The Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce, like many local businesses and agencies, has been challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying shutdown of business.
Challenged, but not stopped.
The organization is continuing on in its drive to grow, with a virtual membership open house set for Tuesday, June 30.
“This event is open to any businesses in the region that may be interested in becoming a member of the chamber,” said Randy Collins, president and CEO of the organization.
“We haven’t done one for a while,” he said of the open house, quickly adding “We haven’t done one like this at all because it will be done virtually. We are still in the throes of the pandemic, but we thought it was a good time to hold one even though we have to do it through a video conference.”
Growing the chamber’s membership has been a constant goal for the organization since Collins was appointed to his position five years ago. At that time, he said membership was in the 400s. Today, it stands at 621.
“The membership has never been higher than it is now,” he said. “What we found is that the chamber, over the years, you get so wrapped up in operations of the organization, we didn’t really emphasize membership growth, so we’ve done that in the past few years, we’ve grown the membership to what it is now. We have space for a lot more members.
“We’re not funded by public money, not funded by by taxpayer money. The membership as well as our events help fund the organization. We know that we’ve got to keep the members we have, but we have to grow the membership as well.
“Certainly, we would prefer a face-to-face meeting, but until we can, until the governor opens up the gathering numbers…this is just one way to do it. We know we’ll be following up with each person that responds, if they’re open and operating their businesses, we’ll go out and meet with them. Some are teleworking, or their businesses may not be open but they’re still operating. This is just a start of an invitation really to the whole business community that we’d like to invite them to be part of the chamber.”
Although the chamber office has mostly been closed since Gov. Roy Cooper ordered a statewide shutdown of most businesses, Collins said the chamber officials have still been active in the business community.
“We’ve been actually out, reaching out to all the members, kind of doing a wellness check with them, seeing if they’re okay, if there are areas we can help them with. A small business person can feel a bit isolated,” so Collins said he likes to keep in touch with the business community, offer what support the chamber can give.
The group has also been holding virtual mixers through Zoom, giving area businesses a chance to keep others up to date on what’s going on. Each mixer has also included a local official or business leader as a speaker.
Collins said the upcoming virtual open house, and membership in the organization, is not limited to Surry County businesses.
“Any business in Surry County is welcome, but we have members in Virginia, we have members as far south as Winston(-Salem) and Greensboro, any businesses that has an interest in promoting themselves through the chamber they’re certainly invited.”
The open house will take place beginning at 10 a.m. on June 30.
“This event will present the benefits of chamber membership and how the organization can help businesses promote their product or service,” the agency said in a written statement announcing the open house. Presenters at the event will include Collins, the chamber’s Director of Membership Cristie Andrews; and chamber board member Connie Hamlin, with Ridgecrest Senior Living Communities, will present how the chamber has helped her business.
This is a free event and open to any interested business, conducted with the online program Zoom.com
“Attendees who access the meeting will need a PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone (with a microphone and camera),” the chamber said. “Access is also available via a conference call telephone number. The link to the event can be found on the Chamber Facebook Page: @MountAiryChamber (click on events and look for “Membership Open House” to register).” Questions on the event, or to register over the phone, should be directed to Collins via email at randy@mtairyncchamber.org, or cell phone 336-401-2875.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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