Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce holds annual meeting online

MOSES LAKE — It was a different kind of annual meeting that the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce held on Tuesday.

Online and short. And hopefully the only one of its kind.

“We certainly live in some unusual times,” said Annette Lovitt, the chamber’s outgoing president. “We’ve had to cancel, postpone or modify most of our events this year.”

And that included the annual dinner. While the chamber named a new president for 2020-21, chose an ambassador of the year and handed out the President’s Award, no one was inducted into the Ag Hall of Fame this year.

However, the chamber is soliciting nominations for next year’s Ag Hall of Fame.

“Most farmers were focused on keeping their operations going,” Lovitt said.

Jennifer Rosin, the regional operations manager of Northwest Farm Credit Services in Moses Lake, was named the chamber’s new president. Rosin said she wants to see businesses in the community working together in order to “thrive and not just survive.”

Caralyn Bess, the publisher of the Columbia Basin Herald, received the President’s Award for being both the individual and business that consistently participated in chamber and community events over the last year.

“This is totally unexpected and out of the blue,” Bess said. “I love this community, and it’s a privilege to be part of the chamber, just a privilege.”

Michelle Krogh, who handles Columbia Basin public relations for Hagadone Directories, received the chamber’s Ambassador Award this year for her work being at and promoting chamber events like ribbon-cuttings at new businesses.

“I’m never at a loss for words, but I don’t know what to say,” Krogh said. “It’s super fun, and it doesn’t seem like work.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.