By China Cassidy Graduation is a milestone that marks the beginning of a journey from adolescence to adulthood. Instead of sitting with their academic peers for the last time or accepting their diplomas in exchange for their years of academic dedication, many graduates of the 2019-2020 class are still uncertain of how they will celebrate their graduation in light of school closures and the executive order prohibiting larger social gatherings. Over the last few weeks, parents, teachers, and other community members have come together to try to find a way to honor the graduates. Holbrook Chamber of Commerce Director Cindy Tafoya explained during a recent chamber meeting that she was approached by an individual who wanted to help recognize the students who were set to take their graduation walk this year and shared how the chamber plans to help out. Tafoya said that the initial idea was to put a poster of each graduate on the street poles that are along Navajo Blvd. “Not the school themselves, but somebody reached out to us to see if there was any support or help that we could give to help them be able to put signage up,” said Tafoya. An obstacle they faced with the banners, which Tafoya confirmed with the Arizona Department of Transportation, was that the poles are not far enough from the curb. “The banners can’t be perpendicular to the road just because the posts are too close to the curb,” relayed Tafoya. Instead, the chamber will be placing a large banner at the intersection of Navajo Blvd. and Hopi Drive. The banner was designed by Kelly Spangler of Spanglerpics and Ray Alley will be making it at no cost. According to Tafoya, there have been a few other suggestions for how to best promote the graduating class of 2019-2020, including placing yard signs with each graduate on them in Gillespie Park although there were concerns expressed over potential vandalism. In other business, the chamber announced that the May through June community events would be postponed until further notice, considering Governor Doug Ducey’s executive order prohibiting large gatherings. Those events include A Taste of Holbrook, which was scheduled for April, The Route 66 Salsa Fest and the Route 66 Car Show, which was supposed to take place in June. Whether the Native American Dances, which usually begin in June, will be postponed will also depend on the status of the executive order. Although the Holbrook City Council did approve the event’s license for Old West Fest to be held at the Old Historic Courthouse in July, whether they will be able to host it will also depend on the executive order. In other business, Tafoya said she is still meeting with businesses and gathering whatever resources may be useful for them. Tafoya said the chamber has made it their mission to be an active resource for each business and help them prepare for when the order is lifted and operations go back to normal. “One of the things we wanted to do was very proactive in making sure all of our businesses know what’s coming down the pipe, what’s expected,” she said. Tafoya has been getting input from each business to find out what their concerns are and help to address them. “I know one of the main concerns that we are hearing nationally is that businesses are afraid of having that responsibility of reopening and having either employees or themselves become infected.” The board had previously discussed adding more money to the director’s salary to allow overtime work if needed. Since the insurance rates for event coverage has increased, the chamber board voted to reallocate $4,490 back into the special events fund to cover the $4,423 that will be due to Shumway Insurance in October. The chamber board announced that they are now looking for nominations for board members. Board nominations will be submitted in May and voting will take place in June for newly nominated and returning board members. The nomination deadline is May 15, so ballots can go out by May 20 and will be due Tuesday, June 16, so the board members can be announced on Wednesday, June 17.
