A special visit by members of the Alaska Chamber to touch base with Cordova business leaders, scheduled for June 3-5, has been pushed back to June 2021. The decision was made in response to uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic, officials said. The chamber’s visit to Cordova was initially scheduled to coincide with the Copper River Nouveau event.
“We want to see what the challenges are that may not be as obvious to people living on the road system,” said Kati Capozzi, president and CEO of the chamber. “But a lot of these [events] are being canceled… especially places like Cordova, because they seem to be even more concerned with travel restrictions and keeping their communities safe, and rightly so.”
Each year, the chamber schedules an outreach trip to a different out-of-the-way community. These trips, which are open to all chamber members, usually draw between 30-50 participants, Capozzi said. When deciding where to visit, the chamber tries to select communities from all regions of the state, putting the chamber in contact with a cross-section of Alaska’s business community. The information gathered on these outreach trips helps inform the chamber’s policies, she said.
“We’re very disappointed that we’re not going to be there this year,” Capozzi said. “Cordova was a very strong voice in having the Alaska Chamber adopt a position of support for the ferry system last year… Cordova has such a unique story to tell, and anytime I’ve been there I’ve always learned something new.”
Residents hoping to give input to the Alaska Chamber before next year’s visit can do so by getting in touch with the Cordova Chamber of Commerce, Capozzi said.
