November Chamber Newsletter

Chamber News

Issue 7
November 2009

Dear Chamber Supporters & Friends,

It's getting close to the Holiday Season and we have lots of great events planned! Don't forget to follow our blog for LOTS MORE information about our merchants and details on their events! You can also subscribe to our blog and receive timely updates on your phone. And news articles about Mountain Brook and merchants will be archived on our website under the "News" tab, so check here too!

November Merchant Events
Please continue to check the online Calendar of Fall and Holiday Events so that you Holiday Parade

can plan your holiday shopping! We will update it frequently as we receive information about new events from our merchants. SHOP LOCAL - SHOP MOUNTAIN BROOK THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

Thursday, November 5th - Merchants Meeting
The November 5th meeting starts at 8:30 AM in the Cougar Room in the Board of Education Building and will be followed by information regarding fall/holiday events as well as info about our NEW Welcome to Mountain Brook Guidebook. Merchants, please plan to attend!

Mtn Brook Art Assoc

Thursday, November 12th - Mountain Brook Art Association
Holiday Show and Benefit at Park Lane 4-8PM. More info here!

Saturday, November 28th - Crestline Open House
Merchants will have special holiday events throughout the day. Mark your calendars for a fun shopping experience!

Sunday, December 6th - Holiday Parade
The Holiday

Parade has a new longer route in Mountain Brook Village! It will begin at 2:15 PM and many merchants will be open! Details will be updated here!

Yearly Report:
This has been an exciting and extremely busy year for the chamber! We have launched a new website which we continuously update, have improved our communication by adding social media including a monthly enewsletter, twitter, and blog, have coordinated over 10 events, 2 major seminars, and initiated a monthly merchants meeting. We are in the process of releasing a new Welcome to Mountain Brook Guide, and are adding sponsorship opportunities on banner standards with new sign ordinances. We have encouraged twitter membership among our members and are developing a cross-promotion in our community.

It's a GREAT TIME TO BE A MEMBER! But please note, in an effort to provide value to our membership, we will remove all past members from the website December 31st, 2009 who are not current on their dues. Thank you for your cooperation!

In the meantime, we will work hard to continue to add value to chamber membership, while supporting our entire community of merchants in order to provide visitors with shopping information about our unique community. Any ideas? Please pass them on!

Calendar of Merchant Events
Search Engine at top of our blog
Access past newsletters by clicking here!

SHOP MOUNTAIN BROOK THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

Tell us what's going on so we can keep our community informed and help grow our businesses! Like the convenience of local merchants right in our villages? Pave your streets, fund your schools, and support your fire and police departments by shopping locally! Thanks for supporting your Chamber of Commerce! REMEMBER as the holiday season approaches - SHOP LOCAL - SHOP MOUNTAIN BROOK - and keep your tax dollars in our community!

Village Dermatology Anniversary Event November 5th, 5-9PM

Save the Date - One Year Anniversary Event - Thursday, November 5th - 5:00-9:00 PM

20% off Skin Care (Some exclusions apply)

For coming, you will receive a $50 Gift Card Good for Botox, Dysport, Radiesse, Juvederm, Restlyane, Hair Laser, IPL, Active FX. Schedule for Botox and receive a $50 Mail in Rebate (In addition to the $50 gift card! Save $100!)

j.edward Mineral Makeovers and James Starnes, founder of j.edward,
will here all day on Thursday and Friday.
Call to schedule a free makeover! Many stocking stuffer ideas
to help you get ready for the holidays!

Catered by Daniel George

Stay tuned for Ribbon Cuttings!

Ribbon Cuttings planned for new members and grand re-openings!

Another Broken Egg, Mobley & Sons, Indie Candy, Snap Kids, Once Upon a Time and Lulie's on Cahaba. Come show your support. Details will be posted on the blog.

Merchants, are you Twittering about your events?

The Chamber wants to create a network of chamber members and Mountain Brook merchants who are twittering about local events. We have posted an online tutorial to get you started on the bottom of our blog. We have also posted a list of merchants and chamber members who are already on Twitter. Add them to your list as friends! Find out what your fellow merchants and members are doing!

Are you on Twitter but not on this list? Send us a tweet to @shopmtnbrook and we'll add you! Or add this hashtage #mtnbrk with any tweet and we can find you that way as well.

Welcome New Members!

Royal Cup Coffee, BestBIZ, The Learning Express in Cahaba Heights, Another Broken Egg, Smart Skin, Williams Partnership Architects, YWCA Mountain Brook, A Social Affair, Oak Street Hair Group, Broadway Across America-Birmingham, Clarus Consulting Group, Columbia Cottage, Elisabeth Hutchins with Sirote Permutt, and Kim Tew with Leavell Investment Management are just a few of the over 30 new members that we've added since August!

We have recently added a "Meet our Members" profile linked for the homepage of our website. Please visit it often to welcome our new members or view information about our longtime supporters! While you're there, visit their websites, and see a profile about their businesses. Thank you all for joining the Chamber. Your support contributes not only to the chamber but to the entire community!

Broadway Across America Discounts to Chamber Members!

Broadway Across America is excited to offer all Chamber Members a special discount on Broadway Across America Birmingham tickets! Contact the Chamber for details on receiving your discount or refer to the Members Only email blast sent out on September 2nd, 2009.

All Chamber Members:

Will now be able to access to tickets long before the general public
Receive discounts on select shows
Enjoy significant savings on service fees - no $10 fees added on at the end
Be able to choose seats and purchase tickets online

Don't miss "The Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller" - December 15, 2009
(and coming in January: The 101 Dalmations Musical, and in March: The Wizard of Oz!)

