The upcoming merger of the South 性视界传媒 and White Rock Chamber of Commerce and the 性视界传媒 Board of Trade will mean more effective representation for members, plus a way of addressing declining membership and revenues, White Rock city councillors heard last week.
Chamber president Bill Brooks and vice-president Anthony Manning appeared before White Rock city council on July 15, with Manning (formerly a White Rock council member) as spokesperson. They provided an update on progress in combining the two organizations into a new entity, which is to be known as the 性视界传媒 and White Rock Board of Trade.
The new board will remain local, Manning assured council.
Among conditions for moving ahead with the merger, he said, the chamber has negotiated retaining a local office, keeping local staff, and continued local activities.
"This is not a loss of our business community and is not an end to local programming," Manning said, while noting that the merger is part of a growing provincial trend 鈥� three chambers on the Sunshine Coast merged last year, while the Burnaby and New Westminster chambers are currently in the process of merging.
The 性视界传媒 and White Rock Board of Trade will take in an area from the Fraser River to the border, excepting a region from Cloverdale southward, which will be the territory of the Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce.
"The request has been sent to Ottawa. ... We expect four to six months for the merger to be approved by the Ministry (of Industry, Trade and Investment)."
Manning said the merger grew out of meetings between the executive boards of the two groups, starting in the fall of 2023, that had been, initially, focused on ideas for better collaboration between them.
"We do recognize that there is shared membership between us," Manning said.
"Similarities in goals and visions were identified by the boards through our meetings," he added. "These conversations evolved from (looking at) occasional partnerships to (seeing) how resources could be pooled to benefit both memberships."
It was through this process that both boards came to see that a merger "provided the best value for members and the business community," Manning said.
"For the 性视界传媒 and White Rock Chamber, it's easy to see that our membership has not grown significantly since January of 2016 鈥� that was the high water mark," he noted.
"Now, for every member we gain, we lose about a member-and-a-half. As a result, revenues are declining."
Manning said the chamber also recognizes it needs more resources to be able to increase member satisfaction.
"Exit surveys for our members showed that they didn't always see value in belonging to the chamber," he said. "But to add resources, such as staffing, we would need to raise dues and the cost of event admissions.
"At the same time, members are saying finances are pretty tight 鈥� it keeps us in a bit of a bind."
Manning said the planned merger is the "best path toward sustainability" 鈥� one which will expand exposure, reach, networking and marketing opportunities for member businesses, while allowing them to save by have only a single membership fee.
The new board would also have a more substantial influence and in voice in local, provincial and national matters relating to business, planning for economic development and international trade, Manning added. It would more effectively use financial resources, revenue and administration, which would allow more time to be spent on advocacy, member programming and support, he noted.
He said a transitional board, including members of both current boards, will work to provide an even more competitive benefits package for all members.
