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Melrose
Area Chamber of Commerce Melrose, Minnesota |
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Area Chamber of Commerce Newsletter 4th Quarter 2008 Chamber@meltel.net 320-256-7174
"Things happen because people who care make them happen." Merry Christmas from the Melrose Area Chamber of Commerce
Membership Drive Going on Now! You should have received your 2009 membership renewal application in the mail last week. No changes have been made to the dues structure for this year. Please take the time to fill out the application and send your check ASAP. Those who return their dues by December 20th will be entered into a drawing for a prize that is valued at $200. Please call the chamber office with any questions. Thank you! Seven Reasons Why Being a Chamber Member is a Wise Investment in Your Success Tony Rubleski, Mind Capture Group In a world loaded with marketing options and information overload I am often asked by new and existing business owners for a simple, inexpensive way to increase their local visibility and marketing efforts to produce more opportunities and sales. Without a doubt, I always ask a stunningly simple questions, Are you a member of your local chamber of commerce? I get one of the three answers:
Now I know every person has opinions but I’d like you to take a moment to read this brief article to discover seven reasons why I strongly feel that every business and non profit organization should be a member of their local chamber regardless of the size of their organization, marketing budget, years in business, or even if they’ve heard or possibly had a negative chamber experience in the past. 1. Visibility. Yes you’ve heard it said time and time again, that out of sight means out of mind. That is not a smart strategy for any business, especially when times are good. A market can change quickly. Having worked with hundreds of chamber through North America, I’m simply baffled that within many communities how few real estate agents and automotive sales reps are either non-existent or barely active within their local chamber. In these two highly competitive and crowded markets you would think these forks would do anything to stand out from the competition and fully leverage the chamber to get an edge. Nope. It’s if they have no idea the local chamber exists and how it can benefit their business. 2. Access. Unless you crazy or like constant rejection, no one enjoys making cold calls all day long. It’s a painful, tedious process that often wastes far to o much time and mentally drains even the most upbeat and friendly person after awhile. When you join a chamber and actively get involved you’ll discover that meeting prospects who may have an interest or who can refer you to key contacts you’re trying reach, is a huge benefit of membership. From being on committees or attending specific events where prospects are likely to be, you’ll find yourself in situations where you can identify and meet decision makers face to face versus making cold calls. 3. Ongoing training and education. Unless you have the luxury of a training budget or can afford to bring in local and regionally know experts on different topics, trends or key areas of expertise, I firmly believe that there is not another organization in America that delivers cutting edge, relevant and timely programs at such an affordable lever for business and non-profit leaders as your local or regional chamber of commerce. By spreading costs among fellow members through registration fees and sponsorships, members can stay updated, informed and educated at a bargain prices. 4. Networking. From seminars, luncheons to business expos and various business and community committees, there absolutely no excuse for not being able to meet new contacts, referrals and people who can help you with ideas and additional ways to grow your business. The chamber gives you several different venues to meet new people. My entire career I’ve utilized the power of networking in my home chamber ranging from service as co-chair for the ambassador league or sponsoring and speaking at different events. The positive outcomes on the bottom line and great people I’ve met that have provided me with their wonderful products, services, and ideas has also been a great plus. 5. Low cost advertising opportunities. As far as visibility at the local level, a chamber offers a wide range of affordable advertising options and sponsorship packages for just about every business or non-profit, ranging from newly established firms to existing. I’ve bought and told traditional media and I can tell you it is not cheap. For the price of a few ads within your major media, you can often sponsor an entire program with the chamber, give a short commercial about your company, meet new prospects and follow up with the list of attendees who may have a need for your offering. This is a wonderful way to hold your marking dollars accountable and see them working hard right before you eyes. 6. Advocacy. A foolish belief among large companies, especially national retail outlets is that they are too big or not local enough to care about getting involved or joining their local chamber or commerce. A few things they should think about: Are their employees and customers local? Are taxes and school systems important to finding and retaining a high quality work force? These are key areas that chamber researches, lobbies and routinely discusses with local and regional government units, politicians and the media to keep people up to date on central issues of importance pertaining to their membership and community. 