With last week’s announcement that Cathryn Borer will be leaving her position as executive director of the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce and last month’s announcement that Nancy Carpenter will be retiring from her position as CEO of the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau in the spring, it may be time to consider a new structure for tourism and business development in Lowndes County.
In addition to the leadership transitions, the Chamber, which operates under the auspices of the Golden Triangle Development LINK, may soon be looking for new office space, since The LINK is moving its offices to the Golden Triangle Regional Airport next year.
A consolidation of Main Street Columbus, the CVB and Chamber has some merits worth exploring.
While the missions of the CVB, Chamber and Main Street are not exactly the same, there is potential synergy in joining forces that we believe would advance the mission of all three organizations. We believe that generally, what benefits one of these organizations benefits the others with the added benefits of sharing resources and limiting costs.
Such a consolidation certainly isn’t unprecedented. The same three groups work under the umbrella of The Partnership in Starkville and the Growth Alliance in West Point.
The Partnership has a CEO, which oversees the activities of the Chamber, CVB and Starkville Main Street. Each of those organizations has its own board and director. All are housed in the same building.
Such an umbrella organization has proven to be a big help in both Starkville and West Point. Big events in those communities benefit from the support of all three organizations. An event may “belong” to one of those groups, but all three organizations play a role in the success of that event. Collectively, they can reach more people with their marketing efforts than they would alone.
This unique timing presents an opportunity to streamline, coordinate, gain efficiency and expand the efforts of all three Columbus organizations in a way that none of these groups could attain on their own.
We’re not saying a consolidation is a good idea, necessarily, but it’s a conversation worth having.
There are, of course, many details to consider before such a move could be made, but there may be no better time than now to take a hard look at what would be gained and lost by at least partially combining these organizations.
The Partnership and The Growth Alliance are evidence that, with the right leadership, there may be more pluses than minuses in such a merger.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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