-AUGUST 2014 NEWSLETTER-
Dear Members of the Northern NH & VT Business Community,                                                                                 

 

 

It's summer!-- A busy and wonderful time in the North Country, filled with family gatherings, fun events, and increased business for many of our members.  We hope you all are enjoying your warm weather days, as we head into August now.

 

This past month involved heavy Moose Fest planning in the office, which will continue throughout the month.  August 22nd is fast approaching!  It's really coming together, and we are so happy to have the help of our hard-working Moose Festival committee, who are determined to make this a successful event on all counts.  Please see the notes at the bottom of the page for more on the Moose Festival.

 

Also in July, we held our second social media workshop, which produced a good turnout, with many faces returning from the first class.  Hopefully all received some useful tips for marketing their businesses online.  We will now hold off on scheduling more workshops until the fall.  At that time we've got one planned already on Nov. 12th, from 5-7 PM at Indian Stream Health Center's community room.  It is a presentation from the North Country Council on Disaster Preparedness for businesses.  So mark your calendars & stay tuned.

 

Just a short letter this time.  We know everyone's busy these days!  All of our progress and upcoming news is explained below. 

 


My Best,

Britni White
Office Manager 
In This Issue

The North Country Chamber of Commerce (NCCOC) is a New Hampshire nonprofit corporation.  Membership dues and other payments made to NCCOC do not qualify as IRS tax deductible donations. 

We are the "heart" of:
Proudly supporting our new "economic engine"!  Visit: RTW
 
Senator Jeff Woodburn

State House

LOB 5
33 North State Street
Concord, NH 03301
603.271.3067

Home

524 Faraway Road
Dalton, NH 03598
603.259.6878
[email protected]
www.jeffwoodburn.com 
YOUR ADVERTISEMENT COULD BE HERE!
Contact us at [email protected] if you are interested in purchasing ad space.  This newsletter is sent to all our business members and professional contacts in the North Country and Northeast Kingdom!
NEW! Member Video Library!
We let you know at the beginning of the summer that our student intern, Chris Paquette of Pittsburg, was going to be visiting members and doing video interviews and showcases of their businesses.  We are so thankful for this added benefit that Chris is able to provide for our members.  Please visit our new page to see what has been done so far!
Dining in the North Country
Big thanks are in order for our newest volunteer, Tom Jackson of Colebrook.  This month he visited restaurants all over the North Country to collect menus to go in visitor binders that were requested at the North Country Welcome Center and for our Chamber office.  We hope this proves to be a useful resource for visitors, and thank Tom for collecting all the information to create it!  

In this binder, Chamber members are listed in gold and with stars next to their names & menus. Non-members are listed, but not as prevalent. If you own a restaurant and aren't a member yet, please consider joining . This is just one of the benefits you receive from a Chamber membership! (All memberships are half price now, too!)  All membership materials are in the sidebar.  It's never too late to sign on!
Member Brochure Inventory
Our student interns did an inventory early this year, and notified members if they were in need of replenishing their marketing materials in our lobby.  We didn't get many to fill their supplies.  Don't miss out on this benefit.  We send your materials to visitors in the mail, upon request, and visitors & locals pick them up when passing through.  We also have member materials in the Interpretive Center's community section at the North Country Welcome Center for increased exposure to visitors.  Please see our mid-year inventory to check the status of your supply.  You can either mail materials to our office or drop them off Mon-Fri, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.  We recommend about 50 copies.  Thank you! 
Ribbon Cutting
Indian Stream Health Center hosted a Business After Hours on July 18th, paired with a Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting ceremony for their brand new health center in Canaan, VT.  The turnout was the biggest we've seen in months, and all enjoyed the festivities on the sunny afternoon.  Congrats ISHC!
To see more pictures from this event and other Business After Hours or
Ribbon Cuttings, please visit:  
Next Business After Hours Event


Save the Date:
September 11th
- New Earth Organic Farm, 5-7 p.m.  Farm Tour!  Don't miss it!
October 2nd-  Colebrook Country Club, 3-6 p.m. Complimentary Golf with Apres Golf hors d'oeurves from 6 p.m. on.  (Rain date of Oct. 9) 
Contact us if you'd like to host the next Business After Hours! 
Upcoming Events
38th Annual Stewartstown Day- today & tomorrow, Aug. 1 & 2!

