Ash Grove Chamber of Commerce may soon be resurrected

For small business owners, securing a membership in a local chamber of commerce can be a very worthwhile investment. Area chambers of commerce provide many valuable services to the businesses that make up their memberships, including advocacy in government, business promotion, networking and opportunities for professional development. In the coming months, Ronessa Williams, owner of Modern Homestead, and Melissa Mau, Ash Grove city clerk, hope to bring these benefits to Ash Grove by helping to create an Ash Gove Chamber of Commerce—which was originally dissolved in the 1990’s— or a similar organization, for the city.
Chamber could unite areabusinesses, bring federal dollars to area
Williams said she wanted to see the town gain a chamber of commerce to help unite not only local businesses, but other community organizations, as well.
“I feel like as a town to grow and to really become a collective voice we need another group to really encompass a lot more of the town’s … businesses and school and churches and nonprofit organizations and all those different entities together as a collective voice,” she said.
One benefit to having a chamber, Williams said, is that it could bring federal grant money to the city.
“I was on our GRO (Growth in the Rural Ozarks) call with our consultant … the other day,” she said, “and he said that even with a small town having a chamber, we are able to obtain a lot more grants and government dollars for just random things through the chamber, whereas if you don’t have one, then you don’t have that ability to obtain anything like that.”
As an example, Williams spoke of meeting an Ava business owner who was also a member of the Republic Area Chamber of Commerce (RACC). The businesses owner, Williams said, was able to secure a government grant for her town because of her chamber membership.
“She said, because she’s a part of the chamber, they were actually able to apply for a grant that totally revitalized their town square,” Williams said. “And that’s when it really intrigued me about actually trying to create a chamber here because we are losing out on a lot of grant dollars and things like that because we don’t have an actual chamber.”
Chamber would also create networking opportunities
Mau said a chamber could help its members by fostering communications between them, creating a way for them to network with each other.
“I think the chamber is more your communication hub for all the businesses and … the nonprofits and the churches and school,” she said.
Recalling a Republic Area Chamber of Commerce meeting that she and Williams attended, Mau stated that the chamber went out of its way to help promote their new members.
“They acknowledge their new businesses every month,” she said, “(and) all those new businesses … get a few minutes to talk about their business and what they do.”
Another benefit of chamber membership, Williams said, is that if the members speak as one, they are more likely to be heard.
“When you’ve got a bunch of people that are behind the same idea,” she said, “and they think it’s a great idea, then you’re going be able to push that through a little bit easier,” she said.
A place where all can be heard
However, for the chamber to work, Mau said, it also had to be a place where everyone can share their opinions without fear of backlash from those who don’t agree with them.
“In order for any kind of group to work,” she said, “everybody’s voice has to be heard. You don’t have to agree with me, you do have to listen. Everybody should be able to (give) their two cents worth of whatever their opinion is.”
At present, the chamber is still in its early planning stages, Williams said. She and Mau plan to have a private meeting later this month with some area business owners to work on laying the groundwork for the chamber. That meeting will be followed by an open meeting in March, for everyone interested in joining the chamber.
“We’re thinking maybe 10 to 15 people that want to get this going and off the ground,” she said, “and then at that point kind of decide the bylaws and how we want to structure everything.”
For more information, e-mail Ronessa Williams at ronessawilliams@gmail.com. Melissa Mau can be reached by calling Ash Grove City Hall at 417-751-2333 or by e-mail at melissa.mau@ashgrovemo.gov.