Weekly Village Update 1.6.22

 

Chamber News Blowing Rock WinterFest - January 27-30, 2022 Upcoming Meetings & Events Ribbon Cutting: Sidewalk to Bass Lake - January 11th at 4:30pm Blowing Rock Town Council Meeting - January 11th High Country Economic Kickoff Breakfast - January 20th Blowing Rock Town Council Retreat - Jan. 24th-26th at BRAHM Blowing Rock WinterFest - Jan. 27th - 30th The Memorial Celebration for Carlos Hernandez, originally scheduled for January 8th, has been postponed. A memorial will likely be held in the Summer when family from Mexico can attend. Read the obituary for Carlos Hernandez here. Blowing Rock Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors 2022 ‌ Executive Committee: Ronnie Mark, Chairman of the Board (through June 30) Tanger Melissa Pickett First Vice Chairman of the Board (through June 30) Second Vice Chairman of the Board - TBA Lee Carol Giduz, Secretary Blowing Rock Art & History Museum Treasurer, Ben Powell Residential Representative Kenneth Wehrmann, Member at Large Monkee’s of Blowing Rock Billy Chick, Member at Large Edward Jones Investments Members of the Board of Directors: Charlie Sellers, The Blowing Rock Attraction Kim Rogers, Jenkins Realtors Dana Clark, Walker College of Business P. J. Wirchansky, Chetola Resort Chelsea Garrett, di Santi Watson Law Erin O’Hara, Meadowbrook Inn Ellen Harrell, App Home Care Sandra Williams, Life Store Banking & Insurance Erica Brinker, The Speckled Trout & Bottle Shop Julie O’Dell, Blue Ridge Energy Ex-officio Members Tracy Brown, Executive Director Blowing Rock Tourism Development Authority Shane Fox, Town Manager Blowing Rock Chamber Award Nominations Open! We need your help with selecting our 2021 Chamber Award Winners.  Tell us, "who" is the best in the following categories: Business of the Year Best Customer Service in three categories: Service, Hospitality, and Retail Jerry Burns Ambassadorial Award Community Impact Award These nominations and awards are submitted by our members and voted on by our members! We want to hear from you who is the best of the best! A ballot of finalists in each category will be sent to all Chamber members for popular vote to determine the final winners, which will be announced on February 15th. Submit Nominations Here! Nomination period closes Monday, January 10th at 9am. Submit your nomination today! Blowing Rock Visitors Guide & Directory Don’t Forget! The Blowing Rock Visitor Information Guide & Membership Directory is being updated and we need your assistance.   Please review your membership listing to make sure it is updated and accurate. Communicate any updates and also let us know if you are interested in placing an ad. Contact Cathy Barker at 828-295-7851 or email Cathy@BlowingRock.com for assistance.   Directory Ad Deadline:  January 15, 2022 Download Ad Contract Click Here to View the 2021/2022 Guide Free SBC Webinars Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute’s Small Business Center offers free workshops, one-on-one assistance and many more services to help local small businesses. To reserve a seat at one of the free workshops, call 828-726-3065 or visit www.cccti.edu/smallbusiness to register. View schedule here! 6th Annual High Country Economic Kickoff Breakfast The 6th Annual High Country Economic Kickoff Breakfast is scheduled for Thursday, January 20th, from 7:30am-9:45am in the Grandview Ballroom of Appalachian State University.   The event is co-hosted by the Boone Area Chamber and Blowing Rock Chambers of Commerce and is presented by Peak Insurance Group.   Additional event support comes from Skyline National Bank, Allen Wealth Management, and Appalachian Commercial Real Estate.   Dr. Harry Davis, longtime Appalachian State Walker College of Business faculty member and member of the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, will deliver his 2022 High Country Economic Forecast. Dr. Davis is a regionally renowned economist and serves as both Dean and Instructor for the North Carolina School of Banking.    Christopher Chung, President/CEO of The Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, will provide remarks that detail 2022 for EDPNC, while also outlining current economic development trends in rural areas of North Carolina.    During the presentation, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce will reveal the recipients for the 2021 Watauga County Business of the Year Awards, presented by the Watauga County EDC. Business of the Year winners will be recognized in three categories: Large Business, Small Business, and Startup Business.   Doors open at 7:30am for an excellent opportunity to network with event attendees from across the High Country. A buffet-style breakfast will be served prior to the presentation.  