Howdy, Dublin! We’ve been busy here at the Chamber of Commerce, where I’m serving as Interim Executive Director. In the past several weeks, we have worked:
■ with the Texas Film Commission to promote the use of two local facilities for an upcoming movie site (thank you Julia Broussard and Ben Pate);
■ with local Museums to encourage crosspromotion during community events (thank you Eddy and Jayden Weiss); ■ with local businesses and chamber members to publicize their various events, news and sales (let us know if there is something with which we can help you);
■ with the Army Corps of Engineers and area fishermen to plan the third leg of the Tri Angler Derby fishing tournament to be held this weekend at Sowell Creek of Proctor Lake; and
■ with the Gorman Chamber of Commerce and Developing De Leon Today to plan Dublin’s role in the Sept. 11 “Spin Your Wheels on Hwy. 6” event.
We have arranged with Dublin Bottling Works (YES, they are still in business, it’s just the Soda Shop and the Museum that are currently closed) to display signage that sends Saturday visitors across the street to the Dublin Welcome Center (YES, we are open on Saturdays this summer.) This way, we can capture those visitors’ attention and share with them what is happening each Saturday in and around town. And we won’t have disgruntled folks who have traveled to see DBW leave our fair city unhappy.
In addition, we have gathered a group of volunteers to plan and hold the Sept. 17, 18 and 19 inaugural Hispanic Heritage Festival. Co-chaired by local Chamber Board members Juanita Torres and Sandra Espinosa, the Hispanic Heritage Festival Committee meets each Friday at noon at Dublin City Hall. Please feel free to join us at these weekly meetings; we need many more volunteers to make this event happen.
The Festival will consume much of our time during the coming weeks and we hope to build this into an annual event that draws thousands of visitors to town to spend money with area businesses.
Fiesta 1510 has joined the Texas Department of Agriculture’s Go Texan marketing program, AccelHealth, Things Celtic and the Dublin Economic Development Corp. (EDC) as the initial sponsors for this event. If you would like to serve as a sponsor for the Hispanic Heritage event, please contact the Chamber.
Our business community has benefited from the contributions of summer intern Caroline Wolf, a Tarleton State University Ag Communications major graduating at summer’s end. Caroline,a native of Windthorst, Texas and raised on a dairy farm, brings important knowledge of agriculture and communication skills to her work.
We have been blessed with volunteer help from Rosemary Bencik, who also manages the Keep Dublin Beautiful monthly Dublin Market Days. Rosemary moved to Dublin in 2019, and has a background in accounting and office administration. Her services have been invaluable.
If you see these ladies out and about, please make sure and give them a big thank you for their contribution to our community.
Finally, we have seen an increase in foot traffic into the Welcome Center at 110 S. Patrick and phone calls -- all seeking information about area services, businesses and activities.
My purpose is to renew focus on the business community of Dublin. How does the Chamber best serve our businesses and help them succeed? As always, I thrive off good feedback from which we can grow and improve, so please reach out to me. I’m at 110 S. Patrick and 254-300-6263.