Recorder News Staff
The Fulton and Montgomery county chambers of commerce may combine forces to become an affiliated organization as early as this spring, the agencies announced Friday, and have already retained legal and facilitation services to move the idea toward fruition.
Chamber officials said Friday the fairly recent departure of their respective presidents, Wally Hart and Deb Auspelmyer, allotted the opportunity to consider joining forces, a trend that's picking up speed at chambers across the state and nation.
"If now is not the time, then there isn't going to be a time," said incoming Montgomery County chamber Board of Directors Chairman Brennen Parker. "With the economy the way it is, it's time to do our due diligence. I hope the membership will encourage us to explore this, because it will only reap benefits for everyone, and the members will get the most benefit for their dollar."
Parker said affiliation of chambers has been happening in other areas of the state, pointing to the Albany Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, and even Fulton County's chamber when it became a regional organization.
"I think you're going to see this more across the board," he said, "and it's something we've seen trending on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce website."
"There is definitely strength in numbers," said Mark Finkle, chair of the Fulton County chamber board, "and with an affiliation with Montgomery County, our business communities become a much stronger voice in our region, in Albany, and even in Washington, D.C."
Parker said discussion about affiliation started in the fall of 2011, and interim Fulton County chamber President Terry Swierzowski said her board invited the Montgomery County board to its annual retreat.
"When we discussed it, we couldn't find a downside," Parker said.
If the two counties created an affiliated chamber, Swierzowski said it could create "stronger events, a stronger network, and less competition for sponsorship dollars."
Both chambers' boards of directors have appointed an Affiliation Task Force from their membership. Swierzowski said the forces will pursue respective "due diligence analyses," of a wide variety of corporate documents, budgets, program operations and all the internal controls in both chambers to determine the best structural manner to affiliate.
Those documents have already been submitted to the state Council of Nonprofits, Inc., which will guide the chambers through the process, Swierzowski said.
A recommendation will subsequently be offered to each board, who will then present the proposal to its membership for a vote to formalize the affiliation in the spring of 2012.
"Nothing will happen without ratification of both memberships," Swierzowski said. "We're going to take some time to discuss it with our members before the vote to educate them on the reasons why we proposed this."
Parker said "more details will be rolled out" at both chambers' annual dinner meetings. The Fulton board dinner is scheduled for Jan. 19 at the Holiday Inn of Johnstown-Gloversville, and the Montgomery County chamber dinner is scheduled Jan. 27 at the River Stone Manor in Scotia.
Members of both task forces will be at each event to discuss the issue, and both Chambers will hold informational sessions about the possible affiliation, which will be scheduled after the annual dinner meetings.
From the Montgomery County chamber, task force members include Parker, Vic Giulianelli of St. Mary's Healthcare, Lesley Lanzi of Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Judy Phetteplace of Judith Ann Realty, Mike Decker of Liberty Enterprises, Kevin McClary of the Recorder, and chamber interim President Peter Capobianco, who will be a non-voting member.
For Fulton County, the members are Mark Finkle Stevenson Distributing, Terri Easterly of Coldwell Banker-Arlene M. Sitterly, Amy Karas of Ruby & Quiri, Jim Landrio of the Holiday Inn, Larry Raike of Walmart Distribution Center, Diana Marshall of the Gloversville Sewing Center, and Swierzowski, who will also serve as a non-voting member.