North Fork Needs Your Ideas

NORTH FORK – What do we have to do to bring more jobs to the North Fork area, what drives the economy here, and what do local residents need to get started?

Those are some of the questions being asked by North Fork Chamber of Commerce President Scott Marsh. In an effort to get some answers, the Chamber is organizing a North Fork Economic Forum and asking for the community’s help, starting with an online survey to help dial in just where we’re headed with our businesses in North Fork.Whether you have a few ideas of your own or just want to listen, everyone is welcome at the North Fork Economic Forum at the North Fork Rancheria Community Center on Saturday, Sept. 22, from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.The doors open for registration at 8:30 a.m., when coffee and breakfast will be available.

Your $10 registration fee includes breakfast, workshop materials and a barbecue lunch after the meeting. High school students are encouraged to attend for free.

After opening Slim’s Koffee Shak on North Fork’s main street about 18 months ago, Marsh said, “in the first six months I had 80-some people come in here and talk to me about how to open a business. I nurtured everyone’s ideas – a few of them came to fruition and a lot of them didn’t. I think that started the process rolling in my mind, okay how does this town get resources and access to small business information.”

At Saturday’s forum, the Chamber will hand out and discuss the results of the recent North Fork Survey. Other information will be presented on how to get start-up capital for a small business, local, county and state resources, expansion loans and much more.

Come out and brainstorm about what we can do to get North Fork moving forward, and find what you need to get your small business off the ground.

To ensure that enough food and workshop materials are available, everyone who would like to attend is asked to send an RSVP to info@north-fork-chamber.com, or call 559-877-2410 by Sept. 19.

Be sure to take the survey by September 19th at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NFCoC

Hosted by the North Fork Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with:

Central Sierra Pest Control

Central Valley Business Incubator

Madera County Economic Development Council

Minarets High School

Mountain Shed

North Fork Community Development Council

Small Business Development Center

NF Rancheria of Mono Indians of California

Slim’s Koffee Shak

Yosemite Sequoia RCDC

Ponderosa Telephone

San Joaquin Valley Leadership Forum

Sierra Business Council