Chamber calendar forum is deemed successful

Individuals interested in learning about events slated to occur in Alleghany during 2008 can get help from the Chamber of Commerce. A group of about 15 individuals gathered the evening of Jan. 10 in the former county office building to discuss dates of annual events and to schedule new activities. The meeting was to help develop a master calendar of events, a listing that is designed to list events of all sizes from all over the county.

With deadlines for many statewide listings of events in magazines and other publications looming, the Chamber opted to try and get as many listings as possible on the calendar now.

"At this point, we're certainly ahead of where we've been in previous years in laying out what events are taking place in the coming year," Chamber Director Bob Bamberg said. "At the meeting there was some negotiating back and forth about dates for events that I think was helpful. We had a couple of new activities that showed up. We also identified some times of the year when not much is going on as a potential opportunity for groups that are thinking about doing events."

Bamberg said he was so pleased with the meeting that it will become a regular activity sometime around the beginning of the new year.

He apologized that he has not yet posted all the events that were reported, but he cautioned that the Chamber's calendar would never be complete. "People are always calling and e-mailing activities. It will always be a work in progress."

He added, "Having a complete calendar of events in the summer and fall seasons is important to attracting visitors to the community and to keeping local residents from going out of town for activities," he continued.