Brush Chamber of Commerce has new outlook for 2023

The Brush Chamber of Commerce hosted its 2023 Annual Banquet on Thursday at the Brush Fairgrounds.

The Italian buffet was prepared by Banner Health in Brush for the occasion and more than 100 Chamber members, community residents, elected officials, and local leaders filled the room. The event celebrated the hard work and support of their volunteers and sponsors over the past year and showed appreciation for all of their members.

Executive Director Matt Gordon reflected on the Chamber’s successes and spoke transparently about the challenges of 2022. He also reviewed the highlights of the Chamber and its Foundation for 2023.

“Brush is full of opportunity. The more conversations that we have about that, the better things can be for all of us,” Gordon said. “I think that what we do is more important than what we say and how we communicate the successes of what we do so people can understand the value of that.”

The coming year will bring something new for the Chamber. One impressive addition will be the Chamber partnering with the City of Brush, which has set aside $100,000 in ARPA funds to incentivize businesses to come to Brush and support the businesses that have decided to make Brush their home. This money will be used for reimbursements for electricity, city taxes, mortgages or rent, and other items. There will also be grant matching opportunities for reimbursement towards building upgrades.

Education for the Chamber members will also have a new look. To eliminate bringing in programs that do not benefit all of their members, the Chamber will share all of the educational opportunities they know of in hopes that members will take advantage of the ones that benefit their business. The Brush Chamber Foundation has also set aside money for training and education. Members can submit to have their admission fee covered for seminars and webinars.

Other programs rolling out will include updating the Ambassador Program, Adopt-A-Pot, Grants Pass Through, and revitalizing the Chamber Bucks Program. They will also be working with projects like DDA/URA Education and Establishment, Lighting Up Clayton Street, and Redeveloping Junior Main Street.

The Brush Chamber grew its membership from 136 to 152 this year. The Sands Theater is open and showing movies and the Chamber Foundation has been repositioned from historic building redevelopment to resource facilitation and enhancement. Also, the Central School has ongoing construction, apartments are being framed and the roof is being sealed.

Gordon told a story about working with Patrick Heisler, the Special Project Manager for the City of Brush, on the school roof repairs. Heisler was able to track down the original manufacturer of the terracotta tiles based out of Ohio. The school was built in 1924 and the tiles were under a 100-year warranty that ended in 2024.

The Brush Chamber is well known for the events that they host throughout the year.

“You can’t forget the amazing events the Chamber puts on,” Gordon said. “We are not just an event planning organization, but we are also an event planning organization. We have our traditional slate of events with minor changes. One event I am happy to announce this year: we will be starting a Cinco de Mayo Celebration.”

Events in 2022 had generous sponsors and successful events. Oktoberfest was moved back downtown and was a great success. They had a total of 42 sponsors to make the event happen. The City parking analysis showed there were approximately 4,700 people at the event. This is an increase from the 1,500-2,000 people who attended in the past.

The Chamber has many volunteers that help make these events happen.

“For our volunteers, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, a personal thank you. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you,” Gordon said. “Thank you for taking the time to invest your time. Our list of people who have participated in our organization is astronomical and let’s give a round of applause for every volunteer who has ever been a part of this organization.”

Three of the Chamber membership levels will also have a slight increase this year to help with increased costs. The Chamber believes that they have demonstrated that the projects and programs they have invested in show value.

“It is hard to raise prices of things, but all of us in this room know that it is so much more expensive now just to function,” Gordon said. “Everything has gone up. Everything everywhere. That hits us too and we have to respond to it in a way that makes sense. Our primary drivers in revenue are sponsorships and memberships. Membership hasn’t been raised in some time.”

Executive Director Matt Gordon wrapped up the meeting portion by telling how he would like to see the Chamber fund for the future, not just a year or two. He wants to plan for the next 50 years. He is very passionate about his work and wants to be a conduit for the Chamber. He also gave recognition to Administrative Assistant Natalie Bjerke.

The event ended on a high note with entertainment for the night by Larry Moose Lundstrom of Bullhucker Podcast. His podcast brings in local people, mostly from Morgan County, Colorado Springs, Akron, and other local communities. He brought in five guests to tell stories about their lives. Three of the stories are true, one is partly made up and the other is completely made up. The audience guesses which one is which by scanning a code and voting.

For information about any of the information above, contact Executive Director Matt Gordon at the Brush Chamber of Commerce, 218 Clayton Street, Brush, CO 80723; 970-842-2666; website: https://www.brushchamberofcommerce.org/.