This year the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association celebrates our 100th anniversary, and we sincerely appreciate the continued support of the entire community.
Since November is a month of thanks and giving, we like to show our appreciation. The Glenwood Springs Chamber hearts our members and on Thursday, Nov. 14, we are going to say thank you in person. Your commitment, ongoing support and dedication is the backbone of our organization. Without you we would not be the award-winning organization that we are today.
Your investment in the core values and mission of the chamber: To Build a Strong Local Economy; To Promote the Community; To Provide Networking Opportunities for Members; and to be the Voice of Business with Government, provides us with the resources and ability to move forward in these areas.
Because of your investment, in 2019:
• We continued our efforts to Build a Strong Local Economy by hosting Progress and Possibilities: State of the Community and Economic Outlook this past February; promoted Glenwood Springs as a world-class destination through our continued tourism marketing efforts; and strived to be Information Central in the chamber’s visitor center, on the web, through phone calls or any other outlet that folks used needing data or help with questions about the economy and community.
• We promoted the community by producing the 121st annual Strawberry Days, award winning publications and provided the opportunity for 14 girls from Re-1 and Re-2 school districts to participate in the newly named Miss Strawberry Days Scholarship and ATHENA Emerging Leadership Program. Four of these students were awarded a total of $8,000 in scholarships provided to the continuing educational institution that they were registered to attend this Fall.
• We provided scores of networking opportunities such as Business After Hours, W.I.N. (Women Interacting & Networking), Business & Breakfast, Let’s Do Lunch Leads Groups, Ambassadors Group, and brought back the popular quarterly Health Bites series sponsored by Valley View. In October we also hosted 30 guests on an International Group Tour to Amsterdam for a week of relationship building and networking.
• The chamber served as the voice of business and the community on a variety of issues throughout the year utilizing our annual legislative agenda.
• We took political action by hosting the Fall 2019 Issues & Answers Forum where community members were able to have questions answered and therefore make an informed decision on 2019 Election Day. We also supplied voters with a Fall Voter Guide on glenwoodchamber.com.
And we’re not done yet. There are two months left in 2019, so stay tuned for the rest of the story coming out in early January 2020.
On Thursday, Nov. 14, one of our dedicated ambassadors will be visiting your business. The chamber representative will have a member information update form for you to review, a complimentary 2020 calendar and will be available to answer any membership questions that have come up during this past year. Also, if you happen to be out and about that day, pop into the visitor center at 802 Grand Ave., for a “Cup of Joe” and a sweet treat. While you are there remember to enter your business in the membership drawing ($100 off membership investment dues for 2020).
Thanks to our combined efforts, Glenwood Springs is a better place to live, work, play and do business. Please do not hesitate to call on us if we can be of service. The Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association is “Building Business. Building Community.”
Joni Bates, IOM is vice president of membership development at the Glenwood Springs Chamber Resort Association and can be reached at joni@glenwoodchamber.com or 970-945-1514.
