Newsletter From Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce

Chamber News
"Effective Leadership for the Advancement of the Sandy Area Business Comminty"

March-April, 2010 - Vol 1, Issue 1

In This Issue

Awards Banquet

Making Our Community More Sustainable

SHS Aspire Program

Annual State Conference for Business

Chamber Member Inserts

Quick Links

Chamber Calendar

City of Sandy

Small Business Development Center
SCORE - Counselors to America's Small Business
Fox News Small Business Center

Make your Reservation for our Annual Sandy Awards Banquet - Stars of Sandy!

The SACC Awards Banquet Committee is busy making preparations for the upcoming 62nd Annual Awards Banquet! Make sure to mark you calendar for the evening of April 9, 2010, because this is going to be a night to remember! Festivities will begin at 5:30pm.

The event will be taking place at St. Michael's Church (18090 SW Langensand, Sandy) this year, and will be featuring a cocktail/social hour with live piano music, catered dinner, balloon frenzy, TV & Blue Ray DVD raffle, cruise package auction, and most importantly, the awards presentations.

We are excited about being able to honor folks from our Sandy community, and hope you will be able to join us! Please make your reservations as soon as possible with our reservation coordinator, Amie Reiterman. 503-783-2450 or amiereiterman@johnlscott.com Tickets are $20 per person.

We are also still looking for more nominations, particularly in the Business categories, so please submit yours today! The deadline has been extended to Saturday, March 6th. Click here for more information and a nomination form.

Clackamas County partners to lower utility bills through audits from Energy Trust of Oregon

Aspire Mentors for Sandy High School

The Chamber's Career Education Committee supports school/community partnerships that help prepare our students for college and careers, in part through Sandy High's Aspire Program. Aspire provides a prime opportunity for volunteers to impact student success. Volunteers are trained to guide students through the process of applying for college, financial aid, and scholarships. For more information about Aspire, or to volunteer, contact Brianne Moyer, Sandy High Career Center Coordinator, 503-668-8011 X256 or moyerb@ortrail.k12.or.us.

ARTICLE: by Cortney Franke, Mountain Echoes A&E Editor

Helping students improve in their work and succeed in what they do has always been the main
goal of many schools. Opportunities are provided to help students be educated beyond high school.
For this reason, the Aspire program was created.
Aspire programs started in 1998 in four schools, and has grown to now be in over 100 schools,
SHS being one.
The Aspire program was introduced to Sandy last year, and is now in the second year of
development.
Entering high school as a freshman, many students are not worried about completing senior
requirements and looking for a college and scholarships, but senior year sneaks up fast.
"Senior year is stressful already but the Aspire mentors are there to help you out," senior Janae
Eide said.
When the time comes around for students to get going on senior and college requirements, most
students go to their parents for help. In that case either the parents will offer their help or leave the
student to do it themselves. Even if the parents can help, they do not always know all of the answers
to the confusing questions.
"The mentors help to answer questions that I am unsure of," Eide said.
This is where the Aspire Program comes in, offering students help with mentors.
"I chose to have an Aspire mentor because I wanted to stay on track for college," Eide said.
Aspire mentors are volunteers from the community that have gone through training specifically to
help students with their senior projects, college applications, and scholarships.
"I was looking for a way to volunteer and this door was opened to me by Bri and I am learning as
much as I am helping," Aspire mentor Waynette Stotts said.
Mentors are required to go through a two to four hour training program through the Oregon
Students Assistants Commission.
SHS currently has six mentors who have volunteered their time. With these six mentors, there
have been about 70 students that are participating.
"The majority of the students are juniors and seniors, but there are a handful of freshmen and
sophomores," senior project advisor Bri Moyer said.
The process is simple. Students must have a form signed by a parent or guardian to have
permission to meet with a mentor. Once assigned a mentor, that person will stay with the student as
long as they need help. It is the students' responsibility to make sure and set up appointments with
the mentor.
"My mentor helps to motivate me when I am overwhelmed and point me in the right direction,"
Eide said.

Annual State Conference for Business - April 12 & 13, 2010

Oregon Employer Council has selected the Nines Hotel Downtown Portland as the site of its annual business conference, Seasons of Change. The event is scheduled for April 12 & 13, 2010.

The conference is open to all Oregon business people and will cover topics of critical immportance to business owners, managers, supervisors and human resource professionals. Employers will learn about hiring practices, employment law updates, Oregon's economic forecast, immigration rules, dealing with conflict, personnel compiance update, wage and hour laws, and much more. A special segment on April 13 features substance abuse in the workplace arranged by Oregon Employer Drug-Free Initiative (OEDI). Approval for continuing education credits through HRCI is pending.

Early Registration fee Seasons of Change Logo

of $279 includes education sessions and handouts, some meals, refreshments, and evening networking opportunities. The discount is honored if registered by March 12th.

Exhibit space and sponsorships are available. For more information and to register, visit www.OEC.org or call Marney Roddick, 503-947-1305.

Jack in the Box Ribbon Cutting!

SACC Ambassadors and other Chamber members joined the managers and staff of the newly opened Sandy Jack in the Box for their official opening and ribbon cutting this morning, Feb. 25th, at 9am. Chamber Director, Hollis MacLean-Wenzel, said a few words, welcoming them to the Sandy business community, and the store manager expressed her excitement for being here.

The beautiful building was built in the "Sandy Style", featuring a cozy fireplace! The managers mentioned that they have been listed as one of the top Jack in the Box stores across the country (aesthetically) due to these architectural guidelines.

The restaurant features a wide variety of menu items, and offers all items during all business hours. It is located at 37151 Hwy 26; next to Panda Express, across Hwy 26 from Suburban Auto Group.

Support our New Members!

Renewing Members (Since 12-26-09)

Upcoming Luncheons (Note the new location)

March 10th - Sandy Facade & Main Street Overview and Update
Main Speaker: Tracy Brown, Sandy Director of Planning and Development

April 14th - MHCC-Small Business Development Center
Main Speaker: Antonio Paez, Mt. Hood Community College - SBDC

Both luncheons will be held from 11:30am-1:00pm
at The Crossing Restaurant - 39024 Proctor Blvd, Sandy
Menu options will be given and cost will be determined by your selection.
Come for a great time of networking and learning!
RSVP requested by the day prior to: 503-668-4006 orchamber@sandyoregonchamber.org

Chamber Member Inserts

Thank you for your continued support of the Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce. We have a lot of great things going on, and we couldn't do what we do without you!

Sincerely,

Erin Albers
Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce - Office Manager