Chamber Chimes
January 27, 2010
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Well, it has
certainly been a difficult week for our
community.
Dealing already with the
uncertain future of our hospital and
financial crisis of our school system,
we now have the added concerns of lay
offs of Roman Nose Lodge employees and
impending changes to Diamondback’s
contract to house Arizona inmates.
It seems the “economic downturn”
that our nation has been dealing with
has finally come into our own backyard
in earnest.
During these times it is
important that we stay calm, stay
informed and stay supportive.
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There are likely to
be people that you know personally who
have been affected by these instances
and I ask you to keep them all in your
prayers and remember to offer any
support you can.
Because we all have a vested
interest in Watonga, please be involved
in the solution by keeping yourself
informed by attending open meetings,
listening to what is said there and
keeping an open mind.
Some solutions may not be what we
want, but what we need and it is
crucial that we all pull together in the
interest of our community, especially
now.
Besides your informed
involvement, one of the best ways that
you can help Watonga is to keep your
dollars here.
I recently found The 3/50 Project
(www.the350project.net).
Its mission is to save the brick
& mortar stores that our nation was
built on.
The challenge is to identify 3
independently owned businesses that you
would miss if they were gone, then stop
in and make a purchase. Their website
says that every $100 spent in an
independently owned local store
generates $68 returned to the community
through taxes, payroll and other
expenditures.
In our case, it also gives one
dollar directly to our hospital.
That same money spent at a
national chain returns just $43 to the
community, and when spent online, the
local return is $0.
To help with this challenge,
Watonga Chamber of Commerce has decided
to continue the Gift Certificate program
that we started during the holidays.
Gift certificates will be
available at the Chamber office and can
be customized for the theme of your gift
– birthday, baby shower, wedding, etc.
During November and December,
this program kept over $3,000 in our
community that might have gone
elsewhere.
I truly appreciate all who have
participated in it including the banks,
the merchants, the recipients and, most
of all, the gift purchasers.
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Now, on a
lighter note, we have some great entertainment options coming
soon. This Saturday
at Liberty Theatre will be Buck Goucher of Hennessey.
If you like Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and
the likes, you will really enjoy this one man show.
Admission is by donation and will benefit the Cheese
Festival entertainment fund.
Also upcoming is the Annual Watonga Chamber of Commerce
Banquet which will be held on February 8th at the
Watonga Christian Church.
Katie Ballew and Jon Diamond will be the entertainment
and the speaker is Mayor Mick Cornett of Oklahoma City.
A wonderful meal will be catered by End O’ Main.
Tickets are $15 for chamber members and $20 for
non-members and are available from any board member or at the
Chamber office.
Hope to see you at some of these fun events.
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January 13, 2010
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I hope your
new year is off to a good start
so far and that you are thawing
out from the long stretch of
cold weather.
It sure felt nice today
to be outside without having to
cover every square inch of skin!
I’d like to welcome our
new Chamber Board members that
are starting their 2 year terms
this month.
Joining us are Linda
Barrett, Jerry Benson,
Ladd Lafferty,
Kim Pinkerton, Judy Schaffler,
Cynthia Scheffler, Dr. Robert
Spencer and
Fred Teply.
They will replace those
that served during 2008 and
2009.
Thank you to those coming
in, those staying on and those
going off the board for your
commitment to helping the
Chamber of Commerce and the
community.
We can get so much more
done when we work together
towards a common goal.
Believe it or not, it is
time once again for the Annual
Chamber Banquet.
This will be the 85th
banquet held by the
Watonga Chamber of Commerce
and our speaker will be Oklahoma
Mayor Mick Cornett.
I think it should be very
interesting to hear him speak.
Please plan to attend on
Monday, February 8th
at 6:00.
Tickets will be available
through the Chamber of Commerce
or any or our Board Members.
It will be held at the
Watonga Christian Church and
promises great food and
entertainment, as well as the
speaker.
We will also be
presenting the annual awards to
outstanding businesses and
citizens of Watonga.
Last year we had
businesses around town decorate
the tables and it was such a hit
that we have decided to do it
again this year.
All the displays last
year were interesting and
attractive and offered plenty
opportunity for conversation.
If you haven’t been
contacted about doing a table
but are interested, please feel
free to call the office.
Chamber membership
renewals were sent in November
and many responses have been
received.
Thanks to all who have
sent in their renewals so
quickly.
If you did not receive
your renewal or if you have any
questions, I’d love to hear from
you at 623-5452.
Until next time, in the
words of one of my favorite
cartoons, “I
got a lot of bouncing to do!
Hoo-hoo-hoo! TTFN! Ta ta for
now! ...”
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