THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 3, 1995 TAG: 9505030447
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Currituck County has decided to join its neighbors to the north and become a part of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.
The county already belongs to the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce in Dare County. On Monday evening, the Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 to sign on with the Hampton Roads Chamber at the minimum level.
``It makes sense long-term to have one foot in the Outer Banks and another foot in Hampton Roads,'' said Commissioner J. Owen Etheridge, a financial planner who works in Virginia Beach.
Last year the county was added to the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes about 1.5 million people and is ranked the 27th-largest in the country.
``You guys are part of us now,'' said Lynda Jo Vogel, a Hampton Roads Chamber official who made a sales pitch to the board at a work session before Monday's regular meeting.
Currituck has strong economic ties to southeastern Virginia. Many county residents commute to jobs in Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.
About 6 percent of the 3,000 to 5,000 who work at Portsmouth's Norfolk Naval Shipyard reside in Currituck County, Vogel said.
As part of the Hampton Roads Chamber - the largest in Virginia, with more than 3,000 member firms - Currituck County officials hope to recruit more industry and tourists to the area.
But some commissioners on Monday weren't convinced that the membership, which will cost $275 annually, would yield results.
``I don't know if it benefits us at all to be in a Chamber of Commerce - Hampton Roads or Dare County,'' said Gene Gregory, who voted against the move.
``I'd like to see Currituck keep its own identity for a change and have its own Chamber,'' said Paul O'Neal, who cast the other dissenting vote.
Chairman Ernie Bowden, who voted in favor of the membership, agreed with O'Neal. ``There's really nobody that's going to work for Currituck County except someone from Currituck County,'' he said.
The Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, located in Kill Devil Hills, announced last fall that it wanted to open a small center on the Currituck mainland.
The group hopes to expand in the Barco area to take advantage of tourist traffic from U.S. Routes 17 and 158 and N.C. Route 168. But the Dare County Chamber has yet to find a suitable location.
In addition to receiving more information on economic opportunities, Currituck County officials will be able to distribute more of its own.
``We're lost in the shuffle up there now, and we're part of the statistical area,'' Etheridge said.
``God knows what kind of information on Currituck County is being mailed out,'' he continued. ``For $275, we can clarify that and make sure good information gets out.'' by CNB