I could attribute this in part to the dull days of winter when there's no place else to go but it's mostly the work of Christina Wallis and Jeanette Cyr-Guerreiro that have moved things along now. The Government Affairs and Membership committees are also working to develop advocacy issues and methods to reach out effectively to you - watch for more coming soon!
And of course, before you know it, we'll be moving into spring! Talk of spring and summer event planning is underway and even though we expect it to look a lot like last year, there is some excitement brewing... starting with Quintelicious running throughout the month of March. See the link below for all the details including the participating restaurants, menus AND the passport to prizes option. A number of our member restaurants are participating (we just welcomed Little Italy on 62 as a member today!) and we hope you'll find some time to try out some amazing food over the coming weeks.
We've also been test cruising with the event platform we're going to use for the Meta & OLG's President's "Virtual Cruise" on March 26 and, have to say, nothing but the best for our Chamber! At least, if it was good enough for the US President's Inauguration, it should be at least worth checking out... (just to be clear, the event platform and technical facilitator we're using out of OTTAWA was commissioned to help with Biden's event... so we're sure it's going to run smoothly!) I'm in the process of getting our award recipients stories organized and we have another great series to share. If you've not been to the event in person, this may be the year to join us! We've got some fun travel kits planned (if you have a travel gift you'd like included, let me know) and along with a great dinner and prizes, we suggest you turn up your heat, get your Hawaiian shirt on - slap on a little sunscreen to set the mood - and come island hopping with us! Best part, you can have all the margaritas you want because you don't have to drive home!
I also wanted to give a couple quick shout outs to Brandi Hodge and Maribeth DeSnoo for their hard work this past year and to our community for supporting them to surpass their respective goals. Both organizations appreciate the value of our business community and you've made it clear why with the tremendous support provided through the individual, organizational and payroll donations you make. United Way raised over $2.1 million and similar congratulations go out to the the Superheroes of Hope “Now More than Ever” campaign, launched in October with a goal to raise $400,000 to support the Food for Learning, Student Emergency Fund and Food for Home programs. Last Tuesday, the Foundation announced the campaign raised $435,107.33 with money still coming in. Executive Director Maribeth DeSnoo says they were able to raise the money despite having to cancel annual fundraising events like the Food for Learning Auction and the Student Emergency Fund Golf Tournament.
Enjoy the last week of February!
