The United States Chamber of Commerce this week awarded the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce with one of its top honors — a five-star accreditation for “its sound policies, effective organizational procedures and positive impact on the Flathead Valley,” said a press release on Thursday.

The accreditation program is the only program in the U.S. that recognizes a chamber’s effective organizational procedures and community involvement. In order to receive an accredited status, a chamber must meet strict minimum standards in operations and programs, including areas of governance, communication, fiscal responsibility, government affairs and technology.

There are more than 7,000 chambers of commerce across the country and only a small handful of them, approximately 200, are accredited, the U.S. Chamber said. Being distinguished as a 5-star accredited chamber recognizes the Kalispell Chamber as performing in the top 1 percent of chambers in the nation.

Local chambers can be designated as accredited, or accredited with three, four or five stars.

“It is a tremendous honor to receive a five-star recognition from the U.S. Chamber,” Kalispell Chamber President Joe Unterreiner said in a press release. “The credit is due to the outstanding volunteer business leadership we enjoy, talented professional staff, and the support of our entire community. We are looking forward to continuing to serve this community we love at the highest possible level.”

Accredited chambers are reviewed every five years by the Accrediting Board, a committee of U.S. Chamber board members and chamber executives from across the country. The Kalispell Chamber began preparing for this review in the first months of 2016 and was previously accredited in 2006.