Uniqueness of Gateway Communities with Megan Curtis

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability and to correct obvious transcription errors while preserving the meaning of the original conversation.

Brandon Burton 00:01.259
Hello, Chamber Champions. Welcome to Chamber Chat podcast. I’m your host, Brandon Burton, and here on the podcast, I introduce you to people and ideas to better help you serve your Chamber members and your community. Today’s guest is Megan Curtis, Executive Director of the Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce. Originally from a small town in Idaho, Megan made Southern Oregon home in 2018 and has been a driving force in the region ever since.

She joined the chamber in 2019 and stepped into the executive director role in 2022. With a background in hospitality and the service industry, Megan brings deep experience in small business support, rural economic development, and sustainable tourism. Her leadership extends across the region through several key roles, including serving as secretary on the Travel Southern Oregon Board.

president of the Illinois Valley Community Development Organization Board and as an active rotarian. Known for her energy, optimism, and passion for community building, Megan is dedicated to creating meaningful connections and helping drive lasting impact throughout the Illinois Valley. When she’s not working to support her community, she enjoys spending time outdoors and making memories with family and friends.

Megan, I’m excited to have you with us today here on Chamber Tap podcast. I’d love to give you an opportunity to say hello to all the Chamber Champions who are out there listening. And if you would share something interesting about yourself so we can all get to know you a little better.

Megan Curtis 01:34.53
Hello, Brandon. Thank you so much for having me and hello, Chamber Champions. So one random thing about me is that I am a twin sister and we were born on Groundhog’s Day. So our entire childhood, you everyone was like, do you celebrate with Punxsutawney Phil? And of course my mom would let us stay home from school on the day if we saw our shadow. So we always saw our shadow. But last year, last year we went ahead and made the pilgrimage to Punxsutawney.

Brandon Burton 01:47.777
Okay.

Brandon Burton 01:54.967
That went by.

Megan Curtis 02:03.862
My sister, my mom, and I, all three of us, so we’re all three Aquarius and it was a wildly chaotic and fun girls trip.

Brandon Burton 02:13.623
That sounds like fun. Yeah, that’s very cool. I love hearing these interesting facts about people. You never know what you’re going to hear. well, if you would. Yeah, yeah, but I love it. That’s great. Well, tell us a little bit about the Illinois Valley Chamber just to give us an idea of the size of the chamber staff.

Megan Curtis 02:21.902
It’s true and that’s pretty random but…

Brandon Burton 02:38.625
budget, scope of work you guys are involved with just to kind of set the stage for our conversation today.

Megan Curtis 02:43.95
Absolutely. So the Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce is a relatively small organization. We’re located in Cave Junction, Oregon, which is Southern Oregon. We’re about 30 minutes from the California border close to the Redwoods. So we have a smaller budget, about 30,000 a year, and around 70 members currently. We did receive last year

Brandon Burton 02:54.455
Okay. Okay.

Megan Curtis 03:10.434
funding through Travel Oregon for our Gateway to the Stars project. So that’s up to $100,000 from them. So that’s big money we’re trying to bring into the Valley.

Brandon Burton 03:18.487
Okay. Yeah, very cool. So we’ll, I’m sure, spend more time talking about that as we get into our conversation today. So do you guys have a tourism focus? Are you strictly chambered? Do you focus on economic development? What’s your focus? Okay.

Megan Curtis 03:36.622
So we have both, yes, we’re both. We do business building workshops and after hours mixers, the ribbon cuttings, the regular chamber activities. And then we are also the destination management slash marketing organization for the city of Cave Junction. And that’s why we work really closely with Travel Southern Oregon. They’re the regional destination management organization for Southern Oregon.

Brandon Burton 03:43.118
Thank

Brandon Burton 03:49.304
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Very good. Yeah, that definitely will help set the stage for our conversation as we focus on the impact of being a gateway community. So we’ll dive into that and what all that means as soon as we get back from this quick break.

