By NICK YAMASHITA
The Progress
The Moapa Valley Chamber of Commerce held an in-person membership meeting, its first since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. The meeting and training took place on Wednesday, August 18 at the Old Overton Gym.
Chamber President Pam Duvall was pleased with the turnout for the luncheon. There were 14 people in attendance and 3 more members attending online. All in all, a dozen local businesses were represented.
“We haven’t held a meeting in person for almost a year and a half and we had the most people in attendance that we have had in a long time even before the quarantine,” said Duvall.
The meeting started with welcoming of new members of the Chamber and announcements that included reminders of paying fees and registering if any business owners hadn’t yet.
After a splendid lunch of deli sandwiches, chips, drinks and more, the training began with special guest speaker, Kira Tuiaki. Tuiaki, a social media guru and owner of Lemon Bird Boutique, gave a presentation on using social media to a business’s advantage.
Tuiaki, a new resident of Logandale has been very successful in her online business of Lemon Bird Boutique, due to her use of social media formats, especially Instagram and Facebook.
“You need to utilize these apps and post, post, post….” said Tuiaki.
Tuiaki also went over how posts on Instagram can be also posted on Facebook, using hashtags, and giving customers an understanding of who the business owner is as someone they can relate to. She went over how the younger generation are constantly looking up hashtags and use them to find posts and videos to interact with.
A few attendees had limited knowledge of modern social media technology and formats and asked some great questions. There even was one who didn’t have any technology to use social media and explained that his business had built up a good reputation and thrives on word of mouth advertising mainly.
After giving some step by step instructions on posting pictures, recording videos, and doing highlights on Instagram, Tuiaki offered her services to anyone who needed help in understanding and getting to know the in and outs of Instagram and Facebook.
The meeting finished up with announcements and current status with the Moapa Valley Car Show which will be fully discussed at the next monthly meeting. The car show is scheduled for October and is in the works being planned by Vanette and Gary Christensen of Xtreme Stitch.
There also was a reminder of the 9/11 Memorial Walk which will take place at the Moapa Valley Fire Department Station 74 and throughout downtown Overton starting at 6:30 pm on September 11.
“We feel it is amazing how well the meeting was attended,” said Duvall. “It was great! Better than just board members coming like in the past. Our community is growing and it is great seeing business owners and businesses getting together to help each other succeed.”
To join the Chamber of Commerce or find out more information, visit the chamber website at www.moapavalleychamber.com.
