Laurel community leaders work to keep the business local

LAUREL — The Laurel Community Chamber Club has been working together to come up with tangible ways to support the community of Laurel amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Board members agree that every effort to promote local businesses must be taken. 

Throughout the month of April, shoppers will have a chance at winning $100 in Chamber bucks when they shop local. Chamber businesses will have raffle tickets available to be filled out each time you support that business. 

At the end of the month, all the tickets will be gathered, and a winner will be chosen. Businesses that are not open for walk-ins will have the option to keep track of phone and online customers.

The Easter Egg Hunt is always a huge hit for the community and so cancelling the event was not an option, Laurel Economic Development Coordinator Chris Rasmussen said. 

The group came up with a social-distancing, family-friendly option that will be sure to be a fun time for everyone: The Easter Scramble, she said. 

Local businesses all around the community will have a colored egg with a letter on it placed in their window facing the street. 

The letters can be unscrambled to create a special Easter message. Participants will have the entire weekend of Easter to find the eggs and unscramble the message before emailing their responses, which are due no later than Monday morning at 8 a.m. 

The key and hint sheet will be posted on Laurel’s Facebook page as well as the front door of the city offices. 

The winners will receive various amounts of Chamber bucks and will be chosen through a raffle process and will be announced on Monday at NOON. 

The Laurel Chamber Community Club is supported by Chamber memberships. 

Anyone interested in becoming a supporting Chamber member, the membership forms can be found on the Laurel website, www.laurelne.com and go to the Chamber page.