LOWVILLE, N.Y. — The Lewis County Industrial Development Agency (LCIDA) and the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce are considering a merger that would consolidate services, resources, and staff under one umbrella organization.
The LCIDA and Lewis County Development Corporation (LCDC) brand themselves as Naturally Lewis. If the organizations decide to merge their operations, the new nonprofit would also be called Naturally Lewis, per a recent news release.
The merged organization would focus on economic, business, and tourism-development efforts for Lewis County. Both are located in Lowville.
The boards of directors of the Lewis County IDA, Lewis County Development Corporation, and the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce have been in discussions for the past six months on the potential for a merger, the organization said.
The groups cite further partnerships, collaboration, and strategic planning among the three entities since the start of the pandemic in 2020 which “solidified the need for a more streamlined approach” to economic, business, and tourism development in Lewis County.
Under a new board of directors, Naturally Lewis would retain all employees of the Lewis County IDA and Lewis County Chamber of Commerce. As part of the transition, the organization would acquire all current and future economic-development strategic priorities.
Those focuses include business development and support services; property and site-redevelopment projects; tourism development and promotion initiatives; placemaking and community-building initiatives; marketing and promotion of Lewis County “as a great place to live, work, build business and play;” membership services; and events and collaboration with communities that the Lewis County IDA, LCDC, and Lewis County Chamber of Commerce are already leading, per the release.
The merger would also “allow for the consolidation and streamlining” of staff, finances and budgets, programming, marketing and communications, fundraising, human resources, technology and facilities to one organization.
“Our continued collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce has led to great opportunities for our business community,” Brittany Davis, executive director of the Lewis County IDA, said. “A merger of the economic development and Chamber organizations would streamline, consolidate resources, clarify staff roles, eliminate any duplication of efforts, and provide Lewis County communities with even greater opportunities for the future.”
Although the partnership is “still in feasibility and research phase,” the staff and board members of the three organizations are looking for feedback from the current Lewis County Chamber of Commerce membership, local businesses, community members, residents and tourists, alike.
Those interested in providing feedback on the proposed merger can visit https://naturallylewis.com/news/merger.