Sandy Springs, Perimeter Chamber announce merger

The long-rumored merger of the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber and the Perimeter Chamber has come to fruition.

The merger was announced to the members of both organizations in an email sent July 15.

“After years of collaboration and conversation, the respective Board of Directors for the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber and the Perimeter Chamber, have unanimously decided to officially join forces to build a consolidated business association,” the announcement said.

“Central Perimeter as a market, has been around for a long time and is nationally known,” Adam Forrand, president of the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber, told Rough Draft Atlanta. “And now our businesses, through their representation and membership in this consolidated chamber, will have a shot at continuing to prosper in this region.”

The two chambers will focus on the municipalities of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, he said, and will help them remain competitive and cultivate a pro-business community that will give them an edge over other regional chambers.

Successful chambers grow and evolve to anticipate and meet their local business communities’ needs, Brian Bollins, chairman of the Perimeter Sandy Springs Chamber and vice president for Choate Construction, said.

“This decision reflects our desire to address our members’ needs in an increasingly complex and uncertain economy. We will continue to focus on the needs of our respective cities of Dunwoody and Sandy Springs, but with an improved position to address shared business interests and concerns,” Bollins said.

The integration of the two organizations has already begun, and completion is expected by Jan. 1, 2025. The new name of the entity has not yet been determined, the announcement said.

Perimeter Chamber Vice President of Engagement Paula Shiver in an interview with Rough Draft said the combined enrollment of the chambers will top 500, taking into account some people and/or businesses that are in both entities.

“There is some crossover, but not as much as we thought initially,” Shiver said. “With this new organization, we will be stronger and better together.”

Forrand said that they discovered only 12 or 13 members in common, which surprised them given the proximity of the two communities.

The merger has been under discussion for at least a decade, Shiver said.

“I have always thought that it was silly to have competition between the two when we are all trying to accomplish the same thing,” Shiver said. “Personally, I am thrilled about this.”

The statement included a Q&A to address anticipated member concerns. The merger will not immediately affect membership status or costs for people in either organization, but the new entity will assess membership levels “early in the integration process to be approved by respective boards quickly.”

The headquarters for the joint organization, for now, will be at SSPC’s headquarters, 1000 Abernathy Road, which SSPC has leased through April 2025.

“A decision on a future location will be evaluated during the integration process before the lease completion,” the announcement said.

Shiver said Perimeter Chamber employees have been working remotely since the pandemic, so the transition to new headquarters will be fairly uncomplicated.

During the transition, committees will be chaired by members of both organizations, and “meetings, events, and programs will rotate among community venues across the cities of Sandy Springs and Dunwoody, maintaining equitable geographic distribution.”

The announcement didn’t directly address staffing after the merger, saying only “there will be minimal overlap, allowing staff to merge seamlessly and work efficiently as a team.”

Forrand told Rough Draft Atlanta that he would be president of the unified chambers. Shiver will continue in her role, as will the rest of the chambers’ staff members.

Shiver said she doesn’t anticipate any reduction in force after the merger is complete, although there may some shuffling of duties and responsibilities.

“Timing is everything and right now we don’t have any real overlap [in staffing],” she said.

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