New Owner at Harper's Salon! Drop by and say "Hello!"

City Council proclaims Mountain Brook Village "Historic" via Resolution

Due to the historic character of Mountain Brook Village which retains four buildings in its commercial district from Robert Jemison Jr.'s original Mountain Brook Estates Development, (two of which pictured here are in the National Registry of Historic Places), the City Council officially declared the area "Historic" by passing a resolution.

The Birmingham Historical Society has awarded plaques to the original fo

ur buildings, and has published a book entitled, Mountain Brook Village: Then & Now, which recognizes Mountain Brook Village as "historically significant in terms of both community planning and architecture". The area was planned as the commercial center of the Mountain Brook community. The buildings on the National Registry include the bank building now housing RBC Bank, and the building on the circle housing Gilchrist Drug and The Pappagallo Shop. The two other historically signficant buildings include the 2 story tudor building on the circle, and the block of one story buildings immediately adjacent to it.

Chamber Member sees 500% increase even in difficult economy!

Chamber member, Sheri Corey has always had a talent for sewing. So 18 months ago, she launched a web-based dorm bedding design business that specifically targeted girls heading off to college.

It was an instant success! She decided to create a compelling website and blog, and invested her time in social media to reach her audience. Sheri states, "We love to interact with our customers, and during the design process we get to know many of the young women we are creating designs for....we love being a part of their move to college life through blogging, live chat, and even phone conversations!" With a good product and two week turnaround, she was able to turn site visits to sales, and subsequently, Dorm Suite Dorm posted a 500% increase in sales over the past 12 months - a remarkable achievement in today's economy! Congratulations to Sheri! Click here to visit her website!

These Boots are made for Walkin'! At The Pappagallo Shop!

Need some good-looking but comfortable, practical, warm winter boots? Check these out at The Pappagallo Shop in Mountain Brook.

Monday Skin Specials!

Microdermabrasion Mondays Now available at Smart Skin!

By appointment

only ~ Treatment includes: microdermabrasion, custom mask, paraffin hand treatment, steam, micro massage, and finishing with a light facial moisturizer, all for $20! Add an oxygen treatment for an additional $10. Special pricing runs now through November 30th.

Customer Service Certification program

Join Mountain Brook Chamber Member
Gold Star Customer Service
Thursday, 1:00 to 2:00 PM November 5th
As Customer Service goes, so go profits! Customers vote!

Thank you Fletch Leonard for Go & Grow Seminar!

New Member, Fletch Leonard, with Omega Bankcard Services, provided our membership with useful information regarding promotional fees, banking practices, and credit card services during a Go & Grow Seminar added to our Monthly Merchant Meeting!

Fletch has been in the business over 9 years with his business partner and Mountain Brook resident, Keehn Berry. Thank you Fletch!

Spartans Basketball and Mountain Brook Athletics Info!

The Spartan Cage Club basketball season opening dinner is scheduled for Sunday, November 8 beginning at 6:00 pm in Spartan Arena. Former Birmingham Southern Coach Duane Reboul will be in attendance as our special guest speaker. The boys' and girls

' varsity teams also will scrimmage in the first annual Green & Gold scrimmages. Youngsters in attendance will be able to sit with the teams in the bench area and maybe even coach the teams. It should be a fun night for the entire family. Our first home game of the season will be on November 16 against Huntsville. The varsity teams will play at a special time that night with the girls tipping off at 4:30 and the boys getting underway at 6:00. We hope to see you at the games this year!

Finally, Cage Club membership is limited so be sure to reserve your spot by returning your membership form as soon as possible. We don't want you to be left out.

____________

Mountain Brook Athletics Football will be playing many games at Mountain Brook High School's Spartan Stadium in the next week or so. Coach Yeager and Coach Cooper have been very helpful in allowing us to play these games at Spartan Stadium.

The rules for these games below must be followed or we may not be allowed to use the field in the future:

Stay off the grass practice fields behind the field house, field use is for the high school teams only.
Stay away from all blocking/track/equipment (little brother & sisters must stay in the stands)
All fans must remain in the stands, only chain crews, coaches, players cheerleaders, and commissioners allowed on the field or track.
No pets (last time we had gum and dog waste left on the turf)

Please do your part and thanks again for your cooperation.

Chamber members, we will continue to update our chamber list and provide additional benefits to our chamber members only. You should have received an email blast regarding advertising in our new "Welcome to Mountain Brook - Guidebook". I hope you plan to participate. Welcome mats are still available for $45 and are a great way to advertise your support of your community as well as extend a hearty welcome to all your customers. Please email the chamber for details.

Visit our new online shop! It's a great way to support your community and your chamber! And we will be adding new products and designs frequently. Have an idea? Let us know! We'd love to hear from you! Products are produced and ship directly from the manufacturer - it's quick and convenient. Try it!

Thanks for helping us help you!

Sincerely,
Suzan Doidge

Suzan Doidge
Director, Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce

P.S. Missed a past issue? They are now archived on the News page of our new website. You can continue to forward them if there is an article of particular interest with live links up to 90 days past the publish date.

We will continue to maintain a calendar of all upcoming merchant events through the holiday season so that merchants can coordinate dates and shoppers know what's coming up. If you have something to add, please contact us as soon as possible.

Holiday Activities

Christmas Parade
Want to help with the holiday parade? Contact Amy Jackson or Paul Allen. They want to make it better than ever and they have lots of good ideas! Come join the fun!