Alpena’s Chamber of Commerce Holds A Lunch at the Library.
The first Good Mid–Day Lunch of the year held by the Alpena Chamber of Commerce happened early this afternoon, and it gave members the chance to prepare and learn about the fun events coming up in the next few weeks. Alisha Bouchard, Director of Events for the Alpena Chamber of Commerce, said, “Today was our first good midday Alpena lunch of 2023. We host 10 every year, whether it be a lunch or breakfast. We try to alternate every other month. Each one is an hour and a half long and either get breakfast or lunch, and there’s a one hour long program depending on the topic and the topics vary, sponsors vary, locations vary, each one is different. Today we heard about different events that are coming up in Alpena: the Alpena ice fest, brew on the bay, the real fun ice fishing tournament and we had Amazon delivery partner program as our sponsor today and they presented on their new delivery program here in Alpena.”
Not only is the meeting great for learning about what’s going on in the community, but it gives those who attend a chance to branch out and network with other business owners or members of the community. “These events are great for networking. A lot of our business partners, a lot of our members, even community members, don’t necessarily have to be chamber members to attend an event. They love them because they talk to their peers, other people, and run ideas by each other,” said Bouchard. “It is very great for networking. We try to give them as much time and network as possible. Usually there’s about half an hour to 45 minutes before the program starts for people just to talk, and then afterwards they can stay and try as long as they want.”
Anyone can attend the meetings, there being no restrictions on who can attend them, as long as they set a reservation ahead of time. Meeting times can be found on the chamber of commerce’s social media pages. “We released the schedule for the Good Morning Alpena, Good Mid-Day Alpena, like it’s out for the whole year,” said Bouchard. “Our next event coming up is our annual banquet, which is always held the second Thursday in February, so most of them know that. We put it out on our Facebook page, social media, Instagram, and we have a weekly email that we sent it to our members to let them know what we have going on, and they’re always on our website.”
