Meridian News
In This Together: Virtual Town Hall Meeting to Help Businesses; Public Invited to Log on and Connect
March 27, 2020

On April 1, Startup Stillwater will host a virtual town hall meeting – In This Together – to address the issues that small businesses are facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is an unprecedented time for the business community. We know that there are more questions than answers right now. We also know that the business spirit is strong,” said Dr. Rebecca Eastham, Executive Director of Business and Industry Services at Meridian Technology Center. “Startup Stillwater wants to provide an opportunity for small business owners, operators, entrepreneurs and leaders of any industry to connect and collectively create a plan to move forward.”

Startup Stillwater is a collaboration between the Meridian Technology Center for Business Development, the Oklahoma State University Riata Center for Entrepreneurship and the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce.

In place of Startup Stillwater’s regular monthly 1 Million Cups meeting, at 9 a.m. on April 1, they will host a small business forum using the Zoom virtual meeting platform. Anyone in the business community is invited to log on and participate in the virtual small business forum: In This Together.

“This will be a time to connect, share ideas and find ways to triage, plan, implement and then stabilize our businesses,” explained Justin Hazzard, Director of the Meridian Technology Center for Business Development. “It’s going to take all of us working together to weather this storm. Our greatest resource, though, is each other.”

Facilitators will use Mentimeter, an online interactive presentation software, to gather information from participants about the issues they are facing.

“Once we have a better idea of what type of assistance our business community needs, we can work on a plan to provide available resources that can help them through this uncertain time,” Eastham added.

To join the conversation on April 1, participants will need to use the Zoom link https://zoom.us/j/116762352. To call in, dial 312.626.6799. The meeting ID is 116 762 352. A Facebook event for the virtual town hall will include the link for quick access.

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