(A large group of supporters attended an official ribbon cutting for the St. Charles Pharmacy in Madras | Photo courtesy of the Madras Chamber of Commerce)
Asked to describe her first year as executive director of the Madras-Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce & Visitor’s Center, Debbie Taylor replied without hesitation that “It has been everything you can imagine” — starting with the successful modernization of the Chamber’s website, one of her initial goals upon accepting the position.
“We built it out to be very user friendly,” she said, “and data analytics show that — in the month of March alone — of the 287 people who went to the website (both locals and visitors), 283 subsequently clicked on the Community Event Calendar, which was our primary objective. I was shocked at the amount of traffic coming to our site and continue to add links to encourage visits to area attractions such as the Camp Sherman and the Metolius River Recreation Area, The Cove Palisades (Lake Billy Chinook), and numerous hiking and biking trails within Jefferson County.
“We have also been successful in increasing active Chamber memberships,” Taylor said, “which has diversified our revenue stream and allowed us to expand the services we offer. Memberships currently stand at around 160, and my goal is to grow this number by 20 percent in 2025.”
In step with the town’s growth in population (which now stands at 7,912, compared to 7,492 at the time of the 2020 census — an increase of 5.61 percent) is the increase in the number of new businesses — a significant component of the Chamber’s membership ranks. “More ribbon cuttings have taken place within the last 90 days than occurred in my previous 17 months,” she said.
Moving from the micro to the macro, Taylor addressed the subject of tariffs, a topic of global concern for businesses of all sizes given the current administration in Washington, D.C. She noted that “Although Madras is a very diversified community, tariff increases will affect almost every business in the community, with “mom and pop” enterprises — such as the local bookstore, home décor shop, and coffee shops — feeling them the most.”
Despite that worrisome economic prospect, Taylor remains optimistic that “Madras will continue to grow at a paced and appropriate rate for our community, as guided by local leadership. The town offers far more than can be seen when driving through on U.S. 97 and Hwy. 26 in terms of events, housing, and recreational options,” she said. “The Chamber is committed to help promote that livability for Jefferson County as a whole.”
