COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
C H A M B E R
| JANUARY 14, 2021 | 9A
N E W S L E T T E R
Th e Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce promotes economic vitality through advocacy and collaboration with its members and the larger community.
to make things better and willingness to
show up and work hard. You simply will
not fi nd two harder workers than Candace
and Danny.
Ruth Linoz is insightful and well-
spoken and has served as a Greeter and
Chamber board secretary for many
years. Her leadership has been an asset
to the Chamber and the value of her
contributions to community planning,
events and Chamber business discussions
cannot be understated.
Gary Manly has been so patient. This year
has required us to change and rechange
our budget to refl ect the spending based
on the pandemic and our move to our
Main Street location. He did a great job
in explaining the budget and helping me
to move the funding around to refl ect the
spending. Gary has also been a creative
resource for marketing and promotion. We
will continue to work with Gary and the
Sentinel. I appreciate his dedication and
hard work.
I have my experiences with these board
members, but Travis Palmer spent years
with them. I reached out to Travis to share
his favorite memories:
Candace and Danny Solesbee – You must
write about them as a pair because they are
nearly inseparable. When you need help,
they show up ready to work and usually
bring a workforce of other volunteers with
them. If that is not enough, they’ll usually
even host the after party when the work
is done.
Candace’s love for Cottage Grove is
obvious from the fi rst minute you speak
to her. From the moment she joined
the board, she was both eager to learn
and willing to contribute her time and
talent to make Cottage Grove’s business
community thrive.
Danny was initially “volun-told” by
Candace that he was joining the board
with her and he quickly ascended the
ranks due to his positive attitude, desire
Judd Van Gorder has spent more time
on the Chamber board and in Chamber
committees than almost anyone in Cottage
Grove. He was always the fi rst to raise
his hand when I needed a volunteer and
he basically counted as two volunteers
because he would inevitably bring his wife
Sharon along with him. He never minced
his words and you always knew what he
was thinking. One of my favorite things
about Judd is that he would often trick
people into thinking he was asleep during
board meetings but would suddenly chime-
in to a conversation and you’d realize he
was listening the whole time.
Gary Manly is one of those people who
you always want to have on your board
or in your committee. I could always
count on him to show up and contribute
in a meaningful way.
He provided
immeasurable support to the chamber both
through his volunteerism and through the
partnership that we had with The Sentinel.
He was also a great sounding board for
me whenever I wanted to talk about a new
idea.
I think you will agree. We create a family.
The Cottage Grove Area Chamber of
Commerce Board is revolving. We have
various talents and that is what makes our
Board of Directors a solid representation
of the Cottage Grove businesses and
community.
Thank you, Danny, Candace, Ruth, Judd
and Gary, for everything.
2021 Board of Directors
The current Cottage Grove Area Chamber
of Commerce Board of Directors will vote
in the new 2021 Board of Director’s on
January 20, 2021. We are lucky to have a
wonderful list of people. We will share the
results of the vote and introduce them in
the next Chamber Newsletter.
2021 Chamber Ambassadors
Ruth Linoz, Jessica Benner, Debbie
Chalmers, Alyssa Gomez, Susan
Jeppesen, Valerie Nash, Linda Trombly,
and Linda Lazar
The Cottage Grove Chamber of
Commerce Ambassadors recently had
the rewarding experience of participating
with Community Sharing and the Tree of
Joy program Christmas food box and gifts
distribution, on December 21 from Trinity
Lutheran Church. It was impressive to
see the generosity of our community and
inspiring that so many people volunteered
their time to facilitate this day of giving.
A total 484 food boxes were prepared and
538 gifts for children were donated. This
successful event involved Community
Sharing, Tree of Joy program also Be
your Best and the Rural Organizing
Project.
The Ambassador Monthly Meeting is
virtual and held the 1st Thursday of the
month at 5:30 pm.
Anyone interested in attending please
contact:
Ruth Linoz
(541) 942-0456 x3
New Membership Guide
As the renewal date approaches, we
realize cash may be tight for some of
our members. Now more than ever, our
members need our staff working tirelessly
as the voice of our businesses and all
other members. We have redesigned
our membership levels and are now
encouraging members to design their
own membership based on their business
need. Please visit our website for more
information.
Business After Hours
January Business After Hours will be
hosted by Cottage Grove Area Chamber
of Commerce on January 21st at 5:30pm.
If you would like to participate and
donate a door prize, give us a call 541-
942-2411.
2020 Website Analytics
14,706 – Member Page Visits
46,071 – Member Pages came up in
search results
22,540 – Event page views
Welcome New Members
Simple Media Images
1100 Holly Ave
(678) 559-6084
alx@simplemediaimages.com
http://simplemediaimages.com
KMTR-NBC 16
3825 International CT Springfi eld
(541) 337-3865
Kathiedougherty@kmtr.com
http://Kmtr.com
Woodard Family Foundation
40 S 6th St, Cottage Grove
1-541-942-2458
https://www.woodardff.com
Linda Lazar
Friend of the Chamber and Newest
Ambassador
Thank you to our 2020 Enhanced Members
