Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle.
Chelsea Business Alliance President Donna Bowles and Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Chair Chris Grace announce the partnership of the two organizations during the Fire at the Foothills event April 17.
The Chelsea Business Alliance is under new leadership and also has a new partnership with the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce.
On May 1, the two organizations will begin working more closely together on a variety of programs for their respective investors and internally with staffing support provided by the Shelby County Chamber.
Donna Bowles is the 2021 president of the CBA. In her new role, her goal is to open back up the lines of communication within the city’s businesses and along with an active Board of Directors and the support of the chamber and the city, to provide a place to meet each month and share the successes, growth and pride of Chelsea.
“The Chelsea Business Alliance exists to advocate in and for the businesses of Chelsea,” she said. “However, in the past year, due to the pandemic, the CBA has not been able to take an active role in bringing our businesses together. We think it’s time to resume meeting monthly and pave the way for all our Chelsea businesses to confidently and successfully serve the community.”
A joint press release was sent out on April 19 announcing the new partnership between the two 501(c)6 organizations. The Chelsea Business Alliance’s goal is to advocate and promote businesses within the city of Chelsea, and the chamber, which has close to 1,200 investors, works through a variety of programs to be a champion for the county.
CBA members will now have increased opportunities including access to business information, workshops, increased visibility county-wide and additional staff support for programs and events, Bowles said.
The chamber will be assisting the CBA with their traditional events, luncheons and other programs. In turn the CBA will partner with the chamber for their programming as well.
“It’s a closer alignment of two groups coming together,” said chamber president Kirk Mancer.
“The CBA is contracting the chamber to assist them with programming. They have done a great job with their volunteer leadership, and they approached the chamber to see what a partnership would look like.”
Casey Morris, who is on the board of directors for the chamber and also serves on the Chelsea City Council, said he is thankful to see this partnership come to fruition and believes it is a validation of what the CBA has to offer not only to business investors, but to the chamber.
“I think it’s a win-win situation for both groups,” Morris said. “The CBA will now have county-wide exposure where a local networking organization of business owners and citizens and community members now have a voice. The chamber has the benefit of a much larger pool of individuals and businesses to call on when they have events in Chelsea. I think it’s going to be a great group effort to get cool things accomplished in Chelsea and in Shelby County.”
Mancer said one of the benefits of the partnership will be for the chamber to assist the CBA with back office type things so they can focus on the important things.
“Chelsea is a gem in our county, so the chamber sees it as worthwhile to see the CBA continue to grow and prosper,” Mancer said.
Bowles said the CBA is reviewing its bylaws and going over job descriptions and will be designating people to do certain jobs moving forward.
The first event for the newly formed partnership is set to take place at the CBA meeting on May 12 at 11 a.m. at the Chelsea Community Center.
Current chamber chair Chris Grace said it’s a proud day to see the collaborative partnership between the two organizations coming to fruition.
“2021 is shaping up to be a significant year for the growth of businesses in the City of Chelsea, and this effort will help provide support to the existing business community and those actively looking to expand into the Chelsea market,” Grace said.
