Sierra County Chamber Holds Annual General Meeting

DOWNIEVILLE — On Monday, the Sierra County Chamber of Commerce held its mixer and general meeting at the Downieville Community Center. The Sierra County Chamber is a County-wide organization composed of businesses, individuals, and organizations working together to promote Sierra County. The Chamber aims to stimulate and support the local economy.

The President of the Board, Linda Voracek, led the gathering of almost twenty attendees representing various sectors of the business community. Other board members present were Vice President Cindy Haubl, Secretary Rebecca Mooers, Director Jim Westfall, and Visitors Bureau Chair Sonya Meline. Board Treasurer Mike Taylor was unable to attend.

This year, the Chamber highlighted a significant increase in its social media presence. Hiring a branding consultant to update the website and social media, traffic on social media pages went up 300% in the past year. Helping drive that traffic is an upgraded website and app that can be downloaded from Google Play or the Apple App Store. The Chamber also publishes the annual Visitors Guide as a reference for visitors and residents. This year, they printed 6,000 guides, all of which were successfully distributed. In the upcoming year, the Chamber plans to revamp its popular publication. Last year, the Chamber received $45K from the Sierra County Board of Supervisors, most of which went toward producing the Visitors Guide.

The Chamber currently has 68 businesses as members. The organization had previously struggled to track down renewal checks from businesses, but this year, they introduced online registration and renewal to simplify the process. Business membership costs $100 per year, and benefits include advertising in the Visitors Guide, on the chamber website, and through social media. Members can register at sierracountychamber.com. The Chamber is also looking for another board member, as Cindy Haubl will be taking a hiatus. The organization can be contacted via email at info@sierracountychamber.com.