By Ellen Kretsch

Director, Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce

Although summer is a very quiet time compared to our winter visitors, this summer has proved to be unusually busy.

First off, we had a frenzied effort in June putting together a video of the area. Well actually, videographer Dan Shinder of Globe was the one in a frenzy; the tourism committee just gave him lots of ideas and feedback while he did the work. 

The video went together in a matter of days to meet a very tight deadline for a contest from the Arizona Office of Tourism. When we heard that Globe-Miami was a finalist in the contest to win some major digital advertising, we were beyond ecstatic. 

To make a long story short, we didn’t win the contest. Sierra Vista took home the honors, but we definitely have a winner for our own marketing purposes. Dan will be doing some reworking on the video … with the tight timeline we had, it’s no surprise there were some glaring omissions. Since Dan and his wife Nja Onê have only lived here six months, I will step up and admit that being here 40 years, I should have known better, so my apologies all around. 

Molly Cornwell presented at the Governor’s Conference and I am not exaggerating to say that she had the audience hanging on to every word and to follow up her passion and enthusiasm for Globe-Miami with this amazing video had all of us sure we held the winning hand. Oh well, we had a ball and were so excited to see the response of the audience.

The video has been posted on our Chamber Facebook page; here is a link for download if you missed seeing it: http://bit.ly/Globe-Miami-Video-DanShinder-July17. You can also check under “Videos” at the top of the page. Did I mention we are excited??

And besides the video project, we’ve had a great time with our block mixers. The last one was on the 200 block of North Broad and went around the corner to include businesses on Mesquite and Cedar. This is a relatively new project for us and it showcases Chamber members as well as giving non-members a close up view of how the Chamber can help get customers into their businesses. The next mixer is in Miami on Thursday, Aug. 31, so look for more information on that soon.

We are off to the Arizona Rural Policy Forum in Safford this week. Globe-Miami will be well represented by Bryan Seppala, our current Chamber president, who will present at one of the breakout sessions. Also presenting will be Thea Wilshire on the Old Dominion Historic Mine Park and Karalea Cox of the Southern Gila County EDC. Rural issues require rural solutions. Our local government will be well represented as well … hopefully we will all come out of the forum with some of those rural solutions and a common direction!

Have you seen the painted rocks that show up in the most unlikely of places, sometimes in plain sight, sometimes off the beaten path? It is a new program to spread positive messages and just maybe add a little something to your day. If you find one, take a selfie and post it to the “Globe Rocks” page on Facebook. This is a nationwide program that Mindy Jo Bradley took on locally. The City of Globe has really jumped on board and has hosted several rock painting booths, as has the Gila County Gem and Mineral Society. So if you see a rock that makes you smile … take a photo and post it, then hide the rock yourself. Maybe you will make someone else’s day! It’s such a joy to see this positive program growing.

Besides all of this going on, the Chamber’s new street map is in the production phase now and the regional tourism group is working on the new batch of table tent cards. 

So much for a slow summer! Hope you are enjoying your summer as much as we are!