Chamber adds 40 new members

MEEKER — Forty new members have joined the Meeker Chamber of Commerce in 2008.
That brings the total to 200 members, which is a milestone, as far as Executive Director Suzan Pelloni knows.
“Considering, when I started (in July 2006), we had 73 members,” Pelloni said.
She attributed the growth to businesses understanding what the chamber has to offer.
“The word is getting out that we are an advocate for strong business in Rio Blanco County,” Pelloni said. “We take new members year-round, but we do renewals in November.”
Chamber President Margie Joy of Pioneers Medical Center said the membership gain was the result of the chamber being responsive to the needs of local businesses.
“I believe this is the result of the hard work of Suzan Pelloni, Bernie Gantt (immediate past president) and many others to really listen to the members and find creative ways to promote our Meeker area businesses,” Joy said. “I appreciate the support of the members. A strong chamber is an integral part of building and maintaining a strong economy.”
Pelloni said the chamber’s Web site has also helped attract new members.
“Our Web site is very popular with a lot of our businesses,” Pelloni said. “We have a database, which allows all of our members to go in and change details on their listing, and their personal Web site is always linked to ours free of charge.”
The chamber’s Web site also offers an events page, which is available to members and non-members alike.
“We want that to be a community page,” Pelloni said. “We scour everything in the paper and put it on the events page. We want, not just chamber members, but if anybody in the community has something going on, we want to know about it.”
The chamber will have its annual meeting Thursday, Feb. 12.