I can’t believe that I have already been working at the Chamber for six months! It has been a fun and crazy ride for sure. I have learned so much as well; from sponsorships to event planning and even some office skills. I think the last month has been the craziest! It forced me to look at Chamber work from a different point of view.
I remember being nervous when I first started at the Chamber. It’s my first office job, and I knew I was going to have to step out of my bubble a little bit to get all the essential stuff done. Walking into a job like that after focusing on my artwork for a few months was a real change. After the first few weeks I knew that this was the job for me! It has brought me out of my shell, and for the better.
When I started, I didn’t know much of Sturgis at all. Working at the Chamber not only gave me knowledge on what stores and businesses were in town, but it has allowed me to meet many amazing locals and local business owners. I feel more like I am part of the community now, and that fills me with joy!
I have learned about the importance of shopping small, sponsorships, and a deeper meaning to community while working at the Chamber. Learning these things makes me happy to be living in an area where we can have a good relationship between businesses and community members. It’s amazing to live somewhere that you can walk down main street and go from one building to the next, and they all support each other! We have some wonderful business owners here in Sturgis.
This last month has been the craziest and hardest of the six that I have been with the Chamber. I honestly like working from home, but I do miss the office. Working remotely is nice, but on the days where it is hard for me to focus, it makes me miss the office setting. However, I have learned how to work efficiently from home. I even wrote a blog about it! It has been a learning experience that I will take with me in the office.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chamber has been working hard to help our members and come up with new ideas to help take all the sadness and anxiety out of the air. When we first started working remotely, I was nervous. I didn’t know how we could keep doing our events and keep planning future ones with all this madness. But Veronica stepped up and hit the situation with full force! She threw out so many good ideas to keep hopes up in Sturgis.
These last six months have been an amazing, crazy, and fun learning experience for me. And I am very happy to keep being part of the Sturgis community. I hope that everything gets back to normal (as normal as you can get after a pandemic) soon, so we can go back to having mixers, lunch and learns, and every other awesome Chamber event that takes place! Stay healthy and keep supporting our community!
Kiara Poitra
Receptionist & Event Coordinator
Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau