The Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce will remain an “independent voice” for East Surrey businesses, says Scott Wheatley.
While two of Surrey’s three chambers may soon merge—the Surrey Board of Trade (SBOT) and the South Surrey & White Rock Chamber (SSWRCC)—the Cloverdale Chamber will not be merging and isn’t even considering it.
“No chance,” said Wheatley, the executive director of the Cloverdale Chamber. “We are definitely here to stay. We’re not part of the merger.”
He said if the merger does go ahead, it won’t serve the interest of South Surrey/White Rock businesses.
“I think it’s a mistake,” Wheatley explained. “Most of (the SSWRCC) members are small businesses. And the Surrey Board of Trade does a great job as far as dealing with the big developers and big companies, but they don’t have the bandwidth to take care of the little guys.”
Adam Smith, president of the Cloverdale Chamber’s board of directors, said there is no desire on his part, or the board’s part, to merge in any way.
In a statement emailed to the Cloverdale Reporter, Smith said the board’s most important mandate is to support its members.
“We feel very fortunate to have a local chamber that supports community based initiatives and connects with local business individually,” Smith noted. “The Cloverdale Chamber looks to work collaboratively with all of the business organizations that support a dynamic and growing Surrey.”
He said while SBOT has greater staff and resources allocated to advocate for various things, he sees a great opportunity to work with SBOT as collaborative partners on a myriad of issues that concern members in both Chambers.
“As non-profit business organizations, we need to work together respectfully as partners and share resources where we can,” Smith added. “We do not have any interest in becoming part of a mega-chamber where only the rich and powerful can afford to have a voice or sponsor events, where small business members are no longer individuals but only numbers that get lost in the crowd.”
Wheatley thinks some current SSWRCC businesses will lose out if the merger does indeed go through. In that scenario, he said the Cloverdale welcome mat will be out for anyone who doesn’t want to be part of what will become a much bigger enterprise.
“They’ll always have a home with us,” he added. “I won’t turn them away, but I won’t go out and pursue them because they don’t fall within my territory.”
Wheatley’s already fielded several calls from concerned business owners both inside and outside of his territorial area.
His unease about the proposed merger comes on the heels of a joint statement March 11 from SSWRCC and SBOT in which both organizations announced they’d signed a letter of intent to “explore merging into one entity to be called the Surrey & White Rock Board of Trade collectively serving the White Rock and Surrey municipalities.”
The announcement comes a year after Anita Huberman, SBOT CEO, called on Surrey council to review grants to both of Surrey’s other Chambers.
“Why are these associations receiving automatic grants with no accountability and limited impact to the communities in which they serve?” she told the Cloverdale Reporter at the time. She added she’d like to see the Cloverdale and South Surrey Chambers disbanded and brought under the umbrella of SBOT.
SEE ALSO: Surrey Board of Trade CEO calls for review of city grants given to a trio of local business orgs
“That’s always been the goal,” she explained. “It hasn’t gone anywhere because Cloverdale sees itself as being special and distinct, but that hasn’t served them well because they need infrastructure investment, they need placemaking—they need the profile, the resources, the connections that the Surrey Board of Trade can help them with.”
If passed, Wheatley thinks the sheer size of SBOT’s new zone will be detrimental to the daily workings of the new mega-chamber.
“The bigger the playing field, the less time the Surrey Board of Trade will have to focus on local businesses and smaller issues,” Wheatley said. “I can take care of them.”
Wheatley said whether the two organizations merge or not, it won’t change the Cloverdale Chamber’s role as a representative that advocates for local businesses and also as one that works with the other chambers, or chamber, to co-host events like the mayor’s luncheon.
“We are happy to continue to work with them on things that impact the entire city,” he added. “But we will continue to be an independent voice for businesses in this area.”
