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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Should There Be One Chamber?

Could the myriad small chambers that dot the Valley floor be pass & #233;? Does the Valley need one large chamber to be a Goliath-like force promoting business interests? With 20 chambers ranging in size from 80 members to 1,000, some businesspeople criticize the current chamber alignment, believing it to dilute the potential strength of a large unified business community. Others laud the smaller chambers as being effective conduits for local business networking as well as a superior way for businesses to be active in shaping and aiding the community. Either way, it would seem that almost everyone involved in chambers has an opinion on the issue of whether there should be mergers among Valley chambers or a conversion to one Valley-wide organization. Joe Hooven is one of the most outspoken advocates pushing the idea of having one Valley Chamber of Commerce. The former president of the Universal City/North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, Hooven believes the small chambers model to be an anachronism. “The small chambers are wasting their time. The state budget is out of control, the city still hasn’t fixed the business tax properly, there are all these problems facing business and we have the mostly small chambers in the Valley hoping to take care of them,” Hooven said. “We need to take them all and put them under one roof. The chambers are currently too involved in the small issues and they don’t focus on the big picture that is spiraling out of control.” Happy medium? The CEO of Encino/Tarzana Regional Medical Center, Dale Surowitz, believes that finding a happy medium between the two proposals might be the best solution for the Valley. “It’s a very tough issue. Larger organizations believe it’s important to support the various chambers and businesses, but there are definite advantages to a consolidated chamber in terms of advocacy and strength in numbers,” Surowitz said. “From a pure employer perspective, I think there would be an advantage if some of the chambers came together. One chamber is probably too big for the Valley, but having four chamber quadrants might make more sense.” Skeptics of the one chamber idea often point out that the United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley, a chamber alliance, is already focused on political advocacy for the business community. Joe Vitti, the president of Valley Vote and the vice-president of the Granada Hills Chamber of Commerce, believes that the UCC has been effective in representing the chambers. “There are over 1.5 million people in the Valley. It’s too large to just have one or two chambers. A mega-chamber wouldn’t be able to provide the same value to the individual member,” Vitti said. “The UCC is a good representation of the issues that face the Valley people. Getting together and speaking with one voice on an issue is very valuable and I think the UCC does that well.” The chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, Martin M. Cooper agrees that chambers of commerce wield the most power when operating under a unified voice. “Chambers of commerce have the greatest legislative clout when they are synonymous with a city. The 22 Valley chambers do not represent a complete city and for that reason they will have less clout than if they were one chamber representing the entire Valley,” Cooper said. “However, one would need to take into account the specific communities: Pacoima and Sylmar are different from Woodland Hills, Tarzana and Encino. There probably could stand to be some form of amalgamation but then again people enjoy being on the chamber boards and being a big fish in a small pond.” Yet J. Richard Leyner, a former chairman of the UCC and a past president of the Encino Chamber, believes that the UCC is that one united voice that can speak for Valley business. “Each chamber has their own management style and they all have different goals. When it comes to an individual chamber handling their own needs, they do a good job. When they want a chamber that encompasses the needs of the whole area, they need the UCC.” Active supporters and members of the UCC and some in the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce also believe that the organization has eliminated the need for one Valley chamber. “The Valley is big enough to have the number of chambers that it does. The UCC and their members are being more proactive in advocacy which is very important,” Brendan Huffman, the director of public policy for the Los Angeles Area Chamber and a Studio City resident said. “We saw BTAC move through and the Valley chambers have been active in advocacy concerning the DWP rate hikes, the police/sales tax issue and inclusionary zoning. Too many chambers is not a problem, we just need to work closer together.” Another person opposed to the idea of creating one powerful Valley Chamber is accredited chamber executive and chamber consultant, Jan Sobel. The former CEO of the Encino Chamber believes that small chambers are vital to fostering a sense of community, as well as providing important local networking capabilities. However, like Cooper, Sobel believes that some local chambers could probably stand to consolidate. “One chamber for an area this size would be unmanageable unless you had one central chamber with a lot of satellite offices and programs. I do believe that the current chambers do a fine job. However, it’s a difficult task because the large amount of chambers dilutes the numbers and dollars and the volunteer support that you can receive,” Sobel said. “I think the local chambers do function as advocates for business but they really excel in things like community involvement and networking. There are many times that the chambers do come together on specific issues where there voices can be heard. I also believe that the UCC also helps to provide this service.” However, Sobel’s days as the CEO of the Encino Chamber might prove a cautionary lesson to those yearning to merge existing chambers. “When I was in Encino, we always envisioned a Ventura Blvd. Chamber of Commerce because we had similar types of businesses running along the boulevard,” Sobel said. “However, we ultimately weren’t successful because everyone had their own little area and they didn’t want to give up their identification. They all wanted to control their own territory.”

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