Chamber Chimes
July 1, 2009
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It has been really busy
since my last writing, with
several successful events
happening.
The Roman Nose Mountain
Bike Festival which, according
to the organizer Wheeler Dealer
Bicycles is the oldest and
biggest mountain bicycle
festival event in the state, had
113 applicants, up from 80 last
year.
Many of the riders said
that Roman Nose is the best
mountain bike course in the
state.
This ride, held June 7th
was one of 7 in a series called
Tour De Dirt.
The following weekend the
Texas 4000 riders came through
Watonga where they showered and
had their laundry done,
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courtesy of Watonga
Motel, were fed by the Christian Church
missions committee and gave a
presentation to the diners about their
mission.
Donations were made to the Texas 4000 organization
to benefit cancer research.
Many volunteers worked hard to
support this group and they were very
appreciative.
Most recently was
the Town Wide Garage Sale.
We passed out about 300 maps of
the garage sale locations and had a
successful fund raiser garage sale for
the Cheese Festival.
Thank you to all the people who
donated items and to everyone who helped
get things organized in the Armory.
A lot of people worked very hard
to get it ready and I really appreciate
them.
I hope your personal sales were
equally successful.
Congratulations to
Rosemary Neely on her recent retirement
from the Blaine County Assessors office.
Blaine County
has received many years of her dedicated
service and we wish her the best in
retirement!
As Ronda Greer assumes her
duties, I’m sure her 10 years of
experience will serve the office well.
On a personal
note,
I had an opportunity this weekend
to visit the Cheddar Ranch Observatory
located just west of town.
They did a presentation for
Blaine & Kingfisher county Girl Scouts
and had a number of volunteers bring
their equipment out for star gazing.
They were a very patient,
knowledgeable and accommodating group
and we had a wonderful time (except for
the rain).
If you get the chance to go to an
event there I highly recommend you take
it.
If you would like to visit the
Observatory, you can contact them
through their website,
www.okcastroclub.com.
July 15, 2009
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The
Watonga Chamber of Commerce and
the Watonga Cheese Festival
Committee are busily making
plans for our biggest annual
event, the Watonga Cheese
Festival.
As I am sure you are
aware, it takes hundreds of
volunteers and many, many hours
of work to make this event
happen.
These committee members
meet year round to ensure that
the Cheese Festival is the best
that it can be and something for
our community to be proud of.
We do this because we
believe in Watonga and want to
show it off to the thousands of
visitors that we get that
weekend.
Besides the immeasurable man
hours that it takes to put this
event on, it also takes money.
Rental expenses for tents and
Port-A-Potties, insurance,
advertising and everything else
that goes into making the Cheese
Festival a success add up.
This money is provided by the
previous year’s ticket sales,
donations and booth rentals.
We have begun to receive some
donations for this year’s event
and want to recognize those who
give so willingly to help with
the Cheese Festival expenses.
G.L. and Leona Alexander, Betty
Chapman, Lamothe Electric and
DeWeese Oil have all contributed
to help with the operating cost
of putting on an event of this
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magnitude
and we greatly appreciate them all.
It is vital to have the support,
financial or otherwise, of our community
when planning this type of event.
If you are interested in helping with
the Cheese Festival we could always use
help in the ticket booths, or other
venues and would love to have you on
board.
I was asked recently about the
Farmer’s Market that we have had in past
years and if we would have one this
year.
Please let me know if you have
produce or goods that you would like to
set up at a Farmer’s Market and we will
see if there is sufficient interest.
No one wants to be the only
person out there selling, and if we can
get enough involvement to warrant it, I
think it would be welcomed.
As always, I am open to
suggestions, just drop me a line at
cwatonga@pldi.net or call 623-5452
and let me know what is on your mind.
July 29, 2009
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Last
Saturday night was another
winning entertainment event by
the Cheese Festival
Entertainment committee.
Edgar Cruz entertained a
nearly full house with his
fantastic guitar skills, playing
pieces from all genres of music
and taking requests from the
audience.
Next up will be an ice
cream social with homemade ice
cream and live entertainment at
Centennial
Park on August 29th.
Riders Ford will perform
and are described as “an
Oklahoma City
based group specializing in
high-energy music. The band
covers a wide range of “Red
Dirt”, Texas, & traditional
country combined with boot
stomping originals, and some
classic rock
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thrown in
for good measure”, according to their
website.
It will be after the fair, so
plan to continue the fun at the park
that evening.
At the fair, the
Watonga Chamber of Commerce will have a
booth showcasing area businesses and
attractions.
If you are a member of the
chamber (or want to become one) and have
brochures that you would like us to
display, please contact me at
580-623-5452 so we can accommodate you.
Keep in mind that we get people
in town for the fair from surrounding
areas and this could be an opportunity
for you to spread the word about your
business.
The last week in August, Watonga
will host the Red Carpet Country board
for their semi-monthly meeting.
This is an association of the
Oklahoma Dept of Tourism that
specifically promotes tourism in
Northwest Oklahoma.
There are approximately 30
individuals serving on this board, most
of whom are business leaders or involved
in their city Chamber or government.
These folks help promote the
entire region and we are pleased to have
them in our city for a day.
As always, please feel free to
contact me at
cwatonga@pldi.net or 580-623-5452 if
you have any questions or suggestions
about what is going on in Watonga.
I may not always have an answer
available immediately, but I would be
happy to find you someone that does.
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