Pateros Chamber of Commerce elects new officers

PATEROS – The Chamber of Commerce elected new officers for the 2018 calendar year at its regular monthly meeting last Thursday, Dec. 7. Chamber members voted to amend the bylaws to allow members present at the meeting to elect next year’s officers after several mail-out ballots disappeared.
Karen Wagner stepped down as vice president and treasurer Angela Van Eysinga vacated her post as treasurer.
Following a vote of those present, Chamber officers for 2018 are: President: Libby Harrison; Vice-president: Leigh Anne Barth; Secretary: Joni Parks; Treasurer: Jeanette Palmer; Board members: John Roberts, Angela Van Eysinga, Karen Wagner.
Following an in-depth discussion, members voted to cancel plans for the Chamber Winter Gala that was originally scheduled for late January to allow additional time to put together a more dynamic event.
The Small-Town Christmas and Holiday Shop scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 3 at the Central Building did not draw the crowd that organizers were hoping to attract. Even with a visit by Santa Claus on the agenda, only half a dozen vendors set up shop and crowd attendance did not meet expectations, but Santa was still a hit with the youngsters who turned out.
The Chamber agreed to purchase a full-page ad in the 2018 Okanogan County Info Book, that is distributed throughout the county and up and down the I-5 corridor, and that will include individual listings of all member businesses.
President Libby Harrison requested feedback from the year just past to help the Chamber re-examine its procedures and events.
One suggestion was to consider rescheduling the Citywide Garage Sale, so it does not conflict with other events, like the Vintage Fair, going on at the same time. Having other events coincide with the weekend of the citywide sales kept many who were staffing their own garage sales from visiting venues that they otherwise would have attended. Conversely, attendance at competing events kept some prospective buyers from hitting the garage sales.
“We do have 52 weekends out of the year,” said Chamber Secretary Parks, who has been busy herself lately paying Mrs. Santa Claus at various events.
“We do have a list of events we’ve done in the past,” said Parks, “so we are going to revisit all of those and try to decide what is worth keeping, what to get rid of and maybe move some things around.”
Chris Majors, the Business Development Coordinator for Three Rivers Hospital, reported that the hospital is out of warrants with the county as of June which means “we don’t owe money to the county,” Majors said. “We actually have money in the bank for the first time in 15 years.”
The hospital is moving the clinic to the administration quarters in the Hillcrest Building and the ER is going to occupy the clinic’s former space.
“Access to the ER and the rooms and everything is going to be a lot better, and the facilities a lot newer and nicer,” Majors said.