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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 2015
Florence Area Business Beat
A service of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce
MARCH 7, 2015 UPDATE
Welcome New Members!
Be sure to thank these
members for their
investment in our
community!
Connecting The Dots:
Why Chamber
Membership Matters
Make Meetings More
Productive
By Bobby Jensen, owner, Shoreline Customized
Apparel and Chamber board member
Th e Chamber advertises around the state to invite
visitors to Florence. One might think that supporting
the Chamber doesn’t impact their business if
they don’t serve tourists. Th is is short sighted.
Here’s why: Every time a dollar is spent in
Florence it has a ripple eff ect through the local
economy, benefi tting many. For example: A
local hotel sells a room whose occupants use
hot water maintained by a local plumber who
wears a locally-embroidered uniform from a
local company that has a website cared for by a
local broadband company whose technician gets
his haircut at the local barber who pays rent to
a local property manager who just paid a local
contractor to remodel a diff erent location and
who takes his family out to a local restaurant that
buys fresh produce and meats from local growers
who drive vehicles from a local dealership which
uses bright lights powered by the local utility
that employs your neighbor who shops locally,
attends local concerts, donates to local charities,
and pays taxes to support local schools, the local
fi re department, and the local police department!
So join the Florence Area Chamber of
Commerce! Serve others through networking to
build familiarity and trust! Come to Chamber
events, discover new resources, ask members
about their businesses, and help them connect with
others. When you support them, they will support
you by buying from you or donating to your
organization. It’s not always what or who you know
— it’s also what you know about who you know!
By Scott Steward,
Creative Wave Marketing Solutions
Your staff all just attended the same meeting.
Th eir diff ering perspectives and perceptions color
what they think just happened. Th is is inevitable
due to individual personalities and status within
the organization. Managers tend to speak freely.
Subordinates, who do most of the work and
know the customers best, tend to stay quiet and
support their bosses. Remember this during
and aft er each meeting, and don’t let either type
get away with this. Get balanced participation.
Before adjourning, make sure every
expectation and decision made is crystal
clear to all—and is communicated to, and
ultimately implemented by, the person
assigned. Sadly, most organizations forget these
accountability tactics, and nothing gets done.
Ask these questions to get out of that rut
and onto the road to productive meetings:
• To whom, and how, are we going to
communicate any decisions made in this
meeting?
• Who is responsible for carrying them out and
how/when will they report back to the group?
• Who else needs to know?
• What did we dislike or like about this meeting?
(You must facilitate an environment for
unfettered participation.)
• Allow each to acknowledge someone for their
contributions to the meeting. (Require the
person to address the one being acknowledged
personally, directly, and sincerely—good
or bad. And allow people to ask for
acknowledgements for their contributions…
(egos can be fragile!)
• Are there any lingering, unspoken thoughts
in anyone’s mind? (Make sure everyone is
clear and feels confi dent regarding their roles,
assignments, and deadlines.)
Adjourn with confi dence, carrying your list of
action items with names and deadlines, knowing
everyone is headed in the same direction.
Coming Events
For even more information on
other exciting local events, visit
www.FlorenceChamber.com/Calendar.
Noon Forums:
Chamber members and the public are
invited to the Chamber’s Noon Forums
on the third Th ursday of each month at
the World Market Buff et at Th ree Rivers
Casino & Resort. Lunch is $12.50. Come
enjoy food, friends, and fun! Meet area
business leaders and fi nd out what’s going
on in the Florence business community!
March 19: In May, voters will help decide
how we pay for road maintenance and
preservation in Lane County. Join Lane
County staff and Chamber members for
a lively discussion about the proposed
fee and road maintenance needs in
Lane County. Th e proposed $35 annual
registration fee would generate about
$145,000 annually to help with roads
in the City of Florence, and help Lane
County maintain more than 1,400 miles of
roadways and 417 bridges.
April 16: Andy Marohl from Siuslaw Middle
School presents his students’ Lego
Robotics class.
Business Aft er Hours:
Chamber members and the public are
invited to Business Aft er Hours, an
opportunity to network at a local business,
exchange business leads and tips, and
learn about the business that is hosting.
Th ese fun networking events are generally
held on the fi rst and third Th ursday of the
month:
March 19 Mon Ami
April 2 McKenzie Primary Care
April 16 Natural Dentures (tentative)
May
Chamber Board of Directors election—get
involved!
15-17: 108th Rhododendron Festival
th
ODENDRON F
OD
ES
RH
TI
LET’S
Rock ‘n
Rhody
15
Located just 11 scenic miles north of Florence,
they are a major employer in our tourism industry,
and a huge supporter of the community overall. If
you haven’t visited the Caves, you’ll be surprised
to learn that it is the largest sea cave in America
at 12 stories high and as large as a football fi eld.
Th e bronze statue “Th e Family” was presented
to the Caves in 1982 in celebration of their 50th
anniversary.
By Woody Woodbury, Owner,
Florence Grocery Outlet
When I moved
to
Florence
10
years ago the fi rst
organization I joined
was the Florence
Area Chamber of
Commerce. It had
been recommended to
me by some of the staff
at City Hall. I started
attending the Noon
Forum
luncheons
and Business Aft er
Hours as a means of
meeting
potential
customers and as a great way to
network
with
other
business
owners.
By my second year in business I was asked
to attend a board meeting as a potential board
member. I was impressed by the board’s desire
to promote its member businesses and Florence
as a recreational destination. Aft er I joined the
Chamber board I realized how many events
for which the Chamber was responsible for
recruiting volunteers, sponsors, and participants.
