The Snyder Chamber of Commerce board of directors’ hotel occupancy tax (HOT) funds committee heard five HOT fund requests during a meeting Monday night.
Saul Aviles and Michael Rangel requested $6,000 for the third annual Best of the West Softball Tournament, which will be held July 20-22.
“We started five years ago with about seven teams, and now we’re at around 30 teams,” Aviles said. “Each team has 10 to 12 players, and we book rooms at two to three hotels. Our tournament is a three-day tournament, and everyone in the community benefits from it.”
One of the main financial needs for the tournament is purchasing awards. Rangel said that one of the draws for the tournament is that awards include rings and MVP bats rather than traditional medals.
Another event in July will be the 82nd annual Scurry County Professional Rodeo, which will be held July 19-21. Event organizer Bob May requested $8,500 this year.
Last year, an estimated 3,000 people attended the rodeo on Saturday night, and almost 300 contestants, including many from surrounding states, competed.
This year’s event will include mutton busting and 12-and-under barrel racing.
Last year, organizers requested $8,000 for the event and received $6,000.
The third event requesting HOT funds for July is the annual Pops Memorial Junior Golf Tournament. Event organizer Barbara Leatherwood requested $10,000 for the event, which will be held July 13-15.
Not only will the event be a weekend of golf, but participants will have the opportunity to attend a swim party with free hot dogs at the Towle Park Swimming Pool.
Last year, $10,000 was requested for the event and $8,000 was allocated.
In September, the Diez y Seis De Septiembre celebration will come to town. Event organizer Saul Avila requested $6,500 for the event, which celebrates Mexico’s independence from Spain.
“This is the second year we’re trying to do the event, and we’re trying to make it better,” Avila said. “If we’re able to bring people in for entertainment, I’m pretty sure we’ll have some people stay in hotels.”
Last year, event organizers requested and received $2,500.
Also in September will be a concert hosted by Ghost Town Productions. The concert will be held Sept. 29 at The Coliseum and will feature Sawyer Brown, Little Texas and Cody Bryan Band. Event organizer James Gorman requested $10,000 for the event.
“Our goal with this concert is not to make money,” he said. “Our goal is to share with the community and keep everything local. Our main goal is to promote the town. We have three shows scheduled right now, and the Snyder show is our biggest show.”
At this time, Ghost Town Productions has sold about 450 tickets and hopes to make the concert an annual event in Snyder.
Following the events, organizers will have 60 days to fill out a post-event analysis report and submit it to the chamber.
“From this point forward, we’re going to be intentional about looking at what our hotel stays look like,” HOT funds committee member Dr. Jason Cave said. “We’ll need them to fill out the post analysis report to help us determine how we can help them in the future.”
The committee discussed the requests in a closed session and will make recommendations during Monday’s chamber board meeting.
Image
Body