Chamber of commerce plans to split to bring in businesses

Published: Thursday, April 3, 2008
Caitlin McGlade

The Athens Area Chamber of Commerce plans to split its membership-based and economic development departments by next January.

If the split occurs, the Chamber can focus on marketing, networking and a number of other activities for its members, said CEO Jennifer Simon.

“[The split] makes sense because we have two distinct missions,” Simon said. The new economic development division would focus on bringing new businesses to Athens County, helping these companies meet their financial needs and helping recruit qualified employees for these companies, Simon said.

The Chamber still is looking for input from its members and investigating the costs of separating.

The current Chamber is funded by the city, county, Athens township and the community improvement cooperation, an organization that gives loans to impact economic development.

The Chamber has not yet “nailed down” the funding for the split, Simon said. She said she anticipates money from public funds and private investors, so the city will have to approve the final plan, Simon said.

The split will initially cost more money than remaining together, but Schaller said that this eventually would lead to more money through grants.

The economic development division would be able to better receive regional, state and federal grants because economic development tends to be more regionally focused, Schaller said.

When the chamber started in 1997, it had 280 different member companies and now it has 470 members, said Membership Service Coordinator Larry Payne.