Written by: Kate Sanchez
The Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce may be made up of just a two-person staff, but that doesn’t stop them from being extremely active within the community. Karl Terry, who grew up in Roosevelt County, has been the Executive Director of The Chamber since 2011, and says that you’d be hard-pressed to find another organization that works as hard with, and for the people of community.
The Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce functions under a 501C6 business category non-profit for membership, not as a department of the city, but instead as an organization working for the membership to help stimulate business, growth and the overall economy of the area. The Chamber of Commerce’s involvement ranges greatly, but they leave no stone unturned, especially when helping to attract people to Portales or welcome the area’s newcomers. Something not many Chamber of Commerce’s do is operate the city’s visitor center, but Terry says it’s something they take great pride in. Through the center, The Chamber of Commerce provides newcomer and visitor packets that are sure to give anyone a good glimpse of Roosevelt County. From Valencia Peanuts to ENMU trinkets and information, visitors are easily welcomed with a snapshot of what Portales has to offer. These highly-sought-after packets are also distributed at ENMU’s Dawg Days as well as at Cannon Air Force Base twice per month for the newcomer’s orientation and fair. Terry says one of the staff’s main goals is attracting new people to the area, and events like these allow for great opportunities to do just that. In addition to welcome packets, The Chamber of Commerce is often asked to take part in local events. Whether it’s orientation for faculty and the back-to-school breakfast at Portales High School, setting up and organizing the Merchant’s Building booths at the county fair, or donating around one thousand bags of peanuts for the College Daze Rodeo in September, The Chamber of Commerce lends a helping hand to make all community activities the very best they can be.
The Chamber of Commerce serves as the host for several large events throughout the year. In the Spring, they plan and fully execute The Heritage Day’s activities. From the car show and fun-run, to the parade, they are responsible for all aspects of the event. They also diligently fundraise and write the check for the 4th of July fireworks show. One large event they took back over the planning of in 2012 is The Peanut Festival, which Terry says is known as the best arts and crafts festival in eastern NM and west Texas. With visitors from far and near, the event, which takes place the third Saturday of October, offers live entertainment and serves as a great kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. 2018 will be the 45th annual year for the festival and will be held at the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds. Additionally, The Chamber of Commerce works with Portales Main Street to promote and ensure safe trick or treating at Halloween, where last year 1,000-2,000 kids participated, Terry shares. They also play a large role in the Christmas Parade in December.
The Chamber of Commerce welcomes new members at all levels. Two years ago, they changed the way membership works and now use a tiered system, where an individual can join for $80, all the way up to a “Champion” membership for $2,500. This new system groups the benefits of The Chamber of Commerce into packages, and as Terry says, “makes it worthwhile to the members.” Becoming a member certainly has its advantages in giving an education to businesses and ways they can improve, but also serves as a mechanism for members to say abreast of community happenings. As Terry says, “I guarantee if they join, they’ll know what’s going on!” To constantly help businesses and members improve, The Chamber of Commerce offers up a variety of events for members. These include quarterly luncheons, as well as ‘Lunch and Learn’, a series that will be running through spring, the next being September 20, where the focus will be customer service. Staff and members also visit Santa Fe, where they host a dinner with the East side legislature so that members can stay apprised to what’s happening not only locally, but state-wide and politically.
The Chamber of Commerce also has groups within it which allow for members to partake in specific local activities. One of these is the Ambassador’s Group which attends ribbon cuttings, ground breakings, and presentations for volunteer and businesses of the month. A signature event for this group is Little Miss Merry Christmas, where contestants compete by raising money and the proceeds go to help support the costs of the white lights at Christmas time. Additionally, the Ambassador’s Group sponsors family movies at the Yam Theater about four times per year to allow for a family-friendly environment where the cost isn’t as large as going out of town to watch a movie would be. Another committee within The Chamber of Commerce is the Portales Military Affairs Committee. The main purpose of this committee is to keep lines of communication open with Cannon Air Force Base. They make contacts with the people at the base and work to attract more personnel to Portales, which Terry thinks is a huge benefit to the community. They also put on events for the base such as their Appreciation Day, which is a tailgate at Greyhound Stadium.
Terry invites everyone to check out the very informative website at www.portales.com, where information is always being updated. The web site has additionally been a part of the technology overhaul The Chamber of Commerce has done within the last few years. With the updated software, records are better kept, a chamber memo is sent out every Thursday at 1 o’clock, emails serve as updates for members, and it give them a chance to run flyers and learn about upcoming events. Terry credits Victoria Garrett with working very hard on the web site’s calendar and weekly memo and has received compliments on all facets of the new software; just another perk for members!
If you have a business, be sure to look into The Chamber of Commerce. They have a lot to offer, whether your business is big or small!