Ten years later, this is still all being done by one
paid employee and the remainder by Chamber
members who volunteer their time to make these
events successful. I proudly served on the board for
seven years and I am still a member and volunteer.
It’s a great way to contribute our community.
L
VA
Distinguished Sponsors
2014-2015
101 Things to Do
Bi-Mart
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
Driftwood Shores Resort
Firenze Wine & Chocolate
Florence Heating & Sheet Metal
Fred Meyer Stores
KCST/Coast Radio
Oregon Pacific Bank
PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical
Center
Sea Lion Caves
Shippin’ Shack/Siuslaw Signs &
Graphics
Siuslaw Bank
Spruce Point Assisted Living
TR Hunter Real Estate
The Siuslaw News
Th ough discovered by settlers in 1880, the
Sea Lion Caves recently celebrated 80 years in
the Florence business community and have
been a long-standing supporter of the Florence
Area Chamber of Commerce as a Distinguished
Sponsor or at a higher level. Co-owner Steve
Saubert served as Chamber president twice in
the 1970s. Th ey were also the recipient of the
Chamber’s Stu Johnston Business of the Year
Award for 2012!
Why I am a Member
N
E
Three Rivers Casino & Resort
Meet Our Distinguished
Sponsors
Sea Lion Caves
February Noon Forum Speaker Packs the House
Mayor Joe Henry addressed a packed house at the Chamber’s February 19 Noon Forum
at Three Rivers Casino Resort. He presented “Look at Us Now Because We Are a City in
Motion.” Henry described each of the seven primary goals recently adopted by the Florence
City Council, including expanding and diversifying the Florence economy, in part through a
partnership with the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce.
R
Underwriters
2014-2015
If you’d like to know more about the Florence Area
Chamber of Commerce and what it can do for you,
call 541-997-3128 or e-mail Cal Applebee at Cal@
FlorenceChamber.com
O
FL
By Cal Applebee, executive director
We may be coming
out of the winter
months when things
seem
somewhat
dormant, but that
doesn’t mean your
Chamber Board and
committees have been!
Th ere has been a
lot going on over the
past several months
to bolster economic development and the
business community on several fronts. Your
Board of Directors met in early February in a
strategic planning session to evaluate events,
marketing eff orts, and membership benefi ts.
We’re making progress.
For the past year-plus, the Downtown
Revitalization Team (DRT) has been working
at continuing various eff orts launched over the
past two decades to enhance the Highway 101
corridor through Florence. Th ese initiatives
originated with a City of Florence downtown
implementation plan in 1999, followed in
2009 by a visitor readiness report prepared
by Travel Lane County. Th e DRT has taken
some elements of those plans and is making
great progress toward implementation.
A Membership Committee has been
meeting for several months, evaluating
along with the Board of Directors, our
benefi ts packages and determining ways
to enhance the value to our members. Th is
committee is also recruiting new members
and helping existing members understand
the value of a Chamber membership.
And of course, the Rhododendron Festival
Committee has been making progress on
this year’s spectacular 108th celebration
of that iconic community event. Th ere is
a lot of planning and work that goes into
producing these events to benefi t our
membership and our community. It simply
would not happen without these volunteers.
Your Old Town Committee has been
meeting faithfully over the past few years
and is constantly evaluating the eff ectiveness
of the various events and promotions they
produce for historic Old Town and the rest of
our membership. Th e Marketing Committee
continues to meet on a regular basis to guide
our marketing plan in conjunction with
Celeste/Daniels Advertising and Design.
Both groups are making measurable progress.
Th ere is a lot of work that goes into
making your Chamber a viable partner in
the Florence business community. Th e value
of all these benefi ts and eff orts far exceed the
dollar investment of a Chamber membership.
When you join the Florence Area Chamber of
Commerce you’re investing in your business
community and the economic health of the
Florence area! If you’re not yet a member, make
some progress of your own and join today!
20
Your Chamber—
A Work In Of Progress
Blue Heron Inn Bed & Breakfast – 6563 Hwy
126, Florence, 541-997-4091
Charming bed and breakfast overlooking the
Siuslaw River, minutes from Old Town. Beautiful
views and comfortable rooms with a full breakfast!
CE
7,
541-997-3128
10
8
www.florencechamber.com
Call or visit these new Chamber members and tell
them you’re glad they joined!
Fresenius Medical Care – 2820 Kingwood Street,
Florence, 541-997-1136
Leading network of dialysis facilities and top
producer of dialysis equipment in North America.
, O
REGO
5
Y 1
N • MA
-1
July 4:
Fireworks Display in Old Town, Wings
& Wheels Fly-in/Car Show at Florence
Airport
September
11-13: Rods ‘n’ Rhodies Invitational Car
Show
12, 13: Community Wide Garage Sale—
FEC and everywhere
October
3 Oktoberfest—FEC/Old Town
11 Columbus Day Festival—Old Town
November
11 Veterans’ Day Parade
December
Florence Holiday Festival
Get the Chamber’s
Membership Advantages
• Networking
• Business Tips
• Cooperative Promotions
• Preferred Trade Status
Join the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce! • www.florencechamber.com • 541-997-3128
Have some good business advice? An event to promote? A story about your Chamber membership? To get an
article or notice published in Business Beat, e-mail Cal@FlorenceChamber.com by the third Friday of the month.
Publisher: Cal Applebee, Executive Director. Editor: Scott Steward, Creative Wave Marketing Solutions.