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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 11, 2020)
10A | SATURDAY, JULY 11, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS BUSINESS BEAT 541-997-3128 290 Highway 101, Florence, OR 97439 www.FlorenceChamber.com www.facebook.com/fl orenceoregon www.twitter.com/FlorenceOrCoast July 11, 2020 From the Director’s Desk Welcome New Members! By Bettina Hannigan Chamber Executive Director BUSINESS PARTNER MEMBERSHIP Florence in Bloom 1234 Rhododendron Dr. 541-997- 5391 We’re a local Florence, Oregon fl orist proudly serving the area for over 15 years with a lovely variety of fresh fl owers and creative gift ideas to suit any style or budget. www.fl orenceinbloom.com “Not all those that wander are lost.” Th is poem from JRR Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Rings is incredibly relevant today. Our world is wandering through this COVID crisis with limited vision, resources and hope. Maybe we feel (yes, I said feel) like we’re Sniff & Scurry in “Who Moved My Cheese”. Well it’s better to be Sniff and Scurry than Hem and Haw. We’re going to take a wrong turn now and then; it’s okay to turn around go back and try a diff erent route. As we scurry about to fi nd new ways to get cheese, the hardest part is not to grow weary. How do we do that? We protect ourselves. Th at sounds a bit defensive – it is! We have a very important asset that will help us survive and thrive, you, you’re the asset. You need to be warriors, prepared to fi ght the fi ght, defending yourself and attacking your enemy. Are you protecting your assets? Physically – take care of your body, keep it well fueled with rest and proper nutrition. Mentally – where’s your helmet? Are you protecting the motherboard from too much nonproductive information? I had a friend once that said, “You can’t control what comes into your mind, but you can control what stays there.” Too much negative input disables the positive and creative juice. Emotionally – Our feelings are important, but we need to remember they’re not always logical or correct. Th ey can easily become the tail that wags the dog. We need to think about our feelings (yes, even you manly men!) Florence Wealth Strategies Florence Area 503-542-9432 Insurance Strategies, Investment Strategies, Business Owners, Retirement Income Planning, Group Benefi ts, Business Succession Planning, Estate Planning advisors.massmutual.com/kevin-r- kirkpatrick – analyze them and make sure they’re working for you, not the other way around. Th ey can be very sneaky, draining our asset without even being seen. How about attacking the enemy? First step – fi nd it. What exactly are we fi ghting against? Is it the product of the enemy or the heart of it? Sometimes it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. Can you stand back for a moment and see the big picture. I’m fairly sure there’s CHANGE in your future. Th e full poem referred to above goes like this: All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; Th e old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fi re shall be woken, A light from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken, Th e crownless again shall be king. Are you on autopilot on the same old road? Or do you know where you want to go and need more help getting there? Maybe you need to change your destination; have you evaluated your actual projections? Th is fi ght can be won, although maybe not the way you’re going. Be willing to wander a bit, be open to change and diff erent ways of doing things. Maybe a complete redirection is the answer, be brave and remember necessity is the mother of invention. Th e Chamber has resources to help you through this process, one on one counseling, fi nancial guidance, help with new online and digital tools and much more. We can do hard things #TOGETHER. Business Matters: Business As Unusual By Russ Pierson Chamber Board Past President To state the obvious, these are decidedly not the days of “busi- ness as usual”. We fi nd ourselves desperately tying to claw our way out of a pandemic-related quarantine that has spelled fi nancial ruin for many individuals, families and businesses. And we are doing so in the throes of political division and not in- frequent civil unrest. Each business, every individual must fi nd their way to whatever the new normal looks like in this liminal period of re-opening—but clearly we are not there yet. Still, there are some common things we need to do—both as individuals and as members of our community. Th e touchstone that intersects all of these elements is trust. As individuals, we must be re- sponsible members of society. We live in a beautiful bubble that has largely protected us from an outbreak of CO- VID-19, but as a region that depends mightily on tourism (and scads of visi- tors from metro areas) to propel our economy, and as a well-known haven for retirees where the median age hov- 2019-2020 Corporate Underwriters Drift wood Shores Resort Th ree Rivers Casino Resort TR Hunter Real Estate Distinguished Sponsors 101 Th ings to Do Magazine Aileen Sapp, Broker TR Hunter Real Estate Banner Bank Bi-Mart Burns’s Riverside Chapel Christina Voogd, Principal Broker Berkshire Hathaway Coast Radio Fred Meyer Stores John’s Construction and Painting Korando Dental Group Lofy Construction Oregon Pacifi c Bank PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center Sea Lion Caves Spruce Point Assisted Living Th e Siuslaw News Be sure to thank these members for their investment in our community! ers around 60, we need to be circum- spect and follow current guidelines in public—if not for ourselves, then for the health and well-being of others. As businesses, we have to demon- strate that we are opening and operat- ing with the public trust in mind. Th at means keeping current on best practices that may change as we continue to learn more about the coronavirus—and duti- fully implementing those best practices to ensure our customer’s confi dence. We have to teach ourselves about disin- fecting our business spaces, practicing social distancing and demonstrating care and professionalism. You have no doubt learned by now that guidelines are ever-changing in this new landscape, and you can go crazy trying to keep up, but there are resources close at hand that are pub- lishing the best information. Th e City of Florence and Lane County both have excellent curated lists of of resources available on their websites. RAIN and the LaneSBDC are doing a remarkable job off ering solid counsel to the busi- ness community. And Bettina Hanni- gan, our Executive Director at the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, sits through countless webinars and briefi ngs while keeping her hand on the pulse of our local businesses. Th at means the Chamber’s webpage, with its COVID-19 Business Resource Hub (available to everyone) is a trustworthy place to fi nd all the guidance you need in these diffi cult times.