Whitehall Area Chamber of Commerce has officially moved to a new location.

Ann Marie Slavick, executive director of the Chamber, said, as of April 22, the office is now operating at 881 Third St., Suite B-10, Fullerton.

As many people may be familiar with the previous location of the Chamber, located on MacArthur Road in Whitehall, in front of Lehigh Valley Mall, they may wonder, “Why move?”

Turns out, before Slavick started her career at the Chamber in July 2015, Lehigh Valley Mall developers expressed an interest in potential expansion in the near future. As the lease for the Chamber came due this past January, the Chamber board discussed the potential mall expansion and decided it would be best to relocate now, rather than have to worry about doing so later.

“We were being proactive when making this decision,” Slavick said, “(and) we unexpectedly found a new office quicker than we anticipated.”

One of the major goals of the Chamber is to interact with small, local businesses in order to grow memberships with them.

“As a membership organization, we are comprised of membership businesses, and we are here to function for our members in order to create opportunities for them, help to promote them, allow them to meet each other, to network and to hold events for the community,” Slavick said. “This new location allows us to be among small- and medium-sized businesses and operate in an environment where other businesses are around us.”

The Chamber has been bringing businesses and the community together since July 2012, Slavick added.

In association, the goal is to unite these businesses with the community, and there is a variety of ways in which the Chamber succeeds in doing so. For example, the Chamber hosts frequent events around the community. NOW, which stands for Networkers Of Whitehall, is an event where members meet at Whitehall Township Public Library in the morning on the first Wednesday of every month.

Another way in which members can meet regularly is by attending the event known as WOW, Women Of Whitehall.

The Chamber even hosts monthly luncheons, as well as membership mixers for networking during the evenings.

The Chamber will be hosting an open house and mixer 4:30-6:30 p.m. May 19 at its new location. Elected officials, members of the Chamber and area residents are welcome to attend the event.

“Our intention, always, is to be active within the business community and the community in general,” Slavick said.