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