FARMINGTON – After an 18-month hiatus because of COVID-19, the Focus on Farmington Coffee meetup will renew its monthly schedule, with the first event to be held at 8 a.m. Aug. 25 at Home2Suites by Hilton in Farmington.
Focus on Farmington Coffee is a free event open to anyone in the community. People can come together to enjoy a cup of coffee and discuss things going on in the city. Before COVID-19 closures, the events took place on Wednesdays once a month.
Jamie Church, who is also the Farmington Chamber of Commerce director and CEO, is the organizer for the Focus on Farmington Coffee meetup, which started five years ago. Church was involved in the event even before starting to work for the chamber.
Each event takes place at a different venue, Church said, to allow more opportunities for various people to attend. Not every location chosen is already equipped with coffee, thus, Church is known for spending her own money on coffee and fixings for the monthly events.
“I started it as part of the effort to build a positive community,” Church said Tuesday. “I was the chair of the ‘Live’ Committee for the Jolt Your Journey Branding Campaign, and started the coffees as a way to get people and newcomers more connected to the community. Now that I run the chamber, it seems natural to bring them under the chamber events for the community.”
Church stressed, however, that those who want to attend do not need to be part of the chamber. In the past, the coffees had been held at the Farmington Museum, Bisti Bay, the Children’s Museum, Artifacts, the Civic Center, San Juan College, small businesses and many other places.
Church said the main goal of the coffees is to connect people to each other and to the community.
“We really wanted people to meet other people and to connect with what’s going on in the community,” Church said. “We find that people have a hard time finding out what’s happening.”
She said a lot of networking occurs at the coffees, and the event is for everyone.
“It’s a very positive hour, we talk about the venue and welcome new people,” Church said.
The upcoming Focus on Farmington Coffee will include special guests from Guardian Initiatives, a local nonprofit aimed at raising awareness and funding for first responder mental wellness and suicide prevention.
Guardian Initiatives put together a team that will embark on a 3,000-mile row across the Atlantic Ocean in a 26-foot ocean row boat to raise money and awareness for first responders. Mark Pfetzer and Jarrod Slindee with Guardian Initiative will discuss their row and the cause.
For more information about the Guardian Initiatives, visit guardianinitiatives.org.
To stay up to date on the monthly coffees, press “like” on the Focus on Farmington Coffee Facebook page.
mmitchell@durangoherald.com
