The Cross County Chamber of Commerce board of directors met Thursday; the first meeting for new president Kevin Watts.
The chamber board discussed preliminary plans for this year’s FarmFest during the meeting. Chamber director Ashley Brumley said the Delta Smoke barbecue contest and FarmFest would continue to be held on back-to-back weekends in June. However, live music, food vendors, and other free activities will be incorporated into the barbecue contest.
Brumley noted ancillary events would be held the week of FarmFest including an evening glow run to replace the 5K and live gospel music at the Wynne Sports Complex on that Sunday. New sponsorship levels are also in the works including a presenting stage sponsor. The headliners for this year have been confirmed and will be announced once contracts are signed.
In other news, the chamber welcomed new member Chase Calvert; named Jacob Hess, Tillman Kennon, and Greg Ungerank as volunteers to judge applications for the annual scholarship; and discussed Brumley and Lexi Gahr attending the MAKO Conference from April 29 to May 1. MAKO is an annual chamber conference and is named for the states represented – Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. It was at last year’s conference that local officials learned about the dessert dash, which was incorporated into this year’s banquet.
Board members also tabled a funding request from Wynne Downtown Revitalization for the upcoming “A Downtown Mardi Gras” event, and heard from Wynne Economic Development CEO Bevin Hunter about the business roundtables.
Wynne Economic Development plans to host bi-monthly roundtables with local businesses starting Tuesday, Feb. 20.
