At the March meeting of the Eastern Plains Chamber of Commerce, the board of directors discussed plans for a community event in July; several new partnership initiatives with Falcon School District 49 were announced; and Brent Neuenswander of Interchange Business Consultants was the featured speaker.The board announced plans for the Chamber Chuckwagon Expo to be held July 13, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the field east of Big R in Falcon. The event will include chuckwagon-style food, activities for kids and booth display opportunities for businesses and organizations. Additional information and registration forms will be available at the next chamber meeting.Janet McMonigal, chamber vice president, said the chamber sponsored Meridian Ranch Elementary School’s community garden. Mountain View Electric co-sponsored the project. ìThey are looking for people to help start seedlings,î McMonigal said. ìThey will give you the seeds and some dirt to help get them started for the students to plant. Ent Federal Credit Union has offered some of their office space for this.î If individuals or businesses are interested in helping out with this project, they can contact the chamber board through the link on the website at http://easternplainschamber.com.The anti-bullying campaign and concert presented by Falcon District 49, ìStand Up, Speak Out,î will be held Aug. 17 at Security Service Field in Colorado Springs. Area businesses can help by donating tickets. ìIf anybody wants to purchase tickets that we can then donate to families who can’t afford them, that would be greatly appreciated,î said Kathleen Voss, membership director.Neuenswander talked about the benefits of membership in organizations like the chamber of commerce. He added that community activity fits into the V.C.P. model: visibility, credibility and profitability. ìNetworking and advertising in a chamber helps with your credibility. New people in a town like this don’t know anybody, but they’ll know to contact their new town’s chamber of commerce to find out about local businesses,î Neuenswander said.The next meeting of the Eastern Plains chamber is April 3 at 7:30 a.m. at Grace Community Church in Falcon. The featured speaker will be Bob Cutter, director of Colorado Springs Together.
