Today’s program was offered by Chamber of Commerce President Lewis Murray.

Lewis divided his talk into 3 segments:

1.    A brief personal history – Lewis is a third generation Californian who grew up in Seal Beach. His family was in the jewelry business, which led him to open up his jewelry business in Lake Arrowhead, after moving to the mountains in 1982. He became the Chamber President in 2002 after deciding to leave the retail business.

2.    Tour de Lake Arrowhead: Lewis described the upcoming Tour program – It is a 50-50 partnership with the Park District designed to raise awareness for our area, and hopefully provide lots of publicity and revenue for our local businesspeople.

There are 3 courses for the contestants:

          Easy: 10 miles

          Moderate: 27 miles

          Full Boat: 41 miles.

Lewis mentioned to watch for a brief road closure on Highway 189 between the Village and Blue Jay on race day.

A number of people are helping by sponsoring the event including our own John Harrison and Harvey (red sign) Durand.

Lewis mentioned that they are in need of a few people to help with the event, and he would appreciate any volunteers.

3.    The mission of the Chamber is to “Promote a vibrant Economy for its Members.” There are three main areas:

a.    Governmental affairs – Chaired by Carol Banner

b.    Networking to further good relationships and business.

c.    Marketing

Marketing is probably the most visible, with many events for the whole community. Revenues for the CofC come from a number of places including 18% of the local bed tax, along with all sorts of events and fundraisers:

A few events:

          Citizen of the Year

          Home Improvement Expo

          Home Tour

          Community Breakfast

          Taste of Lake Arrowhead

          Holiday Luncheon

          And MANY others.

Lewis thanked the group for his welcome, and invited everyone to check out their new website – and to come to the events!