Every first Thursday of the month for almost 3 years I have intentionally gotten out of bed at 5:00 AM so I could be present by 6:45 AM for the monthly Sparks Chamber of Commerce BizFlash program.  I am not a morning person by choice, but there are some things worth getting up for.  As founder and chair of this great chamber event I continue to be amazed at the amount of other people who are as passionate as I am about this program.

This year has been tough for so many, and when Len Stevens, executive director of the Sparks Chamber, sought program funding to keep BizFlash free to our chamber members I was concerned that we may have to go back to our smaller space that caps out at 55 attendees.  I was also envisioning Len bringing coffee-in-a-box with paper cups and napkins, along with other chamber staff shopping at 6:00 AM for pastries and fruit to continue the free continental breakfast that is an important feature of BizFlash.

To date, we have not had to move backwards thanks to the significant support of our local casino property members.  The Sparks Holiday Inn was incredibly generous to host our event for 12 consecutive months, ending in January 2010 by providing facility space, room set up, and a first class continental breakfast for 115 people.

Circus Circus raised their hand next and hosted 80+ attendees in both February and March, sparing no expense to provide the highest quality arrangements.  First class sponsorship continued as the Grand Sierra Resort hosted the BizFlash program in April and May, adding a raffle drawing for an overnight stay and dinner for two at their fabulous Italian restaurant.  Today the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa hosted our June BizFlash for another 80 attendees, and we’ll be back there on July 1st.  I was personally greeted by 5 staff members who couldn’t have been more helpful, courteous or excited to be part of our program.  The fine dining raffle was just one more piece of elegance as we ended our popular program today.

There are many more people to chat about (and you know I will), but today we honor our corporate casino property sponsors of BizFlash for their amazing commitment to our community, our businesses and our chamber.  They make a positive difference in our quality of life in northern Nevada!