OCTOBER (end) 2012
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CHAMBER MIXER
Thursday, November 1 from 5:30 - 7:30 pm Sponsored by the Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce
Hosted at the Brandon Museum at the Stephen A Douglas Birthplace At this Mixer, there will be the World Premier showing of a brand new video called "Brandon and the Slavery Question" written by Dr. Kevin Thornton and co-produced by Dr. Thornton and Josh Hummel of Visual Learning Systems
The video will be a permanent fixture at the Brandon Museum and tells Brandon's story in a visual format. Kevin and Josh have been working on the video for many months. Help us celebrate their contribution to the Museum and the preservation of Brandon's history. MIXER DETAILS Employees and Business Associates Welcome Appetizers and hors d'ouevres Soft drinks Wine and Beer - by the glass or bottle / $2 suggested donation each |
SANDY IS COMING
The Town of Brandon website has updated postings about Hurricane / Tropical Storm Sandy including Emergency Preparedness and information from Vermont Emergency Management. You can link from here.
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CANDIDATE'S FORUM
Thanks to our three candidates for Vermont House running for the two seats to represent Brandon, Sudbury and Pittsford for the fine Forum held last week. Before a crowd of more than 70 people, Steve Carr, Seth Hopkins, and Butch Shaw answered questions on a wide range of subject matters. Thanks to Charlie Jakiela for moderating the event. The Rutland County Senator delegation also came by to introduce themselves to the greater Brandon community. Bill Carris, Peg Flory and Kevin Mullin are running unopposed.
Special thanks to the Friends of the Town Hall, Dennis Marden and Bruce and MeiMei Brown for setting up all the chairs downstairs so we stayed warm!
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ON NOVEMBER 6
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CHAMBER MEMBERSHIP 2013
The Board of Directors of the Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that for 2013, there will not be a Membership Dues rate hike. All dues categories fees will remain the same as 2012.
For the first time, dues renewal notices will be coming by email and not paper mail. While there might be some snags with incorrect addresses, we hope the new method will be more efficient for us administratively and will enable more people to pay on-line, if they so choose.
Notices will be generated within the next two weeks. Please let us know if there are problems or corrections.
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VPR WINNERS COMING TO BRANDON FOR THE WEEKEND
We hope you were turned in to VPR last week. Thanks to the generous contributions from the Lilac Inn, Cafe Provence, and Warren Kimble, a "Weekend Getaway in Brandon" package valued at more than $1200 was given away to one lucky winner. The Getaway Package was one of the prizes given to a VPR contributor during their fall pledge drive. Thanks to Judy Bunde of The Inn on Park Street for arranging the prize and VPR underwriting package.
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CHRISTMAS DECORATING CONTEST
The Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce a Christmas Decorating Contest! While it may seem premature to be making this announcement in October, we wanted to give the shout-out nice and early!
Judges will be cruising the streets on Thursday, December 13 starting at 5 pm. There will be four categories judged: - Residential Traditional
- Residential Whimsical (to include blow-ups)
- Civic
- Commercial
Anyone can call in their own place or someone else's and the Judges will be at liberty to nominate their favorite picks also. More details will follow in the coming weeks. |
SPECIAL ORDER BRANDON T-SHIRTS
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FROM THE BRANDON MUSEUM AT THE STEPHEN A DOUGLAS BIRTHPLACE
 | | Seminary School. Burned in 1959. Currently
a playground and basketball court.
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The Brandon Museum recently completed the compilation of some of the best photographs in our collection. The Brandon Historical Photos DVD is now available to the public for a suggested donation of $10.
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Howe Scale Depot. Down by the RR tracks.
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There are about 350 historic photos on the DVD, split into 14
categories and captioned for easy viewing. and identifying Here are a couple of photos on the DVD. The DVDs make a great gift for any Brandon-lover or history buff. Contact the Chamber for details.
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MOONLIGHT MADNESS
Moonlight Madness is scheduled for Wednesday, December 5 and Thursday, December 20 from 4:00 - 9:00 pm. If you would like to participate as a vendor or merchant,
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BRANDON INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION 2013
It may be fall right now but for the volunteers who put together Brandon's annual Independence Day Celebration, it is not too early to be working on next year's event. A partnership has been forged between committee members working on the 2013 Parade and representatives from the Stephen A Douglas Birthplace.
2013 marks the 200th birthday of Stephen A Douglas, one of the most famous 19th century American statesmen. Douglas, born in Brandon in 1813, was a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator, the Senate seat being won in a race between Douglas and Lincoln and which featured the famous Lincoln - Douglas debates of 1858. Douglas was the Democratic Party nominee for President in the 1860 election, losing to Lincoln. In 1913, to commemorate the centennial of Douglas's birth in Brandon, noted resident and philanthropist at the time Albert Farr, commissioned the bronze relief monument dedicated to Douglas, which stands in the small green outside Douglas' Birthplace on Grove Street (Route 7). The Birthplace currently houses the Brandon Museum and town's Visitor Center.
The 1913 celebration took place on June 27 and the town was lavishly decorated with flags and bunting. It is estimated more than 2500 people were attendance including ex-Governor Ebenezer Ormsbee and Douglas' grandson, Hon. Martin Francis Douglas. Letters in honor of the occasion were received from a great number of dignitaries including Douglas' son Judge Robert Douglas and Robert Todd Lincoln.
The theme of the 2013 Parade and weekend festivities is "Old Home Days". Historically, Old Home Days is a New England tradition started over 100 years ago as a way to welcome back former residents to the old home ground. Towns prepared an Old Home Day festival to stay connected to old friends and introduce new friends. Brandon would like to bring back as many people as possible who grew up here, have a connection with the town, or trace their lineage here.
