BELLOWS FALLS-Facing financial and staffing issues, the Great Falls Regional Chamber of Commerce (GFRCC) is considering an offer to merge with the Brattleboro Regional Chamber of Commerce (BRCC).
If the merger takes place, both chambers will keep their respective names, at least for the time being, said Gary Fox, one of a new slate of GFRCC board members named in March.
This proposal will be the topic of a joint GFRCC and BRCC membership breakfast forum and discussion on Friday, Sept. 18, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Waypoint Center at 17 Depot St. in Bellows Falls.
The GFRCC serves northern Windham County — Rockingham, Grafton, Westminster, and Putney — as well as nearby towns in New Hampshire such as Walpole and North Walpole.
The BRCC serves the entire southeastern part of the county, with a much larger population center in Brattleboro as its base.
Chambers of commerce are private, nonprofit organizations composed of local businesses and funded by member dues, sponsorships, fundraisers, and donations from larger businesses.
They represent employers, work on regional economic growth, host organizational meetings and breakfasts, promote tourism, influence state and national policy to support business, provide tools for small businesses seeking grants and permits, sponsor community events, and provide educational workshops for members.
Fox, who works as development director for Bellows Falls and Rockingham, said that the GFRCC has been struggling financially for some time and has not been able to have a full-time director since Deb Collier retired in 2024.
He said that Aimee Parnell served as part-time director of the chamber for about a year, but there “was no cash flow to continue funding her contract.” Parnell is now one of the organizers of the Food Hub in Rockingham.
At one time, the chamber was able to afford two full-time staff members in its Bellows Falls office, Fox said, but financial constraints no longer make that possible. The GFRCC also gave up its office in the Waypoint Center, which at one point was open several days a week.
Earlier this year the GFRCC welcomed a new board of directors. Fox said the board immediately began discussions with the other chambers around the county and in Springfield, discussing the possibility of merging.
The Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce “was facing the same problems” as the GFRCC, Fox said.
The Southern Vermont Deerfield Valley Chamber of Commerce (SVDVCC) serves the western part of Windham County, which, unlike the eastern towns, includes several major ski areas, including Mount Snow Resort, Stratton Mountain Resort, Magic Mountain Ski Area, and The Hermitage Club (formerly Haystack Mountain).
The resort economy makes the region and businesses served by the SVDCC different from the area served by the GFRCC and BRCC, Fox said.
That left the Brattleboro Regional Chamber of Commerce, which, like GFRCC, represents mainly small businesses with similar economic dynamics and thus seems a very good fit for the GFRCC, he said.
The BRCC has full-time staff, including Executive Director Rachel Ebersole, Fox said, and the organization is financially stable. He said that it gave “a fair and equitable” merger offer to the GFRCC which the board is seriously considering.
Joining the two eastern county chambers seems like a “no-brainer,” Fox said.
A stronger voice for a larger region
“I’m excited about the merger,” Ebersole said. “I feel good about it. It’ll give us a stronger vision, a stronger voice, and a larger region to serve.”
The BRCC has about 250 members, down from its high of 300, but the addition of the 85 Great Falls members will give it a nice boost, Ebersole said.
“We’ve got a good foundation,” she said, adding, “I’m looking to grow the membership of the merged chambers to 600.”
Even without an executive director, the GFRCC board has been able to organize two of its most important events this year: the Old Home Days celebration in Bellows Falls in August, and the upcoming Flannel Festival in Rockingham on the weekend of Oct. 17–18.
“[Board member] Alan Fowler and I went to last month’s BRCC meeting and talked with them about the merger,” Fox said. “It looks great. This is how a chamber of commerce should run.”
Ebersole said that she would hold office hours once a week in Bellows Falls if the merger happens, and that serving the northern area would be high on her priority list.
“I think I really want people to know I love Bellows Falls,” Ebersole said. “I love the northern part of Windham County. I really want that region to thrive. It will not be neglected.”
A rich history
The history of chambers of commerce goes back over 400 years to Europe in the late 16th century, when merchants formed networks to represent their interests, to establish policies to govern trade, and to protect against common enemies of open trade.
They were first formed in the United States in Colonial times to help organize markets and protect trade among merchants.
By 1870, 40 local chambers operated in the U.S., and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce was created in 1912 to give a national voice to local business groups. Today, more than 5,000 local chambers of commerce are active across the nation.
Up until 2015, chambers of commerce were able to offer members group health insurance, a big factor in their appeal to small businesses.
But with the advent of the Affordable Health Care Act’s health insurance program in 2015, Ebersole said that the Vermont insurance marketplace changed and restricted who could offer insurance. The organization still offers group dental and vision insurance, according to its website.
“We’re not legally allowed to offer health insurance presently,” she said. “But we are trying to get those laws reversed.”
This News item by Robert F. Smith was written for The Commons.