WAYNE – A weekly Friday morning event continues to be put on by the Wayne Area Economic Development chamber office updating community members what is going on and has highlighted several different organizations and businesses.
Normally, each Friday at 10 a.m., community members gather at a location to socialize before a group, organization or individual hosts Friday morning Chamber Coffee. But the past couple months that has looked a little different.
Each Friday, Chamber Coffee has been temporarily replaced with ChamberPercs on the Wayne, NE Facebook page at 10:15 a.m.
Executive director with WAED, Luke Virgil said it’s been going really well.
“I think we’ve reached out to a different audience than what our usual chamber coffees were,” said Virgil. “I think that’s important to help pass along that chamber coffee tradition to a different audience.”
ChamberPercs has also expanded what Chamber Coffee was all about. Virgil added sometimes it is awkward with the different format.
“In other weeks where we’ve done one-on-one through Zoom or there’s multiple people from a business that are able to talk about it,” Virgil added. “We can really focus on what that business is all about or what that organization is about.”
This past Friday, May 22 highlighted the Wayne Cemetery Association on location at Greenwood Cemetery talking with Amy Bowers being the 10th ChamberPercs. Virgil hosted a solo event in the middle of March, welcomed in District 17 Senator Joni Albrecht, Mytzy Rodriguez-Kufner with Leader Avenue joined remotely, Sasha Nelson (project manager with Senior Life Solutions) and Jim Frank (CEO) with Providence Medical Center joined Virgil in person as Sandy Brown with the Wayne Green Team, Heather Headley (Library), Tim Bartz (Majestic Theatre) and a pair of Fridays featuring Wayne High seniors were also hosted through Zoom.
The chamber office is allowing those who were already scheduled to host chamber coffee the first option by joining them during ChamberPercs.
“Since we’re starting to see some relaxation on social gatherings, we might be able to go back to the old format,” Virgil mentioned. “But I even made that comment to Abby. Do we totally ditch the Facebook Live or do we integrate that into our old Chamber Coffee format so that we can continue with the #ChamberPercs.”
Contact the WAED office at 402-375-2240 to request a Friday to host.
Staff will also be meeting with the Northeast Nebraska Public Health Department this week to make a determination for the Wayne Chicken Show. The decision of either hosting on the original date of July 10 – 12 or a one-day event on Saturday, September 12 will be made on or prior to June 1.
“Considering it’s the 40th Chicken Show we really want to try and have it this year,” said Virgil. “If we can have an event, I think that’s where the community is really going to come together because they haven’t had a lot to celebrate. We as a staff want to celebrate that and I think the community wants to celebrate something.”
The Business & Industry sub-committee at WAED met with the Wayne Country Club last week discussing the Vendor Golf outing that happens in July.
The WAED office is located at 108 West 3rd Street. Like Wayne, NE on Facebook or email info@wayneworks.org for more information.