By Dixon Bledsoe
Many people are going to enjoy the beauty and wonder of the Christmas season by kicking off their celebrations with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting at Silverton’s Town Square Park this Friday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m.
Amazingly enough, most people believe the city of Silverton is responsible for the magic of the evening. It is actually the Silverton Chamber of Commerce and its 266 member businesses that bring the event to town, in cooperation with the city which offers up the park to Santa’s magic dust and the fire district which delivers Santa.
Primarily funded by membership dues, and fundraisers, the Silverton Chamber and its members also the beautiful flower baskets that fill the downtown in summer.
See all the shops wonderfully decorated for the holidays with garland and wreaths? Many of those garlands and wreaths were sold by the chamber for three reasons – making the town festive for the holidays, raising a very small amount of funds for other chamber activities, and shopping local (the greenery comes from a local Christmas tree farm).
Are you familiar with the Shop Hop, where people are asked to go into participating stores, get a passport stamped, and then be entered to win some fabulous prizes for Christmas? You guessed it – the chamber.
How about the daylight hour Goblin Walk, where the littlest super heroes and princesses score big time with treats from participating merchants? Chamber again, where its business members volunteer to keep their businesses opens longer so the little ones can be safe, warm and victorious in their quest for candy.
Did you open a new business recently? Well the Silverton Ambassadors and their “handlers,’ the Chamber, were probably there with giant scissors for the ribbon-cutting, welcome-to-town event.
Did you catch that great speaker talking about economic development and the need for workers skilled in the trades at a luncheon? Your Silverton Chamber of Commerce was the organizer, along with candidate forums, and the networking Merchant Meetings every Wednesday at 8 a.m. in 310 Water Restaurant at Silverton Inn and Suites.
What about that new employer, Forest River, joining other businesses in the Silverton Industrial Park? They are hoping to hire up to 150 workers. That didn’t just happen by chance. It was the result of great teamwork by SEDCOR, the city of Silverton, and you guessed it, the Silverton Chamber of Commerce
What about the fun and excitement of the always popular “Cash Mob” which will go to a local business (members only) and make their financial day (or month) by having a lot of chamber members spend $10 or $20 at that selected business? Once again, the Chamber doing good things.
Year ‘round, the streets of our little hamlet are often packed with tourists, courtesy of many different factors – the city’s charm, historic nature, great downtown, wonderful restaurants, cute and quaint shops, great art, and because of the work of the Silverton Chamber of Commerce and the hard-working professionals at The Oregon Garden. They tout Silverton across the internet, trade magazines, and other media outlets. Busses, trade shows and events don’t just find their way here by accident. Local people make good things happen.
If you enjoy the Tree Lighting, thank the city of Silverton for the use of the park, the Silverton Fire District for hoisting Santa Claus so he can sprinkle the magic dust to light the tree, the musicians – and the Silverton Chamber of Commerce – for the work it does to benefit our community.
