Cd’A Chamber changing name, expanding reach

Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce adds ‘regional’ to its name

The Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce said Friday its role in the region’s business communities has outgrown its name. Starting next week, the network of businesses will go by a new name: The Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber.

“Just looking at what we’ve been doing here, the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce has been a voice in this region for quite some time,” chamber president and CEO Derrell Hartwick said. “Looking to the future, our aim is to bolster our regional presence up here, beyond Coeur d’Alene.”

Hartwick added that because nearly a third of the Chamber’s dues-paying members aren’t headquartered within Coeur d’Alene’s city limits, and because of connections visitors make between Coeur d’Alene’s services and North Idaho’s destination appeal, this new move to expand the Chamber’s reach and open into new markets makes sense.

“We’re a voice for all of the area here,” he said. “This is North Idaho, and when people think of North Idaho, they think of Coeur d’Alene. We looked long and hard at what we’re doing here. What does the Chamber do? We work with regional development. We partner with other cities in the area. We partner with Spokane. We advocate in Boise. We continue to grow, and our strategy should be to reflect that growth.”

Hartwick emphasized that Coeur d’Alene’s chamber isn’t looking to supplant other chambers of commerce in the area, and that he looks forward to continuing his chamber’s partnerships with nearby business communities like Post Falls, Hayden and the Rathdrum area, all of which have their own chambers.

But Hartwick added that rebranding the city’s chamber into the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber is the first step in a series of moves to expand its reach beyond brick-and-mortar memberships, boosted by an aggressive new membership campaign.

“We want businesses to know we can be a voice for anyone that does business here, whether they’re from here or not,” he said. “We’re not looking to take away from any of the hard work other chambers in the area are doing for their partners, just as we don’t want our members to think we’re going anywhere. We’re always going to be the Coeur d’Alene Chamber to them.

“We love our members here, but we want our members outside of town to know we’re here for them, too. This is North Idaho. A rising tide raises all ships,” he added.