TEMPLE DAILY TELEGRAM / 1
FRIDAY, January 7, 2022
FOCUS ON
BUSINESS
Reflection on 2021 & Looking to 2022 Temple Chamber Staff As we continue to persevere through one of the most challenging and unprecedented periods of our history, we have to recognize our community and its businesses have not been immune and continue to work hard to recover. Compounding the pandemic, 2021 presented challenges with Winter Storm Uri, labor force, and continued supply chain disruptions.
JANUARY 2022 SALUTE TO BUSINESS Tuesday, January 25, 2022 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Mayborn Convention Center 3303 N. 3rd St. Temple, TX 76501 Tickets: https://bit.ly/Salute22 Deadline to register 1/18/2022
Throughout all of this, like our members and business community, this required the Temple Chamber to adapt. From seeking solutions to our member’s problems to reimagining events with safety as a top priority, all to help our community succeed and see businesses grow and thrive. Early in the pandemic, when the first waves threatened the survival of so many businesses, the Temple Chamber recognized that we had a vital role in helping our community through the crisis. Our focus has been and remains on providing as many resources as possible to support our region’s business community. The Temple Chamber collaborated with other entities in the creation of small business grant programs utilizing COVID-19 Community Relief Funds to retain jobs and stabilize local businesses. Almost $900,000 was granted in the combined efforts. Most importantly, we helped Temple area businesses navigate the grant applications to secure support. To protect the safety of business owners, their employees, and consumers, the Temple Chamber engaged with a program through the Texas Department of Emergency Management to provide free COVID-19 Rapid Testing Kits to local businesses. Since February 2021, we have distributed more than 2,900 free rapid tests to Temple area businesses.
TempleChamber.com
With Winter Storm Uri, the Temple Chamber did not sit idle. We helped community partners share information about essential resources, and we used our strength as the voice of and for business to aid our members and community overcome obstacles presented by the storm.
The prime example of the Temple Chamber in service during the storm and the ripple effect caused is when roads were impassable and grocery store shelves empty, and hundreds of semi-trucks sat on Wendland Road waiting to deliver to our local distribution centers. A series of phone calls, in a 3-hour time frame, led to deploying TxDOT trucks and graders and the Temple Police Department to sand and grade the roads and control truck traffic.
The strength of the Temple Chamber is not any particular program or event, but rather comes from the network we have built over our 114-year history. We are the hub of a vast network that includes local businesses, all levels of government, state and national business associations, local organizations, schools, and more. This strength came to the forefront through the turmoil of both 2020 and 2021.
The Temple Chamber is a membership-driven organization where businesses pay dues to become members, and those members get plugged into the Chamber network. Despite the challenges in 2021, the Temple Chamber refused to be deterred by the setbacks. We safely held inperson events for members to make connections, hosted third house sessions to connect with our State Representative, held two job fairs with community partners, served over 3,000 hamburger meals to area first responders, active-duty military, veteran organizations, and the community for the 37th Annual Military & First Responder Salute, and ended the year over 1,000 members strong. The Temple Chamber of Commerce is filled with gratitude for our members and the community. Our efforts to support the business community would not be possible without the support of our members. 2021 has shown us that there is no better time to be a member of the Temple Chamber of Commerce. We have a vital role in our local community and are positioned to help preserve, protect, and promote a positive business environment in the greater Temple, TX area in 2022 and beyond. For those not already plugged into our network, we invite you to learn more about the Chamber on our website templechamber.com or by calling (254) 773-2105.