On Thursday, March 16, 2023, local business owners met in Black Hawk at 6 p.m. for the second preliminary meeting concerning the formation of a Peak to Peak Chamber of Commerce (P2PCC). Nederland business owner Christian Vanek moderated the meeting and presented to the crowd draft articles of incorporation.
The group discussed matters raised in the articles of incorporation including how the organization will handle membership, scheduling meetings, and appointing its board of directors and officers. The group also began discussing ideas for how the P2PCC will benefit local businesses, including bolstering tourism efforts and forming creative solutions to employment issues that strongly affect mountain towns.
In regards to membership to the P2PCC, Vanek expressed a desire for the organization to remain open and eligible for anyone to apply, and for approval of applicants to be conducted by any member of the board during an online meeting of the quorum or a P2PCC meeting. Members of the P2PCC will also be encouraged to nominate prospective members. Those who wish to apply can do so on the P2PCC website: https://www.peaktopeakchamber.org.
The group discussed holding annual meetings in May, with the P2PCC hoping to be a fully formed organization by May of this year. General meetings of the P2PCC can be called by designated officers of the established board and members will be notified ten days prior to the scheduled date of the meeting. There was an agreement to, once an incorporated organization, schedule quarterly meetings over the year in addition to the annual meeting.
In regards to the size of the P2PCC board of directors Vanek proposed to the group to begin with a seven member board initially, with a majority of four members present at meetings constituting a quorum.
Vanek led the group in a discussion involving how members of the board of directors are to be appointed, and the specification of officers serving on the board, as well as setting term limits. The choices for specific officers include President, Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. There was also discussion on stacking term limits for particular board members and officers in order to retain continuity on the board.
The group agreed that the board of directors should consist of four officers and three board members. The President, Treasurer, and Secretary would serve two year terms, and the Vice President and three board members will all serve one year terms.
It was also suggested that additional staff for the chamber should include an Event Coordinator, Executive Director, and a Marketing Manager; and there was discussion that staff could eventually include an Office Manager/ Bookkeeper, Guest Experiences Manager, and a Membership Manager.
During the latter portion of the meeting, those business owners who attended wished to expand on the goals of the P2PCC especially in relation to how the organization can promote tourism, and how to also assist businesses that offer more localized services. Vanek expressed that the P2PCC can assist in creating content for multiple social media platforms in order to draw interest and tourist tax revenue to mountain towns.
Suggestions from the group included a focus on an interactive online map, as well as posted physical maps, to drive a tourism campaign, promoting travel to all points across the Peak to Peak highways with cycling challenges and/or brewery tours, and on forming events to promote all types of businesses.
The group briefly discussed how the P2PCC can assist businesses to attain and retain staff. According to the draft articles, the third stated goal of the P2PCC is to “support a community of engaged and prosperous employees through economic programs and shared resources that expand the income potential skills and workforce for all businesses in the trade area”.
The Peak to Peak Chamber of Commerce aims to help grow a better business community and to promote business development through economic programs that can strengthen and expand the income potential of all businesses from Allenspark to Central City and everywhere in between.
The first of the preliminary meetings concerning the formation of the P2PCC was on February 1, 2023, at Salto in Nederland, and the March 16 meeting was hosted at JKQ BBQ in Black Hawk. Vanek and the group hopes that the next meeting will hold a discussion on actionable plans that can be initiated as soon as the P2PCC is fully formed. Vanek and the group discussed holding the next meeting in Allenspark, though the place, date, and time have yet to be set.
For more information go to: https://www.peaktopeakchamber.org.
