Chambers: Progress made on proposed consolidation

The Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Nevada Chamber of Commerce said last week they're making progress toward their planned combination.

The two chambers now are publicizing each other's events and members of one chamber can attend events sponsored by the other.

For events with a fee, members of either chamber are charged the member rate no matter which organization is the sponsor, the chambers said in a joint statement.

Len Stevens, executive director of the Northern Nevada Chamber, and Fred Boyd, interim chief executive officer of the Reno Sparks chamber, said in a joint statement that "considerable progress has been made."

No deadline has been set on the planned combination, which was announced March 16.

The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada also is part of the talks, although it will remain as a separate entity with separate membership.

Executives of the business organizations are talking, however, about services combined between EDAWN and the chambers.

In their statement, Boyd and Stevens said the chambers hope to strengthen the voice of business, add value for chamber members and operate more efficiently through the combination.