JUNE 2006 NEWSLETTER
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JUNE MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Our monthly membership meeting will be held on Thursday June 1^st 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.

The new Scholarship Committee will report on their progress; a new group advertising initiative will be outlined; and also plans for a second e-mail list for general business announcements.

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!

BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGE MONDAY JUNE 19^th

Our next Business Card Exchange will be held Monday June 19^th from 4-7pm at The Greene Turtle bar and grille, 1604 Ridgeside Drive (which can also be reached off of E. Ridgeville Blvd). This card exchange will be co-hosted by The Tim Barkley Law Office and The Gazette.

We are expecting a very good turnout to this event, at Mount Airy’s newest hot spot!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

The Chamber’s First Annual Charity Mini-Golf Tournament will be held at 8am on Thursday, June 8^th at Adventure Park USA on W. Baldwin Road, New Market.All Proceeds to benefit The Jeremy Foundation and The Erik Lerch Foundation.A flier/application can be found on the Chamber website – or contact Leslie Brenneman at 301-644-1483.

SPEED NETWORKING EVENT

Our first speed networking event was held on May 9^th at Adventure Park USA. Around 40 Chamber members and visitors attended the event which was organized by Tamarah Clark of the Jeanne Bussard Center.

Everyone attending was able to share their business "elevator speech" with everyone else, switching around several small tables.Thank you to Tamarah, to Costco Wholesale for providing breakfast and to Adventure Park USA for hosting the event.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR

Thirty people attended the seminar - "Guerilla Marketing" for Small Businesses held on May 16^th at the Mount Airy Senior Center.The workshop, which was free to Chamber members, was very informative and received great reviews.Stay tuned for details of more seminars coming up in the fall. And if you have ideas for topics of future seminars, please contact Marlene Titus of Carroll Community College, Professional Development Committee chair, at (410) 386-8012.

BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGE REPORT

Thirty-four local business people attended the Business Card Exchange on May 23^rd hosted by Lorien Mt Airy Assisted Living. This card exchange was co-hosted by Watkins Limousines, Paradise Title and The Catherine Ditman Group.

Thank you to Paula Wilhelm of Lorien and all our sponsors for making this a very successful event.The following door prizes were given away and won by:$50 Gift Certificate to Freedom Carpet Cleaning, LLC from Tom Watkins @ Watkins Limousines to: Susan Howes @ Long & Foster2 $25 Gift Certificates to Olive Leaf Cafe from Keysha Kelly @ Paradise Title, Inc. to: Diana Hemphill (Arbonne International) and guest Greg Snellings$25 Gift Certificate to Firehouse Pottery Company from Catherine Nazarene @ The Catherine Ditman Group to: guest Kathy DiLimaFlower Arrangement by Forever Flowers from Paula Wilhelm @ Lorien Mt. Airy Assisted Living to: Catherine Nazarene @ The Catherine Ditman GroupEmbroidered T-shirt by Bezalel Designs from Sandra Shumate @ Bezalel Designs, LLC to: Ken Matthews @ Freedom Carpet Cleaning, LLC"Secretariat" Statue from Tim Barkley @ Barkley Law Office, PC to: Archie Rogers @ Rogers Engraving + Stamps + Plus, LLC

EMBROIDERED POLO SHIRTS

Chamber members who offer embroidery services may be interested in submitting a proposal to make shirts featuring the Chamber logo. A bid application has been drawn up by second VP Aaron Kahn, of Eclipse Security. The applications can be obtained from Aaron at the June membership meeting or by e-mailing him at akahn@eclipsesecurityinc.comYou can also call him at (410) 884-4041.

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

The following six businesses joined the Chamber in April (as well as the five new members reported in the last newsletter):Farmers & Mechanics Bank, 301-829-1100, Danny Dixon, Arin Brown, Jim BearGold Star Auto Detailing, 410-549-4469, John Hall, Tim HallGourmet Platters, 240-848-3453, Jeanette C. WarneLeif & Cassandra Lidin-Lamon, (Acupuncturists) , 443-538-5816Susquehanna Bank, 301-829-0299, Charlie StottWine'N'Joy, 410-465-7387, Susanne C. KuehneThe following twelve businesses joined the Chamber in May:Wright Gardner Insurance, Inc., Rodney Powers, 240-420-5123Percent 20, Jason Vaughan, 301-514-6812The Healing Temple, LLC., Ileana Monica Sutter, 301-676-2506Suburban Energy Services, Art Tate, 410-549-3482Mid Maryland Health Insurance Solutions, Arnold (Bill) Butts, 301-639-4444AV1, Inc., Chris Allen, 240-235-2769Carroll's Locksmithing, Jeff Carroll, 301-762-1272The Benefit Company, LLC., V. Scott Gardner, 410-788-1454Broadhurst Tree Service, Richard Broadhurst, 301-831-4250Hayes Carpentry, Doug Hayes, 301-831-7882Homescapes Interior Design, Judi Robinson, 301-829-9962John Robinson-Lederer & Company Realtors, 301-514-5705Membership is currently 293 members.[Membership Committee Chair Dennis Emerson, Sherman Emerson Insurance.]

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.

KATRINA UPDATE

Immediately following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina the Chamber membership approved two $250 donations (to the Red Cross and Salvation Army) with a further $500 to follow to help businesses in their recovery efforts.That $500 has now been sent to the local Chamber of Commerce serving the area of Poplarville, MS. This is the same area that many Mount Airy residents and businesses helped support last year.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to Melissa Duvall of The Patti Ayton Agency, Allstate who was recently married and is now Mrs Melissa Eckes!

Congratulations to our Recording Secretary Kerry Turner of the Frederick News Post who has been promoted to Circulation Manager.

The Main Event has opened up a new warehouse in Frederick. The location is at 414 Pine Avenue (one block East of E Street, on the corner of Pine and 5th). Chiropractic First is now installed at their new location at 603 E. Ridgeville Blvd. – and will be holding an Open House on Saturday June 3^rd from 10am to 1pm.Chamber members Mike Zimmer and Marlene Titus have both announced that they are running for public office in the upcoming Carroll County elections.Mike is running for Carroll County Commissioner. Marlene is running for Clerk of the County Court. Best of luck to them both.

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.