MEEKER | The Meeker Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center at 710 Market St., is hosting an open house Jan. 8 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Executive Director Stephanie Kobald, Marketing and Tourism Coordinator Kathy Hockett and Administrative Assistant and Membership Coordinator Kris Deines will be on hand to discuss chamber member benefits and how to customize and utilize those benefits for individual businesses. Chamber members can also renew memberships and pick up their 2019 Meeker calendars. There will be a drawing to win membership benefits. Appetizers and desserts are provided from Chamber members Blanco Cellars & The Little Cheese Shop and Ma Famiglia’s.
It will be an opportunity to get to know new chamber employees Hockett and Deines and welcome them into—or back into, in Deines case—the community. Hockett will be reviving the marketing and tourism position with her previous experience as a parks and recreation director and longtime substitute teacher. She has a lifetime of familiarity in Northwest Colorado having lived in Rifle, Craig and Hayden and is looking forward to making her home here in Meeker. She loves that it’s a place that’s family oriented and where the people genuinely care for each other.
“Meeker is a wonderful small town that has a lot of great things going for it and many wonderful activities to offer. I just want to help and be a part of this wonderful community. As the new tourism and marketing coordinator, it is my goal to promote Meeker and all it has to offer, including businesses, tourism, recreation, events and more. I would like to give other people the experience of community that Meeker has given to me,” Hockett said. In her free time she enjoys her two adult children, OHV riding, snowmobiling, country music, scrapbooking and rustic crafts.
Kris Deines is the other new face at the chamber. She and her husband Chad moved back into the area last summer. Her husband graduated from Meeker High School and the Deines previously lived in Meeker for four years after getting married. They’ve been away 21 years but it’s always been a place they have wanted to come back to, so when the opportunity presented itself they did just that.
“We love Meeker and are so happy to be back. It’s been great,” Deines said. She organizes the Meeker Market events along with other events throughout the year. She also coordinates the chamber’s membership services and helps businesses utilize all of the benefits the chamber has to offer. They both enjoy exploring in their Razor and being outdoors, entertaining and spending time with family and friends.
By EMMA VAUGHN | [email protected]
