Good Morning Lead (& Friends)!
If you’ve been reading my emails for any length of time you might think I’m unrealistically optimistic ALL the time. You’d be wrong. I’m actually quite cynical. But I choose to try and be optimistic despite this general outlook, constantly trying to pick the happy high road.
This week I was struck again that happiness isn’t a feeling, it’s a choice. I have to choose to set down my fears. The world doesn’t need one more stressed out angsty person, it needs another happy and positive person – another beacon of hope in a storm. I read an email that compared us to lighthouses in a storm during this rough time. Lighthouses imply there are storms, that there are waves, and generally bad times. But the lighthouse isn’t responsible for any of that, and in fact can’t control those factors. All they do is offer hope and guidance for those tough times.
There are people in your life who need you to be a lighthouse, maybe it’s your co-workers or your family or your kids. Please make sure you’re taking care of your light, and staying strong for those adrift ships – as there are many of them out there right now. And also look for the beacons of light in your own life, because you need guidance too.
And most importantly, remember, this storm won’t last forever!
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Here’s some notes from around Lead:
Easter Service: The Lead-Deadwood Ministerial Association is hosting a drive-in eccumenical Easter service. It will be held in the Sanford Lab Homestake Visitor Center Parking lot (on the Davis Ring patio). You can drive in, but please remain in your car with the windows rolled up (people not following these guidelines could shut the entire service down so please be considerate of everyone). The service will be available on KDSJ 980 AM, and also streamed on Facebook. Services will be at 7:30 and 10am. This is a difficult time when we all want to be together and celebrate so we’re thankful for creative thinking and finding ways to come together even in these separating times.
4th of July Still On! At this point the Chamber has no plans to cancel the 4th of July! We would like to remain flexible and adaptable. This situation is quickly moving, and so we’re holding off on canceling things even in May (our Annual Banquet on 5/21). We’re still in a holding pattern. The Show and Shine did cancel (not a Chamber event) and Neutrino Days is shifting to a virtual event (a SURF hosted event). It is our hope that even if things are in a shutdown, we could still have the fireworks at the very least, but everything right now is just tentative, and as they say, “We’ll know more in 30 days!”
Food Boxes: We’re working to get food boxes delivered to Lead in the next few weeks. We need to get the word out though so they can be picked up here. Stay tuned for more information next week as we finalize this plan.
Explore Fitness & Adventures is doing some workshops and online fitness classes! Choosing happiness is also about doing things that will keep us healthy and making good decisions. Exercise is a key component in that! Check out the schedule of events on Facebook!
Some Avenues for Money: There are several loan programs around, if you haven’t already talked with your banker about the Paycheck Protection Program I recommend getting that application in (for businesses under 500 employees). There’s also the Small Business Administration Loan, and Deadwood Lead Economic Development is also doing a disaster relief program. You can apply here: https://www.deadwoodleadedc.com/images/Disaster-Relief-Loan-Application.pdf The first 20,000 restaurant applicants can get $500 from the National Restaurant Association. See more info on that here: https://rerf.us/apply-for-aid/
Be sure to check our website for a list of members who are still open and doing business! Do you have an announcement or an event you’d like me to talk about next week?
In closing, I encourage you to give your circle some cheery light! And if you want to go down a rabbit hole Google “La Jument” for some iconic and dramatic lighthouse pictures during a storm.
Sierra Ward
Director
LACC & SLHVC