogaTrend.com) and presented six awards to local organizations leading in their industries and impacting our community.

La Paz Chattanooga advocates for our city's Latinx population. Since opening more than 15 years ago, La Paz has seen our community flourish and expand with entrepreneurs and professionals who help create a vibrant, diverse business community.

August in Chattanooga means soaring temperatures, melting ice cream and an ever present sun. It's natural to long for days when the sun's glare is a welcome treat warming up icy hands in frigid December air.

Hamilton Place opened in 1987 as our state's largest mall. Some 30 years later, it's still among Tennessee's top five largest malls as a regional hub of fashion, fun and back-to-school and holiday shopping.

"You don't like sports, huh?" I comment upon meeting Jim Vaughn, East Tennessee Region President for SunTrust, in his office.

With support from dynamic organizations from across our region, the Chattanooga Chamber has attracted companies from around the globe and helped create programs to boost talent development in our region — programs like Future Ready Institutes and working with Gestamp, Chattanooga State and Hamilton County Schools to create a work-based learning program for at-risk students to work part-time at Gestamp while earning high school diplomas.

Leadership Chattanooga class members connect with our community while learning about what it means to lead. Through monthly sessions, education-related projects, police ride-alongs and more — participants graduate with a fresh understanding of our community's strengths and challenges, and how we can all be part of solutions.

Join Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce members and guests for Diversify, a half-day summit highlighting diversity, inclusion and the 21st century workplace.

Small businesses are a big deal for the local economy.

STEP-UP Chattanooga offers paid summer internships for Hamilton County high school students who face the greatest barriers to economic and career success.

This month, Trend gets to know members of the local media.

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

Imagine it's 2040.

Rebecca Ryan, who led our Velocity2040 community visioning process, is trained as a futurist and an economist.

If you spend time in downtown Chattanooga, you've undoubtedly noticed an influx of new apartment buildings, and you've probably noticed some vacant retail and office space as well.

What do a rock star, community visioning in Chattanooga and images of rocks in space have in common?

Amna Shah, founder of AHS Consulting, shares her experiences as an immigrant, a business owner and an accomplished professional who takes pride in giving back.

The headlines are full of news about artificial intelligence, blockchain, virtual reality and other bold, disruptive technologies moving ever closer to everyday relevance.

The story of Fillauer Companies, 2018 Spirit of Innovation Award recipient, is really two stories.

Our 2018 guide to holiday gifting is all about spreading goodwill and cheer by being intentional about shopping with local businesses.

When his nine-year-old daughter Sally, and her best friend, Leslie Doherty, gave their summer earnings to Children's Hospital because they wanted to "just help our community," it was the result of Jonathan Frost's passing along an invaluable message.