Holbrook Chamber Reviews Budget And Events For The Upcoming Year

By Linda Kor
   The Holbrook Chamber of Commerce officially seated its new executive board last week, and got down to the business of organizing committees and planning events to promote the businesses of Holbrook. With the city taking over tourism related events, the chamber is now able to focus on mixers, signage and billboards, the community awards, Native American dances and other related events.
   The tentative budget for fiscal year 2009-10 was distributed for review, with approval of the document planned for the Aug. 12 chamber meeting.
   The tentative budget shows a total income of $16,685 from the Christmas Parade of Lights, Holiday Showcase, Pony Express Dinner, grant reimbursements and member dues. The expenses of those events, along with the Native American dances, mixers, marketing, and Man and Woman of the Year event are estimated to cost slightly more than that at a cost of $16,700.
   Proposed operational expenses total $35,700, making the total amount of expenditures $52,400, leaving a deficit of $35,715. The deficit will be paid from the chamber’s checking account, which currently has an approximate amount of $45,000, with the July 15 approval of an $8,000 payment for two new kiosks. Next year the chamber will need to present the city manager with any remaining deficits to be covered by lodgers tax.
   This year the chamber will be presenting City Manager Carlo Pilgrim with itemized costs for tourism marketing that will be paid with lodgers tax, with the chamber providing the manpower.
   “Annually we (the chamber) have been paying $18,000 to $20,000 on advertising and marketing with lodgers tax. We will need a team to head this up to determine what is important and what sort of things need to be renewed,” explained Chamber President Amber Hill.
   Hill informed the board that the Native American dancers have been bringing in a large crowd at the old courthouse, with an average of 100 people showing up each night the previous week and a total of 2,200 visitors for the month of June. “It looks good to see a crowded, happy downtown,” stated Hill. “What I would love to see is businesses in downtown selling tourist related merchandise to the visitors who are downtown during the evening and after the dances.”
   It was noted by numerous chamber members that the downtown visitors have nowhere to go once the dances stop for the evening, and many leave the city too early the following morning to wait for tourist-related shops to open. “We really need to encourage existing business owners to open shop,” commented Hill, who added that it would be good to encourage friends and family who have thought about opening a business in the downtown area to do so, as there are still many vacant buildings in that area.
   Executive board member Cris Smith informed the members that she had been approached by a couple of Hopi families who would like to offer their dance performances to the Native American dance venue. “The Hopis do different things such as traditional Hopi Kachina dances. I would like to see about having Hopi dances on the weekends, when no one else is performing,” she said.
   The board agreed and asked Smith to extend the offer for the weekends beginning as soon as possible.
   Smith also noted that the dancers would only be paid through donations made by those attending the performances.
   Another issue discussed was the possibility of opening a market during the dances. Many chamber members stated that this subject was presented in the past and that the idea was not supported by local business owners who are supporting the chamber.
   “None of these businesses are open in the evening when the dances are taking place,” stated Smith, who added that a portion of the proceeds received by the one vendor there who sells fry bread, Navajo tacos and snacks goes toward paying the youngest dancers, who only receive tips.
   Hill noted that there have been no requests for additional vending at the dances and the chamber has never turned anyone away from that idea.
   “My suggestion is that we have a discussion with the business owners in the area and see if we could come to a resolution that would be comfortable for everyone, then bring this up on a future agenda,” stated Hill, who added that beginning a market for this year would be an unlikely scenario, given the fact that the dance season is already under way.
   Another item addressed by the chamber board was recognition of new businesses. “We have recognized new businesses in the past, but I would also like to see us recognizing anniversary dates,” explained Hill. “It’s one thing to open a business, it’s a whole other thing to keep one open. We need to recognize those businesses that succeed. I think it’s important in our economy.”
   Second Vice President Yvonne Larson suggested hosting a mixer similar to that of the Winslow Chamber’s annual Taste of Winslow. In that event, area restaurants provide samples of the foods they prepare, along with wine tasting and a silent auction. The Winslow event brought in an estimated $7,000 in proceeds for the chamber this year.
   Larson suggested holding the event at the golf course, promoting both the chamber and the new construction improvements that will be completed shortly at the clubhouse.
   It was also noted that the billboard presented for the past three years by Jim Gray for use by the chamber at no charge is now pending a lease from another interested party. Larson spoke with Gray, who said that if the lease does not go through, the offer of the billboard would still stand. “A billboard design at a cost of $1,000 to $1,500 was previously approved by the board but nothing has gone forward on this,” stated Hill, who provided Larson with a copy of the design to present to Gray should the billboard once again become available.
    A list of available committees that were discussed during the meeting was presented for interested chamber members to sign up for following the meeting, allowing for volunteers to focus on events that fit their interests best.