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Greetings!
The Sitka Chamber of Commerce Luncheon has been canceled for this week. Please join us next week, Wednesday, February 29th. Our guest speaker will be Bob Medinger from the Sitka Historical Society with an update on the new museum for Sitka. No Luncheon This Week The Sitka Chamber of Commerce luncheons are held on Wednesdays at Noon at the Westmark Sitka. They are always open to the public. For more information, call the Chamber office at 747-8604. |
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 Sitka Chamber Does Not Protest Commercial Herring Fishery
In response to an advertisement run by the Sitka Tribe of Alaska on Friday, February 10 th, The Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce would like to assure our local business owners, the commercial fishing fleet, and the general public that we do not protest the commercial herring fishery. We do support a conservative, science-based approach to the management of our fisheries and trust in the organizations currently in place to make these important decisions. The advertisement placed by the Sitka Tribe of Alaska referred to a position taken by the Sitka Chamber of Commerce in 1954, when the Sitka Chamber did lodge an official protest against commercial herring fishing for reduction purposes in the Sitka area. Herring reduction was the earliest commercial herring fishery, practiced as early as 1878 in Southeast Alaska, and one of the most destructive. With a lack of regulation, The Sitka Chamber of Commerce was concerned for the future of Sitka's fisheries. The commercial herring fishery, along with all of Sitka's commercial fisheries, is a strong and vital economic driver for our community. According to the Sitka Economic Development Association, in 2010 we had 563 active resident commercial fishing permit holders in Sitka and 615 commercial fishing vessels home ported here. The resident commercial fishing crew accounted for another 552 of our residents. We had 94 million pounds of seafood purchased from harvesters with the wholesale value of seafood processed in Sitka at $140 million. The raw fish tax, which directly supports our City harbors, brought in $917,911. The Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce mission is to promote, support, and facilitate commerce and economic growth in the community and we feel that a well-managed fishery is an important part of our community that we know and love so much.
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 Help Us Reach 100 Facebook Fans
Facebook is a great way to promote your business online. It is free to create a Facebook Page for your business and easy too!
If you have not yet been to our Facebook page, please visit and LIKE US today!
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Nominations Open for Business of the Year and Cossack Cap Award
The Business of the Year Award was established to honor an outstanding business and to recognize its merit and contributions to the local Business community.
The Cossack Cap award was established to honor those who have distinguished themselves in unselfish and extraordinary public service to the citizens of Sitka.
Both awards will be presented at the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet and Awards Ceremony on March 10th. Nominations are treated with strict confidentiality and both awards are intended to be a surprise!
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BBB Email Phishing Scam Surfaces Again
Another Round of Counterfeit BBB Complaint Notice Emails Target Businesses
 The scam that fraudulently uses Better Business Bureau's name will not die. Reports indicate that businesses are, once again, receiving emails from impostors claiming to represent BBB. Senders state that complaints have been filed and that recipients must click on enclosed links or provide other personal information to address the complaints.
This is a scam. The enclosed links may contain viruses and malware that could damage computers and place identities at risk.
- Scan BBB emails for typos; obvious grammatical errors are an indication that emails are counterfeit.
- Check the senders' email addresses; complaint notices are generated by local BBBs and not from the Council of Better Business Bureaus-or CBBB.
- Hover the mouse cursor over enclosed links; beware if Web addresses do not reflect bbb.org.
Tip: Copy and paste enclosed links directly into text editors that do not support HTML-such as Notepad-and the direct links will be shown.
Better Business Bureau serving Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington reminds businesses that-while BBB does send complaint notices by mail, email and fax-the best way to verify the legitimacy of any official-looking correspondence is to immediately contact the local BBB office.
For more details, read CBBB's press release: New Scam Uses BBB.org Email Address
Report scams at bbb.org/scam/report-a-scam and forward suspicious emails to phishing@council.bbb.org.
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Now Hiring
Administrative assistant needed, strong computer skills required, experience preferred. Position is part-time. Please contact the Sitka Chamber office at 747-8604 for more information. Resumes can be submitted to jen@sitkachamber.com.
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 Calling All Flappers & Fellas Mark your calendar now for the 2012 Sitka Chamber Annual Banquet & Awards Night on Saturday, March 10th. This year's swanky event will take you back to a time that you don't want to miss, but we need your help! Efforts are already underway to make this year's banquet even ritzier than ever. It will be an evening filled with delicious food, swell friends, and of course the Business of the Year award and the Cossack Cap! However, our Annual Banquet is much more than just another fun event. This is the Sitka Chamber's biggest fundraiser of the year! The funds raised are used to help us "promote, support and facilitate commerce and economic growth in the community" throughout the year. As a sponsor of the banquet you show that your business cares about Sitka and the local economy. To learn more about sponsoring, please see the attached sponsorship form or call the Sitka Chamber of Commerce today! 2012 Sitka Chamber Annual Banquet and Awards Ceremony Sponsorship Opportunities |
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Advertising Opportunity
Each year, the Sitka Chamber offers Sitka's businesses an opportunity to advertise on our very popular Silver Saver Discount Card. This highly anticipated discount card is widely used by Sitka shoppers and is a great way to promote "Look Local First" and your business! To learn more about the Silver Saver Card or to secure your advertising space, please contact the Sitka Chamber office at 747-8604. Space is limited and fills up fast!
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 Customer Loyalty
Trust + Loyalty are the key ways to brand your business right through a recession.
