PARIS — People in the Oxford Hills region had an opportunity to hear from their Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors Tuesday, but only about a dozen or so community members took advantage of the open invitation meeting.

“(It was not) entirely unexpected,” chamber Executive Director John Williams said. “I like to think that our members must be pleased with the job that we are doing or there would be more people attending a meeting of this nature. However, with this being the first meeting of its kind, I expect future attendance will grow exponentially.”

All but one of the 15 directors were at the meeting to introduce themselves and to discuss the purpose of a chamber within a community. Directors come from industries ranging from small local businesses and nonprofits to large national companies with a local presence.

The meeting, which began at 6:30 p.m. at the Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, started with Williams giving an overview of the chamber’s purpose. He said the chamber offers support to the business community, which is often done by promoting the communities in which its members live, work and do business.

There are just under 400 members of the Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce, making it one of the largest rural chambers in the state. Williams said small local businesses make up the core group of members, with 95 percent of those businesses having fewer than 10 employees.

When the chamber began in 1971, it covered the towns of Norway and Paris. Since then it has grown to include Oxford, Harrison, Poland, Buckfield, West Paris, Waterford, Hebron, Mechanic Falls, Hartford, Otisfield and Sumner.

Besides providing a complete information center at its office at 4 Western Ave. in South Paris, the chamber also helps businesses get in touch with local, regional, state and federal resources to help them succeed, Williams said. Those include the Small Business Administration, SCORE, the Department of Economic and Community Development, Western Maine Community Action, Community Concepts Finance Corporation and Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments.

Williams said he hopes attendees left with an understanding of the commitment the chamber has to working with members to make their businesses and the local economy more successful and the sincerity the board of directors has in working to make that happen.

“Our mission is to help our members succeed. We want to make sure we are out there promoting the community and the businesses that we represent,” he said.

Ways the chamber works to promote the community, he said, include publishing the Oxford Hills Chamber Magazine, weekly newspaper columns, radio and television shows, a comprehensive, informative website, literature at travel information centers throughout the state and two travels shows in Boston and one in Toronto.

The chamber is also associated with Maine Tourism Association, Maine Office of Tourism, Maine Innkeepers Association, Maine Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Maine Lakes and Mountains Tourism Council, Androscoggin-Oxford-Coos Counties Passenger Rail Coalition and Aspire Higher. All of them work together to create a network of support to the chamber and its members by cross-promoting the region as a tourist destination.

Perhaps the most important function of the chamber is to provide valuable networking opportunities to its membership and the community, Williams said. It hosts monthly after-hours gatherings at member businesses, as well as community events such as a Christmas parade, the annual Festival of Trees, the annual Business Showcase and Chili and Chowder Fest, the Oxford Hills Home Show, the Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet and Ceremony, and the Leon Truman Chamber of Commerce Golf Classic.

Williams told the audience, “When you support the chamber of commerce, you’re supporting the communities of the Oxford Hills. Networking leads to development. We will be a better community and the community will prosper.”

A new program the chamber is helping to develop is a business-education initiative as a pilot program with SAD 17.

“The primary purpose of the business-education initiative is to provide practical business experiences for our middle school and high school students with chamber of commerce members. Currently, Norway Savings Bank, Maine Machine, Dr. Rob’s Garage, Ripley and Fletcher Ford, and Crazy Horse Racing are providing programs for students,” Williams said. They are also working not only with administrators from SAD 17, but the Education Exchange, the Oxford Hills Vocational Technical School in Paris and the Western Maine University and Community College Center in South Paris, he said.

The meeting ended with a brief question and answer session.

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