The Chamber Golf Outing is a great event because of the organizers, sponsors and prize donors that contribute each year. The year's outing is set for Aug. 19 at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, and the Chamber is looking for volunteers for the Golf Outing Committee. We also need hole ($100) and Super Hole ($300) sponsors, along with raffle prize donations. It's a great way to promote your business and products to fellow Chamber business people. It's a great way to promote your business and products to fellow Chamber business people and support the Chamber's leadership programming.

Click here if you'd like to sponsor a hole or donate a prize. If you'd like to serve on the golf outing committee, contact Chamber Event Coordinator Andi Wagenschutz at andiw@tcchamber.org

Your business experience could benefit the community that you call home. Upcoming elections in Traverse City this year will fill 4-year three seats on the City Commission plus a 2-year Mayor's term. Eligible candidates must be city residents and registered voters, and nominating petitions with signatures from at least 70 registered city voters are needed by July 21.

If you're interested or want to learn more about serving on other local boards or commissioners, contact the clerk's office in your municipality. Chamber Government Relations Director Kent Wood can also provide assistance at kentw@tcchamber.org

What's more fun than an afternoon on West Bay? The answer is spending it with your friends and business associates from the Chamber while checking out all the wonderful watercraft available at Great Lakes Sailing Co.

Join us today from 5 - 7 p.m. at Great Lakes Sailing Co. in the spectacular CenterPointe building along M-22 in Greilickville for the last Business After Hours of the summer.  We'll have our usual array of wonderful food, refreshments and prizes, plus you can check out the sleek and sporty sailing and power yachts available through our hosts at Great Lakes Sailing Co. Don't miss it!

Business After Hours is sponsored by:

May was indeed a merry month in terms of Chamber membership, as we welcomed more than two dozen area businesses to the Chamber family last month. See who joined the Chamber in May, and remember to thank these new members and patronize them whenever possible.

The Grand Traverse area is brimming with inspiring stories of business success. Each week the Chamber's Weekly Entrepreneur Focus on NewsTalk 580 WTCM is an opportunity to glean knowledge and ideas from some of the region's best and brightest business people. It airs each Wednesday morning at 8:30 a.m., co-hosted by Chamber Executive Director Laura Oblinger and NewsTalk 580's Ron Jolly.

Venture North Funding & Development, a sister company to the Chamber and a division of TraverseCONNECT, is off to a flying start following its recent re-organization.To keep our Chamber members, local officials and other economic development partners up to date, Venture North is launching a new monthly digital newsletter called Venture News with information on its latest business financing activity, program updates and more. Watch your inboxes later this week for the inaugural edition.

There's still time to register for the Northwest Michigan Housing Summit coming up this Friday, June 19, at NMC's Hagerty Center organized by Networks Northwest.

The Housing Summit will be an important opportunity for community leaders, housing stakeholders, developers, and others to:

• Get up-to-date strategies to meet Northwest Michigan's housing needs.
• Hear from businesses and employers, realtors, developers, funders, local governments, housing agencies and more.
• Network with potential partners and funders for new housing projects.
• Learn about multi-generational community design from award-winning keynote speaker Esther Greenhouse.

 Information is available online at www.networksnorthwest.org/housingsummit.