It’s official. The East Dallas Chamber of Commerce and the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce will become the Dallas Northeast Chamber, effective January 1.

The new chamber will be led by Michael Coston, who recently was named the president of the East Dallas Chamber of Commerce.

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By joining forces, the new chamber will draw upon the East Dallas Chamber’s 500 members and the Lakewood Chamber’s 200 members.

The merge couldn’t have happened at a better time, Coston says.

“All indications are East Dallas is doing better than it ever has,” Coston says.

Coston has been involved with the Mesquite, Garland and Greater Dallas Chambers of Commerce and has lived in the eastern half of Dallas for the past 35 years.

“The merge will give us strength in numbers. It will increase our ability to communicate at stronger levels with the City government,” Coston says.

Coston says he plans to focus on increasing membership among neighborhood businesses to help them become more profitable, which will pay off for the entire community.

Coston currently is vice president of the Dallas Basketball Officials Association and worked as an international track and field official for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

For more information about the Dallas Northeast Chamber, call 321-6446.