Apollo Beach members reject a merger with sister chambers in Ruskin and Riverview. The vote needed to be unanimous.
By LETITIA STEIN
Published October 15, 2004
South Shore business communities will remain independent after members of the Apollo Beach Chamber of Commerce last week rejected a merger with sister chambers in Ruskin and Riverview.
While Riverview favored the proposal, and ballots have not been counted in Ruskin, the chambers agreed in advance that the proposal needed unanimous support to move forward.
The 78-95 Apollo Beach vote came as a surprise since it was the 276-member chamber's leadership that initially pushed for a study on the financial feasibility of a merger.
Local businesses chose to retain their own identity.
"I think they felt that we have tremendous growth opportunities in the Apollo Beach area," said Ray Weedon, president of the Apollo Beach chamber. "We should remain self-sustaining and independent and capitalize on that growth."
Leaders of the three chambers said they saw strength in numbers and supported the merge.
The proposed South Shore chamber would have represented more than 600 businesses in several of the fastest-growing communities in Hillsborough County. Increased clout and more revenue for chamber projects were the primary advantages. About 50 businesses currently belonging to more than one local chamber also could have cut back on paperwork fees.
Sun City Center was invited to join the initial discussion, but declined.
The concept had traction in Riverview. In a 2-to-1 vote, chamber members overwhelmingly supported the merger. About one-third of 210 members voted.
"For the members to vote to merge gives us a signal that we need to do something different," said Christine Smith, president of the Riverview chamber, noting that board leaders planned to look into ways to better serve local businesses.
The rejection ends a trying period for leaders of the three chambers. For more than a year, a 12-member committee with representatives from the three chambers has been studying the finances of a proposed merger. The committee did not take a position on whether to consolidate chambers, but the presidents of the three chambers personally supported the concept.
The results of the Ruskin vote will be counted Oct. 21. A vote to merge would tell chamber leaders to improve its outreach to members, said president-elect James Adcock. Regardless, he's glad that members of all three chambers had the chance to voice their views.
"We felt it was best to leave it in the hands of the boards and their memberships," said Adcock.
