The first Mesquite Chamber of Commerce lunch of the year featured the introductions of the new board elected for 2016. The Jan. 13 meeting was held at the Eureka Casino and Resort, and was attended by over 100 local business leaders.
The new president, Noel Smith of Colonial Property Management, asked each of the new board members to introduce themselves and take questions
New board members present were Dave Ballweg of Loadtec; Dave Bennett of Fidelity National Title Insurance; Nancy Hewett of Wolf Creek Golf Club; Keith Buchalter of Overton Power District; Kathy Lee of View on Mesquite Magazine; and Roberta Franco of the Salvation Army. New directors not at the meeting were Kathy Poindexter, Jane Kendrick and Coleyne Angel.
Responding to questions from the audience, board members emphasized the importance of building on the successes of 2015. Buchalter told the group “Do I believe we will keep up the momentum of last year, you bet.” Board member Lee added “Momentum will only continue if we use one word, communication.” Lee urged chamber members to contact the office if they have questions as “rumors can spread fast in a small town.” Lee also suggested that the chamber hold a town hall meeting for the members to provide the board with ideas and comments.
New director Ballweg was asked how would the new board be different from previous boards. Ballweg said “I’m an engineer by trade, so I’m going to look at what worked last year and what didn’t work and adjust those.” He emphasized that the board would move forward as a “cohesive” group in 2016.
In other business marketing committee chair Jeff Powell outlined the committee’s goals for 2016, which are to support members, build the chamber brand, communicate better with the media and provide business community support.
Powell also announced that the new business and visitor guide is out, and encouraged businesses to distribute them to customers.
