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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2016
BUSINESS BEAT
541-997-3128
290 Highway 101, Florence, OR 97439
www.fl orencechamber.com
www.facebook.com/fl orenceoregon
www.twitter.com/FlorenceOrCoast
November 5, 2016
Welcome to the Chamber!
NEW BUSINESS PARTNERS
Lane County Community & Economic
Development
125 E. 8th Ave, Eugene • 541-682-4616
www.lanecounty.org
Working to attract, retain and expand
businesses.
Lovejoy’s Restaurant
195 Nopal Street • 541-902-0502
www.lovejoysrestaurant.com
High Tea, Fine Food, Custom Bakery, British
Imports, Teas & Candies
PE Bennett Company
Florence Area • 209-986-4793
Business and Financial Consulting,
Entrepreneur Support, Business
Development
Spice Restaurant
1269 Bay Street • 541-997-1646
www.spiceinfl orence.com
An epicurean experience with fresh organic
vegetables, meats, and seafood
Village Grooming
4981 Hwy 101 – North of Fred Meyer
541-305-5411
Quality dog grooming with a gentle touch.
Over 50 years “hands-on” experience.
2016-2017
Underwriter
The Korando Dental Group
Three Rivers Casino Resort
TR Hunter Real Estate
Distinguished Sponsors
101 Things to Do Magazine
Banner Bank
Bi-Mart
Beachcomber Pub
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
Driftwood Shores Resort
Fred Meyer Stores
KCST/Coast Radio
Lofy Construction
Oregon Pacific Bank
PeaceHealth Peace Harbor Medical Center
Sea Lion Caves
Shippin’ Shack/Siuslaw Signs & Graphics
Spruce Point Assisted Living
The Siuslaw News
Be sure to thank these members for their
investment in our community!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Holiday Festival Saturday November
26– Old Town and Around Town! For
event details see the detailed article to the
right.
Noon Forum – November 10 – Best
Western Pier Point Inn Please join the
Chamber for an informative and interactive
presentation by Ron Green on current
economic related issues impacting local
and coastal businesses. The Florence
Area Chamber luncheons are designed to
inform, educate, and promote business and
economic development in our community.
This event is open to the public, lunch is
available for $14.
BUSINESS AFTER HOURS:
Vacasa Vacation Rentals - November
17, 5:00 pm - 6:30pm. Vacasa would
like to invite the community to tour one
of our lovely Florence vacation rentals.
Enjoy wine, cider and hors d’oeuvres and
mingle with the local Vacasa staff. With
35 vacation rentals in Florence, and over
4000 rentals worldwide, we would be
happy to help you fi nd your next vacation
rental or answer any questions about our
full-service vacation rental management.
Be sure to enter the raffl e drawing! Two
nights free lodging at our Oceanside Inn in
Oceanside, OR will be given away to one
lucky winner! 83787 Hwy 101 – Look for
the Lantern and Lights!
Cindy Wobbe Estate Sales – December 1,
4:30-6:30pm. Cindy Wobbe invites you to
kick off the Christmas season at the Cindy
Wobbe Estate Sales showroom (498 Hwy
101) in the Florence Antique District. Join
Cindy and her team for nibbles and nosh,
great music, and door prizes, and preview
fi rsthand the private offerings of several
local estates.
Event Committee Meetings – Want to
grow your business? Business by referral
is powerful. Participating on a Chamber
Committee is an effective way to build
relationships and referrals. Contact Nancy
Pearson for upcoming meetings and times
at 541-997-3128.
From the Director’s Desk
By Bettina Hannigan
Chamber Executive
Director
October fl ew by
in a fl ash! Oktober-
fest, the Wine Walk,
Chowder Fest, and
Great Glass Float
Giveaway are all hap-
py memories. We had
record attendance at
both the wine and
chowder events, with attendance up more than
30 percent from previous years. Participants and
our local merchants had a great weekend as more
than 600 happy folks wandered through our lo-
cal restaurants, shops, and galleries. I am happy
to report this is exactly the kind of event success
your Chamber aims to achieve.
Chamber event coordinator Nancy Pearson
and I spent several very fruitful days in Red-
mond last week at the Oregon State Chamber
of Commerce’s annual conference. Nationwide,
Chambers of Commerce are working diligently
to promote, protect, and develop robust business.
Many, like our Florence Area Chamber, partner
with their respective cities as their designated
marketing organization to promote tourism and
grow our local economy.
Managing Expectations
By Bobby Jensen Jr.
Chamber Board
Member, Y Marina
Surprise! Wheth-
er you like it or not ev-
ery time you have an
interaction with your
customer you’re likely
to surprise them. It
may be your selec-
tions,
appearance,
Warm up your
cash register!
Black Friday and Small Business Saturday
are just weeks away, and your Chamber is busy
working on ways to get shoppers and buyers into
your place of business!
Th e Chamber’s Annual Holiday Festival is
the Saturday aft er Th anksgiving, November 26.
Th e Tree Lighting, Santa’s arrival, Choruses, and
more activities will be in Old Town with many
shops open for holiday shopping. Th e Chamber
will advertise the event locally and out of town.
