Hanover Park Chamber of Commerce folding, joining Bartlett chamber

After struggling financially for the past few months, the Hanover Park Chamber of Commerce will cease operations at the end of the year and encourage its members to be part of a revamped Bartlett Chamber of Commerce.

"We had a good amount of members, but it financially made sense to join with Bartlett," said Hanover Park Chamber of Commerce Board Member Balwinder Chhokar.

All Hanover Park Chamber members have been invited to join the Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce, according to a letter sent to chamber members Dec. 14.

"We're confident that its (Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce) resources, support structure, highly engaged membership, and strong record of community involvement will be a great value to Hanover Park Chamber of Commerce members," the letter said.

The Hanover Park Chamber of Commerce "didn't have funds to continue," said Bartlett Chamber's Chair-elect Lee Price.

"We're looking forward to a stressful and intense first couple of months," Price said. "And we're also looking forward to giving (businesses) the tools they need to grow."

He said the two chambers aren't merging due to liability issues, but the name is changing to Bartlett Area Chamber complete with a new logo.

Price said the Bartlett Chamber of Commerce has about 265 members, and the Hanover Park Chamber had 65 members. It's unclear, though, how many new members the Bartlett Area Chamber will acquire because some businesses are likely members in both.

The Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce board will include members from both towns. Price said Hanover Park Chamber board member Rebecca Walker has already agreed to serve on the new Bartlett Area Chamber board.

"This is a window of opportunity to collaborate with our neighbor Bartlett," said Hanover Park Village President Rod Craig. "It'll be good for businesses and our relationship with Bartlett."

Bartlett Village President Kevin Wallace, who served as chairman of Bartlett's chamber for two terms, said he is looking forward to working with Hanover Park.

"The more businesses you have collaborating together, the better off the members are," he said.

Wallace adds the Bartlett chamber routinely offers educations workshops that instruct participants in websites like LinkedIn and Twitter.

Current memberships with the Hanover Park and Bartlett Chambers of Commerce will be honored until their anniversary dates, and memberships will be renewed under the joint chamber's new name starting Jan. 1.

Hanover Park Chamber Executive Director Andrea Fox was not available for comment.