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Greetings!
The MPBPA will hold its monthly luncheon meeting this Thursday, January 21st at noon at the Holiday Inn in Mount Pleasant.
People generally start arriving by 11:45 to network and the meeting will start around 12:10. The luncheon is $12 for members and $18 for guests.
DON'T FORGET: As always, we require an RSVP. Reply to this email no later than 10 a.m. Wednesday morning and let us know if you and any guests will be attending.
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT AND RSVP RIGHT NOW so you'll have that part done!
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This month's speaker: Mayor Billy Swails
 Mayor Billy Swails was elected in November of 2009, after serving on Town Council for eleven years collectively. He is a lifelong resident, having grown up and raised his family in Mount Pleasant, is married to his wonderful wife Peggy, has two children, and four grandchildren. Mayor Swails graduated from Moultrie High School, attended The Citadel, and Charleston Southern University, and is a member of All Saints Lutheran Church. Community service has been a part of his life since graduating high school. He has coached hundreds of children in various sporting activities as well as sponsoring numerous sports teams, and feels there is nothing more rewarding. Mayor Swails is a State Farm Insurance Agent, and has served as a member of the Charleston Area Regional Development Authority, the Patriots Point Development Authority, the Charleston County Transportation Committee, the Mount Pleasant Sertoma Club, the Mount Pleasant Rotary Club and the Citadel Brigadier Club. He currently chairs the Police, Legal & Judicial and the Transportation Committees of Council, as well as serving as an Ex-Officio Member of the Mount Pleasant Waterworks Commission. Mayor Swails will address our group on the State of the Town. Attendance is expected to be high, so if you have not RSVP'ed yet, please do so now in order to be sure to get a seat! |
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Our meeting sponsor: Gold Star Business Services
Gold Star Business Services LLC may be less than a year old, but Elaine Domin has more than 30 years of business and accounting experience with small and large companies.
She is a member of the Professional Bookkeeper Association and is an Advanced Certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor. She can sell all QuickBooks software, set up and train users. Check our their website at www.GoldStarBusinessServices.com for details and discounts.
Of course, they offer full bookkeeping services, payroll services with direct deposit, on a schedule that right for your company. And this year they are partnering with H & R Block Tax Service at Sea Island Shopping (Coleman & 526) to fully serve their clients' needs.
Gold Star Business Services LLC
P.O. Box 22183
Charleston SC 29413
Elaine Domin
843-696-4735
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President's Corner - January 2010
"It's all about perspective...
Welcome to first newsletter of 2010! More importantly, I hope we'll see you at our first meeting of the year this Thursday, January 21st at the Holiday Inn.
January's meeting is always one of our highest attended meetings because we have the Mayor of Mount Pleasant come and update us on the state of our town. I know I look forward to seeing our new mayor, Billy Swails, address the group and also look forward to a long relationship with him and the rest of Town Council.
I also want to thank those of you who attended our November meeting, where we voted on and installed the 2010 MPBPA Board:
President - Chuck Diggle, Diggle Publishing
Vice President - Jason Biggs, Regions Bank
Treasurer - Shawna Garris, Tidelands Bank
Secretary - Diane Pauldine, Direct Marketers of Charleston
We welcome back our previous Treasurer and Secretary, who have done outstanding jobs, and offer many thanks to our previous Vice President, Christopher Cisneros of Zafari, who stepped down this year. In his place, we are fortunate to have Jason Biggs, who has become greatly involved in the board over the last year plus.
I'd also like to offer a great thank you to Karen Upton of ForUs Enterprises, who served as our Membership Chair last year. Her position is being filled by long-time board meeting attendee Brian Sherman of The Publication Specialist. And he will be assisted by Chris Kendra of Catalyst Coaching and Consulting.
I'd also like to thank returning board members Maria Aselage of HearSay Communications, who is our Public Relations Chair; Tammy Faust of Square One Meeting Planners, who is our Event Chair as well as our Speaker Coordinator; and Margaret Cotton of Cotton and Company, who remains our Immediate Past President. Finally, thank you to a new regular board attendee, Justin Kiddy of McCay, Kiddy & Associates, who has taken an active roll in the board. I'm grateful for all those who help keep this organization running.
It's a great board to take us into a new year of networking, learning and community support. The MPBPA is now 16 years old and each year, the group grows bigger and better. We look forward to a great year.
I'd also like to thanks all of you who attended the December "planning" meeting. We had a lot of audience participation, for which we are grateful. This is your association and we board members are merely the chauffeurs of this organization - you determine the direction we take.
