You’ve heard the adage, “Knowledge is power.” Believe it or not, its origin dates back to 1597 when Sir Francis Bacon coined the phrase and published it in his book, “Meditationes Sacrae and Human Philosophy.”
I don’t pretend to be as wise as Sir Francis Bacon, but he certainly had something there with the observation. It was important then, and it remains important today.
At the Durango Chamber, we take pride in fulfilling that adage for our members and the business community. I did the math and realized that your Durango Chamber of Commerce offers 55 varied programs to support and assist businesses. No wonder we always seem to be busy.
Not complaining! We exist to help our business community, so take advantage of the programs we have to offer. (And we continue to survey our members to learn what is most important for our business community – though, don’t wait for a survey, contact the chamber directly with your ideas and needs to help sustain business in this corner of paradise.)
As technology continues to march ahead – and sometimes more rapidly than we’d like – the chamber will offer our 5th annual Tech Knowledge conference on Thursday, March 14, at the DoubleTree Hotel. It’s a full day of mix-and-match breakout sessions, so attendees can select the topics most pertinent to their businesses.
I’m most excited about our keynote speaker, who will formally open the conference at 9 a.m. (though registration and the continental breakfast begin at 8 a.m.) Her name is Gitanjali Rao. She’s a 13-year-old scientist who was named America’s Top Young Scientist as an 11-year-old. Gitanjali has appeared on “Good Morning America,” “Sunday Morning with Willie Geist,” “Jimmy Fallon,” plus has her own “TED Talk” along with many other appearances speaking about her invention that inexpensively detects lead in water. And she’s coming to Durango! You don’t want to miss this.
Reservations required. Register at: www.durangobusiness.org.
Then we come to being an informed voter. This article will be published after our Chamber’s Eggs & Issues Candidates’ Forum was held, but with more than 100 in attendance at the DoubleTree, people learned about the candidates for City Council, as well as ballot question 1-A.
Always remember – and it doesn’t matter your politics – know who and what you’re voting for. Understand candidate backgrounds, platforms and ideas for moving forward, as well as the specifics of a referendum.
Our merchants have very recently seen that City Council can potentially impact business, when council enacted the new sign code. Businesses – pay attention to who you elect to make decisions for the city. We have more issues looming such as budget shortfall, roads, water, affordable housing and the homeless, and more.
And as a head’s up – there will be an election in April for the directors on the La Plata Electric Association Board of Directors. This is the rural electric cooperative that determines the policies for distribution of your electricity (and that includes costs). Again, be informed, know where the candidates stand on utility issues. You can also keep current on LPEA topics at www.lpea.coop.
And here’s another adage for you: “All politics is local.” Keep informed and make a difference.
Jack Llewellyn is executive director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce. Contact him at jack@durangobusiness.org.
