By Justin Aufdermauer
Executive Director
There is no getting around it: Times are challenging right now. Everyone is feeling the weight and the stress of staying at home; home schooling and distance learning for the rest of the academic year; going to work when you know you’re putting yourself and your family at risk; and on it goes. No one is immune to the restrictions, changes, and challenging of life right now – not even the Chamber. It’s no longer “business as usual” as we also have had to adjust to all the changes and shift our focus on what we would “normally” be doing to what is needed.
One thing we need right now more than ever is positivity. It is so easy to get caught up in the bad news, the curves, and the projections. It’s easy to get frustrated by the inconveniences, or, on the other side of that coin, it’s easy to be frustrated by people who aren’t sheltering at home the same way you are. We get it.
Here is the thing though: We are all in this together. Most people most of the time are doing the best they can. One of the best things we can all do right now is focus on the silver linings. That’s our goal at the Chamber, and we hope you will follow along with us. Every week we are posting tips and “Quarantine Life Hacks” on our Facebook page to remind our community not to sweat the small stuff. There are good things happening too, and they are worth celebrating.
We’ve been able to quickly implement some of the good things here at the Chamber – things like our #TillamookTakeout challenge, which is helping our restaurants and bars get through this tough time, and giving our community something to do and look forward to every week. We’re seeing such positive conversation happening in our Facebook group: Tillamook Coast Takeout + Delivery as people are stepping up to the challenge. More restaurants are offering delivery than before (another positive), and recently were awarded a $7,500 grant from Northwest Oregon Works to enhance those services for some local restaurants.
Thanks to our amazing partnership with the Tillamook Coast Visitors Association not only are we able to host weekly giveaways totaling over $2,500, we’ve also created some other “challenges” on our Facebook group (because let’s face it, the time we’re all spending on social media these days is off the charts) with giveaways that support some of our essential organizations like Senior Meals on Wheels, CARE, and Oregon Food Bank. Go check it out if you haven’t already, and help us give away $500 in gift certificates to this program that is taking care of our seniors during this challenging time.
And, feel free to share our posts with your own friends and followers because we need to be taking care of each other right now more than ever. We may be isolated, but we can still check in, and social media is a perfect way to do that.
As always, if you have any questions for the Chamber of Commerce, you can email me directly at justin@tillamookchamber.org or call our office at 503.842.7535. Our offices are open from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., Monday – Friday, and we are available by phone and email from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.