Painted View Ranch owner Donna Hood is the new president of the Custer County Chamber of Commerce.

Hood and her husband, Ralph, moved to the Valley from Pennsylvania in 1999. She joined the local Chamber organization in 2004.

While she may be the Valley’s newest Chamber president, she is not new to the organization.

“I was president of the Chamber back in Pennsylvania,” said Hood. She also noted she was a member of an economic development committee then.

“The two go hand-in-hand,” said Hood, “because they are the heart of the community.”

Hood continued by saying that with the current state of the national economy, it is more important than ever for organizations to cooperate with each other.

“The Chamber is a great place to do just that,” said Hood. “Businesses can network with each other, and the Chamber can help showcase the two towns and the community,” commented Hood.

To that end, Hood said she wants to work with the county commissioners and officials with the towns of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff. “It’s critical to have a good working relationship with the local government  entities,” said Hood.

Hood also said it is her goal to increase Chamber membership.

Membership is open to business owners, nonprofit organizations and individuals. “You do not have to own your own business to be a Chamber member,” said Hood. “You just have to want to get involved.”

So that all Chamber members are involved, Hood has implemented a committee plan.

Those committees include parades and events, marketing, strategic planning, recruitment and many more.

The Chamber office, located in the back office of the Custer County Visitors’ Center in the 500 block of Main Street in Westcliffe, is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Rounding our the Chamber board are Grant Lewinski, Linda Neimeyer, Rene Smith, Joe Cascarelli, Ken Felty, Treasure Merchant and Teresa Farish.

– Nora Drenner