News from Camden County Chamber of Commerce

October Monthly News from

Your Chamber

Greetings!

October is another busy month for our community and the Chamber. The Taste of Camden Community Expo is Thursday, October 21st from 3pm-7pm held at the Camden County Recreation Center, Kingsland. Tickets are now on sale at the Chamber, Tribune & Georgian and the Kingsland Welcome Center for only $8. If you buy tickets at the door they will cost $10. Get your tickets early and save!

Thank you to the businesses that are participating in the Taste of Camden this year. Special thanks to our sponsors. We couldn't do this without you!.

All vendors are asked to please stop by the Chamber and pick up their registration packets. The information included in the packet is very important and needed prior to the day of the event. Your tickets are also included in the packets. The tickets will allow access into the B2B Session (for vendors only) and the Expo. There are some new things taking place, so please pick up your packet ASAP!

Don't forget to check out the community calendar for all the activities taking place throughout Camden County. As mentioned earlier, there are so many things going on and so much to do! You won't be bored this month!!

Be careful and watch for all those young trick or treaters. Enjoy all of the festivities and the the great Halloween costumes - especially the kids' costumes.

Chris, Christi, & Julie

Thank You to Our September New & Renewing Members

Thank You to Our September New Members

Cedar Oak Cafe - Carrie Casey
Camden County Dug-Out Club - Alex Blount

The Friese Studio of Music - Megan Friese

Money Pages - Shey Magrill

GM3 Photography - George McCullough

Thank You to Our September Renewing Members

Bulldog Liquors - Joe Lucent (1 year)

Diver's Den - Chris Whitlock & Bruce MacDougall (4 years)

Thomas & Hutton Engineering Company - Charles Ezelle (3 years)

Cumberland Services - Andy Popham, Jr. (3 years)

BJ's Carpet Care Plus - Betty J. Welchman (1 year)

Camden Pharmacy - Anthony Kicklighter ( 4 years)

Needa Cleaning Service - Juanita WIndham (1 year)

Travel 4 Fun, LLC - Sande Schmidt (1 year)

Navy Federal Credit Union - Vanessa Bennett (13 years)

Camden County Quarterback Club - Bruce Peavy (4 years)

Living Waters Christian Bookstore - Darlene Casey (1 year)

James Engraving & Awards - Jeremy James (1 year)

Cybertek Computers - Misty Spedaliere (5 years)

Eagle Plumbing, Inc. - Susan Collins (4 years)

Hospital Authority of St. Marys - Chuck Lanham (2 years)

Language Learning Center - Lucy Gross-Barlow (5 years)

Marino's Bookkeeping Services - Lisa Marino (3 years)

Rotary Club of Kings Bay - Paula Goodnow (4 years)

LOWE'S Home Improvement Warehouse - Ben Duncan (4 years)

Silverton Mortgage - Susan Clark (1 year)

Ameriprise Financial Services - Michael Farnham (6 years)

Baptist Primary Care - Dinshaw Sidhwa, M.D. (4 years)

Blackjack Asphalt, Inc. - Randy Maloy (2 years)

Coastal Workforce Services - Cindy Landolt (8 years)

Lee & Cates Glass, Inc. - Tim DeWitt (5 years)

Metabolic Research Center - Rachel Cunningham (1 year)

Southeastern Bank - Jennifer Shiver (16 years)

Sheila's Hallmark - Sheila McNeill (22 years)

*Highlighted Members 10+ years Membership

Thank yYou to Our September Sponsors

September Sponsors

Business After Hours
Watson Realty Corporation
Cedar Oak Cafe
Bulldog Liquors

Business of the Month

Chick-fil-A

Pulse of Camden

Camden County Joint Development Authority
College of Coastal Georgia

Georgia Power

Okefenoke REMC

St. Marys Industrial Authority
Kingsland Economic Development
P&A Engineering
Thomas & Hutton Engineering
City of Woodbine

Door Prizes

AFLAC

Assist to Sell

Auto Care

Chick-fil-A

Classic Cleaners

Coastal Oaks Home Inspections
Camden County Clinic of Chiropractic

Everybody Rents!

Fairfield Inn & Suites

H&R Block

J Green Jewelers

Lil' Seabag

Lowe's

Mary Kay - Debra Thrift

NAMI

On the Green

Osprey Cove

Studio S

Restoration Hands of Aloha

United Way

Walgreens

Watson Realty

The Pulse of Camden 2010

The Pulse of Camden has been taken and a diagnosis has been given. During a recent presentation at the College of Coastal Georgia, Dr. Craig Fleisher and Dr. Don Matthews provided those in attendance with Camden County's first business conditions study.

Through the joint efforts of the Camden County Chamber of Commerce, Camden County Joint Development Authority and the Cities of Kingsland, St. Marys and Woodbine this study has provided our business community with real time data to help with future planning. Special thanks Dr. Craig Fleisher and Jessin Oueslati -- it was a pleasure working with you on this vital project.

A few of highlights from the study included:

Based on the data received, Camden Businesses are generally more optimistic for the year 2011
In 2011, Camden's economy is expected to recover at a "slightly faster pace" than the state and nation's economy
Taxes are a top ranked issue affecting Camden Businesses
Business Information and Economic Data are in high demand

Thank you to our sponsors for their help and support with the project. Our sponsors include Georgia Power, Okefenoke REMC, P&A Engineering, Kingsland Economic Development, St. Marys Industrial Authority, Woodbine Better Hometown and Thomas & Hutton Engineering.

View the entire Pulse of Camden Study or can also be found on the Chamber's website at www.camdenchamber.com.

