County chambers of commerce in Virginia question Fairfax’s play as region’s business voice

The rebranding of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce as a regional organization for Northern Virginia's business communities is raising concerns from business leaders and chambers outside the borders of Fairfax.

“We’re concerned about the potential for confusion in the marketplace,” says Tony Howard, president and CEO of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce. “There’s a lot going on in this region and we should be clear about who speaks for all of the constituencies.”

There are 16 chambers organized around geographic marketplaces in Northern Virginia, plus dozens of member-based organizations representing specialized categories of business or ethnic businesses.

The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce announced recently that it's rebranding as the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. The chamber said it is undertaking the $200,000 pivot to better focus on regional issues such as transportation, education and business regulations. The organization said the move was the result of a call by business and political leaders in Fairfax County for a unified business voice for the region. Fairfax Chamber President Jim Corcoran said the rebranding aims “to complement, not compete with the other chambers” and that “we’re going with an olive branch, not a sledgehammer.”

But business leaders in other counties throughout Northern Virginia didn't see it quite that way. They question Fairfax’s motives and strategy.

“What’s the plan?” Howard asks. “I understand the desire to create a stronger and more unified regional voice in Northern Virginia. What still remains to be seen is whether this particular initiative is the one that’s going to be effective.”

Howard and other chamber presidents say that all the chambers favor collaboration, but the Fairfax rebranding is heavy-handed. Other chambers weren’t consulted about the Fairfax chamber’s plan to stake out Northern Virginia as its territory. Read more: Loudoun Times Mirror