Combining Las Vegas, North Las Vegas chambers see opportunities

It's business as usual for two chambers of commerce that merged Monday.

For now, at least, everything will stay the same for members of the North Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. The North Las Vegas Chamber's initiatives, including its Military Affairs Committee, will stick around, as will the group's West Craig Road offices. And the Las Vegas Chamber will keep its headquarters, along with its programs and seminars, at Town Square south of the Strip.

What the deal does is provide strength in numbers, as well as new opportunities to network, said Cara Roberts, a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas Chamber.

"The move combines two long-standing organizations who have been doing great work promoting and protecting the business community," Roberts said. "It gives each group a larger voice in public policy decisions, and it's going to bring businesses within both memberships broader opportunities to connect with each other and promote their services to wider audiences."

The combined group has a little more than 5,000 members, Roberts said. About 500 of those members belong to the North Las Vegas Chamber.

The North Las Vegas Chamber didn't return a call by press time. But executives told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in September that they needed to merge with the Las Vegas Chamber to keep their doors open after steep member losses during the recession. Before the downturn, the group had nearly 1,000 members.

For the North Las Vegas Chamber's members, dues won't change for now. A rate schedule on the association's website said general membership costs $384 a year. The Las Vegas Chamber charges $499 annually. Roberts said North Las Vegas members' dues will stay the same for at least one year following their next anniversary of joining. So members who are up for renewal in June, for example, wouldn't face higher dues before June 2014.

Nor is the North Las Vegas group's Military Affairs Committee going anywhere, Roberts said. The committee is designed to support and recognize the city's active duty personnel, veterans, reserves and their families, and help members conduct more business with nearby Nellis and Creech Air Force bases.

On top of concern for the committee's future, some North Las Vegas Chamber members protested the merger because they said they liked the group's smaller size and close-knit membership. Opponents circulated a petition to stop the move and oust the board, but as of Sept. 18, the measure had attracted 18 signers, well below the 20 percent threshold the group's bylaws required for passage.

The Las Vegas Chamber is planning an open-house mixer at the North Las Vegas Chamber's offices, but it hasn't scheduled a date yet, Roberts said.

And though there aren't specific plans yet to offer business boot camps and other Las Vegas Chamber educational programs at the North Las Vegas outpost, Roberts noted that members of each group can participate in seminars and events at Town Square. North Las Vegas Chamber members also have access to the Las Vegas organization's group health care plan for businesses with two to 50 employees, Roberts said.

Contact reporter Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512. Follow @J_Robison1 on Twitter.