News from Camden County Chamber of Commerce

February and March 2011 Monthly

News from Your Chamber

Greetings!

Many apologies for not getting the February and March Newsletter to you sooner!

Spring is upon us in Camden County. Enjoy this wonderful weather and the future opportunities for all of us, individually and as a community. This year is off to a great start and only positive things are going to happen this year.

To stay informed, please get active and engaged in Chamber Activities. There are many opportunities for all our members to utilize the tools and resources we have available. Our newest resource is the New Chamber website. Stay tuned for a special email so you can utilize the new site to its full potential.

On a sadder note, if you have not heard, Christi Hall has left the Chamber. Her last day was this past Friday. Christi is moving to the Orlando area and we wish her the best of luck on her new adventurers. Christi has been a tremendous asset to the Chamber and ran an efficient and professional office. She will be truly missed by all, especially me (Chris)! We can't wait to see you and hear about all your new job. Wish you much luck! You will hear a new voice at the Chamber, Katie Smith the new Administrative Assistant. Stop by and say "Hi" to Katie and welcome her to the Chamber.

Chris, Katie, & Julie

Important Chamber Dates & Future Events (Save the Date)

*March 7 - Sonny's Grand RE-Opening Ribbon Cutting

see below for details

*March 7 - Small Business Commitee Meeting

Chamber Office - 1:15 p.m.

*March 14 - Membership Committee Meeting

Chamber Office - 12:00 p.m. Brown Bag

*March 16 - Chamber Board Meeting

Chamber office - 8:00 a.m.

*March 17 - Business After Hours 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Sponsored & Hosted by On the

Green Day Spa & Salon

*March 19 - Leadership Camden Alumni "Success Series" hosted by Naval

Submarine Base Kings Bay's Admiral Barry & Beth Brunner held at

that home from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm. All Leadership Camden

graduates and current Leadership Camden Class is invited to

attend. The cost is $25 per person and will benefit the Leadership

Camden Scholarship fund. Seating is limited, so please RSVP

to Marty Klumpp at martyklumpp@tds.net by March 16th.

*March 22 - Lunch and Learn

Chamber Office - 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

*March 24 - Ribbon Cutting - Southeast Georgia Health System Camden Family

Medicine Office See details below

*March 28 - Workforce Development Committee meeting

Chamber Office - 1:30 pm

*March 29th - Moderinize Your PC Seminar - BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

Ward Hernandez Building - 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

*March 31 - Military Community Affairs Meeting

Chamber Office - 8:00 a.m.

*April 6th - Government Community Affairs Committee Meeting
Chamber Office - 8:00 a.m.

Future Events - Save the Date

Friday, May 6th --- Chick-fil-A Leadercast held at Southeast Community Church - Contact the Chamber to reserve your tickets!

WARNING----Fraudulent Advertisers Hitting Local Businesses!

Please be aware that once again there are businesses trying to solicit without support from the Camden County High School Athletics Department. Elite Designs is contacting local businesses and stating they are working with the HS. This is not the case, so please be aware that there is only one business that has the permission to use the Athletic Department's name. Score Fundraising Company who produces the Wildcat Cards is the only organization working with the HS. Be sure to pay close attention to any communication you recieve concerning this matter, especially from Elite Designs or others that have been known to say they are working with the HS.

Using the name of HS or any business for that matter to promote sales is illegal. In order to have any recourse, it is recommended that you record the conversation and get the sales person name and phone number. If you are not sure about any company contacting you that says they are working with the HS, do not hestiate to contact Florence Sparks at 912-729-7318 or Ken Thomas at 912-729-7042.

