After many years of discussion, the boards of the Carmel and Fishers chambers of commerce have voted to merge into a single organization. The two chambers will operate together as OneZone, a commerce advocate and connector for both cities.
“I’m so excited to make this announcement that has been in many ways 20 years in the making,” said Mo Merhoff, president of the Carmel Chamber of Commerce. “The result is positive things for business. In the end that’s what chambers are about – business opportunities.” Merhoff keeps the title and will be president of OneZone.
Members will get access to more business contacts, more marketing and collaboration opportunities, more advocacy clout and more exposure than ever before. Fishers Chamber of Commerce President Dan Canan will serve as executive vice president of OneZone.
“We did this now, because we didn’t have to. Both chambers, especially Fishers, are strong. It’s what’s best for our membership. As Mo said, it was 20 years in the making, and it took 20 months to put all the pieces in place,” said Canan.
The new organization will be called OneZone to demonstrate the unified effort and indicate that its impact reaches across municipal boundaries. Its tagline is: Commerce. Connected. OneZone will be led by a 25-member board that includes the entirety of both current boards.
Noblesville Chamber President and CEO Bob DuBois said the announcement came as a surprise.
“We were not approached and learned (last) week,” he said.
DuBois said from his knowledge the merger was very thorough and “done with an awful lot of due diligence.”
“The Fishers and Carmel chambers of commerce have a lot of similarities,” DuBois said. “We’re not sure what impact it will have. It will require us to step up our game a bit and provide meaningful services to the business community here in Noblesville.
“We are looking at organizations in Noblesville and Hamilton County for collaborations and partnerships. We want to be smart about how we use resources and are planning on more collaborations with Noblesville Main Street, Hamilton County Tourism and Nickel Plate Arts,” he continued.
