The Milton-Freewater Area Chamber of Commerce and the Milton-Freewater Downtown Alliance were originally completely separate entities. The two organizations often found themselves working alongside each other on projects such as Brews by the Blues, Cinco de Mayo, and Make a Difference Day. They both had the vision of a community working together to create a vibrant and prosperous Milton-Freewater, where everyone benefits. They both wanted to create an inviting, family-friendly, and inclusive climate for new and existing businesses through improvements to infrastructure and increased promotion. Around Fall 2019, it became obvious that the two organizations partnering together would streamline business functions and shift their focus full-time to community building.
On January 21, 2020, the Joint Operations Agreement was adopted by both Boards of Directors, and the Milton-Freewater Chamber Downtown Alliance was born! Due to COVID, it wasn't until the Fall of 2021 that they started implementing this agreement and, since that time, much progress has been made building a strong foundation for this joint group.
On April 11th of this year, a Memorandum of Agreement between the two organizations and the City of Milton-Freewater was signed as an official mark of recognition and partnership with the City.
These individuals pressed on through years of hardship, the COVID Pandemic, and overwhelming negativity. They picked up the pieces of times past, kept attending meetings, kept their organizations together, kept hope in their hearts, and truly pioneered a way to bind two organizations with different structures into one with a common purpose. Their work and love for Milton-Freewater broke the mold to create a brand new type of organization that is now working on the preservation of historic buildings, new community spaces, new community events and is blazing the way for the next generation of leaders to rise up.
At the Milton-Freewater Chamber Downtown Alliance, a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace is one where all employees and volunteers, whatever their race, creed, religion, color, age, disability, marital status, parental status, veteran status, military status, national origin, political affiliation, gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, and any other status are protected by the law. We are committed to a nondiscriminatory approach and provide equal opportunity for employment and advancement of our staff.
We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard.
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