Carroll County Chamber of Commerce volunteers plan to lift boxes, files and furniture Feb. 26 to move the office to larger quarters six doors east of its current location on Main Street in Westminster.
The chamber will move to 247 E. Main St. and will occupy a wing in the Carroll County Mutual building, Executive Director Helen Utz said yesterday.
The chamber has been leasing its current office space at 229 E. Main St. at the corner of Ralph Street for about eight years, Mrs. Utz said.
The new office is about 400 square feet larger.
"We need more space. We're terribly crowded. There's no space for our members to meet for committee meetings," Mrs. Utz said.
The new office will measure about 1,300 square feet and have a conference room that seats at least 12 people, she said. Now, members hold committee meetings at the public library, a school or a restaurant.
Chamber President Paul Denton is pleased with the new building and said it will project a professional image to the business community.
"It really is what the chamber should have. It's much more appealing to the eye when you walk in," said Mr. Denton, president of Maryland Midland Railway Co.
"The space is better laid out and better utilized," he said.
The chamber has about 800 members and two full-time and two part-time employees.
The new location is across from Little George's Convenience Store and the Thomas D. Fletcher & Son Funeral Home.
The rent will be a few hundred dollars more per year, Mrs. Utz said. Employees expect to open the new office Feb. 27, she said.
Five people have agreed to help with the move, but a few more are needed, Mrs. Utz said.
Earlier this month, the chamber hired Lou Rosenberg as a part-time marketing director. He is working to sign up new members, sell advertising in chamber publications and educate the business community about the organization's functions.