Chamber members weigh in during Zoom meeting

It wasn't exactly Network's Peter Finch yelling out the window, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore!"

But New Mexico Chamber of Commerce members did get to express their concerns and frustrations about coronavirus-related shutdowns and restrictions Monday morning - not Network style, but civilly and with the help of Zoom.

Curry and Roosevelt counties were among 40 chambers throughout the state that participated in Monday's Zoom meeting with Lt. Gov. Howie Morales and other members of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's cabinet.

Businesses are in a strange and rocky time, and there were plenty of matters to discuss at the online meeting.

"We had a chance to express all of these issues around the state," Curry County Chamber Director Ernie Kos said Monday afternoon. "So we're anxious to see if anything comes of it. They did sound receptive but still going back to, 'Health and safety is our priority.'

"They said they were working on what their next move is going to be, and they're going to depend on the Department of Health for those answers."

Among the issues discussed of course were those small-business shutdowns that have been controversial, to put it mildly.

"Hot item, very hot item," Kos said. "They (at the governor's office) understand, but they didn't commit to anything. But they definitely heard from all the chambers."

It's been an interesting, even frenzied, time for the Curry Chamber, with Monday's Zoom meeting just another part of it.

Last Friday, a 40-plus-person business recovery task force established by the Chamber met for the first time via Zoom.

"We discussed a lot of different initiatives and we divided up into teams to figure out how to do this body of work quickly," Kos said.

Among the assignments those teams worked on was writing a letter to Gov. Lujan Grisham.

The task force also discussed resources available through the CARES act, handled marketing and promotion of shopping locally and promoting restaurants, and looked for ways to recognize the community restaurants that, despite their own economic woes, are still bringing food to first-responders and hospitals.

The Chamber and Clovis Industrial Development Corp. has come up with two surveys for local business owners to fill out, the second of which isn't due until April 27, while Elite Business Performance has created a survey for employees, contracted by the Curry Chamber.

The Chamber is also spearheading a letter-writing campaign, urging local small businesses to send correspondence to the governor. Those letters, which will go through the Chamber, are due this Friday.

Many of the Chamber and CIDC initiatives are being copied by other chambers throughout the state.

"I had one guy who's been begging me all (Monday) afternoon to get him information so he can get it to his people," Kos said. "So I'm pretty proud that our staff has been working hard. ... We've been very progressive about working with our businesses."