Greetings!
Welcome to the Eastern Madera County Area News brought to you by the
Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce. We are pleased to present news from our members and the communities of Eastern Madera County.
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Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce Receives a 2009 Constant Contact All-Star Award
 Constant Contact recognizes Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce for commitment to best practices in email marketing.
Oakhurst, CA - April 20, 2010 - Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce, today announced that it has received a 2009 All-Star Award from Constant Contact®, Inc., a leading provider of email marketing, event marketing, and online survey tools for small organizations. Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce was selected for meeting Constant Contact's best-practice standards for the use of Email Marketing throughout 2009.
"We take great pride in our newsletter. It has always been our goal to be a major source of information for the residents of Eastern Madera County. We remain committed to providing a quality "green" publication and encourage everyone to subscribe." Kathy McCorry, Executive Director. Read More>>
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The Chamber proudly announces the Chamber POTS team players
 They can use your help. They need cool
uniforms for the game against the
Ambassadors. You can help them
by sponsoring a player for $100.
Coach Sonya Eggleston, Tom Souther, Barney Berrier, Larry Ramirez, Susan
Madden, Michael Lagow Jr., Justin Smith, Kimberly Smith, Tom Wheeler,
Christopher Lagow, Randy Papike, Janet Stanovich and David Salisbury.
Call and
pledge your help today. 559-683-7766 or click here to download our pledge form.
The Chamber POTS practicing for the big game:
Tickets can be purchased at the following locations: Yosemite Bank (Oakhurst & Coarsegold), Chase Bank, Central Valley Community Bank, Sierra Tel Business Center, Oakhurst Feed, Sierra Telephone and the Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce or online at www.oakhurstchamber.com.
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Oakhurst Area Chamber brings nationally renowned leadership training to Coarsegold
"May 7th, 2010, John Maxwell, Jim Collins, Tony Dungy, Chip Heath, Connie Podesta, Ben Carson, Jim Goodnight, Steve Uzzell, Mark Sanborn, Ed Bastian coming to our community!
Time is running out to purchase tickets
Get yours today!
Tickets $99! Call 559-683-7766 or visit www.oakhurstchamber.com
Group discounts! You don't want to miss this one incredible day to listen to these thought leaders!"
A limited number of Business Booth spaces are also available. Showcase your business to to all of the right people. Booth fees include one ticket to the Leadership Simulcast. Visit the Oakhurst Area Chamber website for vendor information: www.oakhurstchamber.com |
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Meet The Candidates
 Learn their positions on key issues
Monday May 3rd at the Oakhurst Community Center from 6:00pm - 8:00pm.
Candidates attending are:
Supervisor, 5th District:
Tom Wheeler
Joe Alberta
Assessor:
Kenneth Russell
County Clerk - Recorder
Desirae Devine
Rebecca Martinez
Sheriff - Coroner
John Anderson
Betty Barker
Sponsored by the Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce and the
Oakhurst Community Center
For further information call 559-683-7766
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Women In Business Luncheon
 Thursday April 22, 2010
12pm - 1pm
River Creek Golf Course, 41709 Rd 600 Ahwahnee CA
Topic: Can Workforce Development Help Your Business?
Make your
reservation today call 683-7766 or visit Women In Business Online
Menu: Chicken
Caesar Salad or Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich
includes side, non-alcoholic beverage, tax and tip
*Cancellations must be made at least 48 hours in advance or unfortunately you
may be charged for your lunch. |
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Join Us In Beautifying Our Community
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Honorary Mayor Kickoff
 April 28, 2010
5:30pm - 7:00pm
Hosted by Yosemite Bank
42515 Hwy 41, Oakhurst
559-683-7766
Candidates will kick start their campaign with a barbecue.
All proceeds will go to their campaign.
This years candidates are:
John Burton - Eastern Madera County SPCA
Melanie Barker - Manna House
Come join us to support these local charities! |
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Meet New People -
Join the Chamber Ambassadors
Would you like to improve your business? Help yourself by
learning to help others become an Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassador.
Come see what being an Ambassadors all about, join us at
the next Ambassadors meeting: Tuesday, May 11th, 12pm in the Chambers Meeting
Room (Blue building next to the cemetery, upstairs from Nelson Press.)
