Mineral County Chamber Chatter

‘Volunteer Burn-Out’ (VBO) is rampant right now after this loooong snow packed winter. I’m going through it myself; just when I’m asking chamber members and residents to ramp-up for events. Taking on more than we can handle can be a curse to some, where others thrive with the challenge. My personnel philosophy is if I can do 2 things well, or 5 things semi-well, go with the 2 and keep my fingers crossed that I do indeed, do both of them well. My point is that we need to say “No” when asked which is extremely difficult for many of us as we want to people-please. “Passion” for the subject ought to act as a guiding force when you question if you should or shouldn’t step into the ring of volunteering. All of us have worked with volunteers who drop off the radar and the entire momentum stalls because of that person. When you raise your hand, be committed.

And this is where I turn a sour eulogy into a glowing praise of those who shine that I have the pleasure of working with! No names mentioned here because I will undoubtedly leave some awesome people out accidentally, but when I walked into the Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament committee 35 minutes late, the room was a-buzz with excitement and enthusiasm! New people and new ideas tossed around the table with notes being scribbled down and plans developed. And The Old school House Car Show committee is emailing and meeting and designing and getting prizes/sponsors moving at Mach V to make the 15th year bigger and more fun than before! The Saltese Trestle project with the Friends of the Olympian…they’re going to have that trestle bought, refurbished and painted in 24 karat gold before the Trail Rail Run at the rate they are going! Just associating with energized volunteers like these shakes my VBO to the core. Knocks out the winter doldrums and reminds me of the strong character of my neighbors. So the Pity-Party is over and the fun-work in on the table, again. Do these committees need more help? You bet! These are some of the movers-and-shakers in Mineral County who will have your back as long as you do your part helping them with the projects they are passionate about. When you raise your hand, be committed.

Lastly, let’s yak. I’d like to hear your ideas of what we can do to spur business momentum in Mineral County. Kevin Chamberlain heads up Economic Development for Mineral County and will be our speaker tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. for the monthly Chamber of Commerce meeting where everyone is invited to 102 River Street in Superior. I’m hoping we can carry out some 2nd stage ideas from his talk. If not, we can brainstorm and get to know each other better as I’ll treat all-takers to ‘pizza and pop’ next Thursday, March 27th from 4:30 to 6 p.m. 822-5122 so I’ll know how much chow to have on hand, please. Pop in anytime and stay as long/short as you can. And if you have no idea what any of this is about, you just might enjoy what you hear!

Monte Turner

Co-President