If you haven’t given yourself any down time this summer, you really need to. I’ve been living the wonderful dad life each weekend, but I’m forcing myself, as busy as the chamber is right now, to shut down the chamber office for the last week of August so the staff and I can have a week off to recharge, and I can spend some real time with the boys before pre-K starts. It’s not an easy decision, but we need it — and if your staff hasn’t taken time off, they probably need it, too.

Just to clarify, I’ve submitted a column for next week, so as far as the readership goes, you will see no difference, but if you need chamber info, the Bath-Brunswick-Topsham Regional Chamber office will be closed Aug. 25 through Labor Day. We tried spacing out staff coverage and taking partial time, but honestly, so much of it ends up being phone calls to me about projects I’m involved with that it doesn’t really become a week off for me — thus, we shut it all down. We will return messages after Labor Day, though, so please leave us messages.

With that, I want to go give a little fall preview of ways you can engage for the remainder of 2025. We have several chamber projects and programs we are working on, and they can all flourish with the volunteer support of people just like you. Additionally, volunteering to be part of a chamber program is a great way to build your network and to help those less-experienced leaders in your organization build the skill sets that will help them thrive in your workspace. Here’s three ways to engage this fall with the chamber:

Haunted Hayrides, Oct. 24 and 25

We are ridiculously excited to bring this Midcoast mayhem to our region for the first time. In early September, I will have a full, detailed rundown of just what you can expect from this event, including our location announcement, which is very exciting. However, if you want to start thinking about engagement, here are five volunteer roles that can help us make this first-year event a huge first-year success:

• Be a performing scarer: if your business, organization or friend group wants to create a scene, that’s excellent — performing scarers are the lifeblood of this event. However, beyond groups signing up, you as an individual can sign up and we can create scenes for you to be a part of.

• Be a non-performance scarer: As vital as the performers in make-up, costumes and fake blood are, the non-performing scarers are just as critical. Think of these as the “crew” of a theatrical performance. These are people who trigger fog machines or lights and sound, or make a thunder boom to distract — we don’t need as many, but we definitely need about a dozen people in these roles.

• Ride support: This can be anything from being the ride monitor (we send a volunteer in each wagon to ensure everyone is safe), helping people on and off the wagon, and doing crowd control for people waiting in line.

• Selling tickets/concessions: We’re still deciding on whether we will do our own concessions or have food trucks (the location is a big part of that decision). But we will need ticket sellers and potentially other non-scaring volunteers to perform regular event duties.

• Security/safety: This is niche, but we like to have five to six people over the two nights roaming between scenes, usually on golf carts or four-wheelers, checking on performers and being available should someone get too scared and need a ride back, or if a performer trips and needs basic first aid, etc.

Midcoast Tree Festival, Nov. 21-23 and 28-30

Businesses and organizations are already signing up for tree spaces. If you want in, you should move quickly as we only have 55 spots and 53 spots got filled last year; email midcoasttreefestival@gmail.com to reserve your spot. As a reminder, anyone can sign up for a tree space, so if you are a business or organization, excellent; but if you are a family or a group of neighbors who want to do a tree space, that’s great, too.

In terms of volunteering, as the event grows, so does the volunteer need. Selling tickets, helping with children’s crafts, being a mobile assistant (think greeter) or helping in the concessions area are all roles to be filled. Decorating the room and tearing it all down are key roles as well.

Last year we had over 2,500 families — not people but families — come through the doors over the six days, so it’s a great way to get seen and engage with the community. You get a volunteer T-shirt, but you also can wear a name tag and network with fellow volunteers, too. If volunteering is of interest or if you want a tree space or to sponsor the event, check out midcoastmaine.com/midcoasttreefestival.

Committee growth and expansion

Our chamber programs are primarily staff-led, and the next step in our evolution is to make those projects and programs be committee-led. To do that, we are reigniting many chamber committees with the idea to recruit committee members this fall so that by the beginning of 2026 we have an established, consistent calendar of monthly committee meetings to help us grow.

Here are a few committees that member business can have their employees volunteer for:

• Events Committee: We have quarterly events with the Awards Dinner, Hackers Ball Golf Tournament, haunted hayrides and Midcoast Tree Festival — help us plan and execute them!

• Ambassadors and Membership Committee: Either visit businesses and help spread good community information to them or be a greeter at our networking events.

• Government liaisons: Help shape the chamber’s stances on policies that matter to the businesses and employees of our region.

And … would you believe we are out of space? I will pick this up with a Part II next week.

Cory King is executive director of the Bath-Brunswick-Topsham Regional Chamber of Commerce.