What Are We Up To?

Quincy Proudly Supports Veterans with Motorcycle Tour of Honor

Wed, 28 Jun 2023 18:34:05 GMT

Plumas County Veterans Memorial is one of seven locations in California to be included in the 2023 Tour of Honor nationwide charity fundraiser.

Tour of Honor is a great reason to hit the open road, honor our nation's heroes, and contribute to a few good charities. The event is a season-long, self-directed motorcycle ride to memorials and monuments around the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii. Beginning April 1st, visit as many sites as you want, with any route you choose. Trophies will be awarded to the first three riders to visit all of the memorials in a state (or region). Other prizes are also available. 2023 has an all-new, updated set of memorial sites to visit, with new roads and new experiences for any avid motorcyclist. This year the focus is paying a special tribute to honor all Vietnam War and Vietnam-era veterans and their families.

A banner welcoming the motorcycle tour was placed at Dame Shirley Plaza by Quincy Chamber of Commerce and Feather River College . The location of the Quincy site is at the Plumas County Veterans Memorial dedicated to all veterans, especially the ones from Plumas County who made the ultimate sacrifice and whose names are engraved on the tablets. The granite monument contains an honor roll on one side and tributes on the other.

Robert Zernich, local attorney and Vietnam Era veteran was the inspiration behind this memorial. In 2006, he single-handedly organized the community to get the memorial and its site approved by the Board of Supervisors. Local volunteers, including Rob Conover of Sandstorm Signs stone engraving company, provided all of the labor and equipment to design and create the memorial. It was approved at a VFW meeting, and took only four months from conception to dedication. Approximately $17,000 was fundraised through private donors for material costs. Mike Beatty of Beatty Construction and Tom Vaglivielo of Sierra Concrete prepared the corner. The concrete for the base and sidewalks was donated by Gary Durr and the Quincy Elks Lodge donated the flagpole. During the building process, help was provided by Stan Diamond who was the VFW post commander at the time and who has since deceased from his action in Viet Nam.

Mr. Zernich maintains the memorial and every Memorial Day organizes a ceremony at the site, at which veterans and locals are invited to speak. Tour of Honor riders have participated in this ceremony several times. Each year the public donates flowers and other decorations. The public is encouraged to provide comments and suggestions to choose a new theme for the ceremony each year. There is currently talk about building a new courthouse in this park, but if that plan moves forward, the memorial is planned to be incorporated in the new design.

We appreciate the opportunity to share this information about a special historical landmark in our community. Thank you to Mr. Zernich for your leadership in this monument. Welcome Tour of Honor riders to this tourist attraction and enjoy your visit in Quincy, California. Feel free to send us photos of your site visit here and a description of how far you are traveling from!

More information:

https://www.quincychamber.com/tour-of-honor

Local resources:

https://www.plumascounty.us/96/Veterans-Services

Nakoma Resort Manager at Quincy Business Roundtable

Sun, 18 Jun 2023 00:22:09 GMT

Monthly workshops for small businesses and entrepreneurs to learn, share, and grow together.

On May 17th, Richard Aiple, General Manager of Nakoma Resort was the guest speaker of Quincy Business Roundtable with a presentation on "Successful Customer Service." He shared many wonderful tips, years of experience providing excellent service to his guests in the tourism industry and real world examples from other successful business strategies.

The attendees were encouraged to consider their service philosophy, whether “the customer is always right” and learn from examples of bad customer service. A general takeaway point was to personalize customer service and make memories that will standout to your patrons and encourage repeat business.

The next topic on Wednesday, June 21st, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m will be “ADA Compliance for Small Businesses” featuring guest speaker Khushpreet Mehton, Esq. of Vaughan & Associates Law Office, APC .

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed in 1990 and requires for all businesses to provide people with disabilities an equal opportunity to access the goods or services that they offer. The ADA contains specific requirements for businesses that are open to the public. We hope all Plumas County businesses can learn from this special opportunity about a very important topic.

