Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 2, 2016)
8A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 2, 2016 CHAMBER NEWSLETTER CHAMBER NEWS Note from the Director Last week the Chamber held its Annual Business Luncheon where close to 60 business owners and managers converged to hear about the “State of Business and the Chamber” in Cottage Grove. We started out by saying “goodbye” to two of our retiring board members (Sheri Henry and Linda Schmale) and congratulated them for their service to the Chamber. Board President, Joe Raade outlined his goals for the year and I attempted a whirlwind presentation on how the Chamber is representing Cottage Grove through a wide variety of organizations as well as offering a glimpse of things to come in 2016. Next, Mayor Tom Munroe gave his “State of the City” address and recognized some outstanding members of the community. Lane County Commissioner Faye Stewart spoke about issues affecting business and the economy around the county and to wrap things up, we asked Kim Thompson, the Lane County Workforce Analyst for the State of Oregon Employment Department to give us some data on employment, wages, and business by industry. It was an ambitious agenda but we still managed to cover everything and only went into overtime buy about 10 minutes. I want to thank everyone who attended and encourage all of our members to be sure to pick up a copy of our Annual Report, which is available through the Chamber offi ce. As the Chamber moves forward, we want to remind our membership that we are here to serve as a collective voice for the business community. We need your feedback in order to serve the community in the best way possible. Joe Raade and I have made a commitment to go out at least once per month to visit with the business community face-to-face and just listen. No sales pitch, no agenda, we just want to hear how your business is doing and fi nd out how the Chamber can help to make Cottage Grove an even better place to conduct business. At the end of our Annual Business Meeting we posed 5 questions to our members and we’d like to offer the same questions to the entire business community. Please take a minute to consider these questions and submit your answers via email (info@ cgchamber.com) or in person at 700 E. Gibbs Avenue, Suite C in Cottage Grove. Your feedback is valuable and we are thankful for it. 1. What are we (the Chamber of Commerce) doing right? 2. What should we be doing more/ less of? 3. What do you believe is the Chamber’s most important function? Are we performing that function to your expectations? 4. Is there anything more you’d like to tell us? 5. Would you like someone from the Chamber to contact you about your comments? If so, please give us your name and preferred method of contact. Travis Palmer, Executive Director, Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours South Lane School District will host Business After Hours this month. Join us on Thursday, March 17 from 5:30 – 7:00pm in the High School Library, 1375 S. River Road. Bring your business card to enter the door prize drawing, learn something new, and have some fun! Your attendance reinforces the spirit in which the Chamber provides these monthly activities. We look forward to seeing you there! Many thanks to those who support our efforts by attending this Chamber program. Future Business After Hours April 21 Banner Bank May 19 South Lane County Fire & Rescue June 16 City of Cottage Grove Bridges & Beyond Charm Trail The Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce inaugurated a Charm Trail program in 2015. The program was developed as a “fun” way to encourage local residents and tourists to explore and shop local businesses. By following the Charm Trail around town, a one-of- a-kind charm bracelet will be created. To start creating this unique souvenir, people can purchase a bracelet with the signature charm included, available only at a Trail Head for $5.00/each then visit the Trail Stops around town to add charms for $1.50/each. Currently the program has 4 Trail Heads and 15 Trail Stops, with more merchants to be added. Participating businesses to date are: Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce (Trail Head) Scarpelli’s Short Stop (Trail Head) Territorial Seed Company (Trail Head) Village Green Resort & Gardens (Trail Head) Trail Stops Axe & Fiddle Bonanza Drive-Up Books on Main Buster’s Main Street Café City of Cottage Grove Cottage Grove Souvenirs Cottage Grove Sentinel Kalapuya Books KNND Radio Pinocchio’s Pizza Roger’s Fine Collectibles & Antiques Shampoo Dolls Salon The Bookmine The Flower Basket The Pink House Merchants who participate in the charm trail program do not have to be Chamber of Commerce members. The trail is open to any local business wishing to subscribe. For more information on how you can “join the trail”, contact Sue Henderson (Books on Main at 541.942.7423 OR bomcgor@gmail.com). Flyers listing Trail Heads and Trail Stops are available at the chamber offi ce. MEMBER NEWS We thank each of you for your New and Renewed commitment to the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce and our community and for your continuous support of our efforts through your chamber membership. We also thank you for your contributions through volunteered time and service to the Chamber. We look forward to a successful and profi table year! We encourage you to support Chamber member businesses and our local economy and “Shop Chamber Members fi rst”! New Member - Please join us and welcome our newest chamber member Gold Beach Lumber dba Cascade Home Center, Inc. (New Owners) Dean Kruschke, General Manager 40 S, 5th Street (541) 942-1301 Home Improvement Center Renewing Members Anchor Insurance – Allstate, Army Corp of Engineers, Cascade Home Center, Cottage Grove Area Habitat for Humanity, Cottage Grove Community Medical Center Foundation, EPUD, Fort Rock Construction, Inc., Jack Sprats, LLC, Kiwanis Club of Cottage Grove, Lane Electric Cooperative, Middlefi eld Oaks Assisted Living, PayneWest Insurance, PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center, Safeway, Village Green Resort & Gardens If you can’t fl y then run, If you can’t run then walk, If you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward ~Martin Luther King Jr. 2016 Chamber Board of Directors, Advisors and Staff Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce 700 E. Gibbs • Cottage Grove, OR info@cgchamber.com • www.cgchamber.com P. (541) 942-2411 • F. 888-832-2045 2016 Chamber Board of Directors: Thank you for your hours upon hours of volunteer time, commitment, and service! Offi cers Joe Raade, President South Lane County Fire & Rescue Candace Solesbee, Vice President Shampoo Dolls Salon Rhonda Worley, Secretary CJW, LLC Amanda Akers, Treasurer Commonwealth Financial Network Tiffany Thackara, Past President Emerald Valley Resort Event Center Directors Chloe Becks Lorraine Eriksen Lindsay Laycock Gary Manly Danny Solesbee Don Williams Lloyd Williams Judd Van Gorder Jack Sprats Cottage Grove Souvenirs Lindsay Laycock – Keller Williams Realty Cottage Grove Sentinel Five Flying Monkeys Retired, Past Board President South Lane Television Carousel Delicatessen & Ice Cream Shoppe Advisors Tim Herrmann Richard Meyers Mayor Tom Munroe Garrett Bridgens PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center City of Cottage Grove City of Cottage Grove South Lane School District Visitor Center Volunteers: Heidi Abbott, Bill Caldwell – Volunteer Coordinator, Tara Sue Hughart, Susan Jeppesen, Suzy Kanich, Sunny Kennedy, Chieko Tomasulo, Jim Vander Platt, Sharon Van Gorder, Sherry Wendt , Penny Westling, Nolene Wheeler. Staff: Travis Palmer Beth Martin Mavis Bradsby Executive Director Offi ce Manager Bookkeeper
