Newmarket and East Gwillimbury chambers of commerce explore possible merger

'On the surface, it makes so much sense,' Newmarket chamber president says

Yorkregion.com
June 12, 2023
Lisa Queen

The Newmarket and East Gwillimbury chambers of commerce are considering amalgamating.

Their boards of directors have each voted to explore a formal alignment and possible merger, Newmarket chair Seana Fardy and East Gwillimbury chair Lori Woodyatt said in a statement.

With the issue still at the exploratory stage, the chambers said they will only proceed with a merger if members benefit.

A consultant with experience in chamber mergers has been hired to oversee the process, which will include looking at networking, streamlining governance, ensuring financial sustainability/growth, improving communications and a possible rebrand.

There is no set timeline for the review and the chambers want to hear from members

“We’re excited to explore this opportunity and work with our neighbours in East Gwillimbury to ensure we have the most efficient chamber of commerce offering the best networking events as well as professional development opportunities for our members,” Fardy said.

“As an emerging market, we see opportunities to partner with East Gwillimbury to the benefit of both chambers.”

It appears there would be benefits to strengthening ties with the Newmarket chamber, Woodyatt said.

“We have an opportunity to formally partner with the Newmarket Chamber of Commerce and leverage their organizational strengths for our emerging business areas as well as our existing members,” she said.

“I believe we will be stronger, together. I’m hopeful that this exploratory process will highlight the opportunities we have to better deliver results for our members.

Newmarket chamber president Chris Emanuel said his chamber will work closely with the East Gwillimbury chamber over the coming weeks and months to see whether an amalgamation benefits members.

“But, on the surface, it makes so much sense. We have an opportunity to build a stronger chamber of commerce that can deliver greater value for its members,” he said.

“It’s also important that any merger still recognizes the uniqueness of the communities and ensures that we find ways to increase engagement in both towns with bigger, better events. All members will have the opportunity to have their voice heard (and) both boards just felt it was appropriate to examine this in the most transparent way possible.”