Megan Curtis 04:11.48
Yes.

Brandon Burton 04:16.631
All right, Megan, we’re back. As I mentioned before the break, today we’re talking about what the impact is of being a gateway community. So first, tell us what does that mean? What does it mean to be a gateway community?

Megan Curtis 04:29.08
So we are actually known, Cave Junction is known as the gateway to the Oregon Caves. We have a national monument and preserve right here in our backyard. It’s about 20 miles out of town. And we are also the gateway to Crater Lake as well as the Redwoods. So being a gateway community, there are a lot of people that travel through and now we’re just trying to focus on how we get them to stop and stay.

Brandon Burton 04:52.407
And that’s basically the whole idea of the game.

Megan Curtis 04:57.698
We want them to come invest their money in our community, have a great time, make some amazing memories, and then tell everyone they know about it and send them our way.

Brandon Burton 04:58.015
That’s very good.

Brandon Burton 05:07.647
That’s right. That’s right. And then you get on podcasts and stuff like that to help promote it, right? Come visit Cape junction. Yeah.

Megan Curtis 05:10.67
Yes, yes, come see us. We have a beautiful, beautiful outdoor recreation opportunities out here.

Brandon Burton 05:21.247
Yeah, so let’s maybe talk a little bit about that, the outdoor recreation activities. So I know you’d mentioned about the dark sky, dark skies. Tell us about that and.

Megan Curtis 05:33.984
In fact, the Oregon Caves, Oregon Caves is actually a dark sky park through dark sky international. So it would be responsible for the city to, you know, make sure that they’re doing their lighting in a responsible way so as not to impede on Oregon caves designation. And so we’re looking at, hopefully submitting a nomination to dark sky international for the city of cave junction to be a dark sky community. Yeah.

Brandon Burton 06:02.867
Okay, very cool.

Megan Curtis 06:03.734
And then the outdoor recreation here, I mean, we we have pitcher plants out here, Darlingtonias, they’re cobra lilies. And so they’re carnivorous plants. So there’s a really great ven of them that you can see on $8 Mountain Boardwalk Trail. It’s like a quarter of a mile trail and super easy, very accessible. And you can see the whole ven of them.

Brandon Burton 06:12.455
Okay.

Brandon Burton 06:28.117
That is cool. So similar.

Megan Curtis 06:29.144
But we also have wine tasting in the trees, like in tree houses. We have the out and about tree sort. And they have a zip line and guided horseback riding tours. So there’s a lot to do out here. Plus we have the Illinois River. So a salmon stronghold out here.

Brandon Burton 06:41.365
That’s awesome. Yeah. That’s awesome. So I’ve never heard of, you said, cobra plants? Is that right? These carnivorous plants? Cobra lilies. I’m gonna have to check those out.

Megan Curtis 06:51.916
The cobra lilies, cobra lilies. Yes, they are very cool and they really do resemble cobras.

Brandon Burton 07:00.381
Okay, that is interesting. It’s worth a trip in itself.

Megan Curtis 07:03.502
I know that’s a really unique thing for the valley. And there’s some in Redwoods. There’s like a little botanical trail that you can take and see them in the Redwoods. But a lot of people don’t see, it’s just a tiny sign on the side of the road. So a lot of people don’t see that. Yes, exactly. Not looking down.

Brandon Burton 07:16.631
When you go to the Redwoods and you’re looking up, right? You’re not looking down so much. So yeah, very cool. So what have you guys seen as being a Gateway community? You talked about some of these recreation activities, but what are some of the ways that you try to pull and attract and get people to stay there and experience the area and spend time in your community?

Megan Curtis 07:44.814
Right. So it’s been a little difficult. When we moved here in 2018, the Chateau is a historic lodge up at Oregon Caves and it closed down for renovations. They expected it to be done in about two to three years. However, they ran into a bunch of seismic issues. And so it’s still not open. My husband and I joke, we’re like, we’re going to live here until the Chateau reopens. And I was like, well, we might be retiring here.

