Over the years, Sudbury continued to grow and the Board of Trade remained strong and devoted to its community. However, in 1935, that devotion began to waver. At that time, Bill Mason, publisher of The Sudbury Star newspaper, was president of the Board of Trade. For reasons unknown, Mr. Mason's support began to falter and there was a substantial decrease in the number of businessmen attending the board meetings. At one point, Mr. Mason was performing all of the routine duties essentially by himself. Despite this unfortunate turn of events, Bill Mason helped to promote Sudbury through the establishment of a tourist information booth at The Sudbury Star offices and the donation of land to the city for the building of the Sudbury Public Library.

On April 21, 1938, as popularity for the Board of Trade continued to remain low, a group of businessmen (including some members of the Board of Trade) formed the Sudbury Merchants' Association and during their first meeting, decided to rename themselves the Sudbury Business Men's Association. This association performed essentially the same role in the community as the Board of Trade. During the next four years, the Sudbury Business Men's Association would provide support to local business ventures and would promote Sudbury as a business-friendly community.

• Creating a Major Northern City