Newspaper Page Text
PERIMETER BUSINESS
Brookhaven Chamber
celebrates inaugural event
Melissa Weinman
The crowd gathered at the Brookhaven Cham
ber of Commerce listened as presentations
were to honor local officials and volunteers.
By Melissa Weinman
At the entrance to the
ballroom of Villa Chris
tina, Arthur Freeman
beamed as he looked
across the room at the
nearly 200 people chat
ting, sipping wine and
eating hors d'oeuvres as
a bright, early spring sun
set behind the windows.
"You hear that?" he
asked. "That's buzz."
Freeman, the exec
utive director of the
Brookhaven Chamber of
Commerce, was pleased by the turn
out at the Brookhaven Chamber of
Commerce's inaugural reception on
March 14.
Community leaders, business
people and elected officials from
Brookhaven, Dunwoody, DeKalb
County and a few state legislators
gathered to celebrate the organiza
tion's official debut.
"I think of it as a debutante ball,
our coming-out party," Freeman said.
Freeman hopes to keep that buzz
going as the organization looks for
members and starts new programs
and initiatives in the community.
The chamber, which has signed
up nearly 40 members so far, already
has a host of programs and events
planned for its first year.
Freeman said the chamber has
plans for a "listen and learn educa
tional series," monthly networking
events, speakers every two months,
a "chairman's circle luncheon"
for business leaders and city offi
cials to talk about issues, two yearly
galas and six general membership
meetings. "Not bad for nine weeks,"
Freeman said of the young organiza
tion's progress.
About three months ago, the cham
ber evolved from the Brookhaven
Community Connection, a network
ing group for Brookhaven business
people. Freeman said the chamber
had the advantage of building on its
groundwork.
"My board of directors that I came
out of the gate with in December
was the board of directors from the
Brookhaven Community Connec
tion," Freeman said. "That's one of
the reasons we've been able to do it.
It looks like it's only been nine weeks,
but the reality is, it's been four years."
Like the BCC, the chamber of com
merce will not be limited to for-profit
businesses. Freeman said civic associ
ations and religious groups are invit
ed to join, as well.
While Freeman realizes that busi
nesses may have inherently different
interests than homeowners groups at
times, he sees the chamber as an orga
nization that can help solve conflicts.
"That's one of the reasons I want
them at the table — so you can have
a neutral place to work these issues
out," Freeman said.
The Brookhaven Chamber of Com
merce will be joining what is already
a thriving business community in the
Perimeter area. The Sandy Springs/
Perimeter Chamber of Commerce,
the Dunwoody Chamber of Com
merce, the North Fulton Chamber of
Commerce and the Perimeter Busi
ness Association are all within just a
few miles of each other.
Tom Mahaffey, executive direc
tor of the Sandy Springs/Perimeter
Chamber of Commerce, said he sees
the addition of the Brookhaven cham
ber as beneficial for the region.
"I don't think it's a bad thing at all.
We're a close community and region,
and we work together as a region,"
Mahaffey said. "Sandy Springs and
Dunwoody have been very connect
ed since the inception of both cham
bers. I don't see why Brookhaven
would not join with us."
He doesn't believe a new cham
ber will be a threat to any of the ex
isting organizations. "I don't think it's
going to affect our investors or mem
bership base. Each of us will have our
own base of companies we will part
ner with," Mahaffey said.
Joe DeVita, the founder of the
Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce,
has also been helping the Brookhaven
chamber get started. DeVita said the
Brookhaven chamber will be able to
work jointly on regional efforts with
other chambers in the area.
"Economic development is some
thing you don't do in a bubble. It's a
regional effort and it takes regional
partners," DeVita said.
NORTHSIDE HOSPITAL CANCER INSTITUTE: A LEADING PROVIDER OF
New Perspectives
For a lot of men, surviving prostate cancer changes the way
they view everything. The world becomes a brighter place.
Northside Hospital Cancer Institute has helped thousands of
men experience a survivor’s point of view. Northside diagnoses
and treats more prostate cancers than anyone else in Georgia.
Northside is the only hospital in metro Atlanta chosen by the
National Cancer Institute as a Community Cancer Center. So
you have access to the latest cancer research and treatments
that lead to a new way of seeing the world.
Where the Extraordinary Happens Every Day \
K1 , . , i Northside Hospital
Northside.com cancer institute
www.ReporterNewspapers.netl MARCH22—APRIL4,2013 | 11