Brandon Burton 07:46.327
So, thanks for listening to me.

Brandon Burton 08:01.975
Bye.

Brandon Burton 08:09.111
Yeah.

Megan Curtis 08:13.326
It’s a good thing we really love this place. And then there is a hotel property in the city of Cave Junction, but it also closed in 2019. So right now the Chamber is working really hard with partners to try to find a hotelier that will come in and purchase that property, build a hotel. We’re hoping to have the Monterey furniture from the Chateau put into our Kirbyville Inn in Kirby.

Brandon Burton 08:16.181
That’s right.

Megan Curtis 08:41.614
so that folks can see what the rooms look like in the chateau without being in the chateau. So that’s kind of where we’re focusing right now is finding someone to put in a hotel so that people can stay longer. We do have a lot of campgrounds, including a KOA that’s brand new. It’s absolutely lovely property. Lots of RV camping and lots of dispersed camping, but a lot of people are looking for traditional lodgings.

Brandon Burton 08:48.426
Yeah.

Brandon Burton 09:09.751
Thanks.

Megan Curtis 09:11.15
We’re having a hard time attracting those visitors at this time, but we’re working on it. Yeah. And we’re also working really closely with Main Street Cave Junction, you know, to try to beautify downtown and make it more welcoming. We’re hoping to do a brand discovery process for the Illinois Valley. So the Illinois Valley is made up of a few different communities. There’s Kirby, Selma, Cave Junction is the only incorporated city in the Illinois Valley.

Brandon Burton 09:15.435
Yeah, gotta find those solutions.

Megan Curtis 09:40.888
And then there’s O’Brien and Tequila. So we’re trying to represent the entire Valley and bring everyone together and decide who exactly are we and how do we want visitors to see us so that, you know, they’re going to come see what we have to offer, invest in the community and then tell everyone they know about.

Brandon Burton 10:00.788
That’s right. That’s right. So what kind of space does that, does the Illinois Valley cover? So you mentioned the different towns, but what kind of square miles or what, how much space is that? Okay.

Megan Curtis 10:10.35
So it’s about 20 miles, yeah. And I’d say square miles. Yeah, it’s fairly big size. There’s about 20,000 people in the Illinois Valley. The city of Cave Junction has about 2,000 people in city limits. So the city limits are relatively small. And it doesn’t extend to the Oregon Caves, 20 miles up Caves Highway.

Brandon Burton 10:24.087
Okay.

Brandon Burton 10:28.895
Okay.

Brandon Burton 10:35.999
Yeah, so on the chamber side of things, as far as supporting and helping develop business and things like that, what are some of the industries that you see in your community? And I would imagine recreation would be up at the top of the list, but what are some of those industries?

Megan Curtis 10:52.718
Unfortunately, the like the outfitters here, most of them are in Grants Pass, which is about 40 miles north of us. Grants Pass and Merlin, those communities. We do have a few out here, but we also have a lot of restaurants, gift shops, museums. We have a smoke jumper based museum and then we have a Kirbyville museum. We have Great Cat’s World Park.

So you can come see the big cats and yeah, there’s definitely a lot of nonprofits in our area. So trying to attract the businesses to open is what we’re working on really hard right now. We’re holding a pitch night next week. So folks can come in and tell us about all of their great ideas and we can walk them through, you know, here’s some funding over here for that, or you should partner with this person.

Brandon Burton 11:34.508
This

Megan Curtis 11:50.08
to make sure that these great ideas get off the ground.

Brandon Burton 11:54.07
Yeah, I like that. Tell me a little bit more about that. The pitch night. I picture like Shark Tank, right? You come in and you share your idea and you’re getting feedback and maybe not, you know, having investors, you know, throw money at it, but you’re you’re helping to point them where some funding is.