Thank You to Our January New & Renewing Members

Thank You to Our January New Members

Splash Ads, LLC - Jeff Crothers

O'Brien's Grille - Angie O'Brien

Southeast Community Church - Laury Simms
Southern Express Towing - Darrell Simmers

The Coffee Spot - Patty Rowe

Kip Matthews

AAA Threads - Lanay Riordan

Shaw Environmental & Infrastructures, Inc. - David Cobert

Karlen Custom Homes, Inc - Allen Eldridge

Enterprise Rent-A-Car - Samantha Green

Nalley Honda Buick GMC - Britt Gilmore

Thank You to Our January Renewing Members

Cumberland Financial Group - Charlie & Mary Smith - 4 years

MLBA, Inc - Mark & Tina Belcher - 6 years

Service Master of Camden-Charlton Co. - Randy Kramer - 5 years

Synovous Mortgage Corporation - Tom Cyphers - 10 years

Advance Learning Center - Caroline Fender - 5 years

American Red Cross, Blood Services - Dean Smith - 6 years

Edward DiPreta, M.D., P.C., Camden Dermatology - Nicole Campbell - 2 years

Fowler, Maxwell, & Company, P.C. - Stan Fowler - 23 years

Lilliston Ford - Keane Kirz- 4 years

The Southern Charmer - Avonda Casey - 3 years

WKBX Radio 106.3 FM - Jim Steele - 23 years

Camden Party Rentals - Kathleen Pergola - 6 years

Reads Moving Systems - Bob Fuller - 6 years

Okefenoke Rural Electric Membership Corp - Gary Strickland - 23 years

Bacon Law Firm, P.C. - Gary Bacon - 2 years

Joy Cooper, ASR, e-Pro, SHS, SRES - 5 years

Diver's Den - Chris Whitlock - 1 year

Hampton Inn - Chandrika Desai - 2 years

Advance for Kids, Inc. - Sarah Johnsen - 3 years

Happy Apple Academy of St. Marys UMC - Ginna Stein - 3 years

Caring Hearts, Inc. - Eva Gonzalez - 4 years

Lil Seabag - Ann & Larry Wade - 6 years

Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Que - Joe Loomis - 17 years

Once Upon a Bookseller - Louise Mancill - 11 years

W. H. Gross Construction Company - Bill Gross - 23 years

Bayer CropScience - John Drews - 23 years

Hospice of the Golden Isles - Tara Bloom - 9 years

P & A Engineering - Robbie Cheek - 4 years

Pampered Pets Resort - H. C. Leigh - 4 years

Advance Rehabilitation - Andrea Hines - 14 years

Ameris Bank - Ed Haworth - 16 years

Wal-Mart Store 836 - Ken Bradley - 4 years

Blair C. Strain, P.C. - Blair Strain - 17 years

Care Net Pregnancy Center - Sonya Cowart - 8 years

Wingswept Quail Preserve - Robbie Cheek - 2 years

City of St. Marys - Mayor Bill Deloughy - 11 years

Georgia Department of Labor - Faith Copeland-Pittman - 17 years

Pet Supplies Plus - Scott Altman - 3 years

State Farm Insurance - Jane Brown - 4 years

Coastal Construction - A. Doyle Strickland - 12 years

Home-Towne Suites - Jennifer Gronde - 23 years

*Highlighted Members 10+ years Membership

Thank You to Our February New & Renewing Members

Thank You to Our February New Members

Camden Way Apartments - Jennifer Pierson

Kingsbay Dry Cleaners & Laundrymat - Marillyn Stiglic

Turner Pest Control, LLC - Roy Bernius
Carquest of Kingsland - Susan Lightfoot

Millhouse Steakhouse - Tom Jones

Kenneth and Patricia Boden

Cedar Bay Cafe - D.R. Davis, Sr.

