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Greetings! June 21, 2012
Join the BAH crowd tonight at BW3 Graceland for HOT new business leads - and wings!  Enjoy great networking with members of the Worthington and Clintonville chambers of commerce, along with food, beverages, and door prizes, tonight, June 21, from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., as Buffalo Wild Wings at Graceland Shopping Center hosts a collaborative Business After Hours.
Business After Hours (BAH) events provide Chamber members the opportunity to network with other members in an informal setting and to learn more about Chamber member businesses. Pre-register by noon today to be eligible for door prizes and to receive preprinted name tags. Register online (before 1 p.m. today) or by phone at 888-3040. Then, add some sizzle to your business marketing as a sponsor of A Taste of Worthington!  | |
WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone is a presenting sponsor for A Taste of Worthington 2012.
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A few sponsorship opportunities are still available for the popular summer food festival, described in the article below. Event sponsors have the opportunity to showcase their products and services to approximately 3,500 guests. Sponsors receive recognition in chamber publications and local newspapers; canopy-covered tabletop displays at the event to make direct connections with attendees; free admission tickets that can be distributed to employees or clients; recognition in the event program and on the event T-shirt; and event T-shirts. Please contact Karen at the Chamber office, 888-4040, for details by 9 a.m. on Monday, June 25. Just warming up as a new Chamber member?
Then, we recommend that you attend our next orientation breakfast on Tuesday, June 26, from 8:15 to 10 a.m. at DeVry University's Polaris campus. New Chamber members, along with new staff at longtime Chamber member businesses, will learn about Chamber programs and services and discuss how to get the most from your membership and jump-start your involvement. Need a refresher about Chamber benefits and programs? Join the crowd at this event. Register now; space is limited to 30. Call us at 888-3040 or register online on the website events calendar.
Hot leads, sizzling sponsorship opportunities, and lots of ways to warm up your relationship marketing ... some of the many ways your membership is working for you this summer at the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce! |
HEADLINER SPONSOR - This issue of ChamberLinks is sponsored by the American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
CELEBRATE. REMEMBER. FIGHT BACK.
Relay For Life of Worthington at Thomas Worthington High School
June 22-23, 2012 - 6 p.m. - 12 p.m.
For more information, visit:
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TCOMING UP ...
Invoices will be sent, and payment will be expected, for reservations not honored or canceled before the deadline. OTHER EVENTS ...
Thursday mornings, 7:30 a.m. - Impact Tips Group (Subgroup participants only - call 888-3040 for details)
Selected upcoming Chamber events are listed below. Click on blue (hyperlinked) events to register online.
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SAVE THE DATE ...
Mark your calendar with these updates and coming events | |
Friday, July 27 - Survive & Thrive Breakfast and Seminar in cooperation with 12 area chambers of commerce
Monday, Sept. 10 - Annual chamber golf outing at York Golf Club
Saturday, Sept. 29 - Old Worthington Market Day
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Click to learn about these timely promotions from Chamber-member businesses:
Where's YOUR E-sert? Contact the Chamber at 888-3040 to schedule the "E-sertion" of your promotional flier in PDF format.
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SUSTAINING MEMBERS
Gold Sustaining Members
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Follow us on social networking sites
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Great tastes await at A Taste of Worthington
|  Great tastes and family fun await at A Taste of Worthington, the Chamber's annual food sampling festival, on Friday, July 20, from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., in the parking area of OfficeScape Corporate Center, 350 W. Wilson Bridge Road. Event guests, who pay only $2 for admission (children 6 and under are FREE) enjoy affordably priced appetizers, entrées and desserts from area restaurants in a festive block party atmosphere, with live music and family activities. Thanks to our sponsors WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone is a presenting sponsor for the event. Among the corporate sponsors committed at this time are Anthony Lordo, D.D.S., LLC; Friendship Village of Columbus; Keller Williams Capital Partners/LaBuda Advantage Real Estate Team and Mid-American Mortgage Solutions;Magic Cruises; Paradigm Properties of Ohio, LLC; Sam's Club; Telhio Credit Union; ThisWeek Community Newspapers; and Tilton's Automotive Service. 
Promotional Opportunities for Food Vendors Area restaurants can show off tastes of their best as they vie for honors in the "People's Choice" competition for the crowd's favorite foods. Participating food vendors are charged a booth fee that includes the Columbus Health Department's licensing fee and processing by the Chamber. Food vendors set their own food prices (typically $1 - $6) and keep all of the proceeds from their food booths.
 The Chamber provides 10-by-10-foot booth spaces and two 8-foot tables; waste cans; security; electricity (by advance request); seating and tables for patrons (2011 attendance was more than 3,500); beverage sales (soft drinks, beer, water, wine); application forms and processing for the Health Department certificate; pre-event publicity and promotion during the event; and entertainment for all ages. To register your restaurant, caterer or food service facility as a participant, call Kevin at 888-3040; click here to download the event brochure and application; or register online at http://tiny.cc/Taste2012. Volunteer Opportunities A committee of volunteers plans the food festival and is responsible for determining fundraising goals, vendor fees and event activities; and recruiting restaurants, sponsors and volunteers.  Volunteers deliver promotional materials to area restaurants and community sites; post temporary event signage during the week of the event; set up temporary fencing on the evening prior to the event; and set up tables, chairs, tents and additional event signage at the event.
