Our Shred Event, Community Pulse Events Show the Chamber “In the Community, For the Community”
THIS ARTICLE APPEARS IN THE RED ROCK NEWS
August 19, 2022
I enjoy our bi-annual Community Pulse, a free in-person update with local leaders that we host twice a year. Sponsored by APS, it’s always informative. Last week’s event at the Sedona Performing Arts Center featured speakers from ADOT, the Red Rock Ranger District, the Sedona-Oak Creek Airport Authority, the Tread Lightly for the Red Rock OHV Conservation Crew and a report from us at the Chamber.
While interacting with people at the event, I realized the Community Pulse is part of a sometimes-overlooked Chamber service, that illustrates how we and our members are striving to make Sedona better by being in the community and for the community.
For example, on July 28, the Sedona Performing Arts Center parking lot was a busy place as we sponsored our semi-annual shred event with Elevated Shredding. All residents can bring as many as four bankers’ boxes of documents for secure and free disposal, and that day we consigned twenty 64-gallon bins to the shredder, equating to about 4,000 pounds of paper. Recycling this mass of documents saves 760 gallons of oil, 8,000 kilowatts of energy, 34 trees, and 14,000 gallons of water. It also frees up six cubic yards of landfill space, and if it had been disposed of by burning, it would have added 3,000 pounds of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The response by Sedonans and Elevated Shredding pays dividends for our personal security AND sustainability. We truly appreciated working with our partners at the American Legion Cornville/Sedona Post 135 to direct cars through the parking lot.
July also saw us conclude our mayoral and city council candidate forums in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Northern Arizona.
Just yesterday I hosted my monthly Coffee Chat at our offices, a monthly get together for you to stop by and discuss any topic of choice. It’s a fantastic way to get answers to your questions and let me know what you’re thinking. I am all ears!
This morning, we are at our Networking Breakfast at the Sedona Community Center, where Chamber members and nonmembers are having an exciting time getting to know each other. Following a fun icebreaker, attendees get just two minutes to share their background, then rotate to the next person. It’s an energizing way to start an August Friday and make new connections.
Looking ahead, I am excited to host more listening opportunities, including a “Meet Your Chamber” event September 27. You’re invited to meet the staff who make the Chamber so dynamic – fellow Red Rock Country locals, some who have lived here for decades (like me). Connecting person to person is the best way to communicate about our common goals, so I hope you will attend. You will find details at SedonaChamber.com under “Upcoming Chamber Events.”
These events connect with our work on issues all Sedonans care about. For example, we’re using technology and our membership network to enlist visitors in practicing the Leave no Trace principles, mitigating their impact to our environment and lifestyle. We are developing materials to reach visitors in short-term rentals. We continue helping the Red Rock Ranger District with trail maintenance through Chamber members’ generous donations to our Trail Keepers program, and we are busily promoting the Sedona Shuttle and Trailhead Shuttle routes.
If that sounds like a lot, it is! But it’s just us being ourselves – at work in the community, for the community. Working closely with our all-volunteer Board, we’re focusing the power of our united membership on making Sedona the best place to live, work, play and visit.
–Michelle Conway, President/CEO
Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau