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ChamberWorks January 2003 |
» Past Issues |
» President's
Message
» Wine
Tasting & Silent Auction Feb. 7
» 2003
Membership Dues Increase
» February
Business After Hours
» Villa
del Sol December Event
» Fairfield
Health Dept. Planning for Emergencies
» Welcome
New Members!
President's Message
Happy New Year to all members of the Fairfield Chamber of
Commerce!
As 2003 unfolds I am reminded that it's time to be thinking about our New Year resolutions and goals. Here is my wish list for the chamber this year:
- Through the efforts of Susan Gold (membership development consultant), we will obtain 70 new members by July 2003.
- Our state legislators find a way to repeal the Las Vegas Night Statute in an efforts to prevent casino expansion in Connecticut.
- Town leadership, CONNDOT and Black Rock Realty ratify and finalize all necessary approvals and begin development of the much needed third train station.
- Town leadership aggressively pursues finalizing agreements with the state on the status of the Exide Battery property.
- We raise significant marketing dollars and sell out our annual fund raiser at the Patterson Country Club in May.
- Motivate more members to volunteer and become more active in chamber sponsored events.
- We complete a new website design with ability for purchasing chamber events on-line, and that more members use the website to advertise their businesses.
- People buy more gift certificates on-line, eliminating the "crush" that currently exists each year by our office staff.
- Look for and secure new office space for the chamber
- All of our members businesses have a prosperous and healthy 2003.
Best wishes to everyone in the New Year. We'll talk along the way!
Mark J. Hawkins
President
Fairfield Chamber of Commerce
Wine Tasting & Silent Auction Feb. 7
Mark your calendars now for the 8th annual Fairfield Chamber
of Commerce Wine Tasting and Silent Auction. Once again the Greenwich
Workshop Gallery will host this very important chamber fund-raiser on
Friday, February 7 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. The cost per
person is $30 each (pre-paid reservations), and $35 each at the door.
This is a real opportunity for you and your company to receive exposure through planned press releases and at the evening event, which we expect will be attended by 140 to 150 individuals.
We are looking for an item, service or gift certificate with a value of twenty-five dollars or more. Do you have concert or theatre tickets you are not planning to use? Do you subscribe to a professional sporting event? Are you willing to offer your vacation home for a weekend or two? How about buying a chamber gift certificate to auction? Can you cook a meal for six? The possibilities are endless. Contact the chamber to request a donation form and instructions.
Your help with this chamber event is critical. Proceeds from the event help to support chamber activities, which in turn make Fairfield a better place in which to live or do business.
2003 Membership Dues Increase
As you may recall, membership dues were decreased in 1996 in the hope that a
drop in price would bring in more members. This has not proved the case, even
though dues have remained at the same level for seven years. Therefore, the
Board of Directors at it's December 19, 2002 meeting approved an increase that
brings us back to the 1996 level. It is a modest increase that will help to
defray the increasing costs of the chamber to do business. This increase will
not be grandfathered, but will go into effect for all new members
beginning January 1. The rate schedule will be as follows:
- 1 employee $200
- 2-3 employees $225
- 4-7 employees $250
- 8-13 employees $335
- 14-19 employees $425
- 20-29 employees $515
- 30-39 employees $655
- 40-49 employees $790
- 50-99 employees $965
- 100+ employees $1,530
Also – Please Note:
The fee for newsletter inserts was raised from $75 to $90 per member mailing beginning January 1, 2003, and the notary fee will be raised from $2.00 per signature to $5.00—the maximum charge allowed by the state. There is no notary charge for members, however.
February Business After Hours
John Lavin of TLC-Laser Eye Center, located at 75 Kings
Highway Cutoff in Fairfield is pleased to announce they will
be hosting the February 13th event at their offices. Reservations
can be made through the Chamber office, or by completing the enclosed
flyer.
Villa del Sol December Event
The annual Holiday Membership Reception and Business After Hours this year was
hosted by our friends at Villa del Sol. Thanks to the staff at Villa del Sol,
there was lots to eat; attendance was good (around 65 guests), and the first
drink was provided by Milt Jacoby and Walter Hibbs of Dunlap-Hibbs Real Estate.
Thank you Walter and Milt. Thank you Villa del Sol. And thank you everyone for
helping to make Operation Hope the recipient of many gifts, including cash
gifts, which Milt Jacoby was kind enough to deliver. The chamber also donated
some $250 of the evening's receipts to those less fortunate. This event
reflects the true meaning of the holiday, and the chamber expects the tradition
to continue for years to come.
Fairfield Health Dept. Planning for Emergencies
The Fairfield Health Department is making plans to conduct emergency clinics for
Fairfield and Easton in the event of a smallpox outbreak. Such an outbreak would
constitute a national public health emergency. This is part of a national,
ongoing effort. Hopefully, such an attack will never occur. However, all State
and local health departments are required to develop a plan and the capacity to
provide smallpox vaccination clinics for their jurisdictions on only a few hours
notice.
The Fairfield Health Department would be responsible for vaccinating approximately 65,000 people over a continuous 10-day period, consisting of two 8-hour shifts per day. In addition to medical staff, large numbers of non-medical volunteers would be needed to help with traffic and crowd control, clerical tasks, answering telephones, and serving food. All personnel working at the clinics will receive training. The plan calls for nearly 100 volunteers per day.
Please contact Arthur Leffert, Director of Health at (203) 256-3020 if you have any questions, or would like to assist in their efforts.
Welcome New Members for December!
For contact information, consult
our online Member Directory.
- JSR Advertising Corporation
- Systems Concepts LLC
- Cynthia Wieting Design
- Y2Marketing