The guest speaker Mr. Mehton has appeared as lead counsel in several hundred accessibility cases throughout California. Mr. Mehton began his practice prosecuting cases for disabled Plaintiffs and has spent the past five years focusing on defending physical, policy, and website accessibility claims for small business and property owners.

Clint Koble of Sierra Small Business Development Center will also provide a brief summary of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act Funding offered through Plumas County and now available to microbusinesses.

Free workshop!

https://www.sierrasbdc.com/event/quincy-business-roundtable

Recordings of past events:

https://www.quincychamber.com/workshops

ADA Compliance for Small Businesses Workshop: Quincy Business Roundtable

https://fb.me/e/2EfwZL2Er

#quincycachamber #sierrasbdc #nakomaresort #quincybusinessroundtable

Enter the Parade & Join the Fun!

Sat, 10 Jun 2023 19:25:35 GMT

What makes your contribution to Plumas and Sierra Counties unique?!

The weather is warming up, and we all know what that means! It’s time for the 76 ^th Annual Plumas-Sierra County Fair Parade, coming up on Saturday, July 29th at 10:00 a.m. in downtown Quincy.

Yes indeed folks, this year’s parade is shaping up to be better than ever, but there’s just one thing missing - YOU! This is a wonderful opportunity to build memories with your friends, your family and your neighbors! The theme this year is “Stars, Stripes and Summer Nights,” and we would love to see what this festive and patriotic theme means to you. We've had some pretty fantastic floats, crazy clowns, prancing ponies and dancing divas throughout the years, and each year we see our classic favorites return along with new entries.

Entry forms can be found online at http://www.quincychamber.com/parade , at Plumas Bank or at The Toy Store. Please submit the "Entry Form" & "Hold Harmless Agreement" with $15 entry fee soon to lock in your commitment and help us with planning purposes. Cash prizes will be awarded for Float, Bands and Novelty, and ribbons will be judged for Motor Vehicle, Horse and Machinery.

We encourage representation from all towns and rural areas of Plumas and Sierra Counties including Quincy, Chester, Portola, Greenville, Graeagle, Meadow Valley, Beckwourth, Cromberg, Loyalton, Sierra Brooks, Downieville, Calpine and more. Let’s all come together to celebrate our beautiful community and Join the Fun!

Call the Quincy Chamber of Commerce today at (530) 394-0541 or email us at info@quincychamber.com.

Photos by Lisa Kelly

Flower Basket Sponsorships Due This Week

Tue, 09 May 2023 00:02:08 GMT

Let's Beautify Quincy!

Flower Basket Sponsorships are due on Wednesday, May 10 ^th

The Flower Basket Project is encouraging the public to please submit all sponsorship requests by Wednesday, May 10 ^th . There are still eight flower baskets available for sponsorship in the downtown area. Those who choose to sponsor a basket for $300 will receive a plaque under one of the flower baskets downtown recognizing their gift. In the past, individuals and businesses have chosen this option to recognize a business or a loved one. For example: A family honoring a new grandchild, or in honor of a loved one’s life. Any donation amount is greatly appreciated to help us brighten our community, and cover the costs associated with purchasing, transporting and caring for these lovely additions from May through October.

The project is now being managed by Quincy Chamber of Commerce with Plumas Arts included as a fiscal receiver. A group of individual chamber employees and volunteers will be picking up, transporting and delivering the flower baskets from Country Gardens in Standish the weekend of May 20 ^th . This team includes project manager Rayen Lowry and her family, Quincy Chamber director Cheryl Kolb with her family, and employees from Mountain Mattress. Amy and Zach Weeks, owners of Mountain Mattress, have graciously offered for use of their two box trucks used to deliver mattresses.

Mountain Mattress has just officially opened in Graeagle for the spring season in their little red cabin location. Their store hours are: GRAEAGLE Hours Thursday – Saturday at 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM and QUINCY Hours Seven Days a Week at 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM.