Having a solid brand strategy at the foundation of your business will help you succeed through lean times. That's because, at the end of the day, there are really only FOUR fundamental ways to grow your business:
* Get more customers
* Get your current customers to buy more
* Get current customers to buy more frequently and for a longer period of time through loyalty
* Get your current customers to buy different products and services from your business rather than jumping over to a competitor. This is done through upselling and cross-selling
So, how do you do it? By building trust and loyalty.
TRUST
Corporate scandals, wildly inappropriate executive compensation, failing institutions, all are signs of eroding trust in the marketplace. But people want to trust the companies they patronize.
You can build trust by creating and offering something of genuine value. Be clear about what your product or service promises, and then, over-deliver on your promises. Another way to build trust is through testimonials of satisfied customers.
Build trust through all your marketing and communications. Don't stretch the truth. This applies to sales presentations, press releases, advertising, business cards, social media and websites. When this trust is infused in all you do and say, you've got a brand worth patronizing.
"Trust is probably the most basic human value," said Fred Rogers from the children's show, Mister Rogers Neighborhood.
LOYALTY
Once your customers completely trust you, they'll become loyal followers. Walmart is no slouch at building trust and loyalty themselves. Shoppers automatically assume their prices really ARE lower.
One way to build loyalty is to practice extreme customer service. While customer service is a core expectation for all businesses, you can differentiate your business by bending over backwards for your customers and prospects.
Remember that even small improvements in customer retention from trust and loyalty can increase the profits in your company.
Copyright 2012. Reprinted with permission from Barbara Wold's Retail & Consumer Tips, mail to:bwold@ix.netcom.com.
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| Upcoming Calendar of Events
 February 2012
February 22nd, Wednesday
Chamber Luncheon at the Westmark - CANCELED
February 29th, Wednesday
Chamber Luncheon at the Westmark - Bob Medinger, Sitka Historical Society with an update on the new Museum plans
February 29th, Wednesday
2012 Sitka Green Business Award - Nominations should be re-submitted by today
![]() March 2012
March 7th, Wednesday
Chamber Luncheon at the Westmark - Bill Allen with the Alaska State Fair
March 9th, Friday
Drawing class with Ray Troll - Registration at Old Harbor Books
March 9th, Friday
Musical Science Hour with Ratfish Wranglers - "A visually rich musical journey through the worlds of Paleontology and Ichthyology." Tickets available at Old Harbor Books.
March10th, Saturday
The Sitka Chamber's Annual Banquet - More information and tickets available soon!
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From The Director
I was doing a little reading about Presidents Day and learned that it is actually Washington's Birthday... The holiday was never officially named Presidents Day.
According to Wikipedia, "An early draft of the Uniform Monday Holiday Act would have renamed the holiday to "Presidents' Day" to honor the birthdays of both Washington and Lincoln, which would explain why the chosen date falls between the two, but this proposal failed in committee and the bill as voted on and signed into law on 28 June 1968, kept the name Washington's Birthday." Read More
I hope you enjoyed your partly sunny three day weekend! As always, thanks for reading and have a great week!
"I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world."
George Washington
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Super Supporters
$3000 - $5000
Alaska Cruise Association
Sponsoring
Season's End Celebration
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Chamber Board
Gerry Hope
President
Sitka Tribe of Alaska
Cory Baggen
Vice President
Samson Tug & Barge
Ptarmica McConnell
Treasurer
Shee Atika, Incorporated
Craig Shoemaker
Secretary
Seafood Producers Coop
Seth Bone
KingFisher Charters
Olga Borland
Russian American Co.
Bob Burnett
AC Lakeside
Kathy Dumag
Spenard Builders Supply
Bob Medinger
Sitka Historical Society
Linda Mudry
White's
Mandy Odenheimer
Alaska Airlines
John P. (Jay) Sweeney III City and Borough of Sitka Aaron Wilkinson First National Bank Alaska |
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Board Meetings
March 8th, 4pm
Sitka Chamber Board Room
Chamber Members are
welcome to attend!
Committee Meetings
Legislative and Community Affairs Committee Meeting
February 24th, 10am
Sitka Chamber Office
Finance Committee Meeting
March 6th, 4pm
Sitka Chamber Office
Contact the Sitka Chamber Office for more information on meeting times, locations or to learn how you can get involved.
Chamber Committees
Finance
Membership
Annual Banquet
Downtown Commerce & Events
Golf Tournament
Sitka Artisans Market
Tourism
Board Development
Legislative & Community Affairs
Join a committee today!
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Mission Statement
The Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary organization of business and community leaders who promote, support, and facilitate commerce and economic growth in the community.
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Support Sitka Look Local First 
when shopping for your valentine this year! SilverSaver Cards 2011-2012 Sponsors Aurora Business Supplies Bev's Flowers & Gifts Channel Club Daily Sitka Sentinel Fishermen's Eye Gallery JI Welding Old Harbor Books Orion Sporting Goods Petro Express Random House Re:fresh FITNESS Robertson's Gallery & Custom Framing Russell's Shee Atika Totem Square Inn Shelter Cove Publishing Silver Basin Spenard Builders Supply The Cellar Harry Race, White's Pharmacy and Seasons |
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Sitka Through Four Seasons, Sitka's premier handy visitor's guide since 1995, still has some ad space available. To help fill those spots, Shelter Cove Publishing is offering a Chamber discount of 20% to new booklet advertisers, or those that have not advertised in recent years! 
Call Today! 738-2888 |
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Chamber Membership ________________ Members Advertise FREE here!
Offer based on space availability. |
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