The Portage & District Chamber of Commerce has been doing their best to push past any obstacles presented by the COVID-19 pandemic since it began 2 years ago.

Executive director Cindy McDonald says one of the biggest struggles was overcoming the inability for members of the chamber to network. Since that's one of the things the chamber loves to offer, the jump to online Zoom meetings simply didn't feel the same.

"When we got to hold our golf tournament in September and our Business Awards in November, people were so excited to see each other again," notes McDonald. "We can't wait to offer that opportunity to our members again."

She adds they have a lot of events planned for the future, starting with a luncheon in April, which she's hoping will be a great opportunity for members to go out and socialize once again. She mentions the additional in-person events will also aid the restaurants, caterers, and venues in the city.

"The trickle down effect is going to be great for our community," says McDonald. "I think a lot of other organizations are following suit and starting to open up and have events. It just makes our community more vibrant again and will help us, hopefully, back to a new normal."

She notes, with the chamber being around for 135 years, they didn't want a pandemic to be the reason they had to shut the chamber down.

McDonald says, it's been a rough two years for all nonprofits, but hopes they can get back on track moving forward.