The Clearwater County Chamber of Commerce hosted the monthly membership meeting at the Weippe Discovery Center & Library. President Malia Erlewine attended via zoom and called the meeting to order at 4:11pm. There was good membership turnout and two new guests; Cindy McCool of the sorority doing Hilltop calendars and Shawn Mattoon President of Wild Weippe Days and owner of the Elkhorn Tavern. The Director reported on new memberships: Clearwater Valley Fire Districts Auxiliary, Cloninger’s Marketplace #4 Weippe, and Redoubt Surplus & Tactical Orofino. Financials and Analytics reports were given and made available to the members. Erica reminds everyone that the annual fundraising event will happen May 5th at the BW Lodge at River’s Edge. It will be a fun night of food, games and auctions both live and silent. Fiesta En Jalisco will be catering Mexican food, drink and dessert. Tickets are available online through the chamber website clearwatercountyadventures.com and at the Orofino branches of LCCU, P1FCU and Banner bank. All sponsorships for the event have been filled! Thanks to Potlatch Financial Credit Union, North Central Idaho Properties, Best Built Builders Supply, Debco Construction, Edward Jones Investments/Matt Sartini, Nightforce Optics, Lewis Clark Credit Union, Clearwater Valley Health, and Mike’s Mechanical. This fundraiser event supports over 1/3 of the operating budget of the chamber for the year. Anyone interested in donating to the event is encouraged to contact the chamber 208-476-4335 or 6cDirector@gmail.com.
The monthly raffle prize was awarded to Jenni Tissell. Legislative Committeeman Dennis Harper was unavailable for a report. The Economic Development report was given by Director Susan Jacobson. There are many programs and grants available to small businesses and nonprofits. She encourages you to give her a call to find out more. Director Holland introduced the guest speaker Terri Summerfield, Director of the Weippe Discovery Center. Terri gave a history of the center and library and described all that it has to offer residents of Clearwater County. Registration for a library card offers a lot more than just books. Rentals are available for kayaks, paddle boards, and snowshoes. They also manage the Deyo Reservoir Campground reservations. The facility has many resources for small business development, internet, 3D printing, meetings, telehealth appointments, babysitting classes, fly tying events, and family game nights. If you haven’t visited yet, plan to come and check out the beautiful building and surrounding living landscape and murals about the Lewis & Clark journey through Idaho. Terri also reminds everyone to attend the Digital Access Discussion on April 20th 3:00 pm at the Orofino Library. To find out more check the library facebook page or give them a call 208-476-3411.
Special events coming up were highlighted; Easter Egg Hunts in Elk River, Orofino and Pierce on Saturday, Easter Dinner at Tom’s Tavern on Sunday, Orofino Rotary Estate/Yard Sale Apr 28-30 in Orofino 4H building, Orofino Senior Center Yard/Bake Sale Apr 29 and Countywide Community Cleanup Day Saturday Apr 29. The meeting adjourned and good discussions went through Happy Hour with snacks provided by Terri Summerfield of the Weippe Discovery Center. The next meeting will be held at Chubby’s Pizza in Pierce May 10th at 4pm. These are great networking opportunities and we hope you will plan to attend soon.