The committee is starting to recruit marching units and floats for the July 6, 2013 Parade which represent Brandon's history, present, and future. The community is invited to participate. Ideas include floats consisting of family reunions, military units, OVUHS reunions, Brandon High School alum, Memorial Day "flower girls", Dunmore Hose, and groups willing to commemorate early industries (logging, marble, iron, etc.). The committee also has ideas and would love to explore them with town residents - both current and former. If you have suggestions, would like to help out, or be involved, please contact the Committee at 802-247-6401 or info@brandon.org.
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Brandon Congregational Church Service and Silent Auction - November 2
The Brandon Congregational Church is establishing a Buildings Fund to help us to care for the two nineteenth century buildings - our Church, built in 1832 and Fellowship Hall, built c. 1860-1905 which are used by our congregation, for weddings and funerals and by the community at large. We host the Brandon Area Emergency Food Shelf, the Brandon Festival Singers, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra Brass Quintet and Counterpoint Christmas Concert which raises money for different Brandon area causes. Fellowship Hall is used for our Church Suppers and by local Scout Troops, the Supper Club and Sunday Community Suppers. We have provided space for Rotary and town events like The Fourth of July Silent Auction, the Preservation Trust Flood Mitigation Workshop, The Brandon Downtown Alliance Design Committee presentation on Segment 6 and many other town and civic events.
This fund will enable us to plan for larger projects. Because this money is not for Church programs, but for building improvements only, we are reaching out to the larger community asking for donations and support. We had an energy audit done this past winter and are now in the process of enacting some of the recommendations of this report. Our first big undertaking is bringing our lighting and emergency lighting systems up to code which is about a $5,000. project.
We are holding a Silent and Service Auction on Friday, November 2 at 7:00 pm - preview at 6:00 pm. We are looking for items that can be auctioned in a silent auction and also 'service' type items that will be auctioned live. Silent auction donations will include baskets filled with different related things and other items: small antiques, art, gifts, and handcrafted items. Anything we can auction would be appreciated. If you'd like to have it, someone else probably would as well.
The 'Service' live auction will be things like 'A Walking Tour of Historic Brandon' led by Historical Architect Blaine Cliver, a bird walk with Sue Wetmore and other interesting activities. We'd love to offer lessons in how to do or make something - knitting, fly tying, pruning a shrub or a professional cooking class. Also home baked treats, fresh eggs or vegetables in season, pots of home made soup, jams and jellies, etc. Use your imagination
We also hope to have gift certificates for B & B stays and for restaurants or any other item or service you could share. To donate or help in any way, please contact Mary Cliver (Service or silent auction items) at 802 247-0180 mary_cliver@yahoo.com or Sally Short (baskets) at 802 247-5913 sshortpt@myfairpoint.net
Also please plan to come out and support us on November 2 by bidding on our auction items and bring a friend or neighbor.
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Recent News from Naylor & Breen
Naylor & Breen is delighted to share a handful of our 2012 construction projects-with over 20 projects under construction, under contract or in negotiations, the 2012-2013 season is looking like it will be record breaking...
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DEAR RUNNERS OF ALL AGES
On Sunday the 25th of November the Otter Valley Senior Class of 2013 will be hosting the seasonal 'Turkey Trot' at Otter Valley. Whether you prefer to walk or run, all are encouraged to stop by the back football field (Markowski field) to participate in the 5k race through Otter Valley's winding network of trails.
Registration begins at 12, and the race is set to start at 1. Participants are encouraged to give a $10 donation to help benefit the senior class, and prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place runners in the adult (over 18) and child (under 18) categories. Don't miss the chance to burn off some of that hardy thanksgiving dinner, and get a few miles in before the snow sets in!
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The Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors will next meet on Monday, Nov. 19, 2012 at 6:30 pm in the Cliver Room at the Stephen A Douglas Birthplace.
Per Article III of the BACC Bylaws: 3. Voting: For Election of Board of Directors: Each business membership is entitled to one vote. In the case of membership being held in the name of a business, association, etc., one person shall be delegated to represent the business and to cast its vote.
Voting will take place at the November 19, 2012 meeting.
Chamber membership and the general public are invited to attend.
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Thanks are in order to RoseAnn and Larry Johnson of Brandon Self Storage for providing the Chamber with much-needed storage. We appreciate it! |
BRANDON TRANSFER STATION NEWS
Kudos to Danielle at the Brandon Transfer Station for putting Food Shelf Donation boxes at the Transfer Station. For the next couple of months, you will be able to bring extra boxes or cans of food to help out our neighbors. The Transfer Station hours are:
TUESDAY 10 - 3
THURSDAY 12 - 6
SATURDAY 8 - 12
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BRANDON FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY For information on the Library's Capital Campaign, please contact the library at 802-247-8230 or find a response form online at www.brandonpubliclibrary.org
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Ron Hance Named Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce 2012 Business Person of the Year!
The Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce held their 114th Annual Meeting on October 24th. Ron Hance, President/CEO, Heritage Family Credit Union was named at the 2012 Business Person of the Year. Mr. Hance started his career with Heritage Family Credit Union (formerly GE Credit Union) in 1967 serving on the Board of Directors and various committees, in 1978 he became President/CEO when the company had $2M in assets and three employees working out of a small rented office space. Under Hance's leadership the credit union has grown to nine branches (including Brandon) with 130 employees and $331M in assets and is currently building a $10m, 27,000 sq ft Operations Center on Allen St. in Rutland.
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MOONLIGHT MADNESS
Wed., Dec. 5
and
Thurs., Dec. 20
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BRANDON AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
PO BOX 267
BRANDON, VT 05733
802-247-6401
e: info@brandon.org
www.brandon.org
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