Holly Chamber Adds North Oakland Name, Partners with Ortonville to Grow
(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 22, 2024)
Holly, Ortonville, MI – On April 19, The Holly Area Chamber of Commerce held an open house and game night to celebrate the location of their new office located inside Jobes Technology at 3043 Grange Hall Rd. The Chamber had been located at the Karl Richter Center, which is now being torn down to make room for a new middle school. But that was not the only change that the business-driven organization had to share.
Director Richard Kinnamon also revealed that the Chamber is changing into the North Oakland Regional Chambers Association, with the Holly Area Chamber being under the umbrella of the NORCA, as well as the addition of the Ortonville Chamber.
“Ortonville and Holly are independent communities with their own identities,” Kinnamon said. “We want that local identity to be a big part of what goes into this.” Yet joining forces with a regional chamber association also helps all members “to have a bigger voice.” Kinnamon explained that business owners working collaboratively can make an impact on legislation and decisions being made at the local and state levels.
The community of Ortonville had a chamber previously, but it dissolved prior to the pandemic. Chambers across the county have struggled as businesses have found ways to connect with each other and with potential customers online, pushing Chambers to evaluate their benefits and their role in supporting member businesses and organizations.
Kinnamon said that he recently learned at a conference that “in 2018 there were 360 chambers in Michigan. Now there are 180,” he said. “Some of them have just gone by the wayside, and others are, in order to survive, have done something like this or they have just merged completely.”
The Greater Brighton Area Chamber provided inspiration for the group, as they’ve absorbed five local chambers, including South Lyon.
Yet the challenges that prompt consolidation also provide opportunities.
“We’re doing something here ya know,” Kinnamon said. “If you think about six and a half years ago, our entire membership was about what we’ve got standing here. We now have 165 members, and growing. We want to be able to help that happen in another community, so we have, our board has, spent months talking about some big things.”
Not only will the North Oakland Regional Chambers Association add in Ortonville, in the coming months they will make two seats available on the board for Ortonville representation.
Dr. Leon Ingham is the proprietor of Full Scope Eye Care in Ortonville, and also has a practice in Fenton. “I’ve been a member of the Fenton one, I’m active in that, and I want to try it in Ortonville,” Ingham said. He and a small group of business owners had tried to start one from scratch, but it was simply too much work for just a few people, he told Oakland County Times. “With this we have an established Chamber to join while keeping the Ortonville identity, but they’ve already done the work to get it started.”
When asked why being part of a Chamber is important, Ingham said “The ability to have someone that can advocate for you, and the resources. The events are great, sharing business cards and this and that, but it’s the behind the scenes stuff. When you have an issue, like trying to get an approval for something, or when you have a problem, the Chamber can always be there.”
Members of the Holly Chamber and the Ortonville Chamber will be able to attend each others’ events. That way each group can have their own identity, but businesses who want to engage regionally will have more options to do so. Businesses in the Ortonville area can join for free during 2024 in an effort to get the Chamber going. Several business owners from the community attended Friday’s event.
The event also was a chance for members of both communities to have fun together. After getting a peek at the new office, members went to Crowne Pointe Center which is an arcade with some extra perks – like a virtual escape room, virtual reality games, and a golf simulator. The skee ball game was very popular as were old school arcade games like Pac Man. There’s also space to rent for parties and events.
A new website and a logo for the Ortonville Chamber are still in progress, but those wanting more information can check out the Holly Area Chamber of Commerce website at https://hollyareachamber.com/index.html.