Photo courtesy of Chamber of Commerce

Adventure Harney held its first meeting on Monday, Nov. 4, to plan the 2025 Skull Bike Race, led by committee chair, Natasha Gunn. Volunteers and outdoor recreation professionals joined the meeting via Zoom or in person at the Harney County Community Center. Together, they discussed the community events that surround the race, race registration process, and the need for three aid stations. It was also decided that the 120 mile race option will be offered as two 60 mile loops and that we will meet monthly until April. At that time, meetings will increase to every two weeks, and then weekly, as we near the June 14, 2025 race date. Outdoor recreation in Harney County was also talked about as a whole. Our next meeting will take place on Monday, Dec. 2 at 1 p.m. via Zoom, or in person at the Harney County Community Center. For more information, please contact adventure@harneycounty.com or call 541-573-2636.

The Harney County Chamber of Commerce wishes to extend their appreciation to new volunteer, Ashley Almon, for her help in organizing our vast public resources section. She spent over four hours condensing duplicate materials, recycling outdated brochures, and bringing Harney County items front and center for our visitors. Ashley is a former Park Ranger who recently moved to Hines and HCCC welcomes her to our community.

There are only a few days left to apply for the Harney County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director position, which closes on Monday, Nov. 18. This position drives tourism, small business support, outdoor recreation, and community building for Harney County. The pay range is $48,000 to $52,000 a year, is 40 hours a week, and has a flex scheduling component due to the night and weekend events the Chamber supports and promotes. To see a full job description, or to apply, reach out to Jess at director@harneycounty.com.

While HCCC fully supports the celebration of Thanksgiving before Christmas, planning begins much sooner to provide the Christmas Jamboree experience our community has come to know and love! The Christmas Jamboree will take place on Saturday, Dec. 14 in downtown Burns. Thanks to some research from Karen at Claire McGill Luce Western History Room, we know that the Burns community has had some sort of civic Christmas celebration since the 1940s. In the 1970s, the Armory and several local churches held holiday bazaars. And, by 1983, Burns held its first Christmas parade. It is in this long-standing tradition of holiday cheer that the Harney County Chamber of Commerce is proud to produce our annual Christmas Jamboree in conjunction with many of our communities’ businesses and organizations. Please watch the Burns Times Herald and the HCCC Facebook page as more information becomes available.