ERIN – The Erin business community once again has a unified voice advocating for them.
The Erin Chamber of Commerce (ECC) officially launched Wednesday with a party at the Busholme that saw representatives from about 75 local businesses come out, according to the ECC board chair.
“It was a room full of really great positive energy, looking forward to working together and being a voice for business,” said chair Ann Shanahan, local realtor.
There was previously a chamber of commerce that wasn’t but Shanahan said it was largely spearheaded by one person and lost steam
She didn’t believe this would happen with the new ECC which has seen about 25 members sign up so far.
“We have an extremely dedicated, committed board who all want the same thing,” Shanahan said.
Chris Bailey, owner of Brighten Up toy and game shop in Erin, is one of those board members. He said he was glad to see this launch to provide a tool for local businesses to network.
“It’s so important for small businesses to be able to have a mechanism to be able to collaborate with one another and just to be able to have a voice,” Bailey said.
“It’s really difficult when you’re running your own shop or have a very small team around you to have the time and the energy to make connections and advocate for your needs.”
Shanahan explained advocating for business with different levels of government is essentially its number one mandate.
She noted for example, Downtown Erin is under construction right now so they are doing promotion and putting up signage to let people know it's still open for business.
There are also plans for education sessions, more networking and events all geared towards improving Erin business.
Besides the past chamber representing businesses, there was a former BIA focused on the Downtown Erin area. That too dissolved in August 2021.
“A lot of businesses felt left out and that they didn’t really have a voice,” Shanahan said.
The ECC encompasses businesses throughout the municipality which includes Erin, Hillsbugh and other hamlets inside the town’s boundaries.
“It’s open to anyone who does business in Erin but may not necessarily have an office in Erin,” Shanahan said.
“We’re even suggesting any business minded people. There might be a gentleman who is retired who is the president of a multinational corporation who wants to join us and help us make us stronger.”
Shanahan stressed the chamber is going to be member driven and is being established at a critical time for the town.
“We’re on the cusp of sewers and we’re on the cusp of a lot of growth, both residential and commercial,” Shanahan said.
“We want to make sure that our long standing businesses in the Town of Erin have a voice and have a say in the changes that are going to be brought forward for them.”
The Town of Erin previously gave the ECC $5,000 in seed money to get started. Coun. John Brennan has put forward a motion for staff to find out how that money was spent.
The motion also asks for a report on the role of the town in respect to the chamber going forward, what the scope of the ECC is in terms of geography and whether it supersedes the need for a business improvement area. This is being discussed at a Thursday afternoon council meeting.