Gary Freeman Attorney, P.C. - Gary Freeman

John Minor

Christine M. Daniel, Mary Kay Beauty Consultant

Aaron's Sales and Leasing - Sohail Madani

Camden Coupon - Winston Barlow

Country Hearth - Mark Tomlinson

Vincent M. Barone, Independent Financial - Vincent Barone

Thank You to Our February Renewing Members

Walgreens - Ron Dinkel - 3 years

Camden Printing - Greg Lockhart - 19 years

Dina Barone's Vocal Studio - Dina Barone - 1 year

St. Marys Railroad Company - Herb Crabtree - 4 years

Coastal Dental Care, P.C.-Sid Parker, Jr & D.M.D. & Jeff Pennington, D.M.D - 13 years

Dalton Signs, Inc. - Kevin Dalton - 9 years

Lang Insurance Agency - State Farm - Kevin Lang - 7 years

Edward Jones - Hal Weathers - 11 years

Coastal Pawn - Daniel Wagner - 4 years

Publix Super Market, Inc. - Brian Bowman - 17 years

Vista Outdoor Advertising - Craig Root - 23 years

Comcast - Tom Reeder - 1 year

Kingsland Cable T. V. - Don Trednick - 16 years

Military Realty of Kings Bay - Banks VanPelt, III - 1 year

The Lighthouse 89.3 FM - Paul & Vickie Hafer - 9 years

Beacon Light Company - John Stasinis - 9 years

Prudential Magnolia Realty - Sheila Meadows - 23 years

*Highlighted Members 10+ years Membership

Thank You to Our Sponsors

******January Sponsors******

Business After Hours

O'Brien's Grille

Di's Catering & Cakes

Business of the Month

  Chick-fil-A

  Door Prizes

Aflac

Chic-fil-A

Auto Care

Restoration Hands of Aloha

H & R Block

J Green Jewelers

The Southern Charmer

Amelia Medical Care

Lil' Seabag

LOWES Home Improvement

Camden County Clinic of Chiropractic

Di's Catering

O'Brien's Grille

Jill Lange

Comcast

Royal Weaver & Sharship Farragut

******February Sponsors******

  Business After Hours

   Di's Catering and Cakes

Harrietts Bluff Wine & Spirits

Georgia Power

Brenau University

Gilbert, Harrell, Sumerford & Martin, P.C.

Aflac

Business of the Month

Chick-fil-A

Door Prizes

Aflac

Chick-fil-A

Auto Care

Restoration Hands of Aloha

H & R Block

J Green Jewelers

The Southern Charmer

Amelia Medical Care

  Cumberland Financial Group

LOWES Home Improvement

St. Marys Submarine Museum

Coastal Oaks Home Inspections

Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Que

Camden County Clinic of Chiropractic

O'Brien's Grille

Royal Weaver & Sharship Farragut

Business After Hours - January, February & March

Special thanks to O'Brien's Grille and Di's Catering and Cakes for co-sponsoring and hosting the January 2011 Business After Hours. If you missed visiting O'Brien's Grille, you really missed a fun time. The food was prepared by O'Brien's and Di's Catering and it was fantastic.

O'Brien's Grille & Di's Catering & Cakes January Business After Hours

Several of our chamber members helped to make February's Business After Hours held at the Chamber of Commerce Offices a great success. The new renovations were showcased as well as the reveal of the New Chamber Website. Special thanks to Di's Catering & Cakes, Harrietts Bluff Wine & Spirits, Georgia Power, Brenau University, Gilbert, Harrell, Summerford, & Martin, P.C., and Aflac for sponsoring the event. Fun was had by all.

Chamber February Business After Hours

The March 17th Business After Hours will be sponsored and hosted by On the Green Salon & Day Spa. What a great venue for a St. Patrick's Day celebration. Join us from 5-7 pm and don't forget to wear your green and celebrate. Mary Rose and her girls will be sure to impress all of us!

Photo Gallery

Upcoming Ribbon Cuttings

Sonny's Grand Re-Opening Ribbon Cutting
Monday, Mar. 7th - 10:45 am

We hope you will join us at the Grand Re-Opening Ribbon Cutting at Sonny's Real Pit BBQ. Joe & Amanda Loomis and their crew have worked hard to bring a new look to our Sonny's in Kingsland. We hope you will support them and come and check out their wonderful changes and participate in their Grand Re-Opening. Stay for lunch and check out all the daily specials! For more details.

Camden Family Medicine Office Ribbon Cutting
Thursday March 24- 5:30 p.m.

