Chamber welcomes spring with sense of optimism

To say 2020 was a challenge is an understatement. The businesses who made it through unscathed were the innovative thinkers able to pivot and allow access to their goods in safe and thoughtful ways.

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce didn’t go unscathed. With the rise of COVID numbers and the lack of event income, we had to downsize staff. Now with two staff, we are taking up the slack and honing our skills and talents every day.

When April arrived, it became evident we needed to get more information out to our members and to the community at large. Working behind the locked doors of the Visitor Center, we started sending two newsletters a week. One focusing on member news, hours of operation, who was open and how they were serving clients, updates on COVID cases and state re-opening stages, PPP information, resources for small business, unemployment news, event postponements, and changes and cancellations. The second newsletter, on Wednesdays, was used as a job-listing portal. Several of our members had to rehire their entire work force upon re-opening and some still have the same jobs listed today. The opportunities range from entry level to senior management and specialized trades.

With the nicer weather, we slowly re-opened our doors in the safest way possible, greeting visitors just inside the entry with local member information fully accessible and easily sanitized. Our main focus throughout this entire year was keeping our small, local businesses thriving. News, case numbers, business operations and restrictions were changing constantly, and our primary goal was keeping up on it all. Getting the word out through our social media pages kept us busy.

With summer came the reinstatement of the Downtown Shopping District meetings, allowing us a snapshot of how our business owners were faring. We also resumed a favorite activity “chambering,” where we visit as many businesses as we can in a day. Sandpoint seemed to be bursting at the seams and locals were happy to get a glance at each other, even from a masked distance.

Winter brought us higher case numbers and new challenges with mask mandates and winter weather. With strict shut-downs in both Washington and Oregon, local Sandpoint businesses saw their best holiday season on record and the visitor center experienced a constant stream of visitors.

The chamber is glad to welcome spring again and have an optimistic hope for the coming summer season. It’s great to see familiar faces out and about, with the vaccine numbers up and case numbers down.

See you around town!

Kate McAlister is the executive director of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce and Rikki Witte is member specialist for the chamber.