First Rural Virtual Networking Event Next Week!
On November 20, 2024, at 12:00 PM, the Mountainair Dispatch will be hosting the first of its rural virtual networking (RVN or “Raven”) events. This program, which we beta-tested this summer with the support of the New Mexico Local News Fund and the University of Missouri’s Reynolds Journalism Institute, is designed to connect small business owners and managers to each other. Our goal is to create a network where small businesses can offer support and marketing for each other, filling the gap left by the absence of support from chambers of commerce, economic development corporations, and local governments. In Torrance County, we hope that the Raven program can provide the support that small businesses need, especially now that the Greater East Mountain Chamber of Commerce has ceased operations.
Raven meetings will occur online via Zoom or Google Meet (whichever best suits the needs of members during any given meeting), in a Telegram-based private chat room, and in-person throughout Torrance County. Online meetings are the primary format for Raven meetings because of the great distance between the towns here in Torrance County and the fact that small businesses owners and managers are better served being able to hop off an online meeting and get back to work rather than driving the lonely highways of New Mexico to get back to work. The private chat room in Telegram is intended to offer a way for business owners and managers to connect quickly without worrying about their concerns and questions being made public. Telegram is a private, secure, and encrypted chat program, and the Torrance County Raven chat room will be exclusive to its members. In-person meetings will take place on a roughly quarterly basis and will have a primarily social focus, offering local businesses a way to build on relationships formed in the online meetings and chat room and a way for members to socialize much like they would in chamber of commerce meetings. It can be reassuring to have a team of professionals gather together to share a meal or appetizers in a local restaurant or retailer’s space (it doesn’t hurt that such meetings put money back into our communities in a way that also supports small businesses).
The Raven program is designed to be inclusive, welcoming all varieties of small businesses. Whether you're a solo artisan, a non-profit operator, a retailer, a restauranteur, a farmer or rancher, or someone with a wealth of business experience to share, you are invited to join us. Torrance County is home to a diverse population with remarkable experiences to share, and we look forward to welcoming you with open arms to our meetings and events.
People gain membership by signing up for the monthly or annual premium membership with the Mountainair Dispatch. The sole reason to have a premium membership fund the Raven program is to cover the costs of the software subscriptions needed for the program. Using the premium membership to Mountainair Dispatch for Raven also means that I can offer information and avenues of discussion to members privately behind the premium paywall without having to program additional categories of membership on the Dispatch website. If you are currently a premium member/supporter of the Mountainair Dispatch, you can already participate in the Raven program. If not, you can sign up for membership here.