From the Desk of the President

Over the past two months the GreaterFlagstaff Chamber has talked with over 800 of you, corresponded 2-3 times weekly via email about Federal Financial Relief for small business, and we have served as a beacon for advice, assistance and resources sorely needed during a period when many businesses were shut down, and people and families were told to stay at home. As we phase in openings of businesses of all types we remain vigilant of the CDC and state guidance in order to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus. A COVID Task Force was established under the leadership of Board Chair, Mark Love, after so many of you were asking what was the best way to be precautionary when opening. As a result, we assembled best practices for this process and they can be found on our website at www.flagstaffchamber. com/taskforce. Member investors who are participating include Fred Reese, LIttle America; Mark Love, Massage Envy; Bonnie Bouschet, Flagstaff Mall, Terry Madeksza, Downtown Business Alliance; John Conley, Salsa Brava; Jamie Thousand, Satchmo's; Ron Getto, Starlite Lanes, Ryan Terhaar, Frederick Fisher Jewelers; and Clay McCauslin, KAFF Radio. I'm really proud of the extraordinary effort put forth by your Chamber team and the task force to work with you charting the best pathway for successfully reopening our economy, together. The Chamber became 'the first responders to the business crisis'. And in this issue, I hope that you will enjoy reading about the extraordinary efforts of TGen North, which responded to the virus immediately and even won national attention by being selected to deep dive into the virus and provide more research data about it. Dr. David Engelthaler, Co Director of the Pathogen and Microbiome Division provides great insights on the virus that you'll want to understand. We are proud to feature TGen given the huge reputation the laboratories have statewide. The Chamber has had to cancel all events since March 12 but through the business shutdowns and stay home orders, your Chamber team has engaged in regular professional development to stay current on best ways to assist your business and we have provided many meetings regularly held in person on the ZOOM platform. Hundreds of you are staying connected and learning from each other. In this issue, you can see a fantastic collage of dozens of businesses who are delivering a Shop Local message to us. These are our Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors. I love their images. Also, the Chamber was asked to assist Governor Ducey by sitting on a statewide team about the best ways to reopen the economy. Through these efforts we have disseminated current and timely data as it comes available full of business guidance which obviously is priceless. We've appreciated your compliments and attention to the emails we send on your behalf. Last but certainly not least, we need to pay attention to Census 2020. With an original launch date of April 1, the Census kicked off with little hoopla given the intensity of the virus. As a result, the State has decided to relaunch the Census awareness on June 1. Please fill in your forms that have been mailed to you and send back in your postage paid envelope; or go online to fill in the completely private Census 2020 survey. Arizona is behind the national average of completion by only about two points which we certainly can make up by digging out the form, filling it in and mailing. The amount of Federal funding from the Census is dependent upon the numbers of completed forms. We can determine the level of State funding for the next 10 years (until the next census) by being responsible citizens. Again, thank you for your investment in the Chamber. Every single business helps not only itself but others by continuing your investment in the Chamber. We receive no public funding. We are a private non profit that focuses on helping businesses be successful since 1891. Let's be respectful of individual opinions of the virus; of each business decision when to open; and hopefully, we return stronger for the remainder of 2020. After all, our small communities have come through many crises by working together and giving it all we've got! JuliePastrick

President + CEO