Among the suggestions at this planning meeting were the various charity groups we could choose from as this year's designated MPBPA charity. The choice, voted on by the board at last week's board meeting, was a popular one from the planning meeting - the United Methodist Relief Center. This will be the charity for which we will focus our primary donation to take place in October, as it does every year. Vice President Jason Biggs will be leading this effort as our Community Outreach Chair.
However, at the suggestion of several people at the planning meeting, we will also plan to support several other charities such as ECCO and East Cooper Meals on Wheels with food drives and the like as much as is feasible.
We will update you on other important information this year as details on several ideas are finalized. One noteworthy item:
- We will change our board meetings to the Monday two weeks prior to the meeting rather than the Tuesday the week prior. This will give the board more time to act upon decisions made at the board meeting before the regular meeting takes place. So February's board meeting, for instance, will be Monday, February 1st. The regular luncheon meeting will be Thursday, February 18th.
Finally - I'd like to thank our 2010 sponsors. Please visit their websites (logos and links are located in the left column) and if you get the opportunity, please thank them for their financial support of your business association. If you are interested in being a sponsor, click on the link below to email me and I'll be happy to speak with you about it.
That's it for now! I look forward to seeing you at Thursday's meeting and look forward to a productive 2010 for the MPBPA!
To email Chuck or send an RSVP for Thursday's meeting, please click here.
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Town Asks For Your Feedback
Please Click On The Survey Link
Dear MPBPA member,
As a leader in our local business community, your opinions are valuable. We're very interested in your thoughts regarding things like:
- What are/were the significant factors to your decision to do business in Mt Pleasant?
- Where do you see that the Town needs to make improvements to be 'business friendly'?
- How do we best retain great businesses in our town?
Please share your thoughts and ideas by taking the business survey you will find at the link below and at the bottom. Time to complete the survey is just a few minutes. This survey is conducted by an independent research firm as part of the Town of Mount Pleasant's comprehensive marketing and planning initiatives. Your responses will be treated with 100-percent confidentiality.
Simply click on the link below and follow the prompts in the survey. Or you can cut and paste the link below into your browser:
Town of MP Survey
Or copy and paste:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=M147Ir7gMKflGsl5LdMyfg_3d_3d
Please only complete the survey once if you receive it through membership in various business organizations.
Thank you for helping build a vibrant business community!
Survey results will be posted over the next month on a community website which you will be invited to view.
Ashley McKenzie,
Town of Mount Pleasant
Click Here To Take Survey
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Upcoming Events / Speakers / Programs
January 21 - Regular Meeting - Speaker: Mayor Billy Swails
February 1 - Next Board Meeting - 11:30 - Tidelands Bank
February 18 - Regular Meeting - Program: SCORE
March 29 - Spring Fling Social Event - Location TBD
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Member Renewals
The vast majority of our membership has a renewal date this month, so many of you will have received a renewal notice in the mail. Please consider renewing your membership and enjoying another great year with the MPBPA.
Mail in your $175 renewal payment today - or if you plan to attend Thursday's meeting, your renewal can be put on your credit card and it only takes moments as you sign in.
If you are unsure when your renewal date is, just ask at check-in this Thursday. Or if you don't make this week's meeting, you can contact Diane Pauldine at 884-9147 in order to pay by phone with a credit card.
We are also still seeking sponsorships for 2010. If your company would like to join or renew as an Association Sponsor for $500, please reply to this email or ask about it at Thursday's meeting. Association Sponsors get recognition in all newsletters, table tents, banners, agendas and advertising.
Thanks for your continued membership in the Mount Pleasant Business and Professional Association. Your membership supports our annual scholarship program as well as the annual charitable donations to deserving local programs. And it's 100% tax deductible.
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MPBPA is on FACEBOOK
 For those of you who have become involved with the hottest social network out there - Facebook - you can now join the MPBPA Facebook group. We intend to develop this as an adjunct to our website as a method to share information and communicate with one another. Because it has been asked, be aware that joining our Facebook group does not automatically make other MPBPA Facebook members your friends. It's simply a way to keep up with the MPBPA. Please join our Facebook group to network, stay informed and further extend the wonderful connections you've made at the meetings. Click the link below to go to our new page and contribute: Click Here To Go To The MPBPA Facebook Page |
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Have You Shared MPBPA with a Friend?
Remember how you felt after the first couple of MPBPA meetings that you attended? After several luncheons in which you met new people and realized what a great group you'd joined, did you think to invite some friends to share in the fun?
Be sure to do that this next meeting. Bring someone, or see the bottom of this email and you can forward the newsletter to friends and business contacts who might appreciate knowing more about this great organization!
See you at the next meeting!
MPBPA Board
Mount Pleasant Business and Professional Association
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email: Chuck@CharlestonMilitary.com
MPBPA
P.O. Box 1635
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29465
http://www.mpbpa.com |
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