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 Brooke Conti, Treasurer. Belinda Bush, Sue Glover, Mike Overton, Kacie Skalak, Steven Guevara, and Ross Harlow make up the remainder of the Board. This group looks forward to serving our businesses and the community in 2025. Monthly Chamber meetings are at 6:00 on the second Monday of the month at the POC Library. We welcome you to come see what is planned for this year and get involved.
Some of our accomplishments in 2024 included a successful Crawfish Fest, we grew our membership to historic levels, we continued our partnership with UP2U to provide mesh litter bags throughout the community; hosted our successful Second Annual POC Boat & Fishing Expo; sustained our support to the San Antonio Bay Partnership with shoreline cleanup; contributed funds for the improvements of the community center spearheaded by the Port O’Connor Community Center Board; rebuilt the kayak ramp at Park & Main due to storms; assisted in securing a new roof for the King Fisher pavilion; and increased our social media presence on Facebook and Instagram. All 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, 2025. Individual/Couple membership is $35, regular business memberships are $100, and business memberships with an advertising package are $199. This package will include your business logo in one issue of the Chamber’s full-page ad in Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine. Also, your business ad will be displayed for a full week on our four digital billboards located in Victoria.
Please mark your calendars for our Membership Appreciation Casino Night which will be held February 28th at the Community Center. Members and one guest are invited to come out and enjoy some fun, food, music, craps, roulette and blackjack. All games are for a chance to win some great prizes.
The Crawfish Festival will be here before we know it: April 26, 2025. You can find all the details regarding sponsorship, cooker and vendor registration along with other information on our website, www.portoconnorchamber.com and the POC Crawfish Fest & Cookoff Facebook Page.
We welcome our new members, B&D Boat Works, manufacturer of the WASP 178 poling skiff and 16 years of boat fiberglass repair; Jireh Boats, maker of Texas’ newest catamaran style boats; Red Sky Electric, with 25 plus years of hands on experience of residential, commercial, and industrial electrical expertise; 10th Street Lodge with 8 rooms, pool, hot tub, deck and more for your large groups; Longhorn Construction & Estimating, located in Seadrift, building custom homes, barndominiums, renovations and additions tailored to your vision; Brown’s Boat Storage, just steps from the launch, is fully lit, security system, concrete, 24/7 access, wash bays and some pull throughs; Sandy Shores Charters offers charters to the beach, dolphin tours and to the Matagorda Island Lighthouse. For more information on these businesses and our other chamber members please visit our website at www.portoconnorchamber.com.
