By Talaina Kor The Holbrook Chamber of Commerce held a meeting last week to discuss local endeavors within the community. The meeting was held via video conference. Tara Young with the Petrified Forest Museum Association talked about tourism and revenues for the association. “Our revenues are not as bad as we thought they would be this time of year given the COVID situation,” said Young. “We were at 92 percent for August and the first two weeks of September beat 2019 numbers.” Young also added that Arizona Office of Tourism listed an increase in RV rentals, which could also be good for the area. Janet Dean with Arizona Public Service (APS) mentioned that APS is offering a new tool for business owners and entrepreneurs called SizeUp Arizona. According to its website, SizeUp provides market research and data analytics necessary to better understand competition and fine-tune business models. “Anyone can use this tool,” stated Dean. For more information go to their website SizeUpArizona.com. Dean also added that APS will not be disconnecting costumers for nonpayment throughout this year. Sarah Herve added that the Petrified Forest National Park is preparing for National Fossil Day, which is on October 14. Due to the current social distancing protocols, the park is coming up with online solutions to interact with local children. Herve stated that the park is working to have kids submit questions for a paleontologist that will be answered digitally. Board Member Colleen Marsh stated that for the main street banners the chamber is working with artists Jacob Holgerson from the Petrified Forest National Park, Kathryn Matott of Northland Pioneer College and Levi Tafoya of the Petrified Forest Museum Association. The artists are creating banners that are based on five categories: Route 66, Petrified Forest, Old Town/Historic, Events and Explore. The Chamber selected their new board officers. Daniella Day nominated Cheyenne Gillespie for secretary, Marsh nominated Daniella Day for president and Shar Gillespie for vice president. Young seconded all motions and voting in favor was unanimous. For upcoming events, the chamber discussed the virtual Old West Fest planned for October, and the Taste of Holbrook and Community Awards in November. For December, events mentioned were the Festival of Trees, the Annual Parade of Lights, Light up Holbrook, and 12 Days of Christmas Shopping. For old business, the chamber had no new updates on items which included Drone Video, the pilot program Holbrook Ambassadors, Please Buy Local Campaign, Storage Unit and Business Challenge and Community Revitalization.