Hi-End Gifts | Ol' Kettle Restaurant *Under New Management* |
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Oakhurst Home & Garden Show
 Join Us May 22 & 23rd for the Oakhurst Home & Garden Show!
9am - 5pm in the beautiful Oakhurst Community Park
Go Green with great new products and ideas for home remodeling. Find many goods and services for your Home and GardenPlus ~ Home Décor ~ Arts & Crafts ~ Beer Tasting ~ Great Food ~Inflatable Rides ~ and ....FREE Do It Yourself Classes brought to you by: True Value Hardware.______________________________________________________________ Vendor SpaceStill available, contact the Chamber office to find out how you can showcase your business; 559-683-7766, chamber@oakhurstchamber.comor visit www.oakhurstchamber.com*Chamber members receive a 10% discount on booth space._____________________________________________________________ Volunteers NeededThe Chamber is looking for volunteers to help in the Beer Tasting Booth at the Home & Garden Show. This is a FREE way to promote your business while having fun! If you are interested call the Chamber at: 559-683-7766 or email us at: chamber@oakhurstchamber.com
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RED WHITE AND BLUE BUNTING
 Four foot wide vinyl bunting.
Perfect for outdoor decorations.
Only $5.00 each for Chamber Members.
An affordable way
to decorate Oakhurst from Memorial Day - Veterans Day.
Call the Oakhurst Area Chamber @ 683-7766 to purchase bunting for your business.
Decorate Oakhurst and show support for our country at the same time. This will also help bring our communities together by creating a similar look and feel to Coarsegold.
NOTE: Bunting is $10.00 each for Businesses that don't yet belong to the Chamber.
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Customer Service Key To Tourism
 The Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau has unveiled a program aimed at increasing awareness of businesses that exhibit top customer service.
The bureau, which promotes Madera County as a tourism destination, will be recognizing "front-line workers" for their efforts in providing top-notch customer service.
"Customer service is an important part of the tourism industry, just like any other business," said Dan Cunning, chief executive officer of the bureau. "And we want to shine a spotlight on the ones who do it best."
"When you go on vacation and are unfortunate enough to deal with a rude person at a business you visit, it can negatively color your impression of that town," Cunning said. "We are looking to first find the people of Madera County who go out of their way to make their customers know they are important, and second, inspire others to follow in their footsteps." Read More>> |
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Fundraising efforts begin for Oakhurst Jazz Festival
 The beautiful hillside home of Doug Reeves and Marilyn Rigg was the site of the unveiling of a new event for the Mountain Area Saturday afternoon.
The Yosemite International Jazz Festival, the brainchild of event chairman Angelo Pizelo, will be staged in October 2011.
"The idea is to produce a high-quality event that will draw thousands of visitors to Oakhurst to help stimulate the economic development of the area," Pizelo said. Read More>>
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Preparing For Your Financial Future
 When most of us think of investing, we immediately think of investing for retirement. While that is an important aspect to be considered, there are other pieces of the puzzle that are also important. Establishing a budget, investing early and regularly, and saving for post-secondary education should also be considered.
Establish a budget
Establishing a budget is a great first step in planning your finances. A budget is a useful tool for recording all of your income and expenses. By writing down how much money you earn and spend each month, you can see where your money is going. This will assist you in being able to prioritize your expenses and needs. Any money left over can be used for saving and investing. Even a small amount of money invested regularly can help. Invest early and regularly, even small amounts. Read More>> |
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Sidewalk Sale Book Fair
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IRS Reaches Out to Millions of Employers on Benefits of New Health Care Tax Credit
 WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service this week began mailing postcards to more than four million small businesses and tax-exempt organizations to make them aware of the benefits of the recently enacted small business health care tax credit.
Included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act approved by Congress last month and signed into law by President Obama, the credit is one of the first health care reform provisions to go into effect. The credit, which takes effect this year, is designed to encourage small employers to offer health insurance coverage for the first time or maintain coverage they already have.
"We want to make sure small employers across the nation realize that -- effective this tax year -- they may be eligible for a valuable new tax credit. Our postcard mailing -- which is targeted at small employers -- is intended to get the attention of small employers and encourage them to find out more," IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. "We urge every small employer to take advantage of this credit if they qualify." Read More>>
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Yosemite National Park Celebrates National Park Week
and Earth Day with Special Programs and Activities.
