By Adrian Knowler, The Mountain Times
A group of local business leaders trying to resurrect the M.t Hood Area Chamber of Commerce are filing paperwork with the county to reactivate the group.
At a January 7 meeting, local business leaders, including former chamber president Jeri McMahan, agreed to sign off on necessary forms that could kickstart the process of reestablishing the group that advocates for the mountain’s business community, according to Lori Cabantoy of Mt. Hood Oregon Resort.
Spearheaded by Cabantoy and resort General Manager Christopher Skipper, a couple dozen business representatives have attended three meetings over the last few months to discuss restarting the chamber, according to Cabantoy.
Last year, Cabantoy went in person to local businesses from Government Camp to Brightwood to see if business owners were interested in re-establishing the chamber.
According to Cabantoy, the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on the chamber’s leadership, but now seems like the right time to pick up where the group left off.
“The [chamber of commerce] officially closed in 2022 due to a lack of participation, people moving and people passing away,” Cabantoy said in an interview.
“People were trying to survive, and taking care of the chamber wasn’t a number one priority. We’ve seen new businesses come up and thrive and we see some local mom and pop shops that are not, so we want to unite this community on the mountain,” she said.
A newly organized group could take advantage of marketing grants and promote local events meant to benefit a variety of area businesses, Cabantoy said.
Cabantoy has recently joined the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce and says she will learn from her experience there to help with the Mt. Hood group. She says restarting the group should be easy enough on paper, with all the required paperwork already on file with Clackamas County.
The challenge now is finding committed business leaders to make up the Chamber’s board and executive positions.
“I wish there were more people [attending the preliminary meetings],” Cabantoy said. “I went out personally and delivered all these fliers and it can get forgotten. We need to do our best to help our community. It hurts my heart to see certain local businesses struggling.”
At the group’s January 7 meeting, there was unanimous support to reactivate the chamber by filing the necessary paperwork, collecting dues, and then holding an election to fill the chamber’s board positions.
The group will meet again February 4 at Mt. Hood Oregon Resort, and all interested parties are invited to attend.