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» 20 Stores, 1 Lucky Shopper ... and 1,000 Bucks
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20 Stores, 1 Lucky Shopper ... and 1,000 Bucks
Watch for the fishbowls.
This summer the Chamber is throwing a "lucky shopper" party, and your retail business could be one of the lucky stores that get in on the fun.
We'll be canvassing five sections of town -- Southport, Black Rock Turnpike, Grasmere/Villa Ave, Greenfield Hill and the downtown Post Road -- for four retailers willing to donate a $50 gift certificate. Sounds pretty easy for you, doesn't it? Well, it really is that easy.
Once we have our 20 retailers onboard, then the magic can begin. The Chamber will run full-page newspaper ads announcing the promotion and giving all of our participating businesses a space to promote themselves. For Chamber members, it's free advertising for the price of one $50 gift certificate. Even if you're not a member, you can still take part -- but you'll have to pay $100 for the privilege.
Each of our stores will receive a fishbowl and a stack of registration cards. People can register to win at one store, two stores or 20 stores -- the more stores they visit, the bigger their chance of winning all of those gift certificates. Yep, you read that right: One lucky shopper gets all 20 gift certificates, a total value of $1,000. As an extra bonus, they can register right here on the Chamber web site as well and we'll put a card into the fishbowl on their behalf. No purchase is required to register.
The promotion will run for one month, and then we'll come around and collect those fishbowls. A winner will be drawn from the pile, and that lucky person can come to the Chamber office for the gift certificates.
So let's see ... you give us one $50 gift certificate. We advertise your business (for free if you're a Chamber member!), we use the lure of $1,000 worth of gift certificates to bring foot traffic through your door, one Lucky Shopper goes on a shopping spree, and we do all of the grunt work. How cool is that? You just have to be open for business when those would-be Lucky Shoppers come calling.
And if the promotion is a resounding success, we'll do it again, and keep on doing it -- twice a year!
So if you see suspicious individuals carrying fishbowls around your neighborhood, feel free to call the cops. Or better yet, grab them and drag them into your shop so you can say, "I want a fishbowl. I demand a fishbowl. Gimme that fishbowl right now!"
And even if you don't see any fishbowls in the neighborhood, you can get involved -- just call the Chamber office at 255-1011.
This Time, It's Personal
When the teams assemble for the Chamber's annual Membership Drive in April, there will be more at stake than mere bragging rights for the team that bags the most new members.
Because this year, the member drive devolves into a five-way tag-team grudge match to decide who will be crowned -- drumroll, please -- the Baddest Bank in Fairfield.™ Hunnh!
Yes, 2008 is to be the Battle of the Banks. The captain of each team will represent one of Fairfield's numerous banking institutions as they wage war in the cubicles of Sacred Heart University's Trumbull campus. This three-day phone bank brawl will not be televised, but rest assured that the ChamberWorks staff will be reporting on the action from a safe distance.
Note that the other team members need not be bankers, or even know how to balance a checkbook. Any and all volunteers prepared to swear allegiance to the bank of their choice are welcome to take part in the mayhem.
Incidentally, we'll have food and prizes and other fun stuff, just like always. But this is the first time our banking members will get to carry their marketplace rivalries into a Chamber function and really cut loose.
Still to be decided: Do we arm them with matched weaponry, or let them bring their own?
Real Estate and Economic Development Outlook
CERC, CBIA, the University of Connecticut and the Stamford Chamber of Commerce present the second annual Fairfield County Commercial Real Estate & Economic Development Outlook conference, Jan. 16 at the UConn Stamford campus.
Sponsored by United Illuminating and Northeast Utilities, this half-day program will feature keynote speaker Kenneth McCarthy, managing director of research, New York Metro Region for Cushman & Wakefield. He'll discuss the tristate area metro forecast for commercial and industrial real estate.
For more information, visit the CBIA web site. Contact CBIA at 860-244-1977 or registrar@cbia.com to register.
Gary Crystal Passes Away
Robert G. "Gary" Crystal, Jr. passed away Jan. 2 at the age of 66.
Among many, many others, he leaves behind his wife Mary Ann and the business they have shared since 1992, JP Travel of Danbury. A longtime and very active supporter of the Chamber, over the years Gary has played the roles of board member, VP of Programs and even personal assistant to Santa Claus. It's an understatement to say that we miss him.
The funeral is 11 am on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at Greenfield Hill Congregational Church in Fairfield. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to the Robert Garrison Crystal, Jr. Scholarship Endowment Fund at Ohio Wesleyan University: by mail at 61 South Sandusky Street, Delaware, OH 43015, by phone at (740) 368-3306, or online at alumni.owu.edu/giving. The endowment proceeds will support scholarships for students majoring in the Romance languages, just as Gary did.
To send your condolences online, visit the Shaughnessey-Banks Funeral Home web site.
Gearing Up For a Wellness Revolution
The Fairfield Chamber of Commerce is creating a team-challenge wellness program to engage the community of Fairfield in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle.
This initiative is the right program at the right time. As health care costs continue to soar for employers and their employees, studies show that one surefire way to lower these costs is to encourage a healthy and fit workforce. To achieve that aim, the Chamber is promoting three concepts of wellness: "eating well," "moving well" and "thinking well."
You can help us launch this program - and generate healthy exposure for your business - by joining the revolution. This friendly, competition-based program is planned for fall 2008, open to Fairfield residents and Chamber members alike.
We meet the second Thursday of the month, 8–9 am at the Fairfield YMCA, 841 Old Post Road.
For more information contact Dr. Robert Kipp, DRK@YourProHealth.com.
Happy 2008
OK, you've had a day to recover from New Year's Eve -- back to the salt mines.