Tarrant County Days Brought Chamber Members And Legislators Virtually Together

Press release from the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce:

March 8, 2021

Twelve Chambers of Commerce in Tarrant County teamed up for a virtual Tarrant County Days at the Capitol February 23rd and 24th. Eleven members of the legislature made presentations to the Tarrant County delegation which numbered about 150 people each day of the two-day event. Governor Abbott, Lt. Governor Patrick, and Comptroller Hegar also addressed the group. Coming closely on the heels of Texas “snowmageddon”, many of the presentations focused on getting too the root causes of the near failure of the Texas power grid. Hearings on the issue were set to begin in the days following. A second major topic was the success of the vaccination program which, by then, was starting to gain traction.

Tarrant County Days has been a regular event in Legislative years, but it had never been tried virtually before. The virtual event meant participants did not have the networking opportunities with their fellow Tarrant County attendees. There were no opportunities for office visits with specific legislators and there will not be a photo on the Capitol steps to prove we were there.The upsides were also plentiful, no long drive or bus ride, no need to spend money on expensive Austin hotels, no need to be away from jobs for at least two workdays. Past Tarrant County Days have involved about 70 participants. This year the average viewership was double that and a total of 410 people signed up to get the link to the program. Many people probably came in when their state representative or state senator was scheduled and left after. In the past at most three or four chambers participated. Having twelve has to be a record.

In two years when Tarrant County Days rolls around again, let’s hope the technology has evolved so hybrid events can be a part of our future.

This press release was produced by the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed are the author's own.