7. Money saving discounts. If you fully leverage the cost saving discounts ranging from insurance to advertising and more it is not uncommon fro a small business to easily find enough savings upon joining to recoup some, if not all of their chamber membership dues. Well, there you have it! Seven great reasons to join to get more involved and fully leverage the benefits that your home town chamber of commerce and provide your business organization. ©2007 by Tony Rubleski. He’s currently the president of Mind Capture Group based in Spring Lake, MI. Fall Beautification Projects Thank you to Marlene Blommel for supplying the corn and Tammy Waldvogel for making the bows for our "harvest" decorations that decorated our main street during this fall. Also thank you to Marlene Blommel, Kelly Neu, Gene Blommel, Andy Blommel and Brent Harren for helping put them up and take them down. Thank you to those who helped put the flower pots away for the winter including: Joe Tschdia, Richard Raeker, Randy Duffner, Andy Blommel, Brent Harren, Roman Hellermann, Jim Frericks, Russ Frericks, Kelly Neu and Marlene Blommel. Also thank you to CMFCU for the use of their trailer and J & R Frericks Construction for the use of their trailer and skid loaders. With this great help we were able to put away 110 pots in a little over an hour. Thank you everyone! Rose Days A Success Thank you to all those who purchased roses on for Rose Days in October. We were able to sell just over 100 dozen roses and made a profit of $492.00. Thank you to Fleur d' Leigh Floral for her outstanding help on this project. Holiday Kick-Off loaded with Christmas Cheer! Thank you to all those businesses and organizations that participated in the Holiday Kick-Off held November 28th. We had a great turnout for the events thanks to the great weather that day. Here area few comments on our Holiday Kick-Off Celebration: George O' Brian had brought his nephew and his family from Aurora Illinois to the celebration and they were very impressed. They wondered why our small town can do something so fun and the second largest city in Illinois couldn't make anything like this happen. Another chamber member was in Sauk Centre the day after the event and had people congratulate the chamber on such and fun and successful event. They thought that we should open it up to other communities. The truth is, our parade is open to anyone who would like to put a lighted float in it, no matter what city they are from. Kelly Neu's sister was talking to one of her daycare moms in Alexandria about how she planned on attending the Holidazzle Parade in Minneapolis this last weekend. The mom commented that they don't have to go to the cities--the little town of Melrose has the cutest parade and the best fireworks she has seen. Once again, thank you to all those who made this event happen. It is truly a testament to how awesome an event can be if we all work together! 2008 Annual Meeting Thank you to those who attended the 2008 Annual Meeting on November 20. Thank you also to Janine Kutter from Bueckers City Sanitation who gave a presentation on recycling. Judging from the questions from the crowd, we all learned something from the event. Janine reminds us that she loves to "talk trash" so just let her know if you would like to have her stop by. At the meeting we thanked John Thelen and Tammy Waldvogel for their years of service to the board of directors. We also welcomed new board members, Vice President Jackie Tschdia from Dan Schmidt Printing and Secretary Sara Dewald- from KEYL and Hot Rod Radio in Long Prairie. They will take office after January 1st. 2009 Home, Health and Family Expo We are beginning to plan our 2009 Home, Health and Family Expo. It is scheduled for Saturday April 4th from 9am to 2pm. Once again we are planning this event in conjunction with the Stearns Electric Annual Meeting to maximize on attendance. We are currently looking for ideas to keep this event fresh and exciting. Some new ideas include bean bag tournament, DJ keeping background music going with interviews or blue light specials at booths and more. We know there are many of you out there that go to trade shows, so please let the chamber know if you have any ideas to make our event even better. Registrations will go out Mid January.
The dates for this years Melrose Riverfest Celebration are June 26 and 27. We have been working hard on laying down the details of the event and are working on several new items for this years celebration. We are pleased to announce that Cody Rides will be doing the Carnival for this years celebration. They have committed to bringing at least ten rides along with games and concessions. Please watch your mail and email for further information regarding the celebration as well as sponsorship opportunities. Our next Melrose Riverfest Celebration meeting is on January 20 at noon at El Portal.
Melrose Area Chamber of Commerce Committee Sign Up The Melrose Area Chamber of Commerce is asking its members to sign up for a committee for the 2009 year. These committees are designed to help the chamber executive brainstorm for new ideas for the event and help with little details . We have committees for general events, as well as Melrose Riverfest committees. We ask that each business sign up for at least one committee so that the bulk of the work can be spread out over everyone. The committees are as follows: General Committees: Home, Health, & Family Expo Beautification (flower pots, corn stalks) Crazy Days Rose Days Halloween Parade and Party Annual Meeting Holiday Kick-Off Melrose Riverfest Committees Sponsorship Food Vendors Duck Race Tournaments/Contests Parade Craft Sale/ Flea Market Advertising/ Signage/ Merchandise Set-up/Rentals/ Logistics Carnival Entertainment/ Idol/ Background Music Beer Garden/ Pull Tabs Please call or email the chamber with which committee or committees your business would like to serve on. Chamber Office Holiday Hours The chamber office will have shorten hours over the Holidays as Kelly takes some vacation time. Please call ahead for Rosy Buck orders and other items of business. The office will be closed on: Dec 19, 24,25,26,29,30,31 Jan 1,2 Ink Cartridges Recycled Here Remember that the chamber is a source to recycle your used laser and ink jet cartridges. We recycle them through "Funding Factory" and use the rewards to buy office products. Drop them off at the chamber office anytime, or call and we will come pick them up. Thank you for participating!
Upcoming Events January 15 General Membership Meeting Noon El Portal January 20 Melrose Riverfest Committee Meeting Noon El Portal February 19 General Membership Meeting Noon Rondezvous Grille April 4 Home Health and Family Expo June 26-27 2009 Melrose Riverfest Celebration
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