Copperas Cove Chamber Opens Business and Education Center for Local Entrepreneurs

Twenty-eight laptops donated by American Veterans Mission are already inside 204 E. Robertson Ave., where the Copperas Cove Chamber Foundation held its first public workshop April 1 and is building out what it intends to make the city's primary small-business training hub.

The center is a project of the Chamber Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arm of the Copperas Cove Chamber of Commerce, housed at the Chamber's former headquarters on Robertson Avenue. Chamber President Beth Galick-Carney said the location directly addresses a problem Copperas Cove entrepreneurs have long faced. "For many of our small business owners, accessing training and education can be both costly and time-consuming, especially when it requires travel outside the area. This center is designed to bring those opportunities closer to home," she said.

The inaugural Membership 101 session opened a schedule that will expand to cover marketing with AI tools, business planning, retirement planning for business owners, and workforce upskilling. The Chamber has also partnered with CATI Skilled Trades Training to run electrical trade classes from the space, targeting one of the area's most pressing labor gaps.

The American Veterans Mission laptops will go directly to students and residents attending training sessions. The Foundation is still fundraising, pursuing grants and corporate sponsorships to complete classroom buildouts and exterior improvements at the Robertson Avenue site.

Workshops are open to the public, with Chamber members receiving discounted access or priority registration. The Foundation's longer goal is to move beyond introductory sessions into certificate-style courses that local employers recognize, keeping Copperas Cove residents in career-path training without sending them out of the county to find it.