JANUARY 2012
Welcome to the Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce's first newsletter of 2012. The Chamber has many great activities, events and programs planned for the year. The Chamber provides a multitude of benefits to our area businesses and the general community. Here is a (very) short list:
  • Our free newsletter is sent to more than 900 email addresses. There are some instances where Chamber members receive a different version of the newsletter than non-members in order to announce Chamber-only benefits or activities. If you know someone who would like to receive our newsletter, please click on the "forward" button below. Also, there is an opportunity to register to receive the newsletter on the home page of our website: www.brandon.org 
  • While we are on the topic of our website, if you haven't been there lately, please check it out. It is full of information, photos, events and activities, and more. Every Chamber member is listed in our on-line Membership Directory  with a free link to their website. In addition, many of our members are featured in a variety of ways from other pages on the site. If you would like to explore adding more about your business to our website, please contact us. 
  • The health insurance benefit we provide from VACE is unbeatable this year. For more information, click here or contact Holden Financial Agency at 802-775-2503.  
  • Mixers!  
  • Stewardship of the Brandon Museum and and Visitor Center at the Stephen A Douglas Birthplace. The use of this community asset is growing annually. The historic building tells the story in photos and words of our town's past, serves as our Visitor Center, the town's ONLY municipal restroom, and a very popular community meeting room. The Visitor Center and Restroom are open daily 8 am - 6 pm, 365. The Museum is open 11 am - 4 pm from mid-May through mid-October. If you would like to find out more about using the meeting room, contact us. 
If your Chamber can be of any assistance to you or your business, please contact us. All the best for a happy, healthy, and profitable year!

BRANDON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
ANNUAL DINNER / MEETING

PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR THE YEAR IN REVIEW
AND A
TRIBUTE TO OUR RIVER
Friday, February 3, 2012
at The Brandon Inn

RSVP by Friday, Jan. 27
$27 per person
 
Contact us for more information.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

New England Woodcraft
PO Box 165 (Route 53) Forest Dale 05745
247-211; web: newoodcraft.com
Membership Category: Manufacturing

Vites & Herbs Shoppe
John White
6 Park Street, Brandon  ~ 465-8225
e: jcc456@vitesherbs.comcastbiz.net
Membership Categories:
Shops & Stores; Health Care & Fitness

Charlotte Bishop
27 Spellman Way, Brandon  ~ 247-8106
e: shestarshine@comcast.net
Individual Membership

CAFE PROVENCE COOKING CLASSES 

Chef Robert teaching a cooking class
 

Monday Afternoon Classes

$50/class ~   Buy 3 Classes & get 1 free!

  Space is limited ,  Call (802)247-9997  for reservations

 

January 9th - 5:30pm - 8pm:  Quiches:  Quiche Lorraine - Broccoli flan - Vegetable quiche

 

January 16th - 2:30pm - 5pm: Fish & Crab Cakes:  Crab cakes w/ Chipolte aioli - Salt cod cake w/ Dijon tartar sauce - Salmon cakes w/ green dill mayo

 

January 23rd - 5:30pm - 8pm: Sauces:  Lemon butter sauce (for chicken or fish) - Red wine sauce (for red meat) - Basil pesto cream sauce (for fish) - English cream (for desserts)

 

January 30th - 2:30pm - 5pm: Soups: Spicy Lentil soup  - Vegetarian Minestrone w/ basil pesto - Clam Chowder

 

January 30th - 2:30pm - 5pm: Pastry class with our Pastry Chef Joe Brown at Gourmet Provence: Eclairs and Cream puffs (pastry cream & ganache) - Bavarian strawberry cake - Lady Fingers

 

February 6th - 5:30pm - 8pm: Learn how to make hands on the Best Pizzas from Cafe Provence: Learn how to make the dough then how to shape& toss your pizza: Sour Cream & Bacon w/ onion & spinach - Calzone - Portobello pizza

 

February 13th - 2:30pm - 5pm: Valentine's Day Cooking Extravaganza:  Rustic tomato bisque - Beef tournedos w/  Bordelaise sauce& potato gratin - Spinach salad in a cheese cups -   Flourless chocolate cake w/ raspberry coulis

 

FROM NESHOBE GOLF CLUB 

Just a reminder for anyone considering joining Neshobe for the 2012 as an Annual member. There is a $50 savings available to annual members who sign up and send in their membership dues before

January 31st.

 

Contact the Club for all the details. Click here for their website can be found here. Think Golf! 


