Chamber Article 4-24-08

Spring Cleaning Dates Announced

By Jim Sellers, Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce

A big thanks to those who joined us for the trip to Oklahoma City for the Small Business Day at the State Capitol. Chamber President Judy Florida, Harbors View; Michelle Robertson, Chronicle of Grand Lake; Kelly Rice, PSO; Tiffany McKibben, McKibben Realty and Holly Moore, GRDA made for an effective and fun group. This event was presented by the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce and hosted by our Lt. Governor, Jari Askins. We had a chance to visit with our area members of the legislature and get an update on issues that affect Small Businesses in our state.

One of the legislator issues affecting many of us around the pond was a bill that would change the smoking laws again. After conferring with the Oklahoma Restaurant Association, which helped form the current law, it was agreed that smoking would be banned in all public buildings. It would exclude those restaurants that built a separate smoking room. They would be able to have smoking until 2013. At this time the bill did not get a hearing on the floor, so it will probably not come up again this year. As you can well believe, it will probably appear again. This report was given to the Oklahoma Restaurant Association Board of Directors Meeting last week by their lobbyist, Grand Lake’s own Benny Vanatta.

Back to WATER ISSUES: Last Tuesday Larry Herrelson called a meeting at Langley City Hall to discuss concerns about the Water Watch Program. Currently there are not enough volunteers to help with the water testing. One of the communities that could possibly help is the city of Langley. The city council will consider providing a staff member to be one of the monitors. Joe Harwood was present at the meeting and will be presenting a request to the Marina owners about help with the testing. We have spoken to a couple of individuals that could possibly assist with the program and they are interested in learning more.

The time commitment for this project is from two to fours hours, one day a month. For those testing at docks, less time will be required, since the depth of the water determines the time. This is because a reading is taken by a hand-held computer taking a reading at every meter of depth. The in-lake sites take more time to get to the location and they are usually deeper than those taken at docks. So, if you have been looking for a great reason to get out on the water year around, this could be just the thing for you. There is some training required. It could be given by Larry Love, a long time Grand Laker, formerly with Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative. If you have any interest in this necessary effort you can contact Sonja Raye by e-mail : Sonja@grandlakefun.com

It is time for Spring Clean-Up around the Lake. On May 10^th Shoreline Cleanup will happen around the Pond. The Chamber and its Ambassador and Membership Committees will gather at The Bistro in Cleora at 9:00 a.m. and tackle the north end of Duck Creek. This area always needs attention. A good cleanup will help the area look a lot better for the hundreds of guests and residents headed to the Gran Tara area as well as the Bird Island folks. Come and help us make Grand Greater and Cleaner.

The very next weekend, the Chamber is teaming up with the South Grand Lake Lyons Club to pick up on another entry way to the lake. The Lyons club will take the two miles west of the Langley city limits and the Chamber will pick up one mile north and one mile south of the 82 – 28 intersection. This group will meet in front of Reasor’s; get our bags and PICK IT UP! The start time is the same, at 9:00 a.m. Come and join the fun and do a good deed. Our thanks to Tiffany Green of Pier 13 for her help in getting us organized.

The Chamber board agreed last week to bring back the Corporate Challenge Golf outing and this will happen in June, so get to the driving range and gear up for a fun event. Also in June, we will sponsor a Poker Run that will involve lots of stops around the lake.

Mark your calendars early for next month’s Membership Meeting to be held at Arrowhead Yacht club. Our program will be a presentation from the Labor Commissioner of Oklahoma, Lloyd Fields. This will be your best chance to get all the right information about the laws that govern our employee relations. The date is May 22, 2008, at 11:30 a.m.