Megan Curtis 12:00.578
Yeah, you know, yep. They’re just gonna.

Megan Curtis 12:10.294
Right, into the right direction. Yes, especially, you know, with the SBDC at Road Community College, you know, there’s, there’s a lot of people that, that decide that they want to do something and then they just do it without a plan. And so then it kind of shuts down fairly early on. And what we would like to see is, know, this is a great idea. You can go here for help with the business plan so that you know exactly what you’re getting into or, I’m, you know, that’s

a very niche kind of project. I’m not sure that it’s going to, you know, take off here. Just kind of weigh those options out and get some input from others in the community. Like, hey, yeah, that’s a great idea. And I could totally get behind that. Or, yeah, is there really a need for that? Mm-hmm.

Brandon Burton 12:54.903
Yeah, maybe help them make connections with, yeah. Yeah, I could see where there could be supporting businesses where, you know, having a certain business come into town would help support another and they feed each other customers. So could see, you know, having that synergy created. So how do you…

Megan Curtis 13:06.669
Yes.

Megan Curtis 13:12.332
Yeah. Well, and that’s another thing that we’re trying to work on is the hospitality aspect of it, because a lot of our businesses on Main Street don’t realize that they are in the tourism industry. you are tourists will stop here. And so we need to be able for them to know that, and this is going on over at the big museum today, or this is going on over at this place. And then when they get to that location, the staff there is kind of the same way. And it’s like, if you like this.

Brandon Burton 13:22.561
Yeah.

Brandon Burton 13:37.559
Thank you.

Megan Curtis 13:40.662
you should go over to this spot and check this out and then just kind of send them on a loop through town.

Brandon Burton 13:44.441
Yeah. Yeah, that’s great. And I’ve also heard even just the idea of teaching customer service. When you’re in an area where tourists come through, you want them to feel welcome. And the more welcome they feel, the more money they’re going to spend and the longer they stay there. So customer service is huge.

Megan Curtis 13:56.462
Mm-hmm. Yes.

Exactly. Exactly. Well, and even the folks that are pumping the gas, you know, if someone’s like, what is there to do around here? I mean, the first thing I would say is go see the cobra lilies. Yeah, well, we can now since COVID, they usually have a self-serve and a full service.

Brandon Burton 14:10.923
That’s right. For those listening in Oregon, you can’t pump your own gas, right? Okay.

Brandon Burton 14:20.855
Okay, I graduated high school in New Jersey and New Jersey is the other state where, you know, it’s full service gas station. So, yeah, it sure does. Yeah. So how are you guys promoting this pitch night? this, you trying to work with, I don’t know, best way of saying it, adults, more established, you know, people that have, you know, making their, their attempt at business. Are you working with

Megan Curtis 14:28.056
Yeah, comes in handy in the winter, I’m not gonna lie.

Brandon Burton 14:51.125
High school students, what’s your direction you’re going with it?

Megan Curtis 14:53.92
It’s actually open to everyone. We’ll be serving food. So that’s usually a big draw around here. But we’re working with the Southern Oregon Regional Development Organization, SoReady, as well as the Southern Oregon Innovation Hub. So they’re promoting it to their members. We’re promoting it to our members. We’re just kind of cross promoting through those avenues. And of course, we’re reaching out on Facebook and social media to try to get the people that are

Brandon Burton 15:00.267
Yeah.

Brandon Burton 15:20.311
Yeah.

Megan Curtis 15:21.57
that are on there, but there’s a lot of folks out here that aren’t. And there’s a lot of businesses that don’t have websites. So we’re like, well, as a chamber member, we could put you on our listings, you know?

Brandon Burton 15:25.345
Yeah.

Brandon Burton 15:32.799
Yeah, yeah, that’s right. So as a Gateway community, have you guys got all the gas attendees to figure out how to tell people to go downtown, to Main Street? It seems like that may be an uphill climb.

Megan Curtis 15:45.76
Not yet, not yet. We’re sure working on it.

Megan Curtis 15:51.724
Yeah, yeah. I don’t think the community was really focused on attracting tourists for a long time. I know that safety was an issue out here on the strategic plan from 2020. It’s a community-wide strategic plan that Illinois Valley Community Development Organization does about every five years. so public safety was the first priority and the last one in 2020. And we’re seeing that trend change right now.

and people are wanting the tourism dollars. They’re wanting to see the sense of pride that it brings in the community for folks to be like, wow, this is a really amazing place.

Brandon Burton 16:25.792
Yeah.

Brandon Burton 16:33.653
Yeah, to share this amazing place you guys have built,

Megan Curtis 16:35.424
Yes, storytelling is a big deal right now. People want to feel connected to a place. the way that we tell those stories is what’s going to make it memorable.

Brandon Burton 16:46.613
Yeah, and there’s only so much you can do as a business if you’re relying on just the people that live there. The best way to grow that pie is to just make it bigger and, you know, let more people in. So that’s right. That’s right. Anything else to add to you about being a gateway community that maybe makes you guys a little bit unique or different approaches that maybe others don’t consider because maybe they don’t have to, but maybe it could be something that would be beneficial for them to

Megan Curtis 16:52.204
Yes.

Megan Curtis 16:56.034
Yeah, widen the circle.

Brandon Burton 17:16.289
to know about or at least hear how you approach things.

Megan Curtis 17:17.758
Yeah, I really think the stars out here are exceptional. I mean, you can look at a light map and see, you know, there’s a lot of people that can’t see the Milky Way from their home, and we can see that here. So I think being a gateway to the parks and the stars is probably our best bet right now. It is highly sustainable. It is responsible not just for the people, but for the nocturnal wildlife.

Brandon Burton 17:41.451
Thank you.

Megan Curtis 17:46.242
We have a lot of bats out here. Those fluorescent lights, it’s just, they don’t need to be pointing into the sky. We just need to direct the light to the ground instead of all over. So I think, I think it’s an important thing to remember that.

Brandon Burton 17:49.464
Yeah.

Megan Curtis 18:05.482
It’s connecting you to the cosmos, to the planet, to giving you a sense of responsibility that I can steward this and in a responsible way, bring in some extra astro tourism.

Brandon Burton 18:06.439
and

Brandon Burton 18:20.887
Yeah, I love that astro tourism. I think Elon Musk is trying to work on that too, is astro tourism and sending people to Mars, right? Yeah, I don’t blame you. No, I love that approach, though, just making it be a welcoming area for for visitors in general, but also to be able to make sure that

Megan Curtis 18:23.944
Hahaha

Megan Curtis 18:29.492
Yeah, well, in a different way. I think I’m going to keep my feet on the ground.

Brandon Burton 18:48.619
those that are coming to experience the stars and the beauty, know, the milky way and everything the sky has to offer, making sure it’s retained and is a, you know, pristine place for the skies. I think that’s awesome.

Megan Curtis 19:03.33
Yes, yes, I know I would love to do some nighttime kayak trips or paddle boarding Lake Selmak, know, like come see the stars tonight. But you’ve always got to have a plan B because it tends to get cloudy here sometimes. Everybody’s like, did you see that full moon or the lunar eclipse? I saw some clouds. It was pretty, know.

Brandon Burton 19:18.303
Yeah, yeah.

Brandon Burton 19:24.471
Not this time. Yeah, it sure lit up behind the clouds. Yeah, that’s great. Well, I like asking everyone that I have on the show, as far as any tips or action items for listeners who want to take their chamber up to the next level, what might you suggest for them as they work towards that goal?

Megan Curtis 19:31.106
Yes.

