News from The Weatherford Area Chamber of Commerce

The pace is quickening at the Chamber. Committees are at work planning promotions and events. Thank you to the volunteers on these committees and the businesses and individuals who support the promotions or events.

Chamber members recently received their 2009 Chamber Membership Investment Statements and the response has been excellent. Membership Investments are the lifeblood of any Chamber. Thank you for your past and future support!

What's Happening!

All events are subject to change! For complete details go to www.weatherfordchamber.com

Monday, February 9
Executive Committee Meeting - 12:00 PM - Chamber Office

Tuesday, February 10
Leadership Weatherford Session on Health & Wellness - 8:00 AM

Tuesday, February 10
YMCA Annual Membership Drive Kickoff - 7:00 PM - Holiday Inn Express

Wednesday, February 11
Weatherford Economic Development Foundation - 7:00 AM - BancFirst

Wednesday, February 11
Leadership Weatherford Committee Mtg. - 4:00 PM - Chamber Office

Wednesday, February 11
Walking for Wellness - 8:00 PM - Great Plains Family YMCA

Thursday, February 12
Community Coffee - 9:30 AM - Action Sports - 104 West Main Street

Thursday, February 12
Board of Directors Meeting - 4:00 PM - Chamber Office

Friday, February 13
SWOSU 39th Annual Jazz Festival - 1:00 PM - SWOSU Fine Arts Center

Thursday, February 12
SWOSU 39th Annual Jazz Festival - 7:00 PM - SWOSU Campus

Friday, February 13
Jazz With Pizzazz Candlelight Dinner/Music - 6:15 PM - Southwestern OK. St. University Ballroom

Friday, February 13
SWOSU 39th Annual Jazz Festival - 8:00 PM - SWOSU Fine Arts Center

Saturday, February 14
Weatherford Area Livestock Show - 8:00 AM - Livestock Building

Monday, February 16
US Rep. Frank Lucas Town Hall Meeting - 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.- City Hall, Blair Hall - 522 West Rainey

Contacting Customers

Looking for a great way to electronically stay in touch with clients or customers? Then take a look at "Constant Contact", the online program used by the Weatherford Area Chamber to stay in touch with its members. Chamber members receive an increased pre-payment discount. A 6 month pre-payment is 20% and 12 month pre-payments receive a 25% discount.

Building on the Vision

Mark your calendar and make plans to be a part of Weatherford's

community wide strategic planning process. All meetings will be held at the Pioneer Center and start at 5:30 p.m. with a meal, before the planning process begins at 6:00 p.m. Dates are

February 19th
March 5th
March 26th
April 9th

April 23rd

The meetings will build upon the information gained from a community wide survey. The survey is both online and in paper formation. To take the survey online, simply click on the logo or the words underlined in this sentence. Written copies of the survey are available at the Chamber of Commerce office. Residents may take the survey home and then return it to the Chamber.

Don't Be Left Out

Don't miss your opportunity to advertise on the only Weatherford map distritbuted by the Weatherford Area Chamber of Commerce! Your chamber is working with Brent Reed, owner of Weatherford Press, to develop and distribute the map. Reed is handling all the advertising sales for the map. Contact Reed at 772-5300 to secure you space. Advertising prices and sizes are listed below. Deadline for participating is February 28 or when all spaces are sold.

Business Card Size - $350 Full Panel - $1,000

Good Seat

Even though the weather is cold, Spring is just around the corner and with it comes great weather, outdoor activities, and beautification efforts. As you make your plans for Spring, consider adding a park bench to your outdoor beautification efforts. The metal benches provide a great place for shoppers to sit and enjoy the weather! The bench also features a medallion recognizing the business sponsoring the bench.

To order your park bench contact Linda in the City's Parks and Recreation Department, 774-2450, wfordparks@cityofweatherford.com . Cost of a bench is $500. Place your order before April 1.

Membership Drive

February 10, 7:00 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express is the date and location of this year's Great Plains Family YMCA membership drive. The event is open to all interested individuals.

