A Maplewood business owner and member of the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce is opposing a proposed name change for the chamber.
The Maplewood Chamber of Commerce incorporated the Richmond Heights Chamber of Commerce in January, and chamber members are now being asked to vote to approve a name change to designed to reflect that: Mid-County Chamber of Commerce. A two-thirds majority of the membership is required. They have until Aug. 10 to vote.
Andrew Bolin, co-owner of Thrivent Financial (3008 Sutton Boulevard), is opposed to the change, saying it would diminish the unique identity that has developed for Maplewood.
Bolin’s thoughts:
My position is that the name should not be changed. It would be fine to add a tagline to our current name like “Serving Maplewood, Richmond Heights, and their neighbors,” or event to change the name to the “Maplewood Area Chamber of Commerce,” however, Maplewood brings a cachet to mind that Richmond Heights, nor many of our other neighboring communities, do not.
The current proposal ‘Mid-County Chamber of Commerce’ with the unchanged tagline: ‘Serving the Communities of Maplewood and Richmond Heights,’ is a proposal that does not specify the charm of Maplewood’s Special Business District or history. There are many people who have worked hard to make Maplewood the unique and thriving community it is today and the chamber has been a big part of that transition.
The proposed name change would diminish the identity that has developed for Maplewood. In addition to diminishing Maplewood’s uniqueness, using Mid-County in the name is confusing since other cities which our greater St. Louis community would identify as part of Mid-County already have their own Chambers of Commerces including Clayton, Kirkwood, Webster Groves-Rock Hill and Brentwood. If the intention is to merge with all of the communities just listed’s chambers of commerce as well, it would diminish everything that has made Maplewood’s chamber successful and great.
One can understand that a business located in Richmond Heights may feel excluded from a name that specifies Maplewood in its name, however, Maplewood’s Chamber of Commerce has always been open to businesses from outside of Maplewood. Many of those businesses more than likely joined the Maplewood Chamber because of the identity reflected in the name and because of its long history of being a center for business and commerce, especially small businesses.
One could even propose that the Richmond Heights Chamber of Commerce, which was much smaller and much less active than Maplewood’s joined Maplewood’s Chamber and that it was not an equal merger. Businesses and residents of Richmond Heights live and work in a lovely community and should be proud of where they are situated. However, the community of Richmond Heights and especially the Mid-County region as a whole, does not bring the same kind of small business focused identity that Maplewood has and will continue to connote.
Members of Maplewood’s chamber should welcome Richmond Heights businesses with open arms, and be sympathetic to the fact that they are members of an organization that does not specifically reflect the domicile of their business. In order, however, to continue to promote the success of Maplewood, the benefits that surrounding communities receive from Maplewood’s continued success, and avoid confusing patrons and potential members from being misled through an ambiguous identity, Maplewood Chamber of Commerce needs to stick with the title that has brought it all of the success it has encountered so far.
It is unfortunate that the Chamber was not contacted with an opportunity to contribute to this article. Be that as it may, while I regret that we won’t make everyone happy regardless of the outcome, by requiring a two-third approval vote to change the name ultimately ensures that the will of the majority of members is honored.
Every member’s opinion is valued and matters and can be expressed by voting. I hope that Andrew and all members of the Chamber take the opportunity to make their opinion count by voting in the next couple of days.
Yes, Jeannine, we plan of voting once we find the ballot in the mess that is our building. Also, as the saying goes, you can make some of the people happy all the time or all of the people happy some of the time, but not all people happy all of the time. No matter how the vote goes, Maplewood will still be an awesome place to live, work, and play.
A quick Google search shows we’re surrounded by the north, northwest, west and south chambers of commerce. The mid county chamber could fit in the gap created by those chambers and attract more members, increasing the reach and revenue of the chamber.
On the other hand, members from further away lead to conflicting interests and spreading our resources too thin. Maplewood has built a powerful brand, the chamber has been built up because of Maplewood businesses, and spends significant resources putting on events in Maplewood.
I don’t think that’s something worth losing. The integration with Richmond Heights makes sense, and the tag line addresses both cities, but I agree with Andrew, the Mid County name change will wash out the brand and identity.
Bordering on St Louis City would make it East County if you want to get picky. Based on placement in St Louis county Maplewod is miles from “mid” unless you want the moniker of Mid-East.
‘Mid county’ would be misleading. But they’ll do what they do I suppose…
Why not change the name to Maplewood-Richmond Heights Chamber of Commerce? I agree with Andrew, too, that the proposed name does not reflect the Chamber.
I agree with Andrew’s statement.