February 16, 2016
BAH on Thursday at Buffalo Wild Wings from 5-7 p.m.
Get out your Gear! It's our annual Sports Theme Business After Hours (BAH) at Buffalo Wild Wings this Thursday, February 18th from 5-7 p.m. Come sporting your favorite team gear and win prizes!. BAH is a well-attended "end-of-the-work-day" networking event designed to help participants make new business contacts, develop potential new customers, and build exposure for their businesses. In addition to great networking opportunities, along with hors d'oeuvres, cash-bar refreshments you can win fabulous door prizes as well! Admission cost is $7 for members; $12 for not-yet members. 

Sponsors of this month's event are Wildwood Rush, Boyne Highlands, Boyne Mountain and Emmet County Recycling.


An average of 100-125 chamber members attend each event for networking opportunities, along with hors d'oeuvres, cash-bar refreshments and door prizes at our member properties. Learn more about being a sponsor of Business After Hours. Space is limited, and many BAH's sell out sponsor space,  so call Nikki Devitt at 347-4150 or email nikki@petoskeychamber.com to reserve your spot for and upcoming 2016 Business After Hours today.
In This Issue
CWIB Go Grants Fundraiser is February 23rd
This is the annual Connecting Women in Business GO GRANTS Fundraiser Luncheon that features an amazing silent auction.  The money raised by the silent auction goes directly to Go Grants.  Register Online Now

Great items are coming in everyday for the silent auction. 
One highlight is this Resort Shopper Bag from B. May Bags which is embossed crocodile with a retail value of $450.00. 
Here are some other items:
  • Digital Advertising Package on 9&10 News ($500 value)
  • Landscape master plan for home or business from Green Room Landscape Architecture ($500 value)
  • One Year Residential Trash Pick Up from American Waste ($500 value)
  • 30,000 online impressions on petoskeynews.com ($360 value)
  • Overnight Stay for two with breakfast at Stafford's Perry Hotel ($240 value)
  • Fustini's Gift Basket ($75 value)
Many, many other great baskets and gift cards! 

Go Grants are an important element of the Connecting Women in Business Group. Grants provide small grants to girls in grades 6 to 10 in the Char-Em ISD service area and reach out to young girls in the area who have an idea and a passion to try something new. Grants range up to $500.  Since 2010, 105 girls have received almost $37,000 in GO Grants.
The Cost to attend is $35. $20 of the ticket price goes directly to the grants program as well as proceeds from the silent auction and sponsorships. Register online and pay by credit card so you can breeze through registration.
Your business can support the silent auction and the Go Grants by making a silent auction donation.
Individuals can to support this event by being part of the GO GRANTS wine brigade - drop off a bottle of wine at the chamber office and we will put it into a basket with other donated wines to turn into a wonderful silent auction item.
 
Consider being a sponsor for this luncheon. It is a great way to promote your business and all sponsorship dollars go directly to support the GO Grants.  Sponsors so far include: Grand Traverse Opthalmology Clinic, Odawa Casino and Angel Heart Home Care. 
 
 PNC Bank is the 2016 CWIB Marquee Sponsor and Lite 96.3 is the radio sponsor.
March 3 Breakfast Seminar - How the new Chip Cards/EMV Affect Your Business?
Credit card fraud is a growing problem in the U.S.  About 31.8 million U.S. consumers had their credit card information stolen last year, more than three times the number of consumers affected in 2013, according to a report published by Javelin, a company that studies customer transactions.

Enjoy a continental breakfast as Jeff Dodson of Dodson group discusses the new chip-enabled credit cards, now the standard for consumers and business owners, how they affect your business and what you need to know about the cards. Q&A session to follow.

The breakfast seminar will take place Thursday, March 3, 2016 from 8am - 9:30am at Stafford's Perry Hotel Reycraft Room. The cost is $20. Advance Registration is Required.  Please Register online today