National Park Week April 17-April 25 -Earth Day April 22
 Yosemite National Park Celebrates National Park Week
and Earth Day with Special Programs and Activities.
National Park Week April 17-April 25 -Earth Day April 22
To help celebrate National Park Week and Earth Day, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, has announced entrance fees will be waived for Yosemite, and all other national parks for the entire week. Camping fees, and all other fees will still be applicable.
This year, the focus of National Park Week will be on fitness. Many of the programs and events during this week will encourage visitors to participate in fun physical activity such as hiking, biking, and other family outdoor activities.
Click here for events and activities occurring during National Park Week
Click here for further information
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Elegant Auction
 Dear Friends of the Oakhurst Community Park,
The Oakhurst Community
Park CommitteeInvites you to take part in our 25th Annual Elegant
Auction
Silver Anniversary Celebration
Saturday April 24, 2010
At
the Pines Resort Lakeview Room on beautiful Bass Lake
Join us for
the celebration!The Elegant Auction provides all of the funding for the equipment
maintenance and upgrades to our local Community Park, located in the
heart of Oakhurst - an unincorporated community. Without funding from
any state or county sources, the Oakhurst Community Park was a vision
that became a reality, solely through the generous contributions of
residents and businesses in our mountain area communities and the
equally generous support of out of area businesses. Read More>>> |
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Earth Day Celebration
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You too can 'pay it forward'
It's not good enough to hang up a shingle on a store front and
expect patronage from the community. Sure, people may come in looking
for the product or service you offer but you know there is competition
out there. It may be local or it may be from Fresno. So how do you
succeed? "Pay it forward" is a concept that was
presented in a movie whereby a person does a good deed for another and
that good deed is passed on. Some business leaders in this community
have learned to pay it forward. They are the ones who are connected to
one or more community charities. Read More>>
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Antique & Classic Boat Show at Bass Lake
 The 20th annual Antique & Classic Boat show will take place at Bass Lake Saturday May 15, 2010. The show takes place at the Marina in front of Ducey's on The Lake in the Pines Village from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm.
The Bass Lake Lions Club and The Pines Resort & Conference Center sponsor this annual event showcasing these vintage beauties. The Southern and Northern California chapters of the Antique and Classic Boat Society of America rendezvous for one of the largest shows of the season.
The admission is $3 (10 and under free) and is the primary fundraiser to help the club to support charitable causes including a camp for deaf and sight-impaired children, local scholarships, clean-up efforts and other community programs. If you take eyeglasses, cell phones and hearing aids for recycling, you will get two free raffle tickets for a drawing. There will be many raffle prizes; you need not be present to win! Don't miss this beautiful and fun gathering of antique and classic boats.
For more information, contact Beth Carver, (559) 642-3600
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One Stop Office Products
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Thank You From Wild Wonderful Women
 To EVERYONE who made the "Self Made In America" the amazing success that it was!
So much to say and so many to thank!
Here we are 10 days since the Abraham Lincoln -Self Made in America Exhibit closed. Hard to believe, it was such a part of our lives for so long and for all of you that worked with us, your dedication was really wonderful.
As a recap, there were almost 5,000 visitors through the King Vintage Museum in 4 weeks' time, almost 2,000 young students.
Visitors came from all over California, at least 8 other states and 3 countries - sign-ins were interestingly handled by guests. Read More>>
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Earth Day Volunteers Needed
The Ahwahnee
Hills Regional
Park will be opening this
summer pending Madera
County required clean up
of safety hazards.
Friends of the Ahwahnee
Hills Regional
Park are looking for
volunteers who would like to help with clean up on April 24th in
observance of Earth Day. We will be working from 9-3 on clearing and cleanup of
picnic areas and the Interpretive
Center.
Please bring any available rakes, shovels, weed eaters,
sprayers/roundup, blowers and trimmers.
Bottled water donated by Gold Country Bottled Water and
fruit and energy snacks donated by Raley's will be available.
For more information call: 559-641-5151; please leave a
message and we will return your call.
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Mothers Day Breakfast
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Earth Day Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary
As millions of people will take part in events to mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day April 22, the story behind the first Earth Day begins with a single individual.
