When Glen Paul Freedman needed someone to repair a heating and air-conditioning system, he didn't open up the Yellow Pages. He went to the Gay and Lesbian Directory put out by the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

You didn't know there was such a thing?

BARRY WILLIAMS/Special (ENLARGE)

Glen Paul Freedman, president of the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and executive assistant to Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders, stands in the Atlanta City Council chambers. Freedman said that a chamber's job is to help members and clients succeed.

BARRY WILLIAMS/Special (ENLARGE)

Event-planning specialist Karla Kreitner, owner of Kardon Events, left, talks with Deutsche Bank Vice President Tony R. Pruitt in Buckhead. Kreitner says her business has grown 'considerably' with help from the Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.

Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (ENLARGE)

The Atlanta Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, whose motto is 'My Work. My Life. My Chamber.,' has more than 400 business members, ranging from entrepreneurs to executives in large corporations, and, in 1997, was the first legally recognized gay chamber of commerce in the United States.

There is, and it is online and accessible to anyone.

What the directory shows, as much as anything, is a vibrancy of a chamber that has grown in numbers and influence.

Freedman, who is president of the AGLCC and executive assistant to Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders, said the chamber has helped forge a partnership with business leaders, entrepreneurs and corporate groups for the development, advocacy and business growth for the gay and lesbian community.

There has been so much success in networking, education, and personal and business development that the AGLCC was voted national chamber of the year in 2007.

"It is just about working together; you are able to communicate with people and talk about issues and what it is like to be gay and lesbian and promote your business in a diverse environment," Freedman said. "How do you promote yourself? How do you help people overcome objections? The chamber is a community-type thing to help with issues that are out there."

Freedman said the AGLCC is a resource for workers who feel they have been discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. He said companies also use the AGLCC as a resource to help avoid issues of discrimination.

"We have [programs] like Wow! Wednesdays, where we offer different educational-type topics, [and] we can talk to people about doing public relations for their company," Freedman said. "We give people an opportunity to showcase their company and themselves and network. You are looking at a couple of hundred people at an event, so it is very useful."

The chamber, whose motto is "My Work. My Life. My Chamber.," also holds a social event the fourth Friday of every month, at which business cards are exchanged in a relaxed environment.

"People have been able to get positions or clients out of those events, and that's what a chamber should do: help you become more successful," Freedman said.

Karla Kreitner, who owns Kardon Events in Stone Mountain, said her business has grown considerably with help from the chamber.

"My background is details and projects, not sales and marketing; I have not been in sales for 30 years," Kreitner said. "My strength is talking to a client and understanding what they want and making it happen, so I use the chamber to fill that need I have of business development. Most of my business comes from referrals, or it has come from chamber members who have said to people, 'You ought to call Karla.'?"

Rick Kern, the owner of MixIt Marketing and the vice president of the AGLCC, said the chamber has come so far that it is now invited to discuss human resources issues at company conferences.

"Our membership has more than doubled in the last two years, and we have created a strong relationship with the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, where we are a resource to help them attract the gay and lesbian community to Atlanta to spend money," Kern said. "They are considering taking one of our board members on a trip with them [to attract business], and that is the kind of synergy we are looking for. We have gotten to the point where we are recognized as a hub of knowledge."