The California Area Chamber of Commerce met for a monthly board meeting for the first time since October last Thursday.
The group's past two monthly meetings had been canceled due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic in the community.
With a new year having begun in earnest, board members voted remotely last month to approve the Chamber's new slate of officers for 2021. The group will see two members in new roles, as Kayle Kiesling was nominated to serve as president and Sharon Campbell was nominated to serve as vice president. Rita Hammerly and Pamela Pearon will continue as secretary and treasurer, respectively.
Also in the last month, the Chamber has made selections for its annual citizen, business and volunteer of the year awards and will consider how best to give those awards to its recipients. Typically, this occurs at the group's annual dinner and meeting, but the dinner and scholarship auction traditionally held were canceled for this year's edition due to the pandemic.
Since last meeting, the Chamber has mailed 10 scholarships, each for $250, to recipients from the community.
Finally, the Chamber circled back to December to discuss feedback about the community's second year of Christmas in Proctor Park. Board members said out-of-town visitors have given favorable reviews. However, there's still plenty of more room for growing the event, they agreed; more businesses could get involved with the space available at the park. Members of the Chamber said they'd encourage those who haven't yet been involved to contact the Chamber to learn more if they're interested.
The Chamber's next meeting date will be for its annual meeting, set for 2 p.m. Jan. 30 in Centennial Hall on the Moniteau County Fairgrounds.