San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce looks back at 2020

As much as we would like to, I don’t think any of us will ever forget the year 2020. I think we all started the year off with hope and excitement for a new year. Just as you, the Chamber set out our goals for the year, our Board of Directors were eager to accomplish them while taking our organization to the next level. 

Then in March everyone's lives turned upside down. Businesses started to pump the breaks and eventually some came to a complete stop as government officials ordered nonessential businesses to close, while others moved their businesses to their house as work life balance took on a new meaning for a lot of us.

The Chamber took on new challenges as we responded to the COVID-19 pandemic to support the San Marcos business community and make sure our business community had the tools they needed to make it out of this mess. Our partnerships with the city, the Greater San Marcos Partnership and the San Marcos Consolidated ISD got stronger and we formed new alliances to collaborate for the betterment of our community. The San Marcos Area Chamber became a place to find information that you could count on and trust. With the new hire of VP of Communications Lauren Surley, we started to tell our story and the story of our business community through video and grew more followers on our social media accounts as in-person events and meetings could not take place. 

We worked with our local, state and national leaders to make sure San Marcos' voice was being heard. We hosted virtual events with State Representatives Erin Zwiener, Congressman Chip Roy and U.S. Sen.Ted Cruz. We filmed our State of the City address and heard from Mayor Jane Hughson and city officials about the work that they were doing to insure San Marcos’ success, and we heard from Superintendent Michael Cardona on how our schools have adapted to a new way of learning during a pandemic. 

During this past election the Chamber interviewed the candidates for Mayor and City Council making sure we were providing information to voters on where candidates stand on key issues that may impact their business here in San Marcos.

The Chamber is closing out the year with a little hope for our business community. Last month the Chamber in collaboration with the City launched a grant program called Revive SMTX.  Revive SMTX will provide local businesses with federal funds to help them get through the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to the coming weeks to get funds out to local businesses that need assistance during the hard times.

I will close out by saying how proud I am of the work that Lauren Surley, Marisol Gomez Mendoza and the Board of Directors accomplished this year. I know that when we started this year none of us thought we would have a year like this, but I am confident that the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce had a significant impact on the recovery of local businesses and has shown our community that a strong Chamber is needed for the future of our community.