Megan Curtis 19:49.562
I, okay, so if folks aren’t already doing it, I highly recommend getting to know your elected officials and working with them hand in hand. Know your city councilors, your mayor, your county commissioners, your legislators, or even their field reps. You know, we work closely with the field reps for Wyden and Merkley here, especially with the park and they’re great, you know.

champions for Oregon Caves and the Chateau. They would really like to see it reopen as well. So I think it’s just really important that you start having these conversations now to build better identities and communities together so that you’re part of the conversation from the beginning, not coming in at the end like, hey, wait, we didn’t know about that. Or why didn’t you do it this way?

Make sure you go to the City Council meetings and just keep them apprised of what you’re doing and if you need any support from them. I think it’s really important just to build those partnerships. Working together is the only way to get it done. It takes a village to raise a village. So we all need to work on this together.

Brandon Burton 20:44.533
Yeah.

Brandon Burton 21:01.333
That’s right. That’s right.

It reminds me of the quote that you need to dig your well before you’re thirsty. So building those relationships with your elected officials, you know, before you need something, before your chamber is, you know, fighting a battle or whatever it is, if you build those relationships, dig that well, put in the work before you need it, knowing that someday it’s very likely you will need to lean on those relationships and if nothing else, just to get their perspective.

Megan Curtis 21:18.678
Yeah. Yup.

Megan Curtis 21:24.611
Yes.

Megan Curtis 21:30.402
Yeah, it’s very important even with the businesses. pardon me. It’s very important even with the businesses, you know, don’t go to them when you have an ask, when you need something from them. Like be there for them, ask what you can do for them. Same with the city, same with the state legislators, you know, same with the county commissioners. Build those relationships so that when you do have that ask, they’re like, we know who this person is. We already have a relationship with them.

Brandon Burton 21:35.444
No, you’re good.

Megan Curtis 21:58.606
We see the work that they’re doing. So yeah, we want to support them and what they’re trying to accomplish.

Brandon Burton 22:05.301
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I see it on, you know, with the podcast where I’ll have people reach out to me just totally random, you know, I see you do a podcast, I do editing and you know, schedule a call and I’ll show you how I can do you know, save you time and what I’m like, I don’t know the first thing about you. And then there’s there’s other people that will take the time to listen and the I really like this episode, what Megan said about the dark skies and you know, they, they bring out these things and then

Megan Curtis 22:23.022
Yeah.

Brandon Burton 22:33.043
I’m more likely to listen to these people that show that they’ve they put forth the effort to show that they care about what I’m doing and it’s, you know, same way. So as a chamber, if you make those connections, build those connections so you can lean on them later if and when you need them. I think that’s a great tip.

Megan Curtis 22:39.117
Yes.

Megan Curtis 22:48.706
Yes.

Yeah, yeah. And when we align, you know, then we’re protecting the local identity, the unique charm, and making sure that folks know that that’s who we are.

Brandon Burton 23:04.811
Yeah. Yeah. Dave Atkinson wrote the wonderful book horseshoes versus chess. And, in this, talks about how a chamber executive, he had, when he joined the chamber industry, it was explained to him that running a chamber is a lot like playing chess. You know, a lot of people think it’s more like playing, horseshoes where you come and you throw a horseshoe and if it gets close, then you get a point. He’s like, it’s really much more.

like playing chess where you have all these different pieces and they all can do different things. And leading a chamber, you’ve got your school district, you’ve got your elected officials, you’ve got economic development, you’ve got tourism. So they have all these different pieces, they have different responsibilities, and it’s up to you to understand the rules and what they can do and to help make those relationships work. So I think that.

Megan Curtis 23:46.402
Yes.

Megan Curtis 23:54.691
guess.

Well, and it’s always really important, you know, with the Illinois Valley Community Development Organization, with Main Street, Cape Junction, with the city and with the chamber, you know, we all need to have those meetings periodically and be like, okay, this is our lane. Like, this is what we’re focused on. This is your lane. Like, how can we not cross into each other’s lanes, but help each other through, like, support?

