Hopkins County Chamber Connection – March 27

By Butch Burney

Less than two weeks before the Great Total Solar Eclipse on April 8!

Here are a few items we want our residents to know:

1. The crowd we have is weather-dependent. Yes, we are expecting a lot of visitors—thousands—if the weather is sunny. If it’s raining, we won’t see the people driving here, so we don’t yet know what to expect crowd-wise.
2. Don’t panic. It is a one-day affair. There is no need to hoard all the water, toilet paper and milk. Do your regular shopping before Sunday or Monday. Get your gas before the weekend, but you don’t need to fill up a 50-gallon tank for reserve. It’s one day!
3. Be friendly and patient. Visitors don’t know our town or our traffic patterns, so be friendly and helpful. We want them to come back to Sulphur Springs and tell their friends what a great experience they had here.
4. Enjoy it! For most of us, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime event to live right on the centerline of a Total Solar Eclipse.
5. Mingle with our visitors the weekend before the eclipse. We will have a concert from 1:00 pm until 9:00 or 10:00 downtown on Saturday; there will be a vendor’s market at The Venue at 219, restaurants and retail shops will be open, and Heritage Park will be in full regalia. Come out, shop, eat and mingle.
6. Check out the website TotalEclipseSSTx.com for all events, parking locations, etc., for the big weekend.

Need glasses for the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse? Want a T-shirt and sticker? We know where you can get them.

The Chamber of Commerce has eclipse merchandise, including T-shirts, stickers, and glasses. With tens of thousands of visitors targeting Hopkins County on April 8, don’t take your time.

The Chamber has an eclipse website, TotalEclipseSSTx.com, where you can upload information about events, attractions, lodging, retail shops, and restaurants. That will be the information clearinghouse for what is happening in Hopkins County on April 8 and the weekend leading up to that day.

We will host a free concert downtown on Saturday, April 6, featuring The Paper Dolls, Jason Waldon and the Alibis, and Dubb and the Luv Machines. That weekend, there will also be a vendors’ market at The Venue at 219.

Check out the website, upload information, and get prepared!

Chamber Golf Tournament

Registration is now open for the 35th Annual Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament, which will be on Friday, May 3. Teams can register online at the Chamber website, HopkinsChamber.org, or we can email you the registration form.

The tournament is limited to 43 teams – 18 in the morning and 25 in the afternoon. We base tee times on a first-come basis.

The cost for a team of six is $750, which includes a morning or afternoon tee time, three carts, and six lunches.

Coffee and Conversation

Hopkins County Abstract will host the next networking event, Coffee and Conversation, from 7:30–9 am. Thursday, April 4, at their office on Oak Avenue.

You don’t have to be a Chamber member to attend. It is open to everyone in the community.

It’s a great chance to network and meet others in a casual setting.

55+ Health Fair

The ROC at First Baptist Church will host the 55+ Health Fair on Wednesday, April 10, from 9:00 am to noon.

The fair will include therapy, blood sugar checks, pre-need funeral plans, medical equipment, home health information, and more.

For more information, call Karon Weatherman at 903-243-3255.

Solar Eclipse Art Exhibit

The Hopkins County Infinity 4-H Club is coordinating a Solar Eclipse Art Exhibit with age divisions for children seven years old and under, 8 to 12, 13 to 18, and 19 and over.

They accept entries through Friday, April 12, at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Office.

The maximum entry size is 16×20 inches. Display dates will be April 15-19 in the Extension Office classroom.

All Hopkins County residents are eligible to submit art. Science and art teachers are encouraged to promote this opportunity with students.

For more information, contact Lisa Sprague at 903-885-3443 or Johanna Hicks at 903-243-0425.

Plant Sale

The Sulphur Springs Church of the Nazarene will hold a Plant sale at 1300 South League St from Thursday to Saturday, April 4-6.