HOT SPRINGS – In their first meeting of the new year, the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce discussed updates on the member businesses and the chamber itself as a business itself. 

Leslee Smith, president of the chamber, wanted to see more promotion of Hot Springs as an activity, rather than just a city. She noted there were so many things to do in the area, from events and the nearby wilderness to the town’s namesake mineral springs, that most people’s tastes could be satisfied for spending time in the area.

This was also a topic of discussion during the January meeting of the Hot Springs town council. Mayor Randy Woods said he wanted to see more promotion of the area as a place to spend a day, emphasizing the things that make the community great and make people want to turn off the highway. He said he would like to see the community and city government come together to make the town more appealing to tourists and residents alike.

During an update on the chamber’s website, Smith noted the site is almost complete. She suggested the member businesses to go to the chamber’s website to see the work that went into it and fact check their business’s information.

It was noted the site acts as a free website for all the businesses and they should take advantage of it for spreading word of their activities. The community businesses were encouraged to submit information about their business to be posted online.

“That website is only as good as the input we give Candy to update the website,” Smith said. “If there’s stale stuff on the website, shame on us because we didn’t get it to her.”

There was also an update on the Hot Springs museum. It was noted their reading and research room is open for people to use. This also means the museum keeps ‘nice and cozy’ and the meeting room could be kept warm on cold days.

The room can hold approximately 25 people and is equipped to provide snacks for events via a small kitchenette.

The museum is also hoping to have enough funding to be open for an additional month in the year.