TASTE OF VERMONT
The third annual Taste of Vermont fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club of Brandon will be held on Sunday, March 11 at the Brandon Inn. Start at 4 p
Chef Louis of the Brandon Inn
m with host Chef Louis Pattis and a Meet the Chefs gathering together with local cheesemakers, farms, wines and a silent auction. Dinner tasting starts at 5 pm with the live auction and dessert starting at 6 pm. This annual event not only helps scores of kids in Rutland and Addison Counties, it tastes great too! For more information, to donate, or purchase tickets, contact the Boys and Girls Club of Brandon at 802-465-4131 or email: tasteofvtbrandon@gmail.com

LIZA MYERS UPDATE

After 8 years in downtown Brandon, Liza Myers and Jim Germond have decided to take a break from their "bricks and mortar" business. In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, the pair have leased the space they previously occupied to Vermont Soup and Sandwich.  

Liza has been awarded an artist's residency at the Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, New Mexico for the winter of 2012. She'll be painting there from late January to late April. When Liza returns from the Wurlitzer Foundation in late April she will be back in her original studio on the lower level of 22 Center Street. 

Summer Aartz workshops and Adult Aartz classes will be held there. In late March or April look for further information on Liza's website for summer workshops for children and adults. lizamyers.com 

 

If you are interested in purchasing original works or limited edition reproductions please contact Liza directly at liza@lizamyers.com.

 

 

Winter ServSafeŽ Managers Certification Classes  

Food Safety and Service Resources

ServSafeŽ Certification Classes

 

One Day Sessions at Brandon Library

Tuesday's from 8:30am to 5:00pm +/-

January 24, February 21, March 20

 

Three Half Day Sessions at State Bldg, 156 South Village Green, Middlebury: February 6, 7 and 8th; From 10:00a to 3:00p +/-

 

Four Evening Sessions held at Stafford Technical Ctr. / Adult Ed. Div.; February 29, March 5, 12 and 19. Registration call Maryann at 802.770.1178 or Norm at 247.0098

  

Training to Excel, Norm Milot

Certified ServSafeŽ Instructor and Registered Proctor


As the Moosalamoo Association reflects back on 2011, we realize it has been a year that combined natural  highs and natural lows.

Natural highs: Near completion of a sustainably built, twelve mile mountain bike loop along the Leicester Hollow and Chandler Ridge trails, a record turnout for the Goshen Gallop in July, and a banner year of requests for the many resources we provide-from maps, to website hits, and swag.

Natural lows:  Closure of the Green Mountain National Forest, including the Moosalamoo National Recreation Area, in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.

But, this natural cycle of highs and lows reminded us, that this beautiful recreational resource is absolutely critical as a place for locals and visitors to come play (hiking, biking, snowshoeing, skiing, snowmobiling...whatever your fancy) and vital for the local economies of our gateway communities of Brandon, Rochester and Middlebury, Vermont.

As we look ahead, we are excited about what 2012 holds for the Moosalamoo Association:  Registration for the Romance Half Marathon Race and Tour being hosted at Rikert Nordic Center promises a beautifully groomed course on MNRA trails (www.skireg.com); an epic National Trails Day event planned for June to showcase the mountain bike trails; spring and summer trail work days will keep the trails in tip-top shape for your enjoyment; and we are working on updating our maps and resources for the 2012 trail season.
 
Check out our newly updated skiing and snowshoe links with direct info on trails where you can play in the snow and places to rent gear if you need it.   

Moosalamoo Association's website is at: moosalamoo.org

STARTING YOUR OWN SMALL BUSINESS 

 

Date: Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012

Location: Rutland Economic Development Corp., 112 Quality Lane, Rutland VT 05701

 

Time: 9:00a.m to 12:00p.m

 

The three hour session will help future business owners determine the next steps toward starting and financing a new venture.  The workshop offers an overview of business planning, including where to find market information, how to tackle projections and writing a business plan.

 

The workshop is designed for people who are thinking about going into business and want accurate information about the procedures and government regulations involved to start a business in Vermont. 

 

The $40.00 registration fee includes a business planning workbook and access to five online workshops to help the prospective business owner get started.

 

Registration can be done online at www.vtsbdc.org.

 

For more information, contact VtSBDC in Rutland at 802-773-9147.

 

Terri Carrington, Rutland Economic Development Corp.

tcarrington@rutlandeconomy.com

 

Romance Half Marathon
Race and Tour

Race Date: Saturday, February 11, 2012

Location: Rikert Nordic Center, Ripton, VT.

Distance: The course will start at the Rikert Nordic Center in Ripton, VT and follow the Catamount Trail and other wilderness trails in the scenic Moosalamoo National Recreation Area. These wilderness trails will be groomed classic style specifically for this event and no skating will be allowed. The Tour Category will ski the 15km loop while racers will have a choice between the 15km (one loop course) or the 25km course (two loop course).

