A Volunteer-Based Chamber of Commerce

Bonners Ferry’s Chamber of Commerce, like many other rural farm towns, has no paid staff. That means those working the front line of information, providing where-to-go advice and what-to-do knowledge are working hours of service out of their own good will.

First, realize that a Chamber’s primary responsibility is to serve those who come into the town or the area at large from somewhere outside the community. In this role volunteers enlighten, inform and show all we have to offer for people either visiting or considering a move to North Idaho.

In this function it should (and does) show them where they can eat, what they might choose to do and where they can stay while here. A good Chamber will also provide visitor information on the area’s hospital and healthcare facilities.

Hallmark to the website, www.bonnersferrychamber.org, is an outstanding business directory. The site makes it easy for users to find business members for almost any need, and they can do so directly from their smart phone. This directory contains the address and phone number of all 311 members where they are listed by category of business type.

The Bonners Ferry Chamber’s Visitor Center is located just off Highway 95 on the south side of the Kootenai River Bridge, directly across the highway from the Kootenai River Inn. This location makes it easy for visitors to take a road break, pick up a brochure or two and learn a little about our area.

Visitors can also find information about the public school system so familiar to Bonners Ferry residents. Boundary County School District 101 has approximately 1,500 students learning in one high school, one middle school and three elementary schools.

Of course, visitors can pick up a copy of Bonners Ferry Living Local and other free magazines, such as those pertaining to Real Estate, and find almost any brochure the area has to offer about where to go for what and what to do when you get there. Links to the Bonners Ferry Herald, the town’s newspaper, and to News Bonners Ferry are also provided. They’ll even tell you where to dial in your auto or truck radio if you listen while driving. And that, of course, is KBFI 1450AM.

They have plenty of information about the Kootenai National Wildlife Refuge as well. Refuge tours can be arranged. The Visitor Centers provide information on the hiking trails in the Wildlife Refuge and regulations for use.

One of the more important links on the Chamber’s site is that which takes you to the International Selkirk Loop. If you are not aware of it, this scenic highway loop follows Highway 95 south from Bonners Ferry to Sandpoint and then Highway 2 to Newport, Washington. From there it turns north on Highway 20 which becomes Highway 6 as it crosses over the Canadian border at Metaline and continues on to Nelson where the drive tends northeast to the ferry crossing on Kootenay Lake. When you get over the waterway you take Highway 3A down to Port Hill (another Border Crossing) and then Highway 1 south to intersect Highway 95 a few miles north of Bonners Ferry.

The popularity of this inland international drive is one of the reasons having an active volunteer Chamber of Commerce is so important to the vitality of Bonners Ferry. Think of it as an ambassador of sorts. Whoever works the counter at the Visitor Center in Bonners Ferry is in that moment an ambassador not only for the town, but for the Panhandle as well.

So how do you volunteer for such a great and fun contribution to your city? Well, the contact information can be found on the website given above. But if you are not at your computer or do not carry a smartphone, here it is: 208.267.5922. Or just stop by the Visitor Center on your way through town, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 2pm in the offseason.

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