Thursday, September 24, 2009

Chamber merger dialogue defunct - al.com

Chamber merger dialogue defunct - al.com: "FOLEY — After flirting for several months with the idea of merging into a single business advocacy group, the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce and the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce have discontinued talks of coming together.

In an e-mail to members sent Tuesday afternoon, Jerry Jackson, chairman of the Foley-based South Baldwin Chamber, wrote that that organization's executive committee 'has decided not to recommend pursuit of further merger talks' with its Gulf Shores- and Orange Beach-centered counterpart.

'The committee's efforts culminated in the membership survey, the results of which we discussed at length during our board meeting last Monday,' wrote Jackson, vice president with BankTrust who manages its Foley office. 'While the survey did indicate significant interest in a merger, the level of interest was not sufficient to give a clear mandate for merger.'"