The countdown is on! The Chamber's Annual Celebration is just over 48 hours away and excitement is building as the Chamber gets ready to kick off its 100th year in grand style.

Join us Friday evening from 6:30 - 10 p.m. at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa as we look back at a century of community service, hear from our Chamber leaders for 2015 and pay tribute to our most deserving Distinguished Service Award honoree, Susie Kildee Janis. Individual tickets are still available.

The Annual Celebration is presented by:

If you're ready to be part of Michigan's growing $100 billion agricultural sector, the "Agripreneur 2.0" workshop could be for you. This 10-week program beginning February 3 is designed for serious agri-business people ready to launch a start-up or take their existing business to the next level. Learn more or contact the SBDC Northwest Regional office at (231) 922-3780.

 

Food from Catering by Kelly's, beer from Short's Brewing Co. and wine from Aurora Cellars - what could be more fun? Join us tonight from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Corner Loft for Business After Hours, co-hosted by NeXt I.T. Start the year on a productive foot with business networking and connection opportunities along with great food and refreshments at a super-cool downtown event venue. We'll see you there.

 

Also, mark your calendars for the February 18 Business After Hours hosted by Image 360 and make plans for other upcoming Chamber events.

 

Business After Hours is sponsored by:

 

 

Learn how to raise your company's digital profile through Google + and Google My Business in a January 28 program at OneupWeb, co-hosted by the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce.

 

Join us next Wednesday from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at OneupWeb at 13561 S. West Bayshore Drive in Greilickville for this informative program that will include a question-and-answer session with the experts at OneupWeb. Register for this free event by emailing OneupWeb's Alaina Dodds at adodds@oneupweb.com.

 

The Chamber's partners at SCORE help hundreds of individuals reach their business dreams - and are gaining national acclaim while they do it. The Traverse City SCORE chapter recently ranked 13th in the country in client engagement - out of more than 300 chapters nationwide. Even more impressive is that it's one of only three chapters in the U.S. to be ranked in the Top 25 for client engagement over the past three years.

 

What can SCORE do for you? Learn more...

 

 

 

Chamber Membership Sales Representative Sheila Peek knocked it out of the park last month - bringing in 30 businesses to "Get Engaged" with the Chamber. These companies are taking advantage of new promotional features on our website, benefitting from our legislative advocacy efforts, networking at Chamber events and more. See who are the newest members of the Chamber family and welcome them to the organization.

 

 

The Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance had a strong presence at Tuesday's State of the State address in Lansing. The Alliance conducted meetings throughout the day with regional lawmakers to discuss its 2015 legislative agenda. The group also hosted a luncheon attended by Gov. Rick Snyder and Lt. Gov. Brian Calley and their administrative staffs.

 

Learn more about the Alliance's activities and legislative priorities for the coming year, and check out the latest edition of the Northern Michigan Business Blog from Government Relations Director Kent Wood.