Brandon Burton 24:13.943
Mm-hmm. Yes. This is my…

Brandon Burton 24:22.185
Right. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Well, Megan, also like asking everyone I have on the show as we look to the future of Chambers of Commerce, how do you see the future of Chambers and their purpose going forward?

Megan Curtis 24:36.75
That is a great, great question, Brandon. you know, Chambers, I don’t think are going to continue to just be the resource hub, focusing on the small businesses. I think that it’s important that Chambers are part of that process of, you know, the brand identity, who we are, how we want to be seen, and convening those meetings, you know. So getting everyone together, deciding

Brandon Burton 24:47.447
and service them. And I hope this work helps them in this necessary way.

Megan Curtis 25:06.094
how we tell our story, how we, you know, because these stories are what’s going to help our local businesses, not just the chamber members. And then in helping the local businesses, you’re helping the people that live here. So I think that it’s really important for chambers to get involved and feel that partnership that shaped the future, you know, of your area, of your local businesses. But then also provide your business workshops and earmixers and

Brandon Burton 25:32.715
Yeah.

Megan Curtis 25:35.726
Our concert’s in the park. But it’s important in communicating your identity.

Brandon Burton 25:37.493
That’s right. Yeah.

Yeah. I’ve heard it said that it’s easier sometimes in the chamber world to do addition than it is to do subtraction. You you’re constantly adding more and more things and the list gets longer and longer. And every now and then we got to do some subtracting too, you know, see what’s not serving us and, and, you know, where the trends are and really what’s, what’s making an impact. But yeah, I think that’s, I think that’s a great.

Megan Curtis 25:50.988
Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

Megan Curtis 26:03.916
Yes. Well, and I think, you know, being realistic with your board is a really great start. You know, if you’re recruiting board members and you’re like, it’s only like an hour once a month at our board meetings. And what you’re really looking for is because I am a staff of one. I’m part time, part time. So I’m a staff of one. Yeah, exactly. So, you know.

Brandon Burton 26:26.997
Yeah, we’re at a that never shuts off, right?

Megan Curtis 26:33.494
being upfront with them through the recruitment process and being like, okay, so yes, we have these board meetings once a month. They’re about an hour, hour and a half long. But we also have concerts in the park through the summer every Thursday, you know, it runs from six to eight, but you know, I need folks that are willing to come volunteer for a few hours. You help me set up the cornhole boards, help me make sure the sound guy gets in and get the food trucks in their proper spots, that kind of thing. So I think

It’s really important for Chambers to be very upfront and make sure that the people that are volunteering for them know exactly how appreciated they are and the difference that they’re making.

Brandon Burton 27:14.677
Yeah, I think that’s a great tip and great reminder. I appreciate that. Well, Megan, I wanted to give you a chance to share any contact information for listeners who might want to reach out and connect with you and maybe learn more about the Illinois Valley and just all that you have to offer there. Where would you point them?

Megan Curtis 27:18.264
you

Megan Curtis 27:27.001
sure.

Megan Curtis 27:31.688
I would love that, absolutely. Please come see us, call me. So my phone number is 541-592-3326. And then I do have a rather long email address. It’s illinoisvalleycc@gmail.com. So yes, please come see us.

Brandon Burton 27:56.651
Well, we’ll get those in our show notes so people don’t need to try to write it down while they’re driving. We’ll make it easy to find and link to it. Right. Very good. Well, Megan, I appreciate you putting aside some time to join us here on Chamber Chat Podcast and to share some of your experiences and the way you guys are approaching things there at the Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce. I really just appreciate you being with us. Yeah. Yeah, that’s right.

Megan Curtis 27:59.191
Yes.

Yes, no, don’t do that.

Megan Curtis 28:20.064
Enthusiastically. We’re doing it enthusiastically with energy and positivity.

Brandon Burton 28:27.701
That’s right. That’s right. But thank you for being absolutely.

Megan Curtis 28:29.792
No, thank you so much for having me.

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