Photos from Event

Ribbon Cuttings

The Chamber Ambassadors welcomed Goody's back to St. Marys during their Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting.

Goody's Ribbon Cutting

More Photos

Membership Committee Meeting

The Membership Committee will hold their next meeting on Monday, October 18th at the Chamber at Noon. Bring your lunch and join in the discussion. Some items on the agenda include a Chamber Member Brochure and Membership Campaign. If you have further questions or have ideas for a topic of discussion please email Nancy Dervaes, committee chair at nancy_dervaes@us.aflac.com.

Military Community Affairs Committee Updates

The Military Community Affairs Committee is working hard to recognize and support our Military personnel in Camden County. Here are just a few ways in which the Chamber's MCA and other partners are working together.

By now, you should know what EDICCIMAD means. Every Day In Camden County Is Military Appreciation Day. The Chamber, Navy League and The Camden Partnership have partnered together to support this MCA initiative. The State of Georiga and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce are asking all military communities to support their military. This is something that Camden County already does well, but we wanted to show our military how much. EDICCIMAD (e-de-che-mod) was born. If you would like an EDICCIMAD poster, please stop by the Chamber and pick one up (currently we are all out - but they are on order and should arrive very soon).
During the Chamber's Business After Hours, we recognize a Military Personnel of the Month. We continue to do this, but will also have a display board with each military person's picture, name, rank and command. Soon we will also have this posted on the Chamber's website. The military personnel chosen are nominated based on their community service conducted within our community.
IA Program - Individual Augmentee program is in its infancy stage. An Individual Augmentee is a soldier, sailor or marine that is removed from their every day job/command and required to go to places such as Iraq or other areas where they are needed for a one year period in a job they most generally have never done. They leave everything behind, job, family, friends, other commitments, etc and often only have a month or two to get all their affairs in order.

You will be hearing more about this program and how you can assist. Just imagine, you arrive at work today and you are told you will be sent to a war zone, doing a job you are not familiar with, and must leave your family in a month! Stay tuned.

Meetings are the last Thursday of each month at 8:30 am held at the Chamber in the Conference Room. If you are interested in participating on this committee you can contact the co-chairs Allen Eldridge at eldridge1@tds.net or CMC Jimmy Schubert at james.schubert@navy.mil.

Government Community Affairs - Exit One Clean Up Efforts

During a recent Government Community Affairs Committee Meeting, several members of the committee asked what is being done about the truck stops at Exits 1 & 6 in regards to the trash, overgrown landscape, etc.

Because the truck stops are private property the cities, special clean up crews, etc are not permitted to do anything with the property. David Keating from the JDA was asked to contact the property owners to see if the Government Community Affairs group could round up a cleaning crew for the Exit 1 truck stop so the property would look half way decent prior to the St. Marys Rock Shrimp Festival. David was successful in his efforts of gaining access to the property. Bill Gross, Chamber Board Member and member of the Government Community Affairs Committee led the clean up efforts on Friday, September 24th.

The clean up was completed in about 7 hours. Thank you's go to: Bill & Renee Gross, Gary Straight, Jim Wells, Clarence Knight and others. It was a team effort and the property looks great.

The Government Community Affairs Committee meets the first Wednesday of each month at 8 am in the Chamber Conference Room. If you are interested in participating on the Government Community Affairs Committee contact Charlie Smith, committee chair at charlie@tcfg-fl.com.

Exit 1 Truck Stop

Photos

Communication Policy Update

Camden County Chamber of Commerce membership offers many benefits, including the ability for members to communicate within the Chamber network regarding various issues, events, and promotional information. The Chamber serves as a hub for this information and offers the following options for distributing such information:

The member can download the Chamber email directory and provide an internal email to the membership via blind copy or print labels and mail information to the membership (preferred)
The member can send the information to the Chamber and staff will provide information in the next Chamber Weekly Update

In option #2 the information provided must be of general interest to the membership and should not be a replacement for public advertising conducted through the local media organizations.

Some examples of acceptable information would be:

Information related to a charitable or non-profit organization or event
Information related to significant changes in a business or the business community, i.e. grand openings, a change in business days and/or business hours, special business recognition, etc.
Information serving the general interest of the membership

Some examples of unacceptable information would be:

General advertising, i.e. upcoming sales events, promotional discounts, midnight madness sales, etc. for a specific business
Any information that does not serve the general interest of the membership

Employers Are You Using Work Ready Connect?

Work Ready Connect - www.workreadyconnect.org

Work Ready Connect can help you find the best-possible job candidates and more reliably place the right people in the right positions. The job candidates you find on Work Ready Connect have been pre-screened and hold Work Ready Certificates - an assurance they have the reading for information, locating information and applied math skills necessary for success in your position now and in the future.

On the Work Ready Connect site you can:

Build a company profile so job seekers can learn about your operations
Post open jobs
Connect with qualified job candidates and know they have the skills you need

How it works: www.gaworkready.org

Work Ready Connect allows employers to post open positions, search for candidates and will provide recommended individuals who possess the right skills set for your job. By hiring workers ready to hit the ground running, you can increase productivity and reduce hiring and training costs.

Chamber Member Milestones

Congratulations to Bert & Jillian Guy!

They will have a new addition to their family in April!

Happy First Year Anniversary to Dr. Shiels and his staff at
Camden County Clinic of Chiropractic
Congratulations!

Congratulations to Lucas and Jessica Landreth on the new addition to their family.

Brock Michael Landreth

Sept 19, 2010 at 1:25 am

6lbs 5oz & 18 3/4 inches long

Brock