February Newsletter2009 - Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce
Transcription
February Newsletter2009 - Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce
FEBRUARY 2009 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 GREATER MOUNT AIRY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Special points of interest: March 10th 5:00-7:00 p.m. Ribbon Cutting White Sulphur Springs and Rehabilitation and Wellness Center 2994 Riverside Drive Mount Airy 786-6565 March 26, 2009 Annual Awards Luncheon 12 noon Cross Creek Country Club Mount Airy April 2nd, 2009 Mount Airy News Celebrating 129 Years 5:30-7:00 p.m. Renfro Street Mount Airy INSIDE THIS ISSUE MEMBERSHIP 2-15 EDUCATION 16 BUSINESS BRIEFS NETWORKING 17 COMMUNITY 18-19 TOURISM 20-21 CHAMBER CONTACTS 22 The Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce has released the 2008 Autumn Leaves Festival economic impact study resulting in $8,446,493.00. The study was conducted during the 42nd annual Autumn Leaves Festival held October 10th, 11th & 12th, 2008 in Mount Airy. Information was collected and complied from 930 surveys completed by visitors and analyzed by Dr. Erick T. Byrd, Associate Professor Department of Recreation, Tourism, and Hospitality, University of North Carolina Greensboro. Statistics from the impact study show that the average party size attending the festival was 3, average age was 48, average gender was female and the majority of people who attended stayed an average of 1 day in our area. Twenty Nine states were represented and visitors from Canada, Philippines and Sweden – the following are the top states in ranking; 74.2% were from North Carolina, 13.6% from Virginia, 1.8% from South Carolina, 1.7% from Florida, 1.1% from West Virginia, 1.0% from Tennessee, .4% from Ohio and Pennsylvania, .3% from Maryland and Georgia and .2% from Texas. The surveys were completed by people ranging from 19 to 83 years old and mostly female 63.65% verses 36.4% male; 78.2% were in town for the festival, 7.6% were visiting relatives, 4% for “Mayberry” and 10.1% for other reasons. 8.9% stayed overnight (average night rate $130.72), 34.5% ate in restaurants (spending $60.30 on food), 81% shopped in stores or with craft vendors (spending an average of $39.14), 4.8% spent $130.82 on entertainment, 28% spent $22.25 on automotive. The average party spent $156.73 while attending the festival. The Direct Economic Impact of the 2008 Autumn Leaves Festival was $8,446,493.00 (eight-million, four-hundred forty-six thousand, four-hundred ninetythree dollars). The Autumn Leaves Festival received the “BEST OF THE BLUE RIDGE” Silver award in 2008 by the BLUERIDGE COUNTY MAGAZINE and has been recognized as one the Southeast’s Top Twenty Tourism Events by the Southeast Tourism Society. CHAMBER CHAMPION !!! Our Chamber Champion for February is Sheets Transfer & Storage Co. Sheets has been a long time Chamber supporter. They have helped move furniture and have delivered items for the Chamber. They are always willing to help. A huge thank you goes out to February’s Chamber Champion Sheets Transfer and Storage, Inc! In 1971 Jerry Sheets, owner, went in with his father to purchase a moving company that started out of his father’s basement. Sheets began adding one building at a time to their now 27 present buildings. Also in the office is Teresa Martin. She is Sales Representative, Office Manager, “Whatever Extroidanaire”. Recently, Sheets Transfer and Storage, Inc. became a Penske Truck Rental location. Sheets Transfer and Storage provides rental storage, moving service and office space. Let Jerry and Teresa serve your business needs. Jerry Sheets Sheets Transfer and Storage, Inc. [email protected] 271 Hickory Street Mount Airy, N.C. 27030 336-789-5596 Page 2 HAS BEEN SPOTLIGHTED ! From the bubbling sound along the creek bank, to the beautiful views of the lake and rolling hills, to the aroma coming from the Hoback kitchen that brings you back to grandma’s house, your soul is immediately transformed to a peace and tranquility that only nature can provide. This 1920 homestead will provide you with an unforgettable memory. Cindy and Gary Hoback purchased this property full of history in 2003 and opened the Bed and Breakfast in 2004. In addition to handling the maintenance of the farm, Gary also raises black angus cattle which can be seen on the property. Cindy, with her charming personality and hospitality, brings the B&B to life. Wolf Creek Farm is a B&B that welcomes families with children. Whether you just need a day or a weekend getaway, Cindy assures this will be an adventure for each member of the family. The B&B will tailor the getaway to your specific desire. They offer a variety of adventures, with safety at the top of their list, including fishing, hiking, swimming in the pool, hayrides, campfires and creek exploration. Also offered, a relaxing view for those that would just like to sit back and enjoy the view, a good book and a great cup of coffee. Your out of the box vacation can be found just 6 miles from Mt. Airy. The homestead lends itself to spirituality and would be great for a church outing. There is also plenty of space to spread out for your next scrapbooking getaway. Talking with Cindy and Gary on the “front porch”, I found myself indeed swept away by the beauty to even talk about business. I did manage to find out that Cindy and Gary are very involved in their surrounding communities. In addition to being Chamber members in Mount Airy, they are also members in Patrick County. For Mt. Airy, the Hoback’s suggest guests experience Mayberry for shopping, dining and tourism. Gary and Cindy also volunteer at the Northern Hospital of Surry County. Give Cindy and Gary a call to see how they can plan your next special get away. Page 3 Gary & Cindy Hoback 688 Gid Collins Lane Ararat, VA 24053 800-416-WOLF (9653) [email protected] www.wolfcreekfarmva.com ! s r e b m e M w e Welcome N Tourism Partnership of Surry County – Located at 200 North Main Street Mount Airy NC 27030. Phone (336) 786-6116 x 3 or visit www.discoverncfoothills.com The purpose of this partnership (TPSC) is to create a joint tourism and marketing campaign to promote travel, expand tourism and provide other tourism related expenditures to benefit areas within the corporate jurisdiction of the member organizations which is made up of Mount Airy, Pilot Mountain, Dobson, Elkin and Surry County Tourism Development Authorities (TDA’s). This partnership was founded in July 2008 and is the collective body of the four municipalities and Surry County tourism efforts. Each TDA contributes funding from their own occupancy tax collections (occupancy tax is paid by visitors who stay in local motels, hotels and B&B’s) and with this pool of funds, the partnership is able to promote the entirety of the county; enabling smaller communities to be able to actively promote their sites and attractions. The Tourism Partnership of Surry County Board consists of members from each of the four municipalities and the county. Chair - Valerie Oberle, Vice-Chair- Jessica Icenhour, Secretary/Finance – Joe Walker other voting board members are Chris Knopf and Ed Shelton. Chelli & Associates – Located at 104 West Main Street Pilot Mountain, NC 27041. Phone (336) 368-4878. Chelli & Associates was founded in March 2007; President is Chelli Perry Brunner and Business Development Director is Cheri Soriano. Chelli & Associates offers professional corporate marketing, graphic design and brand development for local business since 2007. Complete brand management under one roof to guarantee your brand’s integrity – from commercial printing and mail services to promotional products and apparel, working within your budget! Cheri Soriano, Chelli Perry Brunner and Jennifer Scott sit in front of Chelli & Associates office on West main Street in Pilot Mountain. Skyline Memorial Gardens– Located at 432 Old Buck Shoals Road Mount Airy, NC 27030. Phone (336) 786-6306. Skyline Memorial Gardens serves families at a time of loss; helping every family memorialize life with dignity. Pre-need arrangement consultations are available. Contact Sales Manager Linda W. Ford for additional information. LEFT Linda Ford – Sales Manager at Skyline Memorial Gardens and Kelly Davis – Family Service Counselor. RIGHT Eric Chilton and Rick Coburn of Skyline Memorial Gardens. Page 4 Chamber Surprise Patrol visits Ligon Electric Supply The Chamber Surprise Patrol paid an unexpected to visit to Ligon Electric Supply located at 998 West Pine Street in Mount Airy on Tuesday February 24, 2009. This Chamber Ambassadors and Chamber staff showed up with balloons, cookies and a basket of candy for the staff at Ligon Electric. Dale Marsh had been watching the Chamber Surprise Patrol gather in the parking lot and was curious …….he thought we could be from the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes! Once inside the Chamber Surprise Patrol informed the employees that we just wanted to say Thank You to Ligon Electric Supply for being a Chamber member. We gathered in the main lobby and introduced ourselves to the staff, met each of the staff members and learned about Ligon Electric Supply. Branch Manager Dale Mayes was visiting another location and missed all of the fun. Ligon Electric Supply is owned by, State Electric Supply Company that was founded over 57 years ago. The company was born in Huntington, WV in 1952 when Art Weisberg loaded his pickup truck with light bulbs, extension cords and fuses and then hit the road selling to grocery and hardware stores that were so numerous back then. State Electric Supply Company has evolved into one of the nation’s largest and best-known electrical distributors, one with more than 700 employees at 40 branch locations in five states. State Electric is Customer Focused and Quality Driven through their Quality People, Products, Processes, and Planning. Ligon Electric Supply 998 West Pine Street Mount Airy, NC 27030 (336) 786-9816 Store Hours: Monday – Friday 7:00am-5:00pm Saturday 8:00am-12:00pm Page 5 Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Open House held at the Joan & Howard Woltz Hospice Home On Wednesday February 11th hundreds of people attended the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the Joan & Howard Woltz Hospice Home located at 945 Zephyr Road in Dobson. An Open House immediately followed with guests celebrating the grand opening and being able to tour the home and the wonderful amenities and services offered to patients as well as family members. How very lucky we are to have such a state of the art Hospice home in Surry County. Congratulations to Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care and all who worked so hard to bring this dream to fruition! The Woltz Hospice Home In order to meet this compelling healthcare need in our community, Mountain Valley Hospice has built a hospice home in Dobson, NC, conveniently located for people living in Surry, Yadkin and surrounding counties. Comfortable and family-friendly, the 22,0000 square foot home has 20 patient suites with private baths, as well as a chapel, volunteer room, common family kitchen and gathering area, a children’s playroom, screened-in porches and a beautiful courtyard. As a place both homelike and close to home, this unique setting will allow terminally-ill patients and their families to rest easy and focus on what matters most—the simple joys of being together. Joan & Howard Woltz Hospice Home 945 Zephyr Road Dobson, NC 27017 www.woltzhospicehome.org Page 6 For additional information contact the Mountain Valley Hospice & Palliative Care corporate office at 401 Technology Lane, Suite 200 Mount Airy, NC 27030. Phone: (336) 789-2922 or 1-888-789-2922 Page 7 Chamber Surprise Patrol visits Mount Airy City Board of Education Administration Office The Chamber Surprise Patrol paid an unexpected visit on Tuesday February 10, 2009 to the Mount Airy City Board of Education Administration Office located at 130 Rawley Avenue in Mount Airy. As the group entered the lobby Jill Arrington seemed excited to see the ambassadors and Chamber staff members who arrived with a candy basket, cookies and balloons just to say thank you to the Mount Airy City School system for being a Chamber Member. Superintendent Dr. Darrin Hartness was meeting with School Board Chair, Wendy Carriker reviewing the budget when the Chamber Surprise Patrol knocked at the door. Dr. Hartness welcomed the group in and even seemed to enjoy a break away from budget issues. The entire Mount Airy City Board of Education City Administration staff joined in the fun and for a photo. Thank you Dr. Hartness and staff for taking time out of your busy morning to spend with the Chamber Surprise Patrol! The Mount Airy City Board of Education Administration Office is located at 130 Rawley Avenue Mount Airy, NC 27030. Phone (336) 786-8355 or visit www.mtairy.k12.nc.us. Tracy Hamilton Workforce Carolina, Julie Perkins –Perkins & Associates Financial Group and Jennifer Hatcher - Comfort Keepers arrive with candy and balloons. Page 8 Surprise Dr. Hartness and Wendy Carriker! Jill Arrington is excited to see the Chamber The Mount Airy City Board of Education Administrative staff and Chamber Surprise Patrol pose for a photo. Pictured are: Jill Arrington, Alice Venable, Vickie Chilton, Vickie Cameron, Cindy Perry, Gail Cox, Elaine Hauser, Amy Sawyers, School Board Chair - Wendy Carriker and Superintendent Dr. Darrin Hartness. Chamber Surprise Patrol members include; Tracy Hamilton, Julie Perkins, Jennifer Hatcher and Betty Ann Page 9 SERVPRO hosted Open House at NEW location Scott Lawson and the SERVPRO staff hosted an Open House at their new location, 1217 West Lebanon Street Mount Airy on February 5th from 12noon until 5:00pm. Chamber members and guests were treated to refreshments and tours of the new location. The spacious facility now allows SERVPRO to not only clean and restore business and home contents but to warehouse them until other arrangements are made; along with additional space for more equipment and products. The staff was informative and the tour was interesting. Thank you SERVPRO for inviting us to your new location! For all of your cleaning and restoration needs Call SERVPRO 1217 West Lebanon Street Mount Airy, NC 27030 (336) 789-3535 Page 10 Cloud 9 Coffee and Truliant Federal Credit Union host Chamber Business After Hours Event Cloud 9 Coffee and Truliant Federal Credit Union teamed up to host a Chamber Business After Hours event on Thursday evening February 12th at Cloud 9 Coffee located at 2123 Rockford Street Suite 200 in Mount Airy. Chamber member, Truliant Federal Credit Union located at 3200 Truliant Way in WinstonSalem, NC partnered with a local chamber member for a fun and entertaining evening of networking. Chamber members and guests were treated to coffee, smoothies and wonderful sweet treats all available at Cloud 9 Coffee and great complimentary promotional items furnished by Truliant Federal Credit Union. Chamber members and guests enjoyed meeting the Truliant and Cloud 9 staffs and hearing from each of the businesses and what they specialize in. It was a casual evening of getting to know other chamber members and some of our newest members to. Thank you Truliant Federal Credit Union and Cloud 9 Coffee for a great Business After Hours event! Tammy Needham – Construction Lending Coordinator, Gil Johnson –Business Partner Consultant and Dianne Romano – Mortgage Originator for Turliant Federal Credit Union. Traci Hamilton of Workforce Carolina and Jessica Icenhour – Mount Airy Tourism Director enjoy the coffee and smoothie selection. Past Chair -Greg Perkins introduces Crystal Dalton to the group. Crystal her husband Jason own Cloud 9 Coffee. Eric Hodges of Hodges Realty draws for a door prize as Eric Chilton and Rick Coburn of Skyline Memorial Gardens, Brandt Scholz of B&L Customer Jewelers and Julie Teague of Mayberry Consignments & Souvenirs look on. Page 11 The Wachovia Bank “Girls”, Wilma Green, Jackie Palmer, Sandra East and Billie Goins smile for the camera. Northern Pediatrics Holds Open House Northern Pediatrics held an Open House from 1:00pm – 3:00pm on Saturday February 21, 2009 at their new office located at 100 Northpointe Boulevard in Mount Airy. Hundreds of families turned out for the event and festivities. Car seat checks were done by Surry County Emergency Services in the parking lot; face painting was a popular activity for many children….spiders and flowers adorned many young cheeks, purple balloons for the kids and tasty refreshments were enjoyed by all. Northern Pediatrics also provided a lot of valuable information for parents of young children. The medical office is beautiful and decorated for the young patient. The staff at Northern Pediatrics consists of: Dr. Mae Daniels MD, Dr. Melinda Darling MD, Dr. James Robertson MD, Dr. Andrew Robertson MD, Dr. Lori McClanahan MD, Dr. Peter Barbian MD, Molly Easter FNP, and Shannon Sanders FNP. The Open House event was great and everyone seemed to have a great time! Northern Pediatrics 100 Northpointe Boulevard Mount Airy, NC 27030 (336) 789-6267 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Education MOUNT AIRY CITY SCHOOLS On March 5, NCDPI released the First Consolidated Report on School Crime and Violence, Suspensions and Expulsions and Annual Dropout Rates. Mount Airy City Schools ranked in the top five among the 115 school districts in North Carolina. One attribute to the ranking is the alternative learning program. Instead of sending students home for a few days they are assigned in an alternate learning environment. Continuing the learning experience, Mt. Airy experiences one of the lowest dropout rates in N.C. "We have strategies in place and are striving to make our schools even safer places to work and learn; this report provides data that indicate those efforts are leading to success." ~Dr. Darrin Hartness, Superintendent B u s I n e s s B r I e f s Page 16 John S. Clark Company, LLC John S. Clark Company’s Wilmington, NC Division has been ranked as the second largest General Contractor in the Wilmington area. The rankings were published by the Greater Wilmington Business Journal and were based on 2008 volume. John S. Clark Company is one of the oldest and largest general building contractors in North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad and in the Southeast, and a leading provider of in-house design-build services. Founded in 1958, the company has headquarters in Mount Airy and full-service offices in Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Wilmington, N.C. Its broad expertise covers industrial, commercial, multi-family, retail, health sciences, technology and institutional construction. It also handles tenant upfits and building improvement projects. Someone has to pick top wines so the business journal took the challenge. Here are our Chamber members that made the list of top wines of the Triad. Old North State Winery Bare Bones Chardonnay. Shelton Vineyards 2005 Estate Bottled Yadkin Valley Chardonnay. Networking ... Building Relationships... How do "relationship marketing" and business networking relate to one another? Effective networking is all about building relationships. Successful business people understand that networking and relationship marketing are more about "farming" than they are about "hunting." It's about building long-lasting connections with other professionals. Relationship marketing involves building deep networks strongly rooted in a bond or connection that is developed over time with other people. Among the most important connections are those with your referral sources, with prospects these referral sources bring you and with customers you recruit from the prospects. These relationships don't just spring up full-grown; they must be nurtured. As they grow, fed by mutual trust and shared benefits, they evolve through three phases: visibility, credibility and profitability Ivan Misner is the founder and CEO of Business Network International(BNI), which has more than 2,700 chapters throughout the world. He is also the author of five books, including his New York Times bestseller, Masters of Networking, as well as Entrepreneur Press' forthcoming Masters of Success. WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS: C’s TO SUCCESS ! CREATIVITY is needed to look at products, services, distribution and infrastructure in a NEW and DIFFERENT way. CONFIDENCE is a key to problem solving and growth. Knowing that you are doing what you do best and surrounding yourself with a team that compliments your strengths. CASH is king….or should we say cash is queen! Stay on top of your billing and receiving. See where you can cut costs. COMMUNITY Be involved ! Network, Network, Network! Hint: Get involved in what your Chamber is doing!!! Page 17 COMMUNITY For three generations, the Folger and Folger law firm has served the Mount Airy area. The Folger and Folger law firm was started by his grandfather sometime in the late 1800s or early 1900s. Fred Folger Jr., 82, recently announced his retirement after practicing law since 1953. Fred said that he will miss seeing the people but, will enjoy doing as little as possible for a while… atleast until he gets bored. The Surry Arts Council is accepting applications for the 2009-2010 scholarship program. Scholarships are available for college-bound students, college students and artists who are pursuing a degree or continuing education in music, drama, dance, television/film/communications, visual arts, commercial art, arts administration or other arts-related fields. A limited number of scholarships are also available for middle and high school students who will be attending a summer arts camp or workshop. Applications are available at the Surry Arts Council office or online at www.surryarts.org. Applications must be returned to the Surry Arts Council by April 24 at 5 p.m. Auditions will be held May 20 at the Andy Griffith Playhouse at 6:30 p.m. For additional information, call 786-7998 or email at [email protected]. Award recipients will be notified by May 29. Page 18 Surry Community College is announcing its new mid-semester classes. These are all online classes, and run March 6th through May 11th. Course Section Instructor Intro to New Testament REL 212-IT30 Steve Lindsley Technology and Society HUM 110-IT30 David Smith Elementary Spanish II SPA 112-IT30 Danielle Richardson General Anthropology ANT 210-IT30 Martha Casero Intro to Sociology SOC 210-IT30 Aaron Bowman Expository Writing ENG 111-IT30 Gregg Heitschmidt Mathematical Models MAT 115-IT30 Vickie Weber Registration is going on now through March 6th in Student Development (A building). If you have any questions, please call to speak with a counselor at 386-3264. Page 19 Tourism COMING SOON ! BASKETBALL TOURNAMENTS The Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce and Mount Airy Visitors Center would like to Thank Gerald Culler for his hard work and dedication with bringing these wonderful tournaments to our area! March 6-8, 2009 7th Annual Mayberry March Madness Girls Basketball Tournament (100 Plus Teams) March 27-29, 2009 YBOA State Qualifier May 8-10, 2009 YBOA State Championships (80-100 teams) May 16 18, 2009 Boys Tournament For More information on these Tournaments please visit: http://www.eteamz.com/surrystorm/ Downtown 2009 Mount Airy Bridal Fair-Sponsored by the Downtown Business Association March 21st 10am - 2pm Fashion show starts at 2:30 pm held at the Old State Winery May 22, 2009-Vintage BMW Tour-Vintage at the VineStaying at The Hampton Inn Shelton Vineyards but coming to downtown Mount Airy on May 22, 2009. They will be downtown from around 12noon and will have a meet and greet at Old North State Winery starting at 5pm. Be in the area May 22-24, 2009 in Dobson at Shelton Vineyards. Page 20 DID YOU KNOW ? LONELY PLANET SPOTLIGHTS SURRY COUNTY AND THE YADKIN VALLEY The Division recently worked with Lonely Planets' Alex Leviton, whose “Lonely Planet: Andy Griffith's TV Utopia Is Real” was picked up by the Salt Lake Tribune. In the article, the real-life town of Mount Airy is compared to Mayberry, of “The Andy Griffith Show” fame, saying Mount Airy is "as close to small-town utopia as it gets." The article also featured North Carolina’s Yadkin Valley, calling it "a Southern ‘Yapa Valley.’" Other sites that were mentioned in the article included Pilot Knob Inn, Pilot Mountain State Park and Aunt Bea's Barbecue. To find out more, visit http://www.sltrib.com/travel/ci_11725165. WASHINGTON POST FEATURES YADKIN VALLEY WINE In its Sunday Travel section, The Washington Post featured the Yadkin Valley Wine Trail in the article “Savoring the Flavors of North Carolina's 'Napa'.” The Division’s PR team provided research support to writer Diane Daniel for the article. McRitchie Winery & Ciderworks, Grassy Creek Vineyard & Winery, Elkin Creek Vineyard and Brushy Mountain Winery were among the wineries highlighted in the article. To find out more, visit http:// www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/06/ AR2009020601885.html NC Secretary of Commerce weighed in heavily on the importance of Tourism at The Surry Economic Development Partnership Annual Luncheon. He mentioned that Tourism was the 2nd largest Industry in the State of North Carolina after Agriculture. Page 21 Business N ame 200 N. Main St. Mount Airy, N.C. 27030 336-786-6116 Main 336-786-1488 Fax The Mission of the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce is to advance, promote and encourage successful business growth for our members. V ISIT US ON-LINE WWW.MTAIRYNCCHAMBER. ORG AND WWW.VISITMAYBERRY. COM YOUTH LEADERSHIP SURRY: YLS was scheduled to meet at Raven Knob in February. Chamber staff had planned to drop in on the fun but, mother nature had other plans. Although the meeting was cancelled for a mix of freezing rain, snow and sleet, we got to spend time with YLS leaders James Reams, Learning for Life Executive for the Old Hickory Council, Art Blackwood and James Cox with the Boys Scouts to find out what they had planned for the year. From Left James Cox, James YLS selects 30 students within the top 20% of the junior class Reams and Art Blackwood for the program from the area high schools in the county. Students learn things such as leadership and team building skills, history and tourism, recreation, non profit organizations, healthcare, education and local government. Sponsoring Agencies are The Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce, Yadkin Valley Chamber of Commerce, Elkin, Mount Airy and Surry County School Systems. To find out more about Youth Leadership Surry , contact James Reams at 336-401-9435.
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