by Jim McGregor/Special to 91原创 Advance Times

An important benefit of a chamber of commerce membership is networking, interacting, and communicating with other members.

During the ongoing pandemic, face-to-face meetings have 鈥� in most cases 鈥� not been available.

Kristi Maier is the director of operations for the Greater 91原创 Chamber of Commerce, and she spoke to the shift for meetings brought on by COVID -19.

鈥淲ith many of our events, we have had to go back to virtual meetings and presentations,鈥� Maier explained.

鈥淲e were hoping to go live with a panel discussion in January, but with the changing guidelines that wasn鈥檛 possible. So it was held virtually.鈥�

There have been a few in-person events, however.

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鈥淚t was very nice to be able to hold our December dinner meeting in person and everyone was pleased to see each other after so long, and we look forward to doing more of that in the coming months,鈥� she shared.

Currently, though, the chamber is planning its meetings and events one month at a time.

鈥淸We鈥檙e] hoping that by March we can once again have our dinner meeting in person,鈥� said Maier.

For the February meeting, the chamber staff is excited to have guest Amy Robinson, the executive director of LOCO BC.

鈥淎my will present the latest research on the importance of buying local, both from an economic and environmental perspective,鈥� Maier said. 鈥淪he will make the case for why local businesses need to market their local attributes, and will present three tools for promoting your business鈥� local attributes.鈥�

The chamber is also planning to focus on its 鈥楽hare the Love鈥� campaign with Tourism 91原创. (See related story, page B5).

鈥淏oth of these provide great opportunities to show how members can promote themselves,鈥� said Maier.

鈥淲e are also hosting six webinars in February, on various topics such as 鈥楬ow to Communicate on Zoom,鈥� 鈥楤ricks to Clicks,鈥� How to Work with E-Commerce,鈥� and we have many more planned for March, as well,鈥� said Maier.

鈥淥ur webinars are well attended, despite some saying they are experiencing Zoom fatigue. But many of our webinar attendees are telling us they are getting a lot of value from the presentations,鈥� she said.

鈥淥nce we got through the holiday season we saw an uptake in the members viewing the information.鈥�

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The Greater 91原创 Chamber of Commerce is constantly bringing new and fresh ideas to keep the interest of its members.

鈥淲e have kept our office open during all this time and the majority of the staff are there to answer questions or handle any concerns the members might have,鈥� Maier said.

鈥淲e go above and beyond to promote our members, and if there is ever a time a member needs a shout out or we can provide a splash on our social media, we are more than happy to do that,鈥� she added.

鈥淥n our website we can promote members activities, as well as inform members of upcoming events 鈥� anything we can do to help their business survive and flourish in these times.鈥�

Maier said that optimism is the key to operating a business in these challenging times.

鈥淲e鈥檝e all been through a lot and staying positive is what will bring us through this.鈥�

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