Let’s beautify Quincy! Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to show your love and support of our town! Tax-deductible donations can be made out to Plumas Arts and dropped off at these locations:

Plumas Arts (credit cards accepted)
The Toy Store

The hanging flower baskets are only possible with community financial and volunteer support. For more information please contact the Quincy Chamber of Commerce at (530) 394-0541 or by email at info@quincychamber.com

Winter is Time for Planning

Thu, 02 Mar 2023 16:13:51 GMT

What Are We Up To?

Hello Winter - We hope everyone is doing OK after this last big round of snowstorms, wow! Plumas County received historic levels of snow, which was much needed due to our recent very dry summers.

We would like to begin by welcoming our new Chamber Members: Feather River Tourism Association , Grocery Outlet , Adventure Monkeys and Breanne's Adventure Traveling .

Cheryl attended the monthly Plumas County Chamber Coalition Zoom meeting on February 1 ^st . We are still working on hashing out details of how the four Plumas County Chambers can work together to maximize our member benefits, maintain our individual community identities, and strategize for long-term growth. Discussions included activities by the Lost Sierra Chamber of Commerce with a new tourism website they’re working on, and talks about the EDA Grant information Cheryl provided to each Chamber.

On February 2 ^nd we held our monthly Board Meeting via Zoom. Topics discussed included the installation of new public restrooms downtown; a location has been identified but an extraordinary amount of work will need to take place to make that happen. Project funding continues to be an issue. Our Chamber is in the process of getting a new cell phone; this has been an issue for over two months and is still in the works. The Tour of Honor representatives contacted our Chamber to advise us that the Veterans Memorial at Dame Shirley Plaza has been selected as a tour site. Touring season runs from April through October, so we anticipate a large influx of motorcycle riders during that time.

Another topic discussed at our Board Meeting was hosting a “Business Week”. Kevin Trutna, President of FRC and Chamber Board Member, had participated in a Business Week in Chester some years back and felt it was a good method of outreach. Business Week would involve partnering with the three Supervisors who represent parts of Quincy, the School District, Sheriff Todd Johns, etc. and do a walking tour of Quincy area businesses to meet with business owners and managers. We hope to put something together for mid-September.

Our “Beer, Brats and Buzz” themed public meeting and community update is still on and we’re shooting for mid-October.

February 3 ^rd Cheryl attended the hotel/motel meeting at Nakoma to discuss potential future action with lodging providers throughout Plumas County. Attendance was slim but discussions are proceeding.

February 4 ^th the Groundhog Fever Festival had an excellent turnout and was a huge success. The weather was clear, even with a little rain at the end of the event. Our local celebrity, Chuck Wood, saw his shadow and predicted another six weeks of winter. The winners of the Chili Cook-Off were announced: People’s Choice- Feather River Food Co-op , Judge’s Choice- Chill Out (Dale Hays and Shawn Adams) and Best Decorated Booth- Big Daddy’s Guide Service . Plumas Performing Arts spearheaded the Honorary Mayor race this year in a fundraising effort for the performing arts pavilion that Tristan McMichael first began developing as his Senior Project at QHS. Red Powell, retired QHS teacher and long-time Quincy resident, won the race with over $5,000 in votes and was elected as Honorary Mayor for 2023 .

We have begun our fundraising efforts for the flower basket project . The baskets will be brought in mid-May and hung throughout downtown Quincy and in front of various businesses in East Quincy. If you would like to donate to this project, please make your checks payable to Plumas Arts and mail them to PO Box 600, Quincy, CA 95971. You can sponsor a basket for the entire season for only $300, which entitles you to a plaque with a brief message or honorarium placed beneath the basket. Your donations may be tax-deductible, so please consider contributing to our efforts to beautify Quincy! Sponsorship forms are on our website at www.quincychamber.com/flower-baskets.

