The Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce April meeting was an after-hours event held at Patriot High School in Falcon.The meeting was well-attended with about 30 members and guests, including five culinary students from Patriot High School, Eric Lustig (culinary arts instructor), Peter Hilts (chief education officer for District 49), Greg Cox (dean of students) and Jim Baumann (construction instructor).Lustigís culinary arts students provided amazing snacks, finger foods and desserts. Additionally, Eric gave an excellent tour of the culinary arts area. Jim Baumann also provided a great tour of the construction shop.Patriot High School will be undergoing some expansions in the next year, including an updated kitchen with state of the art equipment and a new shop for the trades, Lustig said. A combination of grants, donations and monies from the MLO/bond measure that passed in November 2016 will fund the projects.The Chamber of Commerce Board would like to thank Eric Lustig and the D 49 staff for hosting the after-hour event.The Chamber of Commerce Board is currently looking to fill the secretary position. If you are interested or know someone who would be interested, contact the board at board@easternplainschamber.com.The chamberís next meeting is May 2. Please invite friends and fellow business owners.Upcoming speakers:May ñ Breakfast sponsor is Jim Ozburn of Falcon Food Store and Campground; guest speaker is Mike Angley, candidate for El Paso County SheriffJune ñ Breakfast sponsor is Suzanne Craig of Legal Shield; guest speaker is Sheriff Bill ElderJuly ñ No membership meetingThere are many open spots in the coming year for both breakfast sponsorships and featured speakers. The breakfast sponsor typically gets about 10-15 minutes to share information about their business. The featured speaker gets 20-25 minutes on a topic of their choice. As we have done in the past, we will be filling spots with community leaders but would also like the opportunity to spotlight our members. For more information, contact the chamber board at board@easternplainschamber.com.The Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce meets the first Wednesday of each month, from 7 to 8:30 a.m. at Grace Community Church, 9475 Grace Church View in Falcon.
