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How can we help you?
That is the question we are continually asking here at the Chamber. We are experiencing something none of us ever could have imagined and certainly not planned for. So, in order to fulfill our commitment to providing our members with the connections they need under any circumstance, we have been asking for your guidance as to what you need. To date that answer has been primarily – information. For the past few weeks we have been inundated with information from the federal government, state government, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Administration, other chambers of commerce and many more. We have done our best to curate that information and share it with you in a timely and easy to understand manner. Now that the CARES Act is being implemented, we will continue to share information about how you can access benefits that can help your business survive. In fact, next Tuesday we are hosting a webinar describing how you can apply for benefits through the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. We also recognize that social distancing, while important, doesn’t need to result in social isolation. We are now offering virtual meetings to bring members together to network, share their experiences or just have a friendly face to chat with. Our next "Chamber Chat" is Tuesday at 11:00 am and we will hold a "Chamber Social" trivia event on Thursday at 4:30 pm. We will continue to enhance these offerings as long is necessary. If there is anything else that we can be doing to assist local businesses, please let us know. How can you help us? Like many of you, the Chamber is feeling the impact of this crisis. We are experiencing a loss of revenue to due to canceled events and the inability of many of our members to renew their memberships. While this is perfectly understandable, it is causing us to make adjustments to how we do business. Unfortunately, we have had to eliminate a staff position already. Moving forward we will continue to invoice our members for their dues, and we thank you in advance for your payment. However, we know that everyone’s situation is different, so we have instituted additional payment options, for those who need it. We will allow partial payments to those who can manage that, monthly, quarterly, whatever it takes. Just reach out to us, so we can talk about your situation and set up payment arrangements. We will also adjust your future billing date to whenever you can make your renewal. Also, we will not cancel any memberships due to non-payment for the foreseeable future. What we ask is that for those who can, please do your best to maintain your membership. If you can increase your investment to the Chamber, please consider doing so. It is our intention to see that every business we serve has the tools and resources they need to manage through these times. We in turn, need your help and support to fulfill that pledge. Rob Ferrini, McGowanPRO, Chair of the Board Tom O’Rourke, President and CEO Comments are closed.
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