Our next Board Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8 that 7:00 am on Zoom. Our next Quincy Business Roundtable is scheduled for March 15 ^th at 5:30 p.m. This month’s topic is "The Power of Your Visual Brand." There has already been a lot of interest in this class and class size is limited. Pre-registration is required, so visit our website at www.quincychamber.com/workshops or email us at info@quincychamber.com and we’ll add you to the list!

A Great Start to the New Year!

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 00:49:15 GMT

What Are We Up To?

A Great Start to the New Year!

Hope you are enjoying a Wonderful New Year filled with hope, good fortune and prosperity. We would like to begin by thanking all of our Chamber Members and community supporters for your ongoing support! We wouldn’t be able to do this without you!

In January, we launched the Quincy Business Roundtable , a series of FREE workshops held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month in collaboration with Sierra Small Business Development Center . The topic was “What Lenders Want From Borrowers.” The presenters included Clint Koble, Jessica Carr and Leslie Williams. Clint encouraged the importance of a strong Business Plan when applying for financing, and the group discussed the 5 C’s of Lending: Capacity, Capital, Collateral, Conditions and Character. It was very informative and a great opportunity to provide support for local business owners and professionals. These workshops are located at the Feather River Adult Education Consortium classroom on the corner of Main Street and Bradley Street. The next one is scheduled for February 15th “Business Planning and Feasibility.

Up next, we are busy planning for the beloved Groundhog Fever Festival . Our annual fundraising event features the Chili Cook-Off and many fun activities including Whip Cream Wrangle, Flip Cup Flight, Honorary Mayor of Quincy Award, Facial Hair Frenzy and of course the hilarious dating contest THE BACH. Our local celebrity Chuck Wood will be tested to see his shadow and provide his Winter Prediction. The Quincy Jr./Sr. High School S-Club is helping with the setup and tear-down. Our Board Members will be selling tickets, pouring wine and providing information about joining our Chamber and being active in our community. We look forward to gathering with our friends, family and neighborsfor food, drinks, shopping, and good times.

We've had some recent changes to our Chamber Board; Alex Westerberg, co-owner of American Valley Hardware , has stepped down from his position as Chamber Director. Alex's wife Alida, co-owner of American Valley Hardware , has agreed to come on board to fill his position. We gladly welcome Alida and her thoughts and experience as a local business owner in guiding our Chamber forward in the coming months.

Our staff member Rayen is the new addition to our team, and is providing support with updating our newsletters, website and social media. She is also providing outreach to our current and prospective Chamber Members. Cheryl recently attended another Chamber Coalition meeting with other Chambers throughout Plumas and Sierra Counties; we look forward to future momentum and furthering our relationships! Board Meetings continue monthly on Zoom video chat. We have one open board position and encourage a local business professional to join us. The Board is discussing new insights from the annual GrowthZone Chamber Survey, which sparked interest for organizational goals and future ideas including developing a Strategic Plan.

Here's to an AMAZING start to 2023!

What Are We Up To?

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:51:05 GMT

What Are We Up To?

- We had our Board Meeting on Monday, June 6th. Items discussed included adoption of our Budget for the 2022/2023 fiscal year, the PG&E settlement money and scheduling a special meeting to move forward, the Fair, the Fair Parade, flower baskets and the Plumas County Chamber Coalition. Our next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 13th at 7:00 a.m. via Zoom. If you would like to attend please send us an email at info@quincychamber.com .

- On June 8th and 9th we assisted with the Community Tour, the Community Opening Meeting and the Workshop as part of the Recreation Economy for Rural Communities (RERC) grant program that Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship obtained. Read below for more details and see pictures.

- On June 13th Cheryl applied for two grants through the Feather River Tourism Association; one for Sparkle and one for Groundhog Fever Festival. The intent of these grants will be to extend advertising for the two events in an effort to increase overnight stays in our area.

- Cheryl will be on the air with JDX this Friday, June 17th, at 7:15 a.m. Tune in for the latest and greatest events and happenings in the Quincy area! If you have any events coming up in the next month you would like discussed please submit them via our our Community Calendar at http://www.quincychamber.com/community-calendar.html.