CHAMBER NEWS & VIEWS

Snapshots

Well, it’s official. It’s been one year since the pandemic shut us down. Some days it seems like one hundred years ago…some days it feels like yesterday.

I think too often we dwell upon what we’ve missed. I know we’ve missed a lot. Weddings, graduations, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. And that’s just the fun stuff.

Then there are those losses from the other end of the spectrum. Jobs have been threatened or lost. Lives upended. Fear, sickness, loneliness. Too much isolation. Too much of the unknown. We’ve all been affected in one way or another. Usually in more ways than one.

But I think we need to flip the script. Things are starting to look up. There is that light at the end of the tunnel. And despite all the stuff (and I wanted to use a much harsher word) we’ve had to deal with, looking back, we’ve learned a lot. We’ve all changed. We’ve all pivoted. We’re not exactly the same as we used to be….there is a difference. And overall, I think we’re different in a good way.

I think we’re more polite. We’re more patient. More understanding. More compassionate. Although, since the shutdown, with roads experiencing less traffic, we’re driving way too fast! We gotta slow it down.

I’d like to try one thing to mark this year. Check your cameras and your phones. Send me the last picture you took before the pandemic shut us down. To be fully transparent, I am copying this from something I saw on NBC. I know what my picture is. The chamber had just finished our Spring Expo. I took lots of pictures. And looking at them now makes me happy. And I know at some point, I will be planning another in-person Expo to get our member businesses together with our residents. So I’m posting those pictures at the chamber. Send me yours, and I’ll post them as well. That will show us where we’ve been, and where we hope to be again soon! Just email me at lynne@southhillschamber.com.

But there is that one person. I have to say you have not learned much during this time. I had a new car….which is actually a used car. But it was new to me. I was so excited – something newish. Turns out, someone hit my car and drove off. My back bumper is a mess. And I am sad. My new car is now officially a new/used damaged car. To the rest of you, thanks for how far you have come, and what you are doing now and what you will do. So, send in those pictures. I want to see your vision for our bright future.

Lynne Conlan is Executive Director of the South Hillsborough Chamber of Commerce. Call her at 813-634-5111, or email lynne@southhillschamber.com.