Business groups weigh merger

Berks-Mont Business Association and TriCounty Area Chamber may come together in July

The Berks-Mont Business Association may soon be making a big change by merging with the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce.

During its monthly breakfast meeting Wednesday, the BerksMont Business Association board of directors proposed a change to the Berks-Mont Business Association by-laws, that would allow for a merger with another group.

The proposal comes as participation on the Berks-Mont Business Association board of directors has been shrinking and the same members are called upon year after year to maintain the organization’s functions. The board has been in contact with the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce regarding a merger of the groups. The merger would allow the Berks-Mont Business Association to continue its regular functions such as the sidewalk sale and breakfast meetings. For such a merger to take place, the board determined a change to the Berks-Mont Business Association’s by-laws was needed.

The by-law change was approved Wednesday by a member vote of 20-7. However, the official

vote to merge has been tabled until the June breakfast meeting to allow for member concerns to be addressed.

Following the vote, BerksMont Business Association member Roger Lehmann questioned why there wasn’t much discussion about the pros and cons of such a move.

Joe Fava, Berks-Mont Business Association board president, explained how he has been asking people to step up and sit on the board for the past two years.

“We’re trying to keep this moving,” said Fava. “What we have is all of you; what we don’t have is people to do all of the legwork.”

He explained how the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce has the infrastructure in place to keep things going.

Lehmann said he disagrees the situation is as dire as presented, and that it’s always been just a few individuals on the board. He said his biggest concern was that the two organizations are “totally different,” and expressed his view that the chamber is driven by larger organizations.

One of the concerns raised dealt with the yearly cost of the chamber membership, which is about $400, a jump from the Berks-Mont Business Association’s membership dues of $100.

There are currently 93 members of the Berks-Mont Business Association. Fava said half of them are already members of the chamber.

Richard Graver, board chairman of TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce said if and when the Berks-Mont Business Association wants to merge — the chamber will offer all association members a one year membership. The chamber would also allow the Berks-Mont Business Association to run its meetings for a year and be chamber members.

“We are small-business focused,” said Graver, countering Lehmann’s argument. He added how the chamber has adjusted over the years to make it worth the while of its members.

If the groups were to merge, the Berks-Mont Business Association’s assets would be transferred to the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce. The board explained there is $20,000 in the Berks-Mont Business Association bank accounts, half of which is reserved for events and such.

“You get out of the chamber what you put into it,” said Graver, adding how the chamber has an annual budget process.

Lehmann asked if the organization approached any other group other than the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce about a merger. Building a Better Boyertown was one of the groups mentioned. Past President Lee Levengood said Building a Better Boyertown was not approached about this merger since Building a Better Boyertown does not cover the entire area.

Fava said the board has been working through this process since last September. July 1 is the anticipated merger date. Following the merger, a seat on the chamber’s board of directors would be opened up for a Berks-Mont Business Association member.

Eileen Dautrich, president of the chamber and a Boyertown graduate, said she’s been a part of the chamber for 18 years and Boyertown would not be a forgotten entity if the merger were to happen.

Levengood said he’s had the goal of the merger in mind for a number of years.