We hope you will join us and the Southeast Georgia Health System for the Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting at Camden Family Medicine Office on the corner of Kings Bay Road and Winding Road. Come to the open house immediately following the ribbon cutting and see the newest edition to our fantastic community health system.

Government Community Affairs Committee

The Government Community Affairs Committee just completed their 2nd Annual Atlanta Fly-In. This year the committee decided to change the format to promote Camden County and its many assets. There were still issues presented, but the presentation focused on what the community has accomplished to assist in bringing the issues or projects to closure.

The Atlanta Fly-In focused its lobbying efforts on the need for a technical college campus in Camden. With the donation of land by the Gross Family and the support from the City of Kingsland and the County, showed our elected officials that Camden County is working hard to facilitate their own growth and accomplishing their goals.

Atlanta Fly-In Group meets with Lt. Governor Casey Cagle

The Altamaha Technical College project is currently first on the unfunded list, but with the presentations made to the Governor, Lt. Governor, Speaker of the House, President Pro Tem, and the House & Senate Appropriations Chairs, this assisted us in delivering a powerful message of the need for this technical school project to move forward. The benefit of having the technical college campus built will ultimately provide Camden County with a trained & qualified workforce, a source for continuing education for the business community and Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay and providing another alternative with more program options for our community.

The Committee is now working on the Chamber's Annual Washington Fly-In which will be held on April 13th - 15th. Cities, county, school system, Chamber, JDA, The Camden Partnership, Navy League, and local business leadership will meet with our Congressman, Senators, Coast Guard, United States Navy, United States Marine Corp and the United States Chamber of Commerce. The group prepares a combined brief and presents on Military, Education and Quality of Life issues impacting Camden County.

A planning meeting took place this past week at the Chamber to determine what issues will be presented in DC. Several meetings will be conducted to further discuss and fine tune the message. The group will again provide a positive image of Camden County and embrace all the great things the community has accomplished.

If you would like to get involved and be a part of the the Government Community Affairs Committee, please join us for the monthly meetings scheduled the first Wednesday of each month beginning promptly at 8 am in the Chamber's conference room. Please contact our Committee Chair Charlie Smith at charlie@tcfg-fl.com if you have further questions.

Photo Gallery

Marketing - Chamber Website Launching Soon! STAY TUNED!

Amanda Johanson briefs Members on new Chamber Website

During the February Business After Hours held at the Camden County Chamber of Commerce Office, Amanda Johanson, Marketing Committee Chair briefs members on the Chamber's new interactive website.

The website & Trafic Catcher System will provide valuable benefits to ALL Chamber Members. Some of the benefits include:

Inputing your logo and photos
Creating a photo tour of your business or products
Posting coupons and special offers
Adding audio & Video Commercials
Creating a mobile webpage
Taking online reservations and/or appointments
Online payment features
Creating an online catolog of products and selling those products online

We can also now track all referrals to our members and how many times your website is viewed by those accessing the Chamber's Website. In order to give everyone a sneak peak of the Traffic Catcher Page available to all members, please view Mark Belcher's Page for MLBA.

Membership Committee

The Membership Committee would like to encourage our new and existing members to get involved in your Chamber as your time permits. Your involvement will provide new and fresh ideas, suggestions and greater value for our membership. So get involved and make a difference in your Chamber and your community.

Our Committee Chair, Nancy Dervaes from Aflac was instrumental in bringing the #99 Aflac Nascar Racing Car to Camden on Saturday, February 26th. The Roush Racing Team Members stated there were over 500+ people that visited the exhibit held at the Aflac car Kings Bay Shopping Village. Thank you to Bob & Nancy Dervaes for working so hard in making the event successful. Fun was had by all.

If you would like to join the Membership Committee the next meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 14th at noon held at the Chamber Office. Bring your lunch and join us in making a difference for our members. If you have further questions, please contact our Committee Chair Nancy Dervaes at nancy_dervaes@us.aflac.com. See you at our next meeting!

