A lead obtained by Past President Jan Krcha and Board Member Sharron Girod while on an annual chamber visit to Sacramento, could mean the City of Ridgecrest is eligible for economic development aid. They discovered that the Office of Economic Adjustment and California's Trade and Commerce Agency offer programs to help communities hard-hit by defense cut-backs.

In June and July officials from California Trade and Commerce and from the Department of Defense Economic Adjustment visited with the city about the DoD cut-back's impact on our economy. City officials and the representatives from the agencies believe that Ridgecrest is eligible for program grant assistance.

City staff prepared applications for federal and state funds for inpact assessment, market studies, strategic implementation plans for economic diversification and recovery.

The funds will be good for Ridgecrest because we can map roads to recovery and will be able to effectively focus our resources to diversify our economy.

The city will work it's magic, and we will do our part to help. This shows that by uniting our efforts, we can maximize our opportunities.

The Chamber is always looking for ways to improve the valley's economic condition. If you can help, call the chamber at: (760) 375-8331