Chamber News: Ruidoso and Chamber bustling with activities

We are always moving forward with a bustle of activities at the Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce and this year has started out at full pace.

Last week Ruidoso Valley Chamber Membership Director Deborah Douds and Events Director Mirissa Good both graduated from the Institute for Organization Management. The Institute is an educational certification program that is put on by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

With this news, I now proudly boast that the Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce is the only Chamber in the State of New Mexico where every staff member is IOM Certified.

I believe that speaks volumes for us and demonstrates our commitment to the Chamber and the community.

The Legislative session started at noon Jan. I5. We will begin traveling to Santa Fe on Jan. 23. This year is a 60-day session and we hope to see a lot of action taking place, but most importantly we hope that the bills that are passed and signed by the new governor will be in the best interest of our state.

As usual, we will be there as often as we can to watch what is going on and to hopefully influence some of the decisions that are made. 

On another subject, we are hosting our third annual Wine Festival, Vines in The Pines at the Ruidoso Convention Center Feb. 16 and 17. We are again partnering with the New Mexico Wine Growers Association to make it a magnificent event.

This year the event is growing, and we will have 14 New Mexico wineries, 2 Lincoln County Breweries along with some great food, art and other specialty vendors.

Plan to get your tickets early as a great Valentines gift for your someone special. Tickets can be purchased at the Chamber or on-line at Eventbrite.com.  

The first quarter of this year should be an exciting time for all of us. There is good snow on the mountain and there are lots of great activities and events scheduled.

It is like a rising tide for us so far this year so let’s remember how important it is that we work together to make this a better place to live, work and play.

Becky Brooks is the executive director of the Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce.