August 2007 Newsletter
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SPONSOR

MOUNT GARAGE DOORS

Residential & Commercial

Sales & Service

(410) 549-2668

www.mountgaragedoors.com

SPONSOR

SHERMAN EMERSON INSURANCE

Auto • Home • Business • Life

Dennis Emerson

(301) 831-5885

www.shermanagency.com

AUGUST MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Our monthly membership meeting will be held on Thursday August 2nd 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

Every month members also get to see all the advertising, newspaper coverage and correspondence for the past month.

AUGUST CARD EXCHANGE

Mark your calendars now for a Business Card Exchange to be held Thursday August 30th at the Damascus Community Bank from 4:30pm to 6:30pm. The bank is located at 26500 Ridge Rd. There will be a chance to win a $50 Savings Bond!

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

The following two new businesses joined in July:
BERRYWINE PLANTATIONS / LINGANORE WINECELLARS.

TOWN CENTER REALTY GROUP.

Our membership count currently stands at 362.

[Membership Committee Chair Dennis Emerson, Sherman Emerson Insurance.]

CARD EXCHANGE REPORT

Thank you to Ellie and Rene Bonde and their staff at The Blossom & Basket Boutique for hosting our event on July 26th and for filling in at the last minute when we need to change location.

We had 33 members in attendance and five visitors.

Door prizes: (prize/donated by/winner)

Garden flag, Main Event - Freedom Carpet Cleaning.

Harry Potter book, Costco - Tim Barkley.

Arbonne, Kim Witner - John Beck.

$25 gift certificate, Mt Airy Dent Repair/LeRock Plaques - Nicole Raper.

Linganore Wine, Trevor Stears - Steve Rose.

Business card holder, Signs By Tomorrow -Carpets & Cars.

Blanket, Signs By Tomorrow - Recomm Inc.

Flower arrangement, Blossom & Basket Boutique - Jonathan Pocius.

NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION - SEPTEMBER

Immediately following the September 6th 8am General Chamber of Commerce meeting, a New Member Orientation will be held in the same location. All new members are invited to attend this informative session, which is expected to start by 9:15am, and will end before 10am.

We want to remind you of the importance of having a description of your business on our website. This is a fabulous benefit of chamber membership. Take advantage of it!
[Ellie Bonde, Chair, Ambassador Committee]

MOUNT AIRY LIBRARY BREAKFAST EVENT

A Carroll County Chamber Networking Event will be held Wednesday Sept 5th, 7.30 - 9.30am, hosted by Carroll County Public Library at the Mount Airy branch.

A free Olive Leaf Café omelette bar breakfast will be provided by the Greater Mt Airy Chamber of Commerce.

There is no charge for admission, but please pre-register by calling Carroll County Chamber at 410-848-9050.

Don’t miss this chance to enjoy a great breakfast, find out all about your local library, and mix with members of the Carroll County chamber!

NOMINATIONS FOR OCTOBER ELECTION

The Nominating Committee reminds members of the upcoming election process. At the September meeting it will nominate a slate of officers and accept other nominations through that date.

At the October meeting it will supervise elections involving all those nominated, as above. (Prior to the October meeting and election, the committee will ensure that ballots are distributed in accordance with the Chamber’s by-laws.)

[Bob Cage, Nominating Committee Chair]

MEMBER APPRECIATION PICNIC

It was a great day for a picnic! At the Member Appreciation Picnic we
enjoyed wonderful food from CarterQue BBQ, wine and beer from Mt. Airy Liquors and lots of good company. I would like to thank a few Chamber members for all their time and hard work putting together the picnic. Dave Pribulick from Sealcraft, Tom Watkins owner of Watkins Limousines, Jeanne and Howard LeRoux owners of Mt. Airy Dent Repair & Touch Up, Dianne Ryan President of The Jeremy Foundation and last but not least Ken Matthews owner of Freedom Carpet Cleaning.

All of these people were a vital part in putting together our first ever Member
Appreciation Picnic. Next time you run into one of these Chamber members please
make sure you thank them for the wonderful job they did! Also, I would like to send out a special thank you to everyone who helped clean up. We had everything
clean and ready to go by 4:05pm. That has to be some kind of record.
It was a honor to meet everyone's family!

[Leslie Brenneman, Social Committee Chair]

LIBRARY RESOURCE CENTER

Laurie Dilks of Juice Plus, and Keir Knight of Plain English Writing & Design have been working with the Mount Airy branch of the Carroll County Public Library setting up a new Business Resource Center.

The area features Chamber information, Phone Books, fliers and folders from other local business groups and organizations. It also features all the business magazines and periodicals held by the library, and a constantly updated selection of business-related books.

There are also plans to build a workstation area for laptop use.

The center is designed for use by those already in business, and as an aid for those looking to set up a new business.

The Mount Airy Library serves people from all four counties.

GOLF TOURNAMENTS

The Chamber website has a page dedicated to promoting local golf tournaments. Please check out the page if you’d like to find a tournament to play (the majority are fundraisers).

Please also contact DJ Fenton, Stauffer Funeral Homes, at (301) 829-9410 if you have information on an upcoming event that you would like to share.

WEBSITE RFP

We are putting out an RFP for the Chamber website for dates ranging November 1, 2007 - October 31, 2008. Any interested members, please contact me at 301-662-1177 or kturner@newspost.com

Proposals are due back to me by September 1, 2007. I will also be at the August general membership meeting, so interested parties may find me there as well. [Kerry Turner, Second VP]

FUNDRAISER

Do you have empty inkjet or laser cartridges & old cell phones?

I'm collecting these items to support SPARCAS (a non-profit created to assist women and children in
need). If you are not currently recycling these items, and would like
to donate them to help a good cause, PLEASE call me and I'll arrange to
come and pick them up from you!
Thanks in advance!

Kolby Adams, Personal Consultant, Slumber Parties by Kolby (301) 620-0060.

PHONE BOOKS

Copies of the Mount Airy Phone Book are available at all Chamber meetings and events. Copies can also be found at the Mount Airy Library on Ridge Avenue, and at Town Hall on Main Street.

SECOND E-MAIL LIST

Don't forget that the Chamber e-mail group "mtairybusinessgeneral" is available for all members to use.

Unlike the main group, this new group is not moderated and members
are free to post anything related to their own business or to the
local business community in general.

To view messages posted to the group, or to join, please visit:
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/mtairybusinessgeneral/
An edited digest of postings is submitted to the main e-mail group once a week.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Keir Knight at (301) 829-1982 or klknight@pipeline.com

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.

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 lists – please contact Advertising & Marketing Committee Chair Keir Knight of Plain English Writing & Design at (301) 829-1982 or klknight@pipeline.com