JULY 2006 NEWSLETTER
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NEWSLETTER  JULY 2006

JULY MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Our monthly membership meeting will be held on Thursday July 6th at 8am at the Mt Airy Fire Hall (corner of Watersville Rd and Main St, park at the rear/lower level and enter through the back doors).
We will have our usual hour of introductions, committee reports and discussions of new and old business.
Remember that minutes of all our monthly meetings can be found on the Chamber website at www.mtairybusiness.com
If you haven't attended a membership meeting before - come along, get involved and see what the Chamber is up to!

TWO BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGES IN JULY!
We will be holding an evening and a morning exchange this month.:
Evening: Monday July 10th, 6pm to 8pm. Chiropractic First. 603 E. Ridgeville Blvd., Mt. Airy.
Morning: Friday July 21st, 7am to 9am. Costco Wholesale. 10 E. Walser Drive, Frederick
As usual, door prizes are welcomed - door prizes can be a gift certificate to a local business or maybe something to promote your business like a T-shirt with your business name and number on it.
[Social Committee Chairs: Ray Miller, Re/Max Realty & Leslie Brenneman, Costco]

MINI-GOLF TOURNAMENT
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Mini Golf Tournament, we had a BLAST!
We raised a grand total of $2,380.00 to donate to The Jeremy Foundation and The Erick Lerch Foundation.
Each foundation will receive a check for $1,190.00.
A Big Thanks to Adventure Park USA for donating their park to us for the morning!
Also a Big Thanks to Costco Wholesale for donating the trophies, breakfast, and signs.
I would like to thank everyone on the Golf Committee for all the time and hard work put into the event!
This event could not have taken place with out the participation of our sponsors and thank you to all the companies who donated raffle items!
We raised $330.00 from the 50/50 and the raffle tickets! The 50/50 was won by Ramzy Nassar from Costco Wholesale and he was kind enough to donate his winnings back to the Charities.
The winning team was Aflac - Team Captain Harry Johnson.
Hope to see everyone and more at our next event!
[Social Committee Chair: Leslie Brenneman, Costco]

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS
We will be holding two seminars this fall. On Tuesday October 17th the topic will be Business Succession Planning. On Wednesday November 15th the topic will be Business Financial Planning.
Both seminars will be held at the Senior Center, 703 Ridgeville Avenue (above the Library) from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.
The workshops are FREE to Chamber members and $10 to non-members.
To register, please call (410) 386-8012 or email mtitus@carrollcc.edu.
[Professional Development Committee chair, Marlene Titus, Carroll Community College]

BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGE REPORT
More than fifty local business people attended the Business Card Exchange on June 19th hosted by The Greene Turtle. This card exchange was co-hosted by The Tim Barkley Law Office and The Gazette.
Thank you to Andy Gorman and Frank Illiano and all our sponsors for making this a very successful event.
As well as the Turtle's kind provision of delightful refreshments, door prizes were generously given by F&M Bank (2 folding chairs), Ridgeville Car Wash (2 gift certificates), Reflections Hair Design (gift bag of hair care products), Domino's Pizza (4 gift certificates), Mt. Airy Sports Supply, Pam Harris, CPA (copy of Quickbooks), Healing Temple (massage certificate), Ray Miller (rechargable flashlight), Barkley Law Office (fireworks), Gazette (4 tickets to King's Dominion), Frederick News Post (free subscription).

2007 PLANNING MEETING
Members are encouraged to attend the planning meeting for 2007 Chamber activities. This will be held on Wednesday, September 14th, 11am to 4pm at Lorien Assisted Living.
Please come with new ideas and topics, etc. There are many items already on the agenda so member input is more important than ever.
Lunch will be served, so please RSVP to Paula Wilhelm at 301-829-6050, ext. 112.

MEMBERSHIP REPORT
The following 7 businesses joined in June:
Free State Signature Settlements, Kathy Dilma, 301-829-5084
Handyman Matters, Edward Salmon, 301-371-0110
Reynolds Bookkeeping, Donna L. Reynolds, C.B., 301-606-4139
Promo Specialties, Inc., Linda Helton, 410-635-2797
Stone Cellar Farmhouse and Nursery, Robert E. Lee III, 410-875-2012
The Bee Folks, Lori Titus, 410-489-6091
Aqua Star Pressure Washing, Steve Gosnell, 301-829-5133
Membership is 300!
[Membership Committee Chair Dennis Emerson, Sherman Emerson Insurance.]

CHAMBER GROWTH
2002 - 36 members.
2003 - 81 members.
2004 - 126 members.
2005 - 292 members.
June 2006 - 300 members.

CHAMBER FOLDERS
The Greater Mt Airy Chamber of Commerce now has pocket folders available for all members to use. The glossy  folders include four interior sheets: committee descriptions, Chamber events, leadership and an application form.
The folders are available at all Chamber events and meetings  or by contacting Ambassadors Committee Chair Ellie Bonde of the Blossom & Basket Boutique at (301) 831-0010.
They are perfect to use to introduce potential members to the Chamber.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Congratulations to Bryan Pelino, of Amerifunds Capital Resource Group, and his wife Bridget  who have a brand new baby boy! Nathan Joseph was born on Saturday, July 1 at  7 lbs. 14 oz.

On June 14, 2006 the Jeanne Bussard Center held their 3rd annual golf tournament at Musket Ridge golf course. Money raised from this event assists their efforts in providing education, training, rehabilitation and employment services to the many adults with disabilities they serve.  JBC would like to sincerely thank the staff at Musket Ridge, all players, business sponsors and volunteers for all of their generous support.

INFO TO SHARE?
If you have information you would like to share with other Chamber members  either through the monthly newsletter, the Chamber website, or Yahoo e-mail list  please contact Advertising & Marketing Committee Chair Keir Knight of Plain English Writing & Design at (301) 829-1982 or klknight@pipeline.com

CHAMBER WEBSITE
Some changes will be coming to the website over the summer  including a new look and new ways of viewing and searching the membership list.
To help us put your business in the right categories, please be sure to submit a profile.
Also, look out for sponsorship and advertising opportunities  which will be announced via the e-mail list.

MORE CALENDAR DATES

August Card Exchange
Monday August 28th, 4pm to 7pm
Firehouse Pottery Co
Concetta's Italian Grocer
231 & 233 S. Main Street, Mt. Airy
Neighboring Businesses Hosting Together!

September Card Exchange
Tuesday September 19th, 4pm to 7pm
The Main Event, 1 S.Main Street, Mt. Airy