Military Community Affairs Committee

The Individual Augmentee Christmas Party hosted by Mr. & Mrs. John Stewart was a huge success and a great way to show our support of both the families and their loved ones protecting our country. The Camden County Chamber's Military Community Affairs Committee hope to have an annual Christmas Party.

The Military Community Affairs meeting for March is Thursday, March 31st 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 allen@karlenhomes.net or CMC Jimmy Schubert at james.schubert@navy.mil. Look forward to having you join us!

Service Member of the Month- January BAH

Service Member February 2011

Service Member of the Month-February BAH

Service Member Febrauary 2011

New Member Welcome Breakfast

The Chamber's New Member Welcome held on January 25th was very successful. There were a number of new members on hand to learn how they can receive the most value for their Chamber Membership. The Welcome Breakfasts are held quarterly, so

Bob Dervaes, Aflac and Charlie Notter visit

watch the Community Calendar or the updates for the next event.

As a new member or even an existing member, if you have not attended the New Member Welcome, we encourage you to attend and see what your Chamber is doing for your while you are running your business. There is so much more to the Chamber than many realize.

The Chamber is not just about social events, we are also advocating on behalf of our community and our membership. This is evident during our Atlanta and Washington, DC fly-ins, attending City Council and County Commission meetings and following what the Georgia & United States Chamber is working on.

We also provide our members with excellent educational opportunities and seminars. If you haven't participated in Leadership Camden, watch the upcoming Weekly Updates and the Monthly Newsletters.

Promoting and providing exposure is also a huge objective of the Chamber. We are always looking for new technologies, programs, etc that will provide value to our membership.

Photo Gallery

Small Business Committee

The January 12th Procurement Seminar was a huge success and very well attended. The College of Coastal Georgia Auditorium was the perfect venue for Nelson Smith, Deputy for Small Business NAVFAC SE and Barbara English, President, English Solutions, Inc. They both provided the participants with great information needed in order to do business on Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay.

The Modernize Your PC sponsored by Microsoft was also very well attended and was a wealth of information for the over 30 participants. Mark Belcher from MLBA, Inc gave a broad overview of how Windows 7 and Outlook 2010 will be a tremendous benefit for the business community.

Modernize PC Seminar The seminar was such a success, the "Modernize Your PC" will be back by popular demand on Tuesday, March 29th from 11 am - 1pm held at the Ward Hernandez Building. Members will be admitted free of charge and non-member will be charged $25. Lunch will be served.

The Small Business Committee's next meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 7th at 1:15 pm held at the Chamber Office. If you are interested in serving on this committee, please contact the Co-chairs Dr. Jon Shiels at chiro559@tds.net or Alex Blount at councilcat79@yahoo.com. The more business people we have on this committee the more information we can provide to our membership. Look forward to having you on the committee.

Photo Gallery

Workforce Development Committee

Any business or industry interested in participating on the Workforce Development Committee , we welcome you to join us at our next committee meeting on Monday, March 28th at 1:30 pm held at the Chamber Office. If you have additional questions or would like to participate please contact Rachel Baldwin, Committee Chair at rbaldwin@camden.k12.ga.us.

Chamber Member Milestones

Congratulations to Gary Straight, S&S Pools and his Chili Cooking Team for winning the Great Camden County Chili Cook-off "People's Choice Award!

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Congratulations to TDS Telecom! TDS® was named a J.D. Power 2011 Customer Service Champion and was one of only 40 companies to receive this distinction in the U.S.

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Congratulations to Joe & Amanda Loomis on the Sonny's Grand Re-Opening Ribbon Cutting. The restaurant looks amazing and we wish you the best of luck!

In This Issue

Important Chamber Dates & Future Events (Save the Date)

WARNING - Fraudulent Advertisers Targeting Businesses

Welcome & Thank You January New & Renewing Members

Welcome & Thank You February New & Renewing Members

Thank You January and February Sponsors

Business After Hours

Upcoming Ribbon Cuttings

Government Community Affairs Committee

Marketing Committee