At the event, volunteers collect entrance fees; staff the Chamber's beverage stations and information booth; and assist in clean up following the event. Volunteers work in two- to three-hour shifts throughout the day of the event, starting about 10 a.m. and ending at 11 p.m. Each volunteer is provided free beverages and an event T-shirt, as well as a comfortable spot to rest in the Coach Quarters "Volunteer Lounge" luxury coach. If you are interested in being a sponsor, food vendor or volunteer for the event (or the event planning committee), please contact the Chamber at 888-3040. |
| SOHO group explores PR 101 for Small Business | Small businesses often lack the time to spend on their own public relations - or they lack the funds to hire someone to do it. If you've ever wondered how you can conduct your own PR initiatives in a cost-effective manner, the next SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) meeting will be of interest.
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Michelle Messenger Garrett
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Michelle Messenger Garrett of Garrett Public Relations will help SOHO group members and guests with tips and ideas on how to get your business noticed and draw more potential customers your way.
The brown-bag lunch session will be held on Thursday, June 28, from 11:30 to 1 p.m. at Northwest Library, 2280 Hard Road. (Bring your own lunch. Beverages available.)
The topic, PR 101 for Small Businesses, will include:
Cost-effective ways to do your own PR
Tips, tricks and ideas for you to put into action
How to leverage information you already have in your PR efforts and make it work for you
Michelle Messenger Garrett of Garrett Public Relations, a fellow SOHO member, is a public relations consultant and writer with more than 20 years of experience working with companies ranging in size from small start-ups to large corporations. As an award-winning writer, Michelle has experience writing all types of PR and marketing materials, such as press releases, customer success stories, case studies, speaking abstracts and more. She provides a full range of services to clients, from strategy and planning to implementation, all at a reasonable cost. Garrett Public Relations was recently named to the top 10 list of PR firms by Columbus Business First.
If you work in a home office or "wear all the hats" at a small office with five or fewer employees, the Chamber's new Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) subgroup is for you.
At each monthly meeting, members exchange best practices and business leads and learn from experts about topics that affect small business owners and home-based businesses, including legal, tax, organizational, IT and marketing/promotion issues.
Business and Associate Members of the Chamber are eligible to join SOHO. SOHO members pay a subgroup participation fee of $30 per year, in addition to their regular Chamber dues. A prospective SOHO member may attend the meeting free of charge for a one-month period and then may choose sign up for the group with the $30 annual fee.
Registration is REQUIRED. To register, click on COMING UP link above and follow the prompts on the online registration page. Select the member category if you are already a paid member of SOHO; the "Join SOHO and attend" category if you are joining the group for the coming year and attending this event; or the "Non-member/Guest" fee to attend this meeting free of charge as a prospective member (you may attend once as a guest). Be sure to click "submit" when completed.
Call 888-3040 for further details or assistance in registering.
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| New to the Chamber? Join us for an orientation | Are you new to the Chamber? Take the opportunity to meet other new members and learn about Chamber programs and services at a quarterly orientation meeting, designed to help you get the most from your membership and jump-start your involvement.
Join us on Tuesday, June 26, from 8:15 to 10 a.m. at DeVry University's Polaris campus, for our next orientation.
New members and new contacts at current member businesses are encouraged to attend. Attendees have the opportunity to promote their businesses while learning about Chamber initiatives, programs and services to help them grow their businesses. Use of Chamber website features, advertising and promotional opportunities, and ways to get involved are among the topics. You'll also learn about the Chamber's subgroups, the Women's Business Network, Young Professionals of Worthington, the Small Office/Home Office group, and the Impact Tips Group.
A gift bag of giveaways and coupons from Chamber-member businesses will be provided to each attendee.
There is no charge to attend, but registration is required for this event. to reach the website registration page on the Chamber's Calendar of Events. Select the REGISTER NOW feature at the right of your screen, follow the prompts, and click SUBMIT. You'll receive a confirmation e-mail when successfully registered. Please call (614) 888-3040 if you need assistance.
The deadline for registration is Friday, June 22.
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Community Center hosts Book Discussion Group
| The Get Smart! Book Discussion Group, a partner program offered through the Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce and Worthington Libraries, has chosen the title for its third quarter 2012 session.
 The selection is "Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality" by Scott Belsky.
If you would like to reserve a copy from Worthington Libraries, simply follow the link below and click on the "reserve" button under the cover image.
http://catalog.worthingtonlibraries.org/resolver.ashx?isbn=9781591843122
Questions about the book or the group? Contact Jeff Regensburger, Northwest Library manager and Chamber trustee, at 614-807-2652.
The discussion group will meet on Thursday, July 12, beginning at 5:30 p.m., at the Worthington Community Center.
Refreshments will be served. New members and guests are welcome. RSVPs are encouraged to plan for space and refreshment needs.
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 Need more information about these or other Chamber activities or benefits? We're open for business 24/7 on our website, www.worthingtonchamber.org, to view or sign up for events. Call 888-3040 or click here to e-mail us for help in using our website, making payment arrangements, or learning more about Chamber member benefits. Copyright 2012 - Worthington Area Chamber of Commerce, 25 W. New England Ave., Suite 100, Worthington, OH 43085. Phone: 614-888-3040. Fax: 614-841-4842. |
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