The Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce has ended its formal partnership with the South Bend Regional Chamber and is moving toward a partnership with the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber.
In 2019, the Four Flags Area Chamber of Commerce and the Southwestern Michigan Economic Growth Alliance merged to create the Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce. That organization then reached a deal with the South Bend Chamber to manage administrative functions and marketing. However, the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber’s Sarah Spoonholtz tells us after about six years, the team has stabilized and decided to move on.
“It was due to proximity and it was due to urgency because of some things that were happening internally with the group,” Spoonholtz said.
Spoonholtz says the South Bend partnership did work well and allow the Niles Chamber to grow to nearly 300 members, and she credited the management of Jeff Rea and Ryan Boeskool. Now, however, she says the Greater Niles Chamber and the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber will be teaming up.
“This really truly brings the entire county together. So our coverage area, we are Berrien, Cass, Van Buren. But this is the first time that really, if you want to look at it, northern Berrien County — which I hate that we even say like northern and southern — but the north part of the county is working collaboratively with the southern part of Berrien County, like 100% integrated and directly.”
The Greater Niles Chamber Board of Directors has tasked its executive committee with overseeing daily operations and launching a strategic planning process to find a new permanent executive. The Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber will provide operational assistance, handling member benefits, events, and communications.
Spoonholtz calls this uniting of north and south Berrien County historic, something that should have happened years ago.
