Bentonville Chamber Launches Breakfast Series

BENTONVILLE --Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce members heard from five community leaders about projects happening in the city during the chamber's first Business Matters Breakfast on Friday morning.

About 120 people attended the program's inaugural meeting at Avondale Chapel, said Nancy Desler, director of marketing and design.

The chapel is at 2005 E. Central Ave.

David Wright, Parks and Recreation director; Troy Galloway, director of community development; David Deggs, Downtown Bentonville executive director; Kalene Griffith, Bentonville Convention and Visitors Bureau president and CEO; and Tommy Bailey with the Bella Vista Property Owners Association spoke about the city's major projects including the Bentonville Community Recreation Center, the Southeast Downtown Area Plan, upcoming programs and the Bella Vista Village assessment proposal, Desler said.

Business Matters Breakfast will happen quarterly. Scheduled dates are April 18, July 25 and Oct. 17. Topics will include education, road infrastructure and arts and entertainment, Desler said.

The new series replaces the Urban Summit series the chamber offered, Desler said. The Urban Summit series was a two- to three-hour lunch. The breakfast series will be shorter and be held in the mornings to make it more accessible for chamber members, Desler said.

"For a small-business owner, it's difficult to get out of the office for two to three hours around lunch," she said.

The breakfast series will focus more on community happenings rather than the small business advice the summit series did, Desler added. That advice will still be offered through the chamber's Small Business Hub program, which meets monthly.

The chamber wanted a community-focused series because there are so many things happening in Bentonville as it continues to grow, Desler said.

For more information about the chamber and its events, visit www.bbvchamber.com.

NW News on 02/22/2014

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