In December we held our Chamber Board of Directors’ election and at our January meeting we selected our officers which include Darla Parker, President; Dawn Ragusin, Vice President; Kimberly Lucas, Secretary; and Brent Hart, Treasurer. Belinda Bush, Sue Glover, Mike Overton, Debbie Michalek, Steven Guevara, and Ross Harlow make up the remainder of the Board. This group looks forward to serving our businesses and the community in 2024.
We have changed our meeting times for our regular monthly meetings. We will be meeting at 6:00 on the second Monday of the month at the library instead of our previous 6:30 meeting time. We welcome you to come and get involved.
Some of our accomplishments in 2023 included a successful Crawfish Fest which profited $74,000 despite the mud; we grew our membership to historic levels, we partnered with UP2U to provide mesh litter bags and placed them throughout the community; purchased new lights for the pier; conducted a successful raffle of a Polaris; supported the San Antonio Bay Partnership with shoreline cleanup; constructed the steps and kayak ramp and installed benches at Park & Main and will be finishing up with landscaping; secured the Matagorda Lighthouse historical marker which will be installed at the Library; awarded 2 scholarships ; increased our social media presence on Facebook and Instagram; and held our first boat and fishing expo which was an enormous success. All of our efforts are based on our mission statement, which is to promote business, enhance economic and community development and serve as a means for improving the overall quality of life for our community.
Our membership drive is currently underway and will continue until March 1, 2024. Individual/Couple membership is $35 and business memberships are $199 which will include an advertisement in one issue of our full-page ad in Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine and one week of advertising on four of the digital billboards located in Victoria.
Please mark your calendars for our Membership Appreciation Casino Night which will be held February 23rd at the Community Center. Members and one guest are invited to come out and enjoy all the games and enter for a chance to win some great prizes.
The Crawfish Festival will be here before we know it: April 27, 2024. Look for more information soon regarding cooker registration, vendor registration and information about pre-sale of tickets.
We welcome our new members, DWT’s Poly Foam Concrete Leveling which uses a specialty poly foam that lifts, levels, and returns stability to your concrete. Indianola Fishing Marina is known for the best pier fishing and also offers great food and a full bar. They also have an RV park and other amenities. For more information on these businesses and our other chamber members please vis
it our website at www.portoconnorchamber.com.
