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Working Together

The president of the Coral Springs Regional Chamber of Commerce admits with a laugh that the chamber didnโ€™t do anything special to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its incorporation in 2017. But Cindy Brief notes that something special did happenโ€”a partnership that unites two cities.

In August, the chamber announced that it had integrated with the Coconut Creek Chamber of Commerce, giving members of both chambers more opportunities for networking and growth.

The integration had been in talks since 2016, when Connie Carberg, secretary of the Coconut Creek chamber (she joined in 2004 to represent Al Hendrickson Toyota), approached Brief about integrating their organizations. The volunteer-run Creek chamber, while dedicated, was having difficulty providing value to members.

โ€œWe couldnโ€™t continue to grow and offer programs that you really need to do in a chamber,โ€ says Carberg, who handles public relations at Al Hendrickson, where sheโ€™s worked since 2001. โ€œWe couldnโ€™t [have regular events] because we didnโ€™t have an office and paid staff to do administrative stuff.โ€

The negotiations took about a year, as both Brief and Carberg wanted to make sure that members were pleased with the results.

โ€œThe key was not to be swallowed up in any way but to make sure that Coconut Creek kept its own identity,โ€ Carberg says. โ€œThat was a very big point.โ€

The Coconut Creek chamber is now known as the Coconut Creek Chamber Council. The Coral Springs chamber handles the Chamber Councilโ€™s financial and administrative needs, but the Creek chamber has its own board of governors and representation on the Coral Springsโ€™ chamberโ€™s board of directors. Brief says this synergy adds value to members by giving them a larger network.

โ€œJoining with Coconut Creek gives us greater strength and influence as the voice of northwest Broward,โ€ Brief says. โ€œYouโ€™re getting the opportunity to expand your contacts, grow your network, educate your employees, get involved in the community, [and have] low-cost advertising opportunities.โ€

This synergy already benefits members; Brief says membership in the Creek council has doubled. The larger network was apparent during the first post-integration networking event in October at Ciao Cucina & Bar in Coconut Creek, which drew more than 90 attendees.

โ€œPeople were thrilled because there are so many new people to network with, to be able to get new business with, and to form friendships with,โ€ says Carberg, now the chairman of the Creek Chamber Council.

This year, members can look forward to six events in Coconut Creek as well as a Creek referral group. In addition, the chamberโ€™s annual gala in April will honor a Creek small business leader of the year.

โ€œWeโ€™re going to expand so much. Itโ€™s a win-win for both cities,โ€ Carberg says. โ€œIt doesnโ€™t matter if your small, large, working out of homeโ€”whatever your business may be, itโ€™s there to represent you.โ€

For information about joining the chamber, visit cschamber.com.

Creek Biz News

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Noel Morreale was named vice president of food and beverage at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek (5550 NW 40th St.). He oversees the restaurantsโ€™ and barsโ€™ 12 departments, 73 managers and 700 team members. He previously was director of restaurants and general manager of NYY Steakhouse.

NutraFuels (6601 Lyons Road) recently began producing The Blast Cap, a new line of nutraceutical formulas for daily and sports nutrition purposes.

Regency Lakes Village Center (6310 and 6370 N. State Road) was recently purchased by Los Angeles-based Pacific Equities Capital Management Corp. for $8.5 million from Regency Lakes Village Center Partners. The 29,932-square-foot plaza includes Landlubberโ€™s Bar & Grill and Luxury Nails.

MotionPoint (4661 Johnson Road, Suite 14) opened its European headquarters in Madrid.

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