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Merger Committee Updates

What is the Merger Committee?

On November 26, 2024, the City of Brookings distributed a memo describing creation of a committee to define an effort to merge the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce, the Brookings Economic Development Corporation, Downtown Brookings, and Visit Brookings into one organization.

The primary mission of the committee is to develop an implementation plan to support the merging of the four organizations.

 

Timeline

The committee will meet twice a month (generally every other Friday morning). The plan is intended to be presented to Council in March for approval in April.

 

Communication

After each meeting, a "Key Takeaways" document will be distributed to share notes from the meeting. The Chamber will update this webpage with these documents after each meeting.

 

Please see below for documents and updates that have been shared publicly.

Updates

November 26, 2024: Memo from City - Merging Existing Economic Development Agencies

This document includes information on mission, committee makeup, timeline, and other considerations.

 

December 16, 2024: Key Takeaways from Merger Committee #1 

Topics covered in this document include the "why," meeting schedule, meeting topics, requested documents from agencies, agency interaction, committee expectations, and peer community analysis.

 

January 7, 2025: Letter on Merger from the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce

This letter was written by the Chamber Board and shared with the merger committees. The letter addresses eight areas of concern, including transparent communication, peer community input, independent governance, preservation of mission, financial impact considerations, future partnership commitment, regional representation, and evaluation of outcomes.

 

January 10, 2025: Key Takeaways from Merger Committee Meeting #2 

Notes from the second merger committee meeting include importance of regional representation, establishing subcommittees, discussion of the Chamber's letter, documents received from agencies, budget highlights explored, and staff engagement considerations.

 

 

While our President & CEO is more than willing to field questions regarding the merger, the Merger Committee Co-Chairs are happy to discuss and answer any questions individuals may have. Contact information is below.

  • Nick Wendell, City of Brookings; Committee Co-Chair
    • wendellnick@gmail.com, 605-830-5446
  • Tom Fishback, First Bank & Trust; Committee Co-Chair
    • tom.fishback@bankeasy.com, 605-695-2585
  • Kelsey Doom, Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce President & CEO
    • kelsey@brookingschamber.org; 605-692-8922