Martin Russell, executive director of the Warren County Port Authority, said they mainly formed the alliance to act as a public policy advocacy group to take action at the local, regional, state and federal levels, to support the interests of all Warren County businesses.
“Wouldn’t it be appropriate if the business community were opposed to something like card check, to let Congressman (Steve) Chabot know about it,” Russell said. “Instead of individual chambers talking about it at different times, or not talking about it at all, the chamber alliance saying, ‘We represent all businesses inside Warren County,’ that holds some different weight.”
It doesn’t have to be all negative reaction to legislative matters, it can be proactive lobbying for things that would benefit businesses of all sizes, according to Northeast Cincinnati Chamber President Chet Mastalerz.
“A perfect example would be we would have a good voice in things such as the Brent Spence Bridge,” Mastalerz said. “Because all of our county manufacturers have a stake in that bridge and transportation. We should be able to speak in volume to things of that nature.”
Lobbying the legislature is far from the only activity the chambers intend to embark upon. Chris Pozzuto, a board member at the Springboro chamber, said this will also be a good opportunity to offer more services for all chamber members.
“We will be able to pool resources to offer training and educational sessions to our larger members that typically don’t occur due to the smaller budgets that each of the chambers have,” Pozzuto said. “Events that each of the chambers hold tend to focus on smaller businesses, which is excellent and needed, however, we need to also provide things of value for our larger businesses as well.”
The alliance also plans to exchange best practices advise and educational components on rules and regulations that might be helpful to smaller members countywide, according to Waynesville chamber board member Rick Whitaker.
Christye Leasure a board member from the Lebanon chamber said the alliance members have developed “a trust and understanding” and believe they can work collectively to benefit the entire business community.
“We will maintain a balance amongst all the chambers,” she said. “To make sure there is a benefit for everyone and that we do not favor the larger chambers over the smaller chambers, in our opportunities for growth, education, and economic development.”
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