Jeff Dodson, managing partner of Dodson Payment Solutions, has been in the payments processing business for more than a decade. Jeff has a true passion for helping others each day and wants to make sure every business owner understands how the Point of Sale (POS) business operates.
Jeff and the Dodson Group team are fully proficient in and highly educated in the POS market place. They have partnered with 4 POS systems and have a system to fit every business need.  Dodson currently has over 1000 clients in Northern and Western Michigan areas.
Jeff Dodson and his wife Maggie and their 2 children, Emma 15 and Zachary 13, have lived in Grand Rapids Michigan for the past 20 years.  
Save the Date for the next HOT TOPICS sponsored by Comfort Keepers on March 4th
Comfort Keepers and the Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce will launch another season of Hot Topics on Fri. March 4th at 11:30 a.m.  
Hot Topics is an event designed to help chamber members and the local community keep abreast of significant issues in the state.  Multiple issues will be on the discussion table this month as our guests will be State Senator Wayne Schmidt and Representative Lee Chatfield.  
Expected topics of conversation including the Flint Water situation, Detroit Public Schools Funding, Line 5, the Governor's new proposed budget, and other legislative priorities for 2016.  Hot Topics will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Stafford's Perry Hotel.  The cost to attend is just $25/person and includes lunch.  Advance registration is required, register online or call 347-4150.  The event is open to chamber members and the public.
"Make the Most of You Membership" Free Breakfast Tuesday, March 8 
The FREE breakfast is designed to help members understand what the chamber does to help businesses and organizations in the area and how to utilize the chamber to help your business succeed.

You will get a solid overview of the work of your chamber and learn about opportunities to promote your business. It is a great opportunity to meet other Chamber members too!
 
Are you a new member?  Make plans to attend.  Been a member for a long time, but could use a refresher? Make plans to attend. New staff at your office? Send them so they can get involved.
Reservations are required. Call 347-4150 or click here to reserve your spot today - register here.
 
Thank you very much to Accident Fund Insurance Company of America and Blue Cross Blue Shield, the sponsors of Make the Most of Your Membership events.

  
Win By Loosing - It's almost Time!
Team registration opens on Feb. 22nd and the bell rings on Feb. 29th as local businesses go head to head to see whose employees can lose the most weight! 
This is a fun, friendly competition to promote wellness in the workplace.  
Last year, 18-teams competed locally and collectively lost 1,661 pounds.  Let's make those numbers larger in 2016!  Win by Losing is hosted statewide by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.  Locally the Health Care Task Force of the Petoskey Regional and Harbor Springs Area Chambers of Commerce hosts a local competition within the statewide framework.  
Participation is easy:
Assign a team captain, gather your team members, and sign-up with your beginning team weight.  Then provide weekly updates, Feb. 29 through April 29.  The local team that loses the biggest percentage of weight will get free gift cards from Boyne Resorts and the eligibility for a free sponsorship at a Petoskey Business After Hours. 
Instruction Sheets and sign-up information are available on the PRCC web site, HERE.  Start assembling your team now and be sure to register after Feb. 22nd!
A "Y-P" Movement is Underway!
Have you heard about Thrive 45°?   Have you felt the vibe resonating through the community?  We're here to tell you that it's real.  Thrive 45° is a network of Young Professionals that has formed in the region.  Targeted at those in their 20's and 30's, Thrive 45° has a mission of helping young professionals thrive in northern Michigan.  They have around 360 in their network on Facebook, and had around 100 attend their launch event last month at Buffalo Wild Wings.  If you have young people on your staff or in your organization looking to connect with other young people, encourage them to find Thrive 45° on Facebook or see their new web site at www.thrive45.org.  Their next event is Mon. Feb. 22, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Barrel Back Restaurant in Walloon Lake.  RSVPs are appreciated on the group's Facebook page.
Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance - Chamber Alert 
Chamber Members,
Governor Rick Snyder this week released his proposed budget for Michigan's 2016-17 fiscal year. As expected the governor's proposed spending plan, totaling nearly $55 billion, includes significant resources for addressing the public water crisis in Flint and the ongoing debt of Detroit Public Schools among the priorities for the coming year.

Our partners at Acuitas, a government relations firm in Lansing that works with the Traverse City Area Chamber and the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance, compiled a thorough overview of Gov. Snyder's budget plan to share with our members. Click hereto review the Acuitas report.

You can also review the various budget documents by clicking here. There's also a link to Gov. Snyder's budget presentation and talking points.

The Alliance will be reviewing Gov. Snyder's budget plan in detail during the coming weeks and will keep our members updated on the status of budget negotiations and the impact on the Alliance's 2016 legislative priorities. If you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at kentw@tcchamber.org

Sincerely,
Kent Wood     

Director of Government Relations
Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce
Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance
 
This weekly email product is produced to inform members about
community and Chamber related news, specials or events. Members looking to share something to the membership may do so in our Friday edition email periodically for FREE. Items are run for up to two weeks. If have something you want to share with the membership, you can e-mail it to nikki@petoskeychamber.com.  Please keep event, special offer & business news submissions to 125 words or less. Deadline for Friday email content is Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. Any questions contact Nikki at 231.347.4150
Petoskey Regional Chamber of Commerce | 231-347-4150 | www.petoskeychamber.com
401 E. Mitchell St. Petoskey, MI 49770