By MIKE FERGUSON

Debi Bainter is excited and proud to bring the marketing of Baker County’s historic landmarks into the 21st century.

Bainter, executive director of the Baker County Chamber and Visitors Center, helped unveil the chamber’s new Web site Tuesday with a series of workshops. In groups of four, chamber members learned what the newly designed Web site (www.visitbaker.com) can do for them and for visitors and for companies considering a move here.

Leading the classes was Richard Heard of San Antonio, Texas. Heard’s company, Heard Enterprises, is the only firm in the nation that designs Web sites specifically for chambers of commerce.

Bainter, who’s still figuring out the new site’s capabilities, said she was glad for Heard’s expertise.

andquot;I can make it square dance,andquot; she joked, andquot;but Richard can make it do the cha-cha.andquot;

The chamber purchased Heard’s help and the software needed to install the new site in October. Bainter has spent many hours since then updating member information and getting the new site ready for Tuesday’s opening day.

The new Web site has a list of businesses that provide services both to visitors and residents. A feature allows chamber members to update their own information.

But for Bainter, the most useful tool is a brief electronic survey prospective visitors can complete. By asking people what they plan to do when they’re here and which attractions they’ve visited in the past, and where they stayed and ate and shopped Bainter figures she can target her marketing efforts and the money she spends to advertise local attractions more carefully.

andquot;If 20 percent of people tell us they want to stay in a chalet while they’re here, somebody is going to build a chalet in Baker County,andquot; she said. andquot;This is going to make it easy for us to market to people in the future.andquot;

The site went live at 10 o’clock Tuesday morning. Bainter said she’s still discovering its features as she plays with the new site.

Heard said the software that runs the site, supplied by a company called ChamberWebLink, is not just the Cadillac of software choices, andquot;it’s the Ferrari of software.andquot; Much larger chambers use the same software, he said, including those in Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Denver.

One function sends e-mails to chamber members 24 hours in advance to remind them of meetings they need to attend and events that might interest them.

Once a andquot;members onlyandquot; button is activated, chamber members will be able to update the events calendar themselves. But the chamber will have the final say over what items andquot;go liveandquot; on the Web site, Heard said.

Another button displays archived news stories, whether they’re about the community or about topics important to business owners, such as labor law or job safety.

Another will allow the chamber to sell tickets online to local events, such as the annual Miners Jubilee bronc and bull riding events.

The site andquot;will be a constantly evolving animal,andquot; Heard said, as more members use it and update their business or attraction information and events.

He also predicted the site will be good for the chamber’s bottom line. More businesses will want to become members or stay that way as the site helps more people learn more about what goods and services members have to offer.

andquot;Our primary goal is to provide as much business to chamber members as possible,andquot; Heard said. andquot;This is a market-driven site. Once people understand what the Web site can do, they’ll keep up their own information.

andquot;Our goal is to make this the dead center of doing business in Baker County.andquot;