Orrville Chamber holds 105th meeting virtually

The year 2020 marked a milestone anniversary for the Orrville Area Chamber of Commerce and also marked the beginning of a global pandemic that impacted lives, the economy and the way people work. The 105th annual State of the Chamber was held for the first time as a virtual conference on Feb. 18.

The 15-minute warm-up show, hosted by WQKT radio’s Steve Spooner, broadcasting from Buehler’s Orrville, featured Lori Reinbolt, chamber president; Bob Summers of Buehler’s; and WQKT account executive Sean Brown, as well as a coffee demonstration by Barb Bower, a barista at Scenic River Coffee, which is located inside Buehler’s Orrville.

The virtual live event began with remarks from 2020 chamber board chair Dave Hershey and 2021 chamber board chair Traci Carmony, who both marked the anniversary by reflecting on the visionary leadership of the early chamber.

In 1916 the challenge of the day was the emergence of a national highway system that threatened to change the way goods and services were transported throughout the country. The chamber provided leadership for the building of a new road that would connect Orrville to the newly constructed Lincoln Highway. Today, the “new” road is state Route 57, and the Lincoln Highway is known as U.S. state Route 30.

“The chamber has been providing leadership on the challenges of the day for 105 years,” Hershey said. “Just as the early chamber leaders built a road to the future, there are new roads to be built in 2021.”

Reinbolt narrated the 2020 Year in Review, an overview of the chamber’s response as an essential resource to its members and the community during the pandemic of 2020. She shared a three-part strategy adopted by the chamber: a commitment to being a trusted source of information for the business community, to connect members to the resources they needed to safely operate their businesses and to be a source of encouragement and support.

The Year in Review will be available at www.orrvillechamber.com and also will be broadcast on the Armstrong community channel.