CHAMBER NEWS

Anna Chamber The advocates for its members

Members of the Greater Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors are from left: Pete Cain, Dr. Jan Wheat, Susan Jones, Lisa Biddle, Tiffany Terry, Ruth Akana, Jesse Villarreal, Kari Heatherly, President/CEO Kevin Hall and Michael Mixson.

The Greater Anna Chamber of Commerce has been putting its advocacy into action during the COVID-19 pandemic. While this is an ever-changing time for business and community, the Chamber has worked hard to cement the foundation the Anna Chamber's role in advocacy. We are advocating for our members in our city, county, state and federal government.

We work closely with our city to make sure our businesses understand the guidelines in regards to social distancing and consumer safety, as well as, by encouraging our city leadership to actively listen to our business owners’ needs. Greater Anna Chamber President/CEO Kevin Hall helped produce and co-star in the City of Anna's first video on COVID-19. This included partnering with the city of Anna mayor and city emergency management coordinators, as well as, the Anna ISD superintendent and staff.

To help our community, we developed safe and family-friendly activity and we spearheaded our Chalk the City initiative. This is where citizens were encouraged to create chalk drawings on their driveways and sidewalks with encouraging messages for those on the front lines of COVID-19 including first responders, nurses and the grocery store workforce.

We also created both a downloadable flyer and spreadsheet containing the restaurant, grocery store, churches and essential businesses of Anna. The spreadsheet is updated as needed and shows their hours, phone number, delivery and take out options, as well as, social media links. This helps our community to shop local and support our business owners who have been immediately affected by this pandemic.

For our current and future Chamber members we shifted from in-person networking to online networking via webinars. This keeps our members informed

About the resources available locally, as well as encourages them to stay connected to each other while maintaining social distancing guidelines. This has been a successful way for our members to continue spreading the word on their businesses. We average about 20 members and guests on each webinar. When social distancing regulations change, and we are allowed to go back to in-person networking, we plan to keep offering these online networking opportunities. That way our members can choose between the two activities or partake in both.

On a county and state level, our Chamber has been monitoring both videos from elected leaders and written Executive Orders. Then we break down this information into easier to understand messages which are shared with

Greater Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors are from left: back row, Kavanski Morrison, Charles Miller, Evelyn Miller; middle row, Jennifer Bone, Robert Franze, Andy Torres, Linda Ahl, Meca Hampton; front row, Susan Jones, Jenifer Florence, Amelia Keith, Hazel Attaway and President/CEO Kevin Hall.

our chamber members and community via email and social media.

We are in talks with staff from offices of U.S. Congressman Van Taylor, U.S. Congressman John Ratcliffe and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz almost daily. This includes our advocacy for financial help for business and nonprofit members including Economic Injury Disaster Loans and the Paycheck Protection Program. We have helped our members file for these programs and to be connected with the Small Business Administration to receive direct answers for our members’ questions. In addition, we have helped community members follow up on unemployment benefits.

The Anna Chamber has been investing in President/CEO Kevin's chamber knowledge by helping him attend the Institute for Organizational Management (IOM) classes. IOM is a degree initiated by the U.S. Chamber of Greater Anna Chamber President/CEO Kevin Hall Commerce which connects chamber leaders from around the country via educational classes directed for chambers of commerce. Kevin has completed three out of four years of his IOM degree and is the president of his class. As such, he has been keeping his classmates connected by conducting webinar meetings weekly. During these meetings, his classmates are able to check in with one another and share ideas, concerns and success stories in a confidential environment. Classmates include other chamber President/CEOs and lead staff from chambers of commerce in Alaska, South Dakota, Iowa, Montana, Colorado, California and, of course, Texas.

To learn more about the Greater Anna Chamber of Commerce and how we can support your business or organization visit our website www.GreaterAnnaChamber.com.

ABOUT THE ANNA CHAMBER

The Greater Anna Chamber of Commerce is managed by a lead group of volunteers known as the Board of Directors. These individuals are members of the Anna Chamber through their businesses or employers. They help guide the Chamber year-round and are crucial to successes in advocating for members.

In addition, another volunteer group serves as Ambassadors. These are Chamber members like the Board of Directors who help the Chamber stay in contact with members year round. They are an integral part of conducting Chamber activities.

President/CEO Kevin Hall credits this group of leaders with the Chamber’s ability to have successful fundraising events such as the Annual Awards Banquet.

Hall is in his fourth year heading up the Anna Chamber and says he loves every minute of it. He’s from Anna and is related to a good number of Anna residents. He has a heart for helping people while improving on and growing with the Chamber. He is a perfect fit for the position he holds.