As you know, our Old Town area is a major
draw for visitors. I believe it’s the best Historic
Old Town on the coast. However, while out-of-
town visitors are enjoying our festival, we want
We heard from Chambers from all over the
state. Many struggle with relationships with
their city, burdened with traditions that hold
them back, non-productive events, internal
board confl ict, and membership challenges. As I
listened to people sharing their experiences, I re-
fl ected on my short tenure as your executive di-
rector, and I am so proud to represent our Cham-
ber. We have amazing representatives from the
City of Florence who truly care and are working
to meet our community’s needs. Our Chamber
board is smart, innovative, purposeful, and will-
ing to consider new ideas and opportunities. Our
membership continues to grow as local business-
es see personal value in the Chamber as a partner
to grow their business.
I came away from the conference exhilarat-
ed to create additional education opportunities
for members by bringing timely, relevant, and
useful resources. Legislatively there are many
crucial issues coming up both at state and federal
levels. If small business is going to thrive, we had
better get informed and make our voices heard.
Successful local businesses sustain the eco-
nomic health of our community. Th e stronger
our businesses are the more they support the
area with employment, non-profi t contributions
and resources. Join us. Let’s work together to
make the circle bigger.
Florence
1 Holiday 1
Festival
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Kick Off Your Holiday 1
Season In Historic Old Town
Saturday, November 26
3:30 - 6:30 pm
1
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quality, speed, the way you talk to them and ul-
timately your price. Th is is where things really
get passed on as well. People don’t talk about
mediocre or normal experiences, they will usu-
ally only share poor or excellent experiences. We
all know that word of mouth weighs in heavy on
a company’s success. So we don’t want to take
customer expectations lightly! Solution is to take
a little time and put yourself in the position of
your customer. Write down the worries or con-
cerns you would have. Now develop a strategy,
script/keyword, or program that not only takes
that worry or concern away right up front, but it
actually exceeds the general expectation in your
industry. Th is an opportunity to wow a customer
and make them wanna talk you up! Examples:
You quote the price prior to performing a ser-
vice, then never exceed that price, heck make it
lower! You’re a plumber and everyone knows
for the most part they make messes. You put on
shoe covers at the door before entering the cus-
tomers home. You set your tools on a protective
mat. You even wipe down the work area with
wet wipes you carry in your tool bag. Boom! You
have a delighted customer who is talking you up.
Th e more concerns you solve the more they talk
and refer! You win! Th e end!
to get them into our shops in Old Town and ALL
AROUND TOWN!
To do so, we are developing a digital cou-
pon book for all Chamber members who wish to
participate. Participating business will be listed
on our webpage and Facebook event page. Th e
list of specials will be downloadable so shoppers
can print it out or present it on their electronic
device. It too will be promoted in our local and
out-of-area marketing.
You can make your off er or coupon for
whatever you’d like—a discount, buy two get one
free, $10 off purchases over a certain price...you
get the idea. You can also set the expiration date
to your preference.
Remember, this is limited to Chamber
members. Not a member? Call me today at 541-
997-3128!
To participate provide the following infor-
mation:
1) Your off er in 25 words (or so)
2) Your business name & address
3) Expiration date
4) Any logo or graphic you’d like included
Please submit your off er via e-mail to Bet-
tina@FlorenceChamber.com prior to November
10.
Florence Holiday Festival Kick Off —Satur-
day, November 26:
3:30 —Santa arrives - Take photos at Ga-
zebo Park with Santa & Mrs. Claus. Take a hay
ride down Bay Street
5:30 — Tree lighting ceremony, Siuslaw In-
terpretive Center
4:00-6:00 — Musicians, Siuslaw Choir, solo-
ists, warm beverages on Bay Street. Caroling too!
Many sales and stores open late
Did you know???
Employment Law Update!
“Ban-the-Box”: As of January 2016 it is an unlawful
employment practice for an employer to exclude an
applicant from an initial interview solely because of
a past criminal conviction. Th e practice is subject to
enforcement by the Bureau of Labor and Industries
(BOLI).
Excluding an applicant means:
• Requiring disclosure of a conviction on an applica-
tion form;
• Requiring such disclosure prior to an initial inter-
view;
• If no interview is conducted, requiring such dis-
closure prior to making a conditional off er of
employment.
HB 3025 does not prevent an employer from
considering an applicant’s conviction history when
making a hiring decision. Refer to House Bill 3025 for
more details and exceptions.
Oregon Minimum Wage: As you know, minimum
wage increased to $9.75 on July 1 st of 2016. It will
increase to $10.25 on July 1 st , 2017, and will keep
increasing yearly through 2022. Refer to Senate Bill
1532, ORS 653.025 and OAR 839-020-0004-001 for
more information.
Sick Leave changes as of January 2016: All employers
with more than 10 employees in Oregon must provide
up to 40 hours of paid leave per year. Employers with
less than 10 employees must provide up to 40 hours of
unpaid protected sick time. Refer to ORS 653.606 for
more details.
Other changes which have occurred this year, or are
about to change in 2017 that you will want to research:
Paycheck Transparency
Social Media Privacy
Health Insurance Continuation under OFLA
Itemized Pay Statements
For more information on all changes and to contact
BOLI for Employer Assistance:
Visit the BOLI website: www.oregon.gov/BOLI/TA
Call for assistance: (971) 673-0824
Email for assistance: bolita@boli.state.or.us
Florence Area Chamber wishes to express
our heartfelt thanks To Sea Lion Caves
for their incredible, wonderful and
generous donation of
Sunny the
e
Sea Lion
She will be
enjoyed by
our
community
for many
years to
come and we
e
are positive
her beauty
will thrill
visitors
from all
around the
world!
Message supported by Florence Chamber of Commerce
