Cohase Chamber of Commerce
 Newsletter  March 2010


In This Issue
Map and Guide 2010
Workforce Development Committee
Building the Local Economy
Musings on our community
Ice Storm in Corinth, VT



"Link of the Month"
Farm to Plate Initiative
Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund

VSJF uses early stage grant funding and technical assistance to catalyze and accelerate the development of markets for sustainably produced goods and services.
 
 

MAP and GUIDE 2010:
We are going into  production this month.
March is the month we begin work our annual and very popular Map and Guide for the entire Cohase Region.  The chamber prints and distributes over 30,000 copies of this brochure so the coverage in this area is extremely high.  It lists the businesses and organizations that belong to the chamber both by location on the map and by category beside the map. You can still make it into this guide if you have not already renewed your membership for 2010 but as we go into production the window of opportunity will be closing.

For those businesses and individuals who have not yet renewed their membership please fill out the form we mailed to you and mail it back along with your dues.  We do not want you to fall between the cracks.  It is still not to late to get on our area MAP and Guide!

The chamber welcomes the following new members: TJ's Lunch Counter, Wells River Pharmacy, Green Mountain Railroad, Warner's Gallery Restaurant, Poulos Insurance, and The Dragonfly's Den.  You can find them in our area directory at www.cohase.org. 
 
For those businesses and individuals who already belong to the chamber and have renewed your membership for 2010 we thank you very much, your support allows us to function.  Membership dues are our primary source of income.
 
If  you wish to comment or discuss your membership with someone at the chamber please feel free to contact Mark Nielsen or a board member directly if you like, we want to hear from you.
Bradford Map Workforce Development Committee:
 Introducing The River Bend Career and Technical Center
River Bend Career & Technical Center is an area Center established to provide career and technical training to students and adults in both New Hampshire and Vermont.  We serve the towns and communities that send their students to the following schools: Blue Mountain Union School, Oxbow High School, Rivendell Academy, Thetford Academy, and Woodsville High School.

Located centrally on the Upper Plain in Bradford, Vermont, adjacent to the Oxbow High School campus, River Bend's facility includes a state-of-the-art automotive garage, heavy equipment training sites and shop, a complete building trades workshop, and an outstanding commercial kitchen with its own restaurant.  Additionally, there is a fully-outfitted cosmetology lab, the Watch Them Grow Children's Center - a joint community/school service that provides training for Human Services students - and up-to-date computer technology in the Career Center that is open to the public upon individual arrangements.  With an emphasis on experiential learning, students have a chance to experience what their chosen career might be like through our Co-op Program that places students in local businesses.

Adult classes are offered during the evenings through the Adult Education Program. Examples include Licensed Nursing Assistant, classes in Windows based programs such as Word, Excel, and Power Point, Quick Books, Digital Photography, Welding, Carpentry, etc.

Also available to adults is our instructor-facilitated on-line courses are informative, fun, convenient and highly interactive. Our instructors are famous for their ability to create warm and supportive communities of learners. Check out all the on-line courses now available at www.ed2go.com/rbctc

Businesses and merchants may call the Center to arrange for training and for dinner workshops. We are able to meet the diverse training needs of the surrounding communities and welcome volunteers and project leaders to our programs.  Check them out on the web at www.rbctc.org or call 802 222-5212 to schedule an opportunity to check us out.

The Workforce Development Committee represents the following organizations and businesses;

     River Bend Career and Technical Center
     Little Rivers Health Care
     Wells River Savings Bank
     Green Mountain United Way
     Vermont 211
    Central Vermont Adult Basic Education
    White Mountain Community College
    Upper Valley Services
    Stage Coach Transportation Services, Inc.
    Farm-Way
    Stephens Precision
    Bliss Village Store
    State representative(s)
    Wells River Action Program
    Newbury Selectboard

In the following months we will feature articles about each of these organizations and how they might contribute to the quality of life for the Cohase Chamber businesses.

Look for more information on the Workforce Development Committee on the chamber website including links to these member organizations.
Building the Local Economy:
The Taste of the Bend,

Coming March 10th
The Chamber and River Bend Career Technical Center (RBCTC) are co-sponsoring "A Taste of the Bend - Lessons in Sustainable Business & Education", to be held from 5 to 8 PM  on Wednesday, March 10th.  The purpose is to gain exposure for and generate interest in local products - to promote locally grown, produced, and prepared foods from independently-owned vendors.
 
By having access to free -- and some vended -- samples of products from local farmers, food producers, restaurants and related parties, attendees can get first-hand experience with the great variety and quality of what is available in the region.  There will be five participating restaurants, The Local Buzz, Colatina Exit, Bradford Pizza, Bunten Farm, and the Perfect Pear.  Local farms will be represented by Robie Farm, Blythedale Farm, Cedar Circle Farm, Shekinah Mt. Farm, Living Earth Farm, Harvest Moon Homestead Farm, and Your Farm.  Also participating will be the River Bend Culinary Program, Antioch University Sustainability Program, Limbo Spices, Roar Entertainment, the Bradford Conservation Commission, and the Hanover Co=Op.

Attendance is free and is open not only to the parents and families of students in the RBCTC, but also to the general public.  Chamber members wishing to participate as product providers can also do so for free.  They should contact Chef Larry Reed ([email protected]) no later than March 5th.
 
Carey Curtis
 Ice Storm in Corinth, VTMusings on our community:

Woodsville

Vacant space continues to go unfilled in the former Gardner Apartments and Riverview Market buildings on Central Street in Woodsville.  The unsightly effects of a few boarded up buildings are undermining the efforts of the local business community In Woodsville to make this district even more attractive to the public.  

A newly energized 3 Rivers Business Association under the direction of Janice Scruton is doing their part to promote more business in the area by launching a new website, www.3riversbusinessassociation.org, and planning the production of a guide for their clients in an effort to cross promote each other's businesses.   Right now all that the 3 Rivers Business Association is seeking with regard to these empty buildings is more knowledge on what, if any, plans are underway for these properties.  The Chamber is supportive of their efforts.  

When I talk to business owners on Central Street about the impact that the arrival of Wal-Mart has had on their businesses they are surprisingly neutral, most point to the down economy as the likely culprit for all the vacant space.  At least one business owner attributes an increase in business to the arrival of Wal-Mart.  So lets call this good news, because Wal-Mart is likely to be around a whole lot longer than this lousy economy!

Mark Nielsen, Executive Director

Our Mission: 
The Lower Cohase Regional Chamber of Commerce is committed to fostering a vibrant economic climate by encouraging cooperation and communication among the region's communities, while ensuring a high quality of life.
Cohase Chamber of Commerce
www.cohase.org
[email protected]
(802) 757-2549
Mark Nielsen, Executive Director
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