McMinnville Chamber Introducing New President At Open House

New McMinnville-Warren County Chamber of Commerce President Don Vizi wants to focus on tourism in his new role.

Vizi said he wants to promote the natural attractions Warren County has to offer.

“We have things here that most chambers do not have,” Vizi said. “One is the tourist attractions. The fishing, the lakes, the caves and all that stuff attracts tourists to town. I don’t think people realize how much tourists help the economic development of the community.”

The Chamber of Commerce will be hosting an open house Friday to celebrate the return of a five day business week. Before, offices were closed every Friday to limit exposures to COVID.

Vizi said he will be present to tell people McMinnville is open for business.

“I think it is important now that the community and businesses start getting back to normal, having their normal meetings,” Vizi said. “We do our board meetings now in-person. We are going to start doing ribbon cuttings again for our membership and new members.”

Vizi said navigating through COVID has been difficult, but he believes there is light at the end of the tunnel. Vizi said overall, he wants to continue helping businesses stay open through the tail end of the pandemic.

“It is important to help the businesses,” Vizi said. “We’ve done that during COVID by giving them the information on how to get grants and how to get different types of funds to keep their business open.”

Vizi said regular luncheons with chamber members are set to restart and a new eight month business leader program. Vizi said he is excited to see the growth of Warren County in the future.