Traveling alone on I-25 to Albuquerque and then sitting up in a hotel room alone gives me plenty of time to think about things. So I have made a mental list of things I should write about in this week's column.

1. The Chamber of Commerce office has completed the move to our new home in the Grant County Veteran's Memorial Business & Conference Center. Come by and visit us. Meet our new employees: Melanie and Nancy.
2. Hey folks in Bayard... we will have a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of TGI Pizza on Friday - May 12 at 11:00 a.m. TGI Pizza is located at the old Pizza Hut location at 401 Tom Foy in Bayard. Owners Debbie and Jim Nennich invite family and friends to attend the ribbon cutting event. We hope you will join us for the celebration.
3. So I'm traveling in downtown Albuquerque and the traffic light turns yellow. Being used to the short caution lights in Silver City, I hit my brakes. Wow, two cars behind me started honking. One car goes around me giving me the single-finger salute. Hey... chill out. I'm used to the caution lights in Silver City that turn red quicker than a choir boy at a strip club.
4. Silver City and Grant County were well-represented at an event titled New Mexipo! at the Balloon Fiesta Museum and at the 2017 Governor's Conference on Tourism. Our display looks great and we are answering lots of questions and handing out lots of information about tourism in Grant County. I really appreciate the Silver City Arts & Cultural District sharing the costs of our booth spaces and registration at these two events. And the ladies from ACD have been marvelous helping me erect and break-down our 8 ft. x 10 ft. display.
5. I don't believe I have ever eaten at an Indian Food Restaurant. The two ladies I am working with are going to teach me about ordering food that I know nothing about. This should be interesting.
6. I met with a New Mexico company that develops audio-visual and sound systems for buildings such as the Grant County Conference Center. We have no audio-visual equipment and the main ballroom has no sound system. I'm going to need to get this company together with the purchasing department at Grant County.
7. Can you believe it is already time for the First New Mexico Bank Wild, Wild West Pro Rodeo? Get the boots shined up, brush the dirt off your hat and let's get ready to watch the bull riders rumble. By the way, you really don't have to have pressed crease in your jeans to look cool at a rodeo.
8. I hope you will join us at the Fort Bayard National Cemetery on Memorial Day for the annual memorial event. I believe the Marine Corps League is heading up this year's event. It a great time to honor our country's heroes.
9. I hope the wind isn't blowing this coming Friday. I have a pile of limbs and trimmings I need to haul to the landfill. That's right, I go to the landfill like we are supposed to do. I know there are some folks that just drive into the country-side and unload their trash on the side of the road... but that isn't legal. More importantly, it makes our county roads look terrible.
10. Okay folks, when an ambulance comes toward you with its lights flashing... move over. Get out of the way.
11. Hey, we help with ribbon cuttings all around the county for other people, so why aren't we having a ribbon cutting and open house at the Grant County Veteran's Memorial Business & Conference Center? Good question.... While driving during my trip back to Silver City I'll think of a good answer.
12. Last... we have the New Mexico Cabinet Secretary of the Economic Development Department as our guest speaker for our June 1 lunch meeting. The meeting will be at Bear Mountain Lodge. Matt's speech should be pretty darn interesting and the lunch tickets at $20 each should sell fast. Everyone will need to register and pay online in advance for this lunch meeting. Call us to find out how to register online - 538-3785.

If you have comments or need information on just about anything, call us at 538-3785.