Purchase Tickets Here. Restaurant Hours With unpredictable staffing and abrupt changes in travel patterns due to covid-19, restaurant hours have been changing often. The Chamber of Commerce is currently maintaining a listing of Blowing Rock restaurant hours. The hours are updated weekly. Bookmark this page for reference so you can help your guests and customers when they are looking for dining!  Restaurant Hours List Watauga Covid-19 Update  In areas with substantial and high transmission, the CDC recommends that everyone (including fully vaccinated individuals) wear a mask in public indoor settings to help prevent the spread of the Delta variant, and to protect others. Watauga County is considered an area of High transmission. AppHealthCare offers COVID-19 testing by drive-thru Monday through Friday 8:30-10:00am at each of our clinic locations. No appointment is needed. Read the full weekly Watauga County Covid-19 Update here. Member News High Country Dinning Pass Extended to January 7th! This "After Christmas" flash sale is different than we've ever done before, enabling you to get special bulk purchase discounts! We're doing this to help you continue to enjoy eating out while still bringing much needed business to our wonderful local restaurants. During these unprecedented times, it is so important for us as a community to come together and help each other when everything around us is so unsure. By purchasing in bulk you will help the restaurants, help your food budget, give as a gift, all while helping local schools with the cards that give back! Purchase online here. AMOREM Advanced Care Deciding the kind of health care you want at the end of your life is called ADVANCE CARE PLANNING...and it's the greatest gift you can give your loved ones.   Every day, we make dozens of choices for ourselves. Our friends and family learn these choices over time, remembering everything from our favorite colors to what drink to order for us at dinner. Yet when it comes to some of the most important choices we make—choices about what we would want for our health care if we could not speak for ourselves—few of our friends and family can say for sure what our wishes are.   The goal of advance care planning is for you to live well, in a way that is meaningful to you, for as long as you live.   If you become unable to make your own decisions, and your wishes are not formally recorded, your physician will consult someone close to you about your care. They will rely on this person to try to guess your wishes. Don't let a guess guide your health care! These questions are best considered, decided and communicated to others in advance, long before there is a health crisis or illness. Watauga County Parks and Recreation hosts second annual “Food for Friends” drive For the second year, Watauga County Parks and Recreation will host its “Food for Friends” drive. Watauga County residents are invited to make donations of non-perishable food items at the Watauga Community Recreation Center between December 13 and February 11 to benefit Hospitality House, Hunger and Health Coalition and Casting Bread. According to Stephen Poulos, director of Watauga County Parks and Recreation, “Last year the community gave around $1,250 and over 1,875 pounds of food. We are excited to see how the community responds this year.” More events and updates can be found on our online calendar. To submit your news to our weekly newsletter, email Suzy@BlowingRock.com by Wednesday. Our newsletter reaches over 1,000 member contacts each Thursday! Thank you to our 2022 Chamber Partners! Important Contacts  NC Governor Roy Cooper www.governor.nc.gov US Senator Thom Tillis tillis.senate.gov US Senator Richard Burr burr.senate.gov US House Representative Virginia Foxx foxxforms.house.gov NC House Representative Ray Pickett Ray.Pickett@ncleg.gov NC Senator Deanna Ballard Deanna.Ballard@ncleg.net US President Joe Biden www.whitehouse.gov The Blowing Rock Chamber seeks to provide access to recommendations, regulations, services and expertise to its members. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this mission remains constant. Prior to acting, members should consult their own professional advisors for information and counsel specific to the individual and unique situations faced by organizations, individuals and corporations. The opinions, interpretations and recommendations of the Blowing Rock Chamber are informational only and should not be relied upon by the recipient as legal or professional advice.  The Blowing Rock Chamber makes no representations as to the accuracy or reliability of the content contained herein. Users of this information accept any and all risks associated with the use of such information and agree that the Blowing Rock Chamber has no liability to user. 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