2020 BBQ Festival

Dear Organization

The Leadville BBQ & Brew Festival has established itself has a well-loved event that really caters to our local residents and businesses. The Leadville Lake County Chamber of Commerce has been the sole host of this event for the past 4 years and we have realized it is just too big for one organization to host. So, we are reaching out to various organizations within our community that may be interested in teaming up to create a separate entity that can host this event and operate as a fundraisers for all our organizations.

In 2018 the event raised nearly $20,000 and, in 2019, despite the snow and rain, we raised $9,000 and were able to donate over $1000 back to local charities. I think we can all agree this is a significant sum of money. The chamber board imagines this collaborative to involve multiple organizations working towards the production of the BBQ & Brew Fest. The work can be done together or divided into sub-committees such as, BBQ competition, alcohol sales, volunteer coordination, logistics, marketing, etc., with each organization heading one these sub-committees.

There are some immediate actions that need to occur that make this request a bit time sensitive. First up is securing permission from the city. Last year it took a few months for us to be put before the city council. This is urgent because we need to secure our date and registration with the Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS) before December 1^st or we risk losing our date. Finally, registration for the BBQ team usually starts in January to coincide with Frisco’s registration so that teams can register for both.

In all fairness, there is one major hurdle that we may have to contend with for 2020 and that is the Harrison Ave. paving and sidewalk project. The sidewalks are to be upgraded for ADA compliance in May with paving happening “sometime.” We don’t anticipate the sidewalk construction to interfere but it is a big unknown and we may need to contemplate alternative sites.

We hope that your organization is interested in participating in this great fundraising opportunity in some capacity. The chamber board believes if we come together, we can not only grow the event for this community, but provide an excellent fundraising opportunity for our collective groups. No matter the size of your organization, we believe there is a place for each of us to participate in various capacities and we hope to hear from you soon!

Sincerely,
The Leadville/Lake County Chamber of Commerce
Tracy Purdy, President (575)491-2208
Cindy Nemeth, Vice-President
Jill Hall – Treasurer
Debby Lopez – Secretary
Sharlene Crockett
Jen Shanahan


2020 BBQ Festival Dear Organization The Leadville BBQ & Brew Festival has established itself has a well-loved event that really caters to our local residents and businesses. The Leadville Lake County Chamber of Commerce has been the sole host of this event for the past 4 years and we have realized it is just too big for one organization to host. So, we are reaching out to various organizations within our community that may be interested in teaming up to create a separate entity that can host this event and operate as a fundraisers for all our organizations. In 2018 the event raised nearly $20,000 and, in 2019, despite the snow and rain, we raised $9,000 and were able to donate over $1000 back to local charities. I think we can all agree this is a significant sum of money. The chamber board imagines this collaborative to involve multiple organizations working towards the production of the BBQ & Brew Fest. The work can be done together or divided into sub-committees such as, BBQ competition, alcohol sales, volunteer coordination, logistics, marketing, etc., with each organization heading one these sub-committees. There are some immediate actions that need to occur that make this request a bit time sensitive. First up is securing permission from the city. Last year it took a few months for us to be put before the city council. This is urgent because we need to secure our date and registration with the Kansas City BBQ Society (KCBS) before December 1^st or we risk losing our date. Finally, registration for the BBQ team usually starts in January to coincide with Frisco’s registration so that teams can register for both. In all fairness, there is one major hurdle that we may have to contend with for 2020 and that is the Harrison Ave. paving and sidewalk project. The sidewalks are to be upgraded for ADA compliance in May with paving happening “sometime.” We don’t anticipate the sidewalk construction to interfere but it is a big unknown and we may need to contemplate alternative sites. We hope that your organization is interested in participating in this great fundraising opportunity in some capacity. The chamber board believes if we come together, we can not only grow the event for this community, but provide an excellent fundraising opportunity for our collective groups. No matter the size of your organization, we believe there is a place for each of us to participate in various capacities and we hope to hear from you soon! Sincerely, The Leadville/Lake County Chamber of Commerce Tracy Purdy, President (575)491-2208 Cindy Nemeth, Vice-President Jill Hall – Treasurer Debby Lopez – Secretary Sharlene Crockett Jen Shanahan
Chamber E-Newsletter - copy of October 2019