In the early 1960s, when Earth Day founder Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, first hatched the idea that began the modern environmental movement, there was little public awareness of the fragile state of the planet.
The nation's roads were filled with cars sporting massive, leaded-gas-guzzling V-8 engines and its factories were spewing smoke and sludge into the air.
Nelson had been working to bring national attention to a wide range of environmental issues for several years before launching the first-ever Earth Day in 1970. His early efforts included persuading President John F. Kennedy to embark on a five-day, 11-state "conservation tour" in 1963. Read More>>
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This ad is paid for by the Tom Wheeler for District 5 Supervisor Campaign.
The Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce does not endorse, fund, or support either candidate running for District 5 Supervisor. |
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Northland Cable
40108 Hwy 49
Oakhurst CA 93644
559-683-7388
www.northlandcabletv.com
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| New Members
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Please join us in
welcoming the
following businesses
to the Oakhurst Area
Chamber:
Auto Bench
Coyote Bail Bonds
Hi-End Gifts
Old Mexico Taqueria
Sierra E-Waste
Twelve Toes Promotions
Women's Council of Realtors
Yosemite Shaved Ice
Produce Place
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| Renewing Members
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Congratulations to the following businesses. They benefit from
all of the many services the
Oakhurst Area Chamber
provides.
Above the Fog Marketing
Aflac
Coldwell Banker - Erna Best
Curves for Women
DNC Parks & Resorts
John K. Burton Inspection Services
Madera Radio Dispatch
Oakhurst Sierra Sunrise Rotary
One Stop Office Products
REO Properties
Sierra Tel Internet
Sugar Pine Take & Bake Pizza
Supervisor Tom Wheeler
Western Sierra Nursery
Wildcat Station Feed & Supply
Wild Wonderful Women
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March Statistics
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The Oakhurst Area Chamber is one of the most frequently dialed number in the area. Our website generates well over three million hits per year!
We provide a FREE place for our members to display their business cards and brochures in our busy lobby.
View our stats to see just how busy we were in March:
Website Hits: 398,504
Member Referrals from Website:
19,309
Relocation Requests: 5
# Emails Answered: 1160
# of Phone Calls Rcv'd: 1347
# of Visitors: 483
# of Mailed Items Sent: 250
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Benefit of the Month
Member Marketplace
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This is an excellent
opportunity for you to
reach all Oakhurst Area
Chamber of Commerce members with information
about your products or
services. It is easy - and inexpensive! Just provide
us with 400 flyers and we
will do the rest. The cost
to you is minimal,
averaging less than 16
cents per flyer vs. 42
cents mailing the flyers
yourself using first class
postage. We will invoice
you at time of mailing.
*May is SOLD OUT,
our next available Members Marketplace is the beginning of June. Flyers are taken on a first come first serve basis. We are limited to the first five flyers. Contact the Chamber office to reserve your spot
in the next mailing; 559-683-7766 or e-mail us.
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| Customer Appreciation | |  We would like to thank:
Yosemite High School for the use of their gymnasium to practice for the upcoming basketball game against the Harlem Ambassadors
THANK YOU!
Our Mission:
"Promote and support the economic vitality of our
local businesses, while honoring and preserving the unique lifestyles of our Mountain Communities." |
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Proud Sponsors of the
Oakhurst Area Chamber
Gold Sponsors:  Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino  London Properties
Silver Sponsors:
P.G.& E.
Mariposa Portable Sanitation
Sierra Telephone
Donaghy Sales
Corporate Sponsors:
United Security Bank |
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Looking for hotels, restaurants, entertainment and more?
Look no further. Click on the image above. |
| | | Mark Your Calendars |  Walk Your Dog, Fit For Life
Tues, April 27 8:00am
Oakhurst River Walkway
For further information visit:
www.oakhurstfeed.com
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| Get Involved
Serve as a voice of the Chamber
Ambassadors
2nd Tuesday of the month, Chamber Meeting Room - 12pm
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Economic Development
3rd Friday of the month, Round Table - 12pm
Strategic Planning
3rd Wednesday of the month, Central Valley Community Bank - 3pm
Emergency Preparedness
2nd Thursday of the month, Sierra Ambulance - 7:30am
For more information Contact the Chamber office
559-683-7766
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