Feb. 28 marked the anniversary of the first case of COVID-19 in Oregon, stirring up more than just a virus.
“The ‘new normal’ for our organization is meeting virtually twice a month,” said Debbie Voepel, acting president of Stayton Area Rotary. “As a club, we’re using Zoom for meetings and events. So, although the number of meetings per month has been cut in half, we are still able to see one another and conduct business.”
Voepel said using Zoom was challenging at the start, especially for less tech-savvy Rotarians.
“We first had to establish an account with Zoom that lasted more than 45 minutes,” she said. “The benefit has allowed us to gather virtually regardless of where someone might be, continue the club, and allow Stayton Area Rotary to still give back to the community.”
Membership has not been affected, she said.
“After the wildfires, our club was able to supply community members with mattresses, cook stoves and wheelbarrows as a way to give back,” she said.
Steve Poisson, with Revitalize Downtown Stayton, reported his group was more fortunate than some in that their mission could be adapted.
“We plan to return to the ‘old normal’ once the pandemic is controlled,” Poisson said. “Since we have very little overhead, we were not required to reinvent ourselves to survive.”
Poisson said RDS has been able to continue with organizational and promotional projects, and only events have been affected.
“But we were able to proceed with our Walk of Hearts event since no contact was required,” he said. “Other events have just been put on hold.”
RDS also conducts virtual meetings via Zoom, with an occasional small in-person meeting. Poisson said the new gatherings work to conduct business, but lack the brief, chance contacts that can often be productive.
“It is definitely a challenge to team-build online, since we aren’t able to have the social time that helps to build relationships,” he said. “We continue to have a core group of volunteers and have even had some new people join our organization. We are lucky that people have had some time and motivation to work toward our mission.
“We are all suffering from pandemic fatigue, and look forward to social contact,” he added. “We are working on a film version of our annual Ghost Tour in case the in-person version still can’t happen this October. We are excited that we are able to create this additional new tool and look forward to using it in many ways in the future. Something that would not have been thought of had it not been for the pandemic.”
Mike Long, president of the Santiam Canyon Youth Benefit Golf Tournament and the Canyon Senior Center, said “new normal” is to eliminate all group meetings, communicating instead by email and free conference calling.
“We had to cancel the 2020 youth benefit golf tournament due to the restrictions in place for COVID,” Long said. “Our plans for the 2021 event have been scaled back with a cap on the number of players at 104 – down from 124 in 2019.”
Additional changes were the elimination of special treats, a catered sit-down lunch, no more raffle baskets, and switching to an online auction.
“We are still in talks with Mallard Creek Golf Course regarding what other portions of our event will need to be cut out,” he said. “We have lost several major sponsors dues to the COVID as well as several that were destroyed by the Labor Day fire. Since we are unable to schedule personal visits to potential sponsors, recruiting new sponsors is more difficult.”
Long credited the success of the 2019 event and the strong support of several their sponsors for being able to grant scholarships and funding assistance grants for youth programs this year.
The Canyon Senior Center canceled many fundraising activities, closed the senior center building, and held board meetings less frequently via conference calls.
“All events – soup lunches, bingo, bake sales, game nights – have been canceled,” Long said. “With most fundraising events canceled, we are having difficulty meeting our fixed costs. Membership is declining, and we are not able to support other nonprofit events.”
Several clubs, including Red Hats and the local garden club, have had no meetings since the pandemic started.
“The facilities we used are not able to have groups that will allow that many people,” said Margie Forrest a member of both groups. “Also, many of the members are elderly and its not a good idea for them to be exposed to anything.”
Although no plans have been made for the restart, Forrest said several members have said they really miss the groups and activities but are not ready to make plans until Governor Kate Brown OK’s resuming normal routines.
Forrest is also a member of the Santiam Hospital Auxiliary, and no fundraising is taking place yet.
The annual scholarship program will be handled with mail-in applications and conference calls for interviews.
“Without the funds that we usually raise with our fundraisers, we will limit how many scholarships will be awarded,” Forrest said. “This virus has really been a financial loss for the Auxiliary so our ability to give more assistance to the hospital and staff and the scholarship program is very limited. As of now, no plans are being made to begin regular meetings until further notice.”
In response to the pandemic, the North Santiam Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors extended all chamber memberships to June 30. In its recent newsletter, the board said “We understand how the COVID-19 restrictions and wildfires are affecting our local businesses. Our members have shown outstanding community support, and we want to thank all of you for your tenacity and creativeness while weathering this unprecedented economic and personal storm.”
Carmélle Bielenberg, president and CEO of the Stayton Sublimity Chamber & Regional Visitor Center, said the organization has had “to pivot, developing new systems to expand marketing” for local businesses and “to provide additional resources to help those businesses be successful.”
To help local businesses hard hit by challenges this year and last, the Chamber took a number of steps, including developing an EAT LOCAL listing on its website, staytonsublimitychamber.org; moving its weekly networking meeting to an online virtual platform; providing grants in partnership with Stayton Area Rotary to help businesses purchase equipment needed to meet changing COVID guidelines; expanding use of social media platforms for marketing and business advocacy; offering appointments for those interested in resource materials from the Visitor Center; and offering the option of in-person or Zoom appointments for current and prospective member discussions.
“We are tentatively planning events for late spring – end of year, making back-up plans to accommodate current guidelines, with the hope that as the vaccine becomes more prevalent, our state will begin to loosen the guidelines for community gatherings,” Bielenberg said.
COVID-19 has forced businesses, that might have previously put off the idea of developing a website or utilizing social media or online ordering platforms as a business driver, to reconsider these options and expand their customer base by doing so, Bielenberg said.
“It has really required businesses to be more creative and adaptable,” she said. Bielenberg said the Chamber has stepped up to take care of its member businesses and the business community as a whole, through expanded communications, advocacy, financial resources and partner collaboration.
“As a result, we have seen a 95 percent member retention rate, despite the financial challenges that businesses have faced this last year and have added an additional 20+ business members over the last year,” she said.
“We are dedicated to continuing to support and advocate for our local business community. Our organization has become more relevant than ever, in light of all our region has endured over the last year including COVID-19 challenges, wildfires and inclement weather.”
Bielenberg invites all area businesses and organizations to consider partnering with the Stayton Sublimity Chamber, which serves businesses in Stayton, Sublimity, Aumsville, Turner, Scio and the Santiam Canyon.
“Collectively we are a stronger voice for local business,” she said.
