Chamber board meets

The September 9 Chamber of Commerce board meeting was held via Zoom.

During old business, they reviewed the Pageant Day Parade, which was held on August 7.

Chamber president Howie Samelson said, “It was magnificent. From my standpoint, we, meaning director Meri Ann [Rush] outdid herself for a nonelection year parade.”

Rush said there were approximately 26 entries. Rush added, “I think everybody had a nice time. The crowd enjoyed it.”

The board made several comments on the new PA system, which enabled people to hear the announcer better.

For the review of the August 14 Demolition Derby, Rush said they budgeted to make $11,500, but the reality was they exceeded that amount. There were 12 cars and eight trucks that participated. Board member Bradyn Harvey said that the amount of participation was on par with every other derby so far.

In new business, the board held significant discussions about the October 16 Chamber Banquet and the October 28 Moonlight Madness event.

Both discussions were over the concerns about Covid. For the banquet, they discussed how many tickets they would sell. One of the issues was to not pack the fair building but also to tell their caterer in time how many people to prepare food for. 

For the Moonlight Madness event, they discussed Bicentennial Park and its stage. Some board members were concerned that the stage was too small. One suggestion was to use a trailer as a stage in a similar way at the Main Street Brewfest.

Rush brought up the issues of liability insurance for the event and that time was short to make proper decisions.

Another suggestion was to request a street closure from the Town Council to block off Broadway Street between 4th and 5th Streets. This would allow more space. The board voted and passed a motion to request the street closure.

Howie Samelson reported for Main Street Thermopolis that they have a new date for lighting and doing work in Bicentennial Park on Sunday, October 12. They will be painting the silver flag holders and other work.

For Rush’s Director’s Report, she announced that winter hours were beginning early. Starting September 13, the Chamber building will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 12:30 pm and then open again 1:30-5 p.m.

The next Chamber meeting will be on October 14 at Big Horn Federal.