Show Your Support

Interested in providing SWOSU merchandise in your business? Then call the Chamber and let us know! The Retail Trades Committee is working with SWOSU on ways to provide the merchandise. Those businesses interested will meet with SWOSU officials to discuss how to implement this plan. Call the Chamber at 772-7744.

"Adding SWOSU merchandise to your business is a win-win for everyone involved. A business not only shows their support of SWOSU but is providing their customers with an opportunity to purchase SWOSU merchandise. SWOSU wins because of the increased exposure," stated Brian Adler, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for SWOSU.

Gearing Up!

Successful events are marked by dedicated volunteers, support from the community and beginning early! The Heartland Cruise and Car Show is three for three. Lead by Tommy Nabors, the Committee has begun work on the June 19 and 20 event. Sposnorship letters have been mailed to 2008 sponsors and they are responding with their 2009 sponsorships! Thanks!

In 2008, the event drew thousands to downtown Weatherford for the Friday night cruise. On Saturday the event moved to Rader Park, where 150 participants, representing 3 states and 22 communities showcased their cars and competed in a variety of events. "This will mark the 19th year for the Heartland Cruise and Car Show," stated Nabors. "The cruise and car show has been a success in drawing visitors to Weatherford and Weatherford businesses have supported the event each year. The Committee thanks them for their support and ask that they continue it in 2009," concluded Nabors.

Nothin' But Net!

Southwest Oklahoma basketball fans are in for great basketball November 20 and 21, that's when the Weatherford Area Chamber of Commerce and SWOSU Athletic Foundation join together for a basketball classic featuring high school and college teams. Each day will feature two high school games and four college games. Playing in Friday night's high school games will be the Okarche and Chattanooga teams. For the 2008-09 season, both Okarche teams are ranked #4 in Class A while the Chattanooga girls are ranked #2 in Class B and the boys are ranked #17. The Oklahoma Storm and Harding Charter Prep School will square off on Saturday night.

"By bringing this event to Weatherford, the goal is to bring great basketball teams together for competitive games which will bring basketball fans to Weatherford. Those fans will have the opportunity to shop Weatherford prior to the start of the holiday season," stated Marie Hanza, Executive Director. "We are excited to partner with SWOSU in this event. Not only will it be great exposure for Weatherford but it will be great exposure for SWOSU," she concluded.

Travel Season?

Yes, it's been cold outside but summer vacation and travel will soon be here and to help travellers prepare, your Chamber has placed advertising in several top travel publication. For the first time ever, Weatherford has advertised in the Oklahoma Travel Guide and the Oklahoma Events Guide, the state of Oklahoma's two top travel publications. Weatherford is also highlighted in a two page spread in the 2009 Great Plains Travel Guide. Combine this advertising with Weatherford's particpation in travel shows in McAllen, Ft. Worth, and Wichita Falls and the television commercial showing in Oklahoma City and travellers are becoming increasingly aware of the Weatherford's tourism and travel opportunties.

The upcoming SWOSU Jazz Festival, February 13 and 14, and the February 13 "Jazz with Pizzazz - Candlelight Dinner and Music" recently received state and nationwide publicity when both events were included in the OklaTravelwire. OklaTravelwire is distributed by the Oklahoma Travel and Recreation department to thousands of travel writers.

Are you making your summer vacation plans? Stop by the your Chamber and check out the state travel literature available.

Calendar of Events

Weatherford citizens and visitors can keep current of events in Weatherford by checking out the Chamber's calendar www.weatherfordchamber.com. The calendar shows chamber activities as well as community events.

To post a community event on the calendar, simply create a new account, if you do not have an existing account, select the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce, and then complete the form. Once completed, select the process button. A notice will then be sent to the chamber office, where the event will be reviewed and approved or disapproved for posting. When completing the form, please assign the event to a category and use the default settings for size of type and font color.

To provide additional information about your event, upload an image and/or an attachment. You can also set a reminder to have an email sent to you to remind you about the event.

Town Hall Meeting

2008 Calendar Please be advised that U.S. Rep. Frank D. Lucas (OK-03) will be conducting town hall meetings in your area soon-reference the schedule below. These are part of the series of fifty town hall meetings Congressman Lucas conducts throughout the thirty-two counties of the district each year.