Ishpeming Chamber A Step Closer

Western Marquette County hasn’t had its own chamber of commerce for more than 10 years.

But that’s a step closer to changing tonight.

The Ishpeming Business Association has approved a board of directors for a proposed Ishpeming Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Downtown Development Authority has committed to funding the chamber.

But the DDA wanted to see something formal created first.

IBA chair Charlie Anderson says he thinks this board is exactly what the DDA was looking for — a group of both businesspeople and elected officials, some of whom have been in the city for more than 50 years.

The chamber wants to eventually cover the area from Negaunee to Michigamme.

But the IBA has been looking to other successful chambers for guidance.

Anderson says the Gwinn-Sawyer Area Chamber of Commerce has some experiences the IBA can learn from.

He also is interested in Iron Mountain’s chamber, which started recently.

The IBA is encouraging members to support both the chamber and the Lake Superior Community Partnership because the LSCP’s large scale allows it to do types of economic development work that the chamber can’t tackle.