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Change is a scary word often causing fear and apprehension. There is a big change coming for Canby this summer. The event known as ‘Hat Daze’ will not be held. This decision was made after several months of debate and discussion. I hate to use the term ‘Bang for the Buck’, but that was a major factor in this decision. Some of the other reasons that lead to this action were: 1. opportunity to have more participation with schools in community during a winter event. 2. more and more competition with other towns’ events being held at the same time we held ours which draws less folks to town 3. fewer people willing to help out with events each year causing burn out to those who try to keep things going 4. family time on Father’s Day – conflicts 5. funding – over 100 businesses are listed in Canby and yet less than half choose to pay dues and belong to the Chamber 6. ability to do more than one event with our current funding ability is not possible 7. recent success of the Arctic Blast & Plunge event The purpose of the Chamber of Commerce is to promote Canby. That is our mission and goal. Because of all the above issues and others, we have decided to go forward full force with another winter event – building extensively on the Arctic Blast event. The details and events are in the works, but this will become a much larger all community event. We will never host a Super Bowl or NFL playoff, but we can do a Snow Bowl. There seems to be a void in that time of the year and interest in doing a similar event is desired. We will draw people to Canby at a slow time for our businesses. The possibility of another smaller event to fill the “void” left by the elimination of Hat Daze and all other events can still be held – just not as a main focus and funded event by the Chamber. The details of that are in the works too. Dues letters were recently sent out to all listed businesses in Canby. It is not “a bill” as was heard recently by a board member from a business owner, but a reminder that your financial support is needed to help keep Canby events going. The dues structure was redone about 8 years ago to try and be fair to everyone. It was based on similar dues from area towns. We asked for input from the community while this was being done and the statement/reminder you recently received is from that process. Our monthly meeting schedule is provided in your dues letter. We would like your continued support and cooperation in promoting Canby. Without it, we cannot do our part. Pat Stanley Canby Chamber Co-Chair
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