Although things are fluid and changing daily on all fronts, as of today regarding the current status of the stay-at-home order, we are more than halfway over that hump. After this Easter weekend, we all need to remain alert to the progress being made on flattening the curve of Covid-19 cases and continue to stay safe by staying home.
The goal of our daily updates has been to keep you informed of all CARES Act changes, invite you to our virtual webinars, and provide access to resources and information from our valued partners in the parish, region and state, our congressional delegation and the U.S. Chamber.
New buzzwords are: “pause” and “pivot.” Businesspeople are not used to pausing, were not prepared to pivot, but you all have done what you must do. Throughout the first half of the stay-at-home orders, we have witnessed resilience and fortitude to get through this crisis and come out of it stronger. We know our members are using the resources and information we have provided–we see it in the analytics, engagements and open rates. All the links on our website as well as on our partners’ websites are being updated almost daily.
We know the numbers of SBA/PPP/EIDL loan applications are in the hundreds of thousands and that the approvals are much lower. Patience is a virtue that all bankers working through this appreciate from small business owners. Approval processes are underway, and the funds will arrive. When? The new standard answer of “I don’t know” applies, but at this point it will be sooner.
We will now pivot from daily updates back to two to three weekly updates; however, our website will be updated as information changes. We have begun to reach out to you by phone; if you have not received a call from one of our staff members, you will in the week ahead. We are here for you. All office phones have been forwarded to staff cell phones if you want to call any of us.
We will shift to recovery. With that in mind, today we are updating you on some of our events planned for May and beyond. In the meantime, our committees will continue to meet via Zoom, and other remote events are listed in this update.
We continue to work remotely, however will observe the Good Friday holiday tomorrow, April 9. On behalf of your Chamber staff and Board of Directors, we wish your families a blessed, safe Easter weekend.
Lacey Osborne
President and CEO
Learn more about Chamber activities from The Lake 94.7 interview with Lacey Osborne
here.
