Sean C. Morgan
The Chamber of Commerce Visitor’s Center and chamber office needs help.
The chamber is closing one day and cutting three hours per day, and volunteer help will be critical to restore the hours, officials say.
The Visitor’s Center, staffed entirely by volunteers, will be open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. It had been open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The chamber changed the hours last week.
The Chamber is reorganizing right now, said President Lerena Ruby. “We have a lot of extra committees working overtime getting things organized – our whole restructuring, getting finances under control.”
That’s taking a toll on volunteer time. At the same time, former Chamber Manager Andrea Culy has had to cut her volunteer time.
That means the chamber cannot keep the center open as long, Ruby said. The reduction means that everyone involved in the chamber is working hard on the restructuring.
The chamber board is planning its board retreat for the first of September, she said, and it is now meeting twice a month instead of once a month. Some committees are meeting weekly.
The visitor’s center fields many phone calls for a variety of information about Sweet Home, Ruby said. Fridays are probably the biggest days. The chamber sends out numerous packets of information about Sweet Home in response to the phone calls.
If the chamber can get new volunteers, it would be able to restore the hours, Ruby said.
People are still welcome to call board members and volunteers with questions, Ruby said. People are welcome to contact her directly at (541) 367-8934 for information or to volunteer.