Every third Tuesday of the month, members of the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce gather for a monthly membership luncheon. On April 19, the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce held its luncheon at Gamba Ristorante in Merrillville, which is a member of the chamber.
“We have over 125 people here today, so we're limited on venues that we can attend. We're fortunate enough to have several members that are members of the chamber where we can host our lunches,” said Deann Patena, president & CEO of Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce. “We like to give them business when we can, so we thought it’d be a nice day to have a lunch here with the Secretary of State being able to get right off the interstate coming here from Indianapolis.”
Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan was the main speaker of April’s membership luncheon, and she spent the majority of the luncheon touching on local election processes and resources. While 2020 was a difficult year in many regards, Sullivan is grateful that it did spike interest in the elections, and she is proud of how Indiana has developed concerning elections since then.
“All the work that has been done before me by the legislative branch laid a strong foundation as a resource to have accessible, fair, and transparent elections. I'm now playing defense on all of that,” Sullivan said. “Both of my boys are hockey players, and they play defense which is crazy fun. I always tell them that offense might sell the tickets but defense wins the game. That's exactly what we're doing in the State of Indiana. I'm honored to play defense on your behalf.”
After Sullivan spoke, the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce welcomed several new members and gave each the chance to introduce themselves and their businesses.
“People just love to come out and network and see each other and share some business opportunities and then hear a good speaker and have some good lunch,” Patena said.
Ending on a fun note, Crossroads awarded several members with prizes ranging from a membership spotlight in its newsletter to gift baskets. Director of the Crown Point Community Library Julie Wendorf won a gift basket stocked with goodies such as gummy bears and mugs from Simply Amazing Market. She plans to take it back to her staff lounge and knows her staff will be excited to share the treat.
“I always love the networking opportunities that we have here at the chamber, especially interacting with elected officials,” Wendorf said.
To become a member or learn more about the Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce, visit www.crossroadschamber.org.