Type of Event: Classic-style technique for both the race division (timed event) and tour division (non-timed event)

Registration: We encourage participants to register online, though you can also register by phone, or mail. Event registration is limited to 300 skiers, so register early!

Phone: (802) 864-5794
Mail: Download the PDF Registration Form and send it to:
Catamount Trail Association
1 Mill St. Suite #350
Burlington, VT 05401
Online: through SkiReg until February 8th, 2012


 

ART IN THE SNOW

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandon's Winter Wine & Arts Festival 

FEB. 17-19, 2012


NEXT CHAMBER MEETING
The Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce will next meet on Monday, January 23, 2012 at 6:30 pm in The Cliver Room at the Stephen A Douglas Birthplace. At this meeting, the board will adopt the Chamber's 2012 budget and discuss upcoming events, activities and programs. The general membership and public are invited to attend. (The Chamber usually meets on the third Monday of the month but has switched to the fourth Monday for January 2012).

BRANDON ROTARY ICE OUTBrandon VT

Guess the date and time the flag sinks on Belden's Pond (Rt 7 north of town). Look for the snowman who will stop the clock when the flag goes down. Winner's share is 50% of entry fees with the balance going to Rotary to support Rotary projects locally and internationally. $1 per entry or 6 for $5. Enter as often as you wish. Predict the date, hour and minute, am or pm, that the flag will sink. Winner is the one closest to the actual time the flag sinks, ties share the prize. Click for an entry form. 


FROM THE LAKE DUNMORE-FERN LAKE ASSOCIATION:

The Dunmore Dip is fun and helps fund our mission of eradicating the milfoil in Lake Dunmore and Fern Lake. The fun part is trying to predict when the ice on Lake Dunmore will melt, causing the red flag to tip and fall into the water. Lord Dunmore stops his clock when the flag goes down. That is the "official" Dunmore Dip time. Whoever has the closest entry to the DATE and TIME the clock stops WINS! Lord Dunmore walks out on Brush's Point around March 1 and is visible from Route 53, just south of Camp Keewaydin. Over the coming weeks, you may see him hanging out at different local businesses offering entry forms to you.


Visit our web site http://www.ldfla.com/other/dunmore-dip.html to see dates going back to 1997. Donation is only $1 per guess.Just in case your printer doesn't cooperate, there are entry forms available at several local businesses or by calling John Ebert at 802-352-9392.  Entries MUST BE postmarked by MARCH 15, 2012.   

  

We have concerns that the pressure put on state funds from the damage done by Irene may affect state contributions to our Milfoil Control program, so please help promote our 2012 Ice Out. 

 
IN THE MAILBOX:

THANKS: (these are excerpts from the letter)

"Before we welcome in 2012, on behalf of everyone at Safer Society Foundation, I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone at the Brandon Chamber of Commerce. The fall was incredibly challenging and I can't imagine getting throughit without your help. Being able to use the Cliver Room (at the Stephen A Douglas Birthplace) during those first chaotic days while we looked for a new office space was a godsend. It gave us a place from which to organize and to begin to communicate with our customers, authors, vendors and everyone involved with disaster recovery.
We are also grateful for the grant from the Brand Aid Fund. This grant has helped us pay for having lost inventory reprinted which in turn has allowed us to maintain a steady revenue stream. This is so important to our ability to fulfill our mission and help to make society safer! Thank you again to everyone who helped make this possible. We appreciate it more than we can possibly say. Sincerely, Brenda Burchard, Safer Society Foundation Executive Director"
"

THANKS:  

"Dear Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce, Bob and I would like to thank you for judging our home as one of the residential winners. We were surprised as there are many beautifully decorated homes in the area.  We love decorating and already have some new ideas for next year.  Also a big thank you to Carr florist for the poinsettia. It is lovely and adds much beauty to our home. We are so happy to be a part of this community and appreciate all you do for the area.  Again, thank you. Cindy and Bob Bell"


BRANDON T-SHIRTS: Blue and Green short sleeve shirts are available at The Brandon Inn.
Youth Sizes - $12
Adult Sizes - $15

All sizes restocked and available at the Brandon Inn

What's happening at Killington this weekend?

The Winter Dew Tour
January 19 - 22

Visit Killington for four days of world-class skiing and riding, top athletes, a festival village, music every night, tons of parties and social events, and autograph signings with top pro skiers and riders!

Making its debut in December 2008, the Dew Tour is the first ever winter action sports tour. Made up of three events over the course of as many months, all three stops feature snowboard superpipe & slopestyle, as well as freeski slopestyle & superpipe. Click here for more details. 

 

CONTACT INFO
Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce

PO Box 267
Brandon VT 05733

802.247.6401

info@brandon.org
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