Three groups decide to merge into single, more powerful organization

By CAROL STUART
For Brentwood Home Page
Several members of the three largest chambers of commerce in Williamson County said the groups’ decision to unify into one will be less confusing, more powerful, a better value and forward thinking for economic development.

However, some expressed concern about the details yet to come, the possibility of losing each chamber’s distinct attributes, and whether current service levels would remain.

The boards of the Brentwood Cool Springs Chamber, the Cool Springs Chamber and the Williamson County-Franklin Chamber approved the unification following the unanimous recommendation of a joint task force that has been studying the issue since December. The task force also included representatives of the Spring Hill, Nolensville and Fairview chambers, which will remain independent.

Debbie Vandiver Martin

David Flow

“I do think it's a giant leap forward for Williamson County,” said Debbie Vandiver Martin of Reliant Bank. “The faster they pull it together, the better.

“I had heard of people calling into the area to get info whether they were a business or someone moving in, and they would be confused which chamber to call. They would call the Nashville chamber because it was so confusing here in Williamson County.”

BCSC member David Flow, president of Flow Construction, said it also would be less confusing when trying to explain each chamber's individual characteristics and strengths to potential members or recruit businesses. It's also for businesses to know where one's territory began and ended -- from Brentwood, to Cool Springs, and then to Franklin, he said.

"There are obviously a lot of duplicate efforts going on for a long time between the chambers," said Flow, who has encouraged the movement for 4-5 years. "For the benefit and the future of Williamson County, I think it's real exciting what a single chamber could do for Williamson County and really this whole area."

The chambers will now form a transitional Board of Directors, to be named by Sept. 1, for the new unified chamber. That board will work on the best and most efficient ways to combine programs, operations, leadership and locations of the current Brentwood Cool Springs, Cool Springs and Williamson-Franklin chambers.

The chambers of Nolensville, Fairview, and Spring Hill have been invited to serve on the transitional Board as well.

Better value, but no details worked out yet

Larry Langteau of the Trophy House said for small businesses it would be a better value to only pay one set of dues as opposed to two – or even three. His store currently belongs to both the Cool Springs Chamber and the Williamson County-Franklin Chamber.

However, he expressed disappointment that the announcement only was the decision to merge and formation of another committee – rather than ironing out details after seven months of exploration.

"My fear is that the personality of each chamber will become muted," Langteau also added.

As part of its recommendation, the task force coined the phrase “One Williamson-One Chamber.” Part of the potential is to provide greater opportunities for programming and networking for members, plus be a stronger voice to promote the community for business and residential development, Wednesday's announcement said.

Lynda Stone

“I believe the chambers’ unifying gives the membership collectively much better power and presence,” said Puffy Muffin owner Lynda Stone, who is on the BCSC executive committee.

Stone said it’s not only cost-prohibitive for businesses and retailers to afford to be in all three chambers, but that it’s also hard to attend all the meetings and take advantage of events.

“I think pooling all of that good energy is the right way to proceed,” she said.

Flow says in approaching businesses Brentwood/Cool Springs and trying to explain the specifics of each group, companies would say they didn’t have the ability to be in all of them and didn’t want to choose one.

“They might be involved in the Nashville chamber and choose to sit on the sidelines,” he said.

Flow admits combining the groups will be “a daunting task” and might take some trial and error, but believes will be beneficial in the long run. While each group has its own “uniqueness,” he said “the charge is to take the best of all that and create one chamber.”

He said as a contractor in both Williamson and Davidson counties, it would give him “more exposure to more businesses and more potential clients.”

Flow said the task force talked to 10-12 cities that has done a similar thing and all said it was the right decision and they wished they had done it sooner.

Unity should add to Williamson County's economic prowess

Jim Kennedy, who owns Jim Kennedy Leasing in the Cool Springs area, was a part of the task force and calls it a win-win situation.

“The timing is really good,” Kennedy said. “I think Williamson County it's a place that a lot of outside businesses look to -- it's a vibrant economy, you’ve got Brentwood, Cool Springs, Franklin. You couldn't have a better place for businesses to come in again … I believe everybody was on board and wants to be on board to make this the county to do business in.”

Ed Cagle, vice president Tennessee Bank & Trust, said the company had been involved with all three chambers and that all had “incredible talent.” Combining those resources would be an excellent opportunity for the county, he said.

“It’s going to bring unity but also more of a power source to Williamson County so that we can lobby, we can have more business resources to bring economic development to Williamson County," Cagle said. " … Business is what drives the rest of it … If you don’t have jobs, you won't have housing or schools. Chambers are responsible as the driving force to help all those mechanisms work together.”

Devin McClendon

Devin McClendon, with Clay-Baker Properties commercial real estate, says the consolidation shows forethought. But he added that each of the chambers had provided a high level of service for their memberships.

“As with any merger or consolation, maintaining service levels will be a key ingredient in long-term success to current members,” McClendon said.

He said members of one unified chamber now “will interact with a greater diversity of people and companies.” They’ll not only get a bigger value for their dollar and more resources, but also “a larger canvas with which to contribute their time, effort and energy,” McClendon said.

“I think that Williamson County as a whole has hit that level of growth and prominence that this consolidation plays well with,” he said. “As Williamson County is more and more nationally recognized for business growth, business recruitment and retention, this consolidation will better enable economic development efforts.”