The Chamber office is at 312 North Powell Parkway in Anna and Hall may be reached at 972-924-8533 or by email at kevin@ greaterannachamber.com. Also the Chamber’s website is www. GreaterAnnaChamber.com and more information may be found on the Chamber’s Facebook page @GreaterAnnaChamber.

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As requests came in, Mrs. Burk set up sanitary 3D printed face shield assembly stations, and production began. At the same time, students and Mrs. Rodriguez were making fabric masks at their homes. Meanwhile, Health Science teacher Dr. Nicholas Mitchell began an inventory of the various CTE PPE that were in storage. “During the process, it really became a collaborative effort,” says Mrs. Burk, “that included help from STEM Coordinator Brayden Bunting, Ag Mech teacher Jeff Morris, AHS IT Specialist Stephanie Underwood, and Administrative Assistant Heather Mackey to Anna students help in help troubleshoot and assemble the face shields to help community healthcare workers and first responders.” fight against COVID-19 Mrs. Burk shared updates via the Makerspace Facebook page, and community members and businesses started to reach out. “One of Photo and Story by ANNA HIGH SCHOOL STAFF curbside pickup for these students to check out the Makerspace Club sewing machines, and remember is that the community of Anna really showed that they can come together to partner E arly in our at-home learning process, Anna ISD Makerspace Integration Technology Specialist Emily Burk she set up mask drop-off times. On the day of curbside sewing machine pickup, while in the Makerspace lab, Mrs. Burk began thinking, “We have this fabricawith the school, staff, students, and city to help our heroes on the frontlines,” Mrs. Burk says. “I am so very proud of the AHS students and staff that stepped up to help in ways they could. posted the “Make a Mask” challenge to ention equipment that could legitimately help I really hope that although students cannot be courage Anna High School Makerspace Club our frontline workers, so we have to test these in the Makerspace, they see that they can still students and staff to create masks as acts of 3D printed face shields out.” With the Anna help from home and they see how beneficial kindness during the stress of the COVID-19 ISD Makerspace 3D printers, some donated the equipment in the Makerspace can be for pandemic. Little did Mrs. Burk know that materials, and some old overhead transparency industry and manufacturing.” this challenge would not only be accepted but sheets, she began testing. Once she got a couple Only two weeks after the original idea, would take off into something much bigger of face shields made, she reached out to CTE Mrs. Burk and Mr. Mackey began delivering for healthcare workers and first responders. Coordinator Theodore Mackey and Executive the PPE kits around the community — Pate

The Anna ISD connection really began Director of Secondary Education Jennifer Rehabilitation, Anna Fire Department, Melissa when AHS Spanish teacher Martha Rodriguez Kelley to present the idea. Physical Therapy. There are more deliveries to saw and accepted the challenge of completing They wanted a way to give back to the local come, including to Anna Family Healthcare 50 fabric masks. She eventually donated the healthcare businesses and organizations that and other businesses with essential employees. fabric masks to a local healthcare group with 20 do so much for Anna ISD CTE. Together the Makerspace Club leader and senior Noah employees. three devised a plan to offer personal protective McElwey has joined in on the efforts by print

Around the same time, Mrs. Burk noticed equipment (PPE) kits consisting of 3D printed ing at his home on his own 3D printer. When that three makerspaces around the world were shields and fabric masks. They created a form to deliveries are complete, the Makerspace Club posting pictures of 3D printed face shields. assess the needs of local healthcare workers and and CTE hope that Anna students, staff, and Mrs. Burk reached out to three groups to see first responders. Mr. Ted Mackey, with the help local community members continue to help if they would be willing to share their designs: of Anna Chamber of Commerce President the essential workers who are keeping us safe, Inksmith, an educational technology company Kevin Hall, was able to send the forms to local stocked with groceries, and healthy during the in Canada; TX/RX Labs, a nonprofit Makeremployers. COVID-19 crisis. the most beautiful takeaways I will forever nity Fight Against COVID-19 Malaysia, a Facebook group. Two of the three labs shared their source — Prusa, a 3D printing company in Czechoslovakia — and the other shared its newly added Instructable design. Around the same time, three Makerspace Club students, Isabella Wassom, Victoria Aragon-Marcial, and Bianca Dickenson, volunteered to sew fabric masks. Mrs. Burk set up One of the most beautiful takeaways I will forever remember is that the community of Anna really showed that they can come together to partner with the school, staff, students, and city to help our heroes on the frontlines,” Mrs. Burk says. “ 22