Friday: 6-10 p.m. Entertainment in the Park
                6 p.m. -- 66th Annual Sugar on Snow Social- Fletcher Park in Canaan
                7 p.m. --Coronation of the King or Queen & music from Mixmaster Mel
                FIREWORKS AT DUSK! (need to be in the village to see the show) 
                Rain Date for fireworks is Sat. at dusk

Saturday: 10 a.m. Parade-- Theme: "Life Along the Connecticut"
                     Parade Prizes: Funniest, Most Original, Prettiest, Most Artistic, Children's
                     Entries, Antique Cars.
                     Mixmaster Mel's music before & after the parade.
                     Refreshments & FUN for all ages in the Park, after parade.
                     Soap Box Derby: contact Nelson Boire (246-7170) for rules.
                     Auction in the Park immediately after Magician Andrew Pinard
                     Bounce House, Kathy's Clowns & Face Painting.
                     Softball Festival Supper provided by Grace Community Church & Village
                     Cultural Center. BBQ pulled pork, BBQ baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw,
                     corn on the cob, iced teas & lemonade, ice cream sundaes. To benefit Grace
                     Church's winter fuel fund.

47th Canaan Men's Softball Tournament- at the Canaan Ball fields all weekend long. More info: 802-266-8900.
RSVP TODAY!
                                            Also Today...

 

There is so much to see and do this year at the Moose Festival!  Lots of new offerings, and even a free shuttle service to help you access the festival with ease (in Colebrook).   See the full lineup of events or join us as a participant at: www.moosefestival.com. 

Please note that there is no more space for food vendors in Colebrook or Canaan, but crafters and community organizations are welcome to join still.  Space is filling up, so don't delay if you want to secure a spot!  We've gained some added promotional opportunities this year, resulting in increased exposure in Canada to help draw more visitors from the north!  

 

Participants are being sought for the moose cruise parade, classic auto show in Canaan on Saturday, maple syrup contest, moose stew cook-off, photography contest and dog show.  All details can be found online.  

 

 

August is packed full of events!  

Please visit our North Country Community Calendar for more info.

Vendor Opportunities in September
Finish Line Festival being held Sat. Sept. 6th at the Dancing Bear Pub in Colebrook.See the vendor registration form here.

Being held Sat. Sept. 20 at Bear Rock Adventures in East Colebrook.
See the vendor registration form here.

NEW! New Hamsphire Grand Corner:
Our Chamber is finding great value in working with NH Grand.  We thought you'd like to know about all the initiatives they have going and are partnering with us on!  The more you get involved as businesses, the better chance we will all have at marketing our region more effectively and increasing tourism dollars.  It's all about collaborative marketing!

 

Kiosk Update

 

NH Grand is continuing to work with the communities hosting informational kiosks. NH Grand is currently working with the state of New Hampshire on the Colebrook kiosk. On June 23, NH Grand celebrated the grand opening of the Groveton kiosk with a ribbon cutting ceremony.  Stay tuned for more information on the Colebrook kiosk which will offer free wifi access to visitors.
 

 

Save the Date

The Coos Business Expo and Conference is scheduled to take place on October 29, at the Town and Country Inn and Resort in Gorham, NH. The Expo schedule is still to be finalized, but the Expo and Conference features seminars devoted to strategies for building more successful businesses. NH Grand, the five Coos County chambers of commerce and other businesses and entities, work to organize and host the event. 



Media Requests

 

Periodically we receive requests from media outlets looking for information on the Grand North for specific stories they may be working on. In this section we will highlight topics of interest to the media, and would love to hear from you if your property, attraction or business has information for us to share with reporters or that we could add to our itineraries. Send any relevant information to Becky Brown at [email protected].

  • Summer and fall getaways
  • New events, properties, adventures, and restaurants scheduled for 2014 and early 2015
  • Summertime fun
  • Whitewater rafting
  • Whitewater rafting
  • Ride the Wilds


Let's Share!


New Hampshire Grand's Facebook presence continues to grow and we want to keep the momentum rolling! Please use Facebook to help spread the word about all the fun stuff New Hampshire Grand is promoting in NH's Grand North. If you haven't already, check out New Hampshire Grand on Facebook!

Visit http://www.nhgrand.com/ for more info.
Photo of the Month
2nd Connecticut Lake in Pittsburg.  
This photo seems to encompass the tranquility of summer in the North Country.  
As always, we thank Wes Lavin for sharing!
North Country Chamber of Commerce | 603-237-8939 | [email protected] |
4 Titus Hill Rd -- Williams Building -- Open Mon. - Fri. 9 am - 3 pm
Mail to: P.O. Box 1, Colebrook, NH 03576