Dallas Chamber outlines growth, visitor-center work and answers county dues questions

Sam Duffner, past president of the Dallas Chamber of Commerce, told the Polk County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 26 that the chamber’s membership and community activity have grown over the past year and outlined plans for the Dallas Area Visitor Center and other visitor- and business-focused initiatives.

Duffner said the chamber now lists 71 members — about 15 new members in the last year — and hosted 44 events in the past year. “We just got an email this morning about the newest two members, one of which being a brewery here in Dallas,” he said. He said the chamber restarted a farmers market with 12 dates last year, manages social accounts with “15,000-plus engagements” and more than 9,000 followers, and will house the visitor center and a community nonprofit center on Jefferson Street…