By Martha B. Jacob –

It was a packed room at the October 20 Brown County Chamber of Commerce meeting, held at the Country Inn Restaurant in Mt. Orab.
The large crowd enjoyed a great breakfast, courtesy of the Country Inn, then got right down to business.
President of the chamber, Brian Elliott reported to the group that he was still looking for someone to serve as chair of the Economic Development, Communications & Public Relations and the Workforce Development committees. Elliott said that each chamber member would be receiving a description of what chairing each committee would entail.
Elliott went on to talk about was a huge success the Brown County Fair had been.
He reminded everyone about the upcoming Reverse Raffle set for Nov. 5, from 7 to 9 p.m. at St. George Catholic Church in Georgetown.
“This year marks the 14th year for holding our Reverse Raffle,” Elliott said. “This is our fall fundraiser for the chamber. It’s a lot of fun, but you don’t necessarily need to attend to win, although there is a very nice dinner included in the Reverse Raffle and you have the chance to win $1,000. We team up with the U.S. Grant Association for this event and we each are to sell 100 tickets, at $30 each. Winners will be called.”
Elliott reminded members of the upcoming Hotcake Hustle 5K set for Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. to noon at Rhonemus Hall at the fairgrounds, being sponsored by Cahall Funeral Home, Bobcat Enterprises in Mt. Orab and the Brown County Agricultural Society. Proceeds will be given to Stein Hospice.  “We are now looking for nominees for 2017 to serve on the Board of the Brown County Chamber,” Elliott said. “Ask one of our officers about what you’ll need to know should you be elected.”
During the round-table portion of the meeting, those present heard from Ripley Federal, Chatfield College, Junior Fair feedback, upcoming 4H Craft Show, Southern State Community College, the Brown County treasurers office, Western Brown, Becky Cropper was winner of the Jenko Award, Pepsi-Cola, Horseman’s Association, Farm Credit, Child Focus, Colonial Fence is hiring and a Spaghetti Dinner will be held at Southern Hills from 5 to 7:30 p.m., Oct. 21.
The guest speaker for the meeting was Jennifer Brown with the USDA Rural Development.
Brown spoke briefly about the benefits of Business and Industry Guaranteed Loans (B&I) USDA Rural Development.
“Our purpose is to provide loan guarantees to banks, encouraging them to extend credit to businesses in rural areas,” Brown said. “Our loan guarantees provide better rates and terms to the customer while reducing the loan risk for the bank and increasing profits.”
The next Chamber of Commerce meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17 at RTS in Georgetown, beginning at 8 a.m.