Huntersville Connection will become a chamber of commerce

The Huntersville Connection voted this week to become the Huntersville Chamber of Commerce. It will move to a fee-based model but maintain its nonprofit status.

Started in 2008 as the Huntersville Destination Roundtable, the Huntersville Connection meets monthly and provides networking, marketing and sales opportunities for local businesses. Membership was cost-free for businesses of Huntersville, a town with a population of about 54,000.

In a statement this week, the organization said the new business model is currently being worked out, and it will share more details later this month.

“Creating the Huntersville Chamber of Commerce, which will work with other area Chambers of Commerce, effectively moves our business community into a more proactive growth position for the future,” board member Jeff Neely said.

The Huntersville Connection officers put former Huntersville Mayor Jill Swain in charge of heading transition plans, including membership recruitment, website development and name change issues.

The organization said membership dues are necessary because it needs to build a website and host more events, like the Fall into Huntersville festival held each year.

This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 7:27 AM with the headline "Huntersville Connection will become a chamber of commerce."