As I approach, my Second anniversary with the Chamber, I would like to share a few of my thoughts and experiences from the last two years sitting at this desk.

Maybe sitting isn’t the right word because it has been a busy time.

I was proud and honored to be a part of the Quasquicentennial Celebration. I remember in the summer of 06, Pam ask me to find out what was the name for a 125th celebration. Now after typing it a million times and my spell check rejecting it every time, the word, along with many memories has been lovingly retired.

My favorite memory of the Quasquicentennial was from a gentleman from Athens, Georgia. What started with a simple e-mail asking when would be a good time of year to bring his 80-something year old mother back to McCook turned out to be a real treat. Three brothers and their lovely mom made it to McCook for Heritage Days, participated in every part of it including the United Way Fun Run and made a generous donation to the 125th Celebration.

Another interesting story was the “lightning bug” lady. I received a call last summer from a woman from Colorado wanting to know if we had lightning bugs in this area. She said she was 58 years old and had never seen one. It turned out that she did come to McCook, spent the night, and did get to see the infamous lightning bug. I was so glad she called back after she returned home to share her successful trip.

Of course, the Chamber is about more than lightning bugs and celebrations. We take our jobs seriously down here at the bottom of the hill. In a typical month, I mail approximately 150 Visitors Guides, 12 Relocation Packets and handle 600 phone calls ranging from “where can I have my TV repaired?” to “what’s the name of that company that makes toothpicks?” and most important “we are thinking of relocating and opening a business in McCook. What can you do to help?”

The mission of the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce is to enhance the prosperity and quality of life of the McCook area through visionary leadership.

In my humble opinion, we do have visionary leaders. We do have a wonderful quality of life. With this combination, we will continue to prosper.

Linda Thieben
McCook Area Chamber of Commerce
Administrative Assistant