Well, it’s finally here! The End of 2020! And while we will
all be taking stock of this wild, crazy, and trying year for a long time, some
things came to light early. We are social creatures; either by sports, clubs,
church, work, shopping, dining, or events; we like to be out and about. We were
forced to slow down and find out what was important in our lives from family
and friends, to home, work and more. Let us not chalk 2020 up to the proverbial
dumpster fire just yet. There are lessons and new experiences to be used from
this year. And while we were not able to have the year we wanted; the Chamber
was able to accomplish a fair amount. Here’s a brief recap of what we were able
to do: Host the Awards Banquet, Hosted workshops on “How to Air Bnb” and “Marketing
101”, Hosted 2 indoor farmers’ markets, stated the designation process for the
Downtown Stuart Historic District, Assisted PHCC in obtaining an EDA grant to
have a Fabrication Lab in Stuart and run a Business Start Up program, Partnered
with the Reynolds Homestead in hosting the virtual “Historic Tax Credit”
workshop and the Holiday Craft Fair, Supported the Healthy Patrick County initiative
with creating a Resource Guide, continued to advocate for healthcare,
broadband, workforce development and the planning district, Continual
communication with businesses and the community with COVID restrictions and guidelines,
Created the Scarecrow Contest and Festival of Trees to help boost the community,
was awarded the reimbursement grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation for
our easy tear off map of the county, promotion of supporting local and shop
small, and continued to operate the Visitor Centers in Meadows of Dan and
Stuart assisting tourists and residents with their inquiries and resource information.
With the dawn of 2021, we are hoping for a brighter year
where we can add back many of the Chamber events that everyone loves, from the
Peach Festival, to assisting the Patrick County Young Professionals with Stuart
Spooktacular, to all the festivities with Hometown Christmas. To add to the
events, we are looking ahead in getting the Fab Lab and the Business Start Up
program going in the spring, working for completion of the tear off map,
distribution of the resource guide, in partnership with Reynolds Homestead,
hosting a “Museum on Main Street” exhibit in early December, promotion of all
our county events we hope will return, and adding more businesses to Patrick
County.
We have high goals for 2021 as we work to recover, but we
can not do it alone. We must all work together. I encourage all businesses, organizations,
and individuals to join the Chamber. Without your support, the accomplishments of
2020 would not have been possible and our goals for 2021 will not come to
fruition. The Patrick County Chamber has always worked more as a community organization
for the betterment of the county and we will always continue to do so. To those
who have been members in the past, Thank you! To those you have not been
members, please consider joining.
