Greetings Midway Chamber Members!
Welcome to our new online newsletter!  By using this technology we plan on being more flexible with the information included as well as best utilizing our chamber resources.  Please take the time to review the information below regarding twitter and member notes.  This is your opportunity to send out short messages to our membership about: special offers, news, board openings, events, you name it! 
 
It has been an exciting time to be a part of the Midway Chamber of Commerce.  Our 2009 "We Gotta Bingo" was a huge success, not only financially, but by all accounts fun was had by all!  We take fun seriously at the Midway Chamber, we know how important your time is and we know the significance of providing a positive experience for our members as well as effective promotional opportunities.  We have some difficult challenges in front of us; with many unknowns, but what remains clear is that personal relationships are key to keeping clients and certainly to obtain new ones.  Participating in the Midway Chamber has proven to me to be of great value with both manageable time and financial commitments. Like you, I am constantly evaluating the methods I utilize to retain and gain customers; the Midway Chamber continues to be my networking champion!  It has also proven effective for the members that I have recruited to join; many have thanked me time and again for introducing them to our chamber network.   So do your customers, vendors and business friends a great service.....invite them to a chamber event, encourage them to join!  We need you, our best sales representatives recruiting new members throughout the year!
 
Wow is the best word to describe Governor Pawlenty's speech and the high energy of our members and their guests at the March luncheon.  More than 220 businesspeople joined us for an incredible event.  Governor Pawlenty's schedule had changed several times due to the need for him to be at the flood site in northern Minnesota, yet he kept his commitment to speak to our group and stayed much longer then his tight schedule allowed.  Even the Governor knows what a great group we are!
 
Don't miss out on the April 15th luncheon at the Town and Country Club.  The negative effect of today's economy has touched all of us.  Whether directly in our jobs and businesses, with friends and family who may have lost their job, or perhaps your parents who are trying to survive with significantly reduced retirement funds, we are all experiencing stress directly or indirectly.  Our speaker this month is with the National Association of Mental Illness.  She will present different scenarios of the impacts of stress we may be experiencing in the workplace and provide some methods/options that might prove helpful.  RSVP today for this timely topic at info@midwaychamber.com .
 
Midway Stimulus-Pick 3 Shops/Restaurants.....and Spend!!

·      Consider this your call to shop!  The Twin Cities-based 3/50 Project encourages consumers to pick 3 local stores they don't want to see disappear and spend $50 at those stores every month.  If half the employed population spent this targeted $150 monthly it would generate $42.6 billion nationally!

 
What a great, simple concept!  I would like to encourage you to join me in creating our own Midway Stimulus initiative!  Of course we want to patronize our chamber members first, but we all have our favorite Midway businesses that may not be members, support them as well, let them know the power of our chamber and when finances allow, encourage them to join us!  As we approach actual construction of the Central Corridor it is imperative that our local businesses are as financially healthy as they can be.  There are many needs out there right now, we must rise to the challenge and create our own economic stimulus in the Midway area, think and spend local!  Thank you for all you do!!