Cibola chamber honor members

By Mike Marino
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — It's summertime and that means barbecue.

To celebrate, the Grants/Cibola County Chamber of Commerce will play host to their first Membership Appreciation BBQ Saturday at Bluewater State Park from noon to 5 p.m.

The event is to show appreciation for what the chamber members have given over the year, and to showcase one of the area's premiere attractions.

"We felt we wanted to show off one of the area's jewels; Bluewater State Park and its beautiful surroundings," said Star Gonzales of the chamber. "The area has so much to offer and the park is definitely one of them. We were originally thinking of various dates to hold the event and at first we considered Aug. 11, but felt it was way too close to the kids going back to school and maybe some of the families may have plans for one final vacation trip before summer ends, so instead we moved the date to Aug. 4 in order to accommodate them."

The chamber is experiencing steady growth as the community grows, Gonzales said.

"We average around 220 to 230 members at any one time, that includes local business and regional ones that conduct business in the area. Each year we attract anywhere from 10 to maybe 20 new members, but then of course there is an attrition rate we also have to contend with too," she said.

The event is for chamber members and their families only, so if you do plan on attending they will be serving barbecued chicken and ribs along with potato salad and all the trimmings, along with hot dogs for kids. Lunch is included but people asked to BYOB. Pets are invited too.

Kokopelli Adventures of Gallup will be at the picnic with canoe rides and you can test your skills and agility with rock wall climbing.

To get to the park from Grants, take Interstate Highway 40 west to Exit 63, approximately 22 miles. Take New Mexico Highway 412 south for seven miles where it dead ends at the state park.

Attendees must RSVP by calling the Grants/Cibola County Chamber office at (505) 287-4802.