Sand Mountain Reporter

SARDIS CITY - Officials and business leaders in Etowah County’s fastest growing city plan to create a chamber of commerce, possibly by mid-January.

“We plan on starting a chamber of commerce at the first of the year,” Sardis City Clerk Doug Gamblin said. “An organizational meeting is planned for Jan. 15 at City Hall at noon. We’re going to meet and make sure we’re all on the same page and have the legal documents in place.”

Gamblin said the chamber initially would be an all-volunteer effort based at City Hall.

“We’ve met with business leaders twice,” Gamblin said. “We’ve got some pros and cons issues. We’ve got a small group that would like for us to join Boaz. We’ve got a larger group that wants to do their own thing. If we do this, we feel like we can still work with Boaz. We’ll just be co-workers.”

Donnie Mathis, of Liberty Bank in Sardis City, said representatives from the Grant Chamber of Commerce visited business leaders at the second meeting.

“Since they were a small chamber, they came over to give us tips on how we could form ours,” Mathis said. “Right now, we’re still in the planning stages. I really don’t know what to expect.”

Keyesta Sherman, president of the Boaz Area Chamber of Commerce, supports the neighboring town’s effort to start a new chamber.

“I think it’s great for the community to have their own chamber of commerce,” Sherman said. “It means their business leaders have taken an interest in the progression of the city. They have to volunteer their time in order to make it successful, and it lends more community pride.

“Just like we work hand in hand with the other neighboring chamber, we will do anything we can to help them in their success.”

Sherman said a new chamber may even help the Boaz office, which receives calls from people relocating to Sardis City who ask about services in the town and Etowah County. The Boaz chamber is located in Marshall County.

“If anything, it affects us in a positive way,” Sherman said. “Because their address says Boaz and they’ve had such an influx of people in the Sardis area, the newcomers see the word Boaz on their address and call our chamber to ask about services like garbage pickup and other city services. We try to help if we can, but sometimes we have to send them to Sardis City Hall.

“With the creation of their own chamber, if they decide to send out new relocation packages, those folks will have that information in hand. I think it’s a step in the right direction.”

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