By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

WEST CHESTER TWP. - The Over-the-Rhine Chamber of Commerce will honor the Southeastern Butler County chamber for extending a helping hand.

SEBC will receive the OTR chamber's annual President's STAR Award at OTR's annual meeting and luncheon May 1 at Bell Event Centre, 444 Reading Road.

The award historically is bestowed to a business or an individual that has made an extraordinary contribution to the area. This is the first time the OTR chamber has given the award to another chamber, and the first time SEBC has received an award from another chamber.

SEBC is being honored for forming a new partnership with OTR's chamber last year to help Cincinnati's poorest neighborhood.

"They not only gave us assistance in terms of how to build our organization and remodel it, but we also had a lot of volunteers from Southeastern Butler come down and work on our committees and participate in life in Over-the-Rhine," said Tom Besanceney, the OTR chamber's president and chief executive officer

"At a few meetings, there were some who were very concerned about some things going on in Over-the-Rhine, and I remember someone from Southeast Butler County saying, well, there's drugs everywhere," Besanceney said. "It has sort of grounded us a bit. It also was right at the beginning a validation for us. The interest that chamber showed in our organization said, look, we may be 20 miles out and live in entirely different circumstances than you do, but the future of Over-the-Rhine affects us."

"I am kind of in awe," added Joe Hinson, SEBC's president and chief executive officer. "It's pretty special for us and hopefully opens some doors for other chambers working together. There is a real need to break down these barriers and work together as a region so all of us can prosper."

The booming Southeastern Butler County chamber, which represents West Chester and Liberty townships, reached out to the struggling OTR chamber when other local chambers did not as OTR strived to improve their area.

More than a dozen OTR chamber board members and Tom Besanceney, the president and chief executive officer, met with SEBC officials at their West Chester office to exchange ideas for working together and promoting business in OTR.

OTR's 650-member chamber was making gains since forming 18 years ago. Many members have said that while sales have improved a bit, business was badly battered by the national economy, the 2001 riots and the downtown boycott. By contrast, SEBC's chamber is approaching 700 members, and its monthly luncheons typically sell out with crowds of about 150.

By being creative and unafraid to launch new initiatives, the SEBC chamber has distinguished itself from the nearly one dozen other chambers in the Butler/Warren area.

Now, as housing development blossoms in OTR, the chamber has gained new members, attendance at their luncheons has swelled and their office has undergone a major face lift.

Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken will dedicate the office on May 6.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.