North Oakland Region Chambers Association Continues to Grow
(Mark H. Stowers, Nov 15, 2024)
Groveland, Holly, Ortonville, Rose, MI – The Holly Area Chamber of Commerce has been bringing together local businesses to help each other and benefit the community at large for years, but recently they’ve taken those services and expanded, creating the North Oakland Regional Chambers Association.
Headed up by Executive Director Richard Kinnamon, the NORCA is now the umbrella organization for chambers in both Holly and Ortonville. The Association was announced in April at an event at Crowne Pointe Center, an arcade and event venue located in the same shopping center as the Chamber office, which is inside Jobes Technology.
“Basically, the townships that are taken in by this are, naturally, Holly Township and the village of Holly, Springfield Township, Rose Township, Groveland Township and this now adds Brandon Township as well as the village of Ortonville,” Kinnamon explained.
“It’s mostly for businesses. that’s our that’s our purpose. Our tagline for North Oakland is ‘better for business.’ We also bring advocacy both at the local and state levels.”
Kinnamon also noted that the North Oakland Regions Chamber “offer opportunities for business owners to get together, to network with one another, to learn about better business practices. We have an online listing of all members where individuals can go and find out more or if they’re looking for a certain type of business, we get phone calls all the time of somebody saying, ‘I’m looking for this in the area, what do you have?’ The chambers have basically become what used to be the telephone operator. You used to dial zero and you’d say, so I’m looking for the number to that store downtown. But now we’re the ones who look it up.”
Events include networking breakfasts, the Spring Bowling Extravaganza, and the Annual Dinner, plus community-centric activities like the Concert & Food Truck Rally, Concerts in the Park, and the Dixie Byway Car Show, which help enhance the cultural and social fabric of Holly.
The chamber members meet together and often share information about what’s working and what’s not working in the business world.
“Just membership in a chamber brings value to a business. Businesses can talk together and talk about their struggles, their successes and here’s how we did this. What did we learn here? Let’s all do it better next time around. And offers opportunities as well for them to use marketing dollars for sponsorships of things that we do.
“To be a part of an organization like the North Oakland Regional Chambers Association gives business owners an even broader connection or credibility that they’re not just a part of a small chamber in a community, but rather a part of a bigger regional something.”
Holly Herrick, owner of Altered Designs in Holly is a member of the North Oakland Regional Chambers Association.
“It’s an expansion of our current chamber and we love it,” Herrick said. “We love having Ortonville with us and it just expands the membership and community.”
She noted that staying in the loop on what’s happening with government regulations both locally, state and federal has been crucial information to have, thanks to the North Oakland Regions Chamber Associations bringing the information to their members.
“One update was very business related in regards to the new changes in employees and the new pay system brought down through the state of Michigan,” she said. “It’s great that the chamber is willing to share the information legislation that’s coming down through the state. They keep us up to date in the Michigan chamber and of course, keeps their local chambers up to date on those kinds of things. And then socially, it’s just great as far as networking with other business owners, getting to know what their aspects of their business. You get to put a name to the business or should I say a face to the business. In that way, it’s great when you can try to use other chamber members’ businesses and network that way, which I love. It’s just a sense of community, too.”
Jason Vrabel has been a member and his Edward Jones investment business was in Holly but relocated to Ortonville.
“I started working with them and they have a lot of nice events even though they are still ramping up,” Vrabel said. “They’ve done a nice job inviting everybody to the events, getting with the local business leaders here, getting people together. And it’s been a really nice – it’s been a good relationship.
“The North Oakland Regional Chambers Association is a member of the US Chamber, Michigan Chamber, Michigan Small Business Association, Michigan Festivals and Events, and Oakland County Chamber Network, We also network with other Chambers of Commerce in our region.”
The Chamber offers a variety of events such as networking breakfasts, the Spring Bowling Extravaganza, and the Annual Dinner, fostering connections among members and promoting local enterprises. These events also include community-centric activities like the Concert & Food Truck Rally, Concerts in the Park, and the Dixie Byway Car Show, which help enhance the cultural and social fabric of Holly.
The North Oakland Regional Chambers Association is located at 3043 Grange Hall Road in Holly and can be reached at 248.215.7099. The website for more information is NorthOaklandchambers.com.
