By MaRico Tippett by President & CEO of the Greater Vail Area Chamber
From the Greater Vail Area Chamber of Commerce (GVACC), we hope everyone had a Happy Holiday and is ready to start the new year off with a bang. 2019 was a colossal year for the chamber. We rebranded our logo and image, we opened our new offices and co-working spaces between the tracks, we had our best annual Gala dinner to date at the JW Marriott Resort and Spa. We had a phenomenal panel and mariachi band; we also gave out 11 awards to businesses from the community.
Then, we had our first board elections since I have been President and CEO and our new board took their seats in July 1, 2019. This set the stage for our main event of the year – VailFest 2019! VailFest, the chamber’s community event, held October 26th, was a huge success! It was a herculean effort by board, staff and volunteers to make this event what it was. VailFest is one of the chamber’s largest events throughout the year and it was a good time for all.
We want to thank all of our sponsors that generously supported this successful event and the 168 businesses, artisans and crafters that participated this year. We would also like to thank everyone that donated to the silent auction where we raised over $3000 for scholarships for Vail high school students. We were able to present our Vail Ambassador, Brayden Hancock, a $1,000 scholarship and Madison DeMarco, a $500 scholarship. We couldn’t have made it through the day without the support of VUSD NJROTC cadets and our WorkForce volunteers.
For 2020, we are focusing on community outreach. The chamber will be a connector of the Vail Unified School District, the residents and the businesses and nonprofit organizations in the community. We will be hosting a town hall in February to discuss the future of Vail. The actual date, time and location to be determined. We want to hear from you. What is your vision for Vail for 2020 and beyond! We are in the midst of unprecedented growth. How do we grow responsibly? As we put together the agenda for 2020, what are the items or issues you would want the Vail Chamber to advocate for this year? To do so will take a community effort and we will need your help. We ask that you get involved, share your voice, talk with your neighbors and utilize the chamber as we are uniquely positioned to advocate for and bring the community together.
