I still find it difficult to get my brain around what we’re living through.
Those who know me know I’m a pretty jovial, social guy, but I’m sorry, folks. It’s gotten to the point that Zoom meetings just don’t cut it. The longer this goes on, the more subtly depressed we’re all getting. We’re social creatures, and isolation is not in our nature.
But we’re here, and the best we can do at the moment is to keep our immune systems and our community strong and look to the future.
I say we all need to “mental floss” every day. Here’s a visual for you: You open up the attic crawl space, and there’s nothing but a wall of cobwebs. Take the time to clear the cobwebs and mental floss!
Get up and get away from the computer. Go outside and stimulate your creative juices – and think about how to face the new business unusual. I’ve been gratified and amazed at how our businesses have been inventive and said, “OK, what do we do to pivot?” (new buzz word from my basketball days). A good example is Honeyville converting its distillery to make Bear’y Clean hand sanitizer. I look forward to seeing a bottle of it at every local business.
Speaking of local businesses ... order your favorite dish from your favorite restaurant, have a picnic and social distance in the great outdoors. You can find a list of restaurants at www.durangobusiness.org.
I also need to give a shout out to Dave Woodruff. Dave manages El Moro and is the local Restaurant Association representative. On top of all that, Dave sends out “the morning update” to our task force, consolidating all the day’s information so we can begin to tackle our next COVID-19 project. Thank Dave when you see him.
To add to the accolades, thanks to more than 80 businesses that stopped by during our mask drive, we have distributed more than 300 masks, 300 buffs, 250 bandannas and 100 hand-sewn masks. During these difficult times, there are always those who pay it forward. Bank of Colorado stepped up and sponsored the purchase of 150 touchless thermometers to be distributed throughout the community by our partners at the Business Improvement District and the Community Foundation.
Your Chamber staff continues to work to assist our businesses – albeit virtually. June 3, we will host a State of the Community (Virtual) Eggs and Issues meeting from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. We look forward to bringing together key individuals to let everyone know how to keep on moving to a bright future. We continue to make all our educational meetings/seminars free of charge thanks to Bank of Colorado and Durango Area Association of Realtors.
How is the Chamber making any money in this time of COVID-19? I’ll leave you with a little teaser, so you can start thinking. Start taking photos of your favorite canine. Let your pooch take you for a walk and snap some candid shots while out and about. (Your pup needs the mental floss, too).
Go outside in the sunshine. Breathe a lot of fresh air. Get some exercise. Do that “mental flossing” and take some time for yourself. Power up for the future.
Jack Llewellyn is executive director of the Durango Chamber of Commerce. Contact him at jack@durangobusiness.org.
