The Chamber of Commerce of Southern Minnesota, at member request, is expanding its regional reach to include chambers in Freeborn County and other counties.

The chamber, which began in October 2010 in eight counties, is now adding another six — Mower, Rice, Steele, Freeborn, Jackson and Cottonwood counties. The original eight counties are Nicollet, Le Sueur, Blue Earth, Waseca, Faribault, Brown, Watonwan and Martin.

However, the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce is not a affiliated with it.

Brad Berg of the Chamber of Commerce of Southern Minnesota said that the expansion can help small businesses that never had the opportunity to grow outside their local area before. Berg added that every business in southern Minnesota plays a vital role; by networking these businesses, they are creating stronger companies and a stronger economy, in general.

“Marketing for an entire region, rather than each town or business individually marketing is more economical to them and saves other resources,” a news release states.

The Chamber of Commerce of Southern Minnesota works in collaboration with local chambers offering CCSM discounts to members.

“Local chambers serve a very important purpose. The CCSM is in addition to your local chambers and brings communities together for a bigger marketing punch,” said Berg. “We knew we had a good idea for growth for companies, as we developed the CCSM over the last couple of years, yet the outstanding response has been a surprise, though a pleasant one.”

The Chamber of Commerce of Southern Minnesota website is www.chambermn.com and the number is 507-776-4120.