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Welcome
New
Chamber Members: |
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2008
Board of Directors
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Executive
Committee:
Patricia
Nelson,Executive Director
Roger Cook,
President
Brad Vibber,
Treasurer
Cindy Bosley,
Secretary
Promotional
Group Chairs:
Lisa
Comer, The Book Shoppe
Heidi Sitts,
MOM Chairperson
Shannon Gagne,
IPC Chairperson
General
Board Members:
Tom
Adle, ADW Industries
Corey Bailey,
Commercial Bank
Julio Benitez,
Sears
Marci Browne,
America's
Choice Realty
Mark Bush, Gratiot Medical Center
Lisa
Comer, The Book Shoppe
Roger Cook, Cook
Painting Company
Laura Crocker,
Firstbank
Amy Crumbaugh, Crumbaugh
Farms
Dennis Dunlap,
GTEC/RESD
Barb Fandell, City of
Ithaca
Greg Garberson,
Redbird Pet Center
Aaron Hale,
Home Town
Cellars
Phil Hansen, City of St.
Louis
Marita
Harkness, Firstbank
Bill Henderson,
Aircraft Precision
Becky Hirschman,
Hirschman Farms
Don Pavlik,
Alma Public
Schools
Nick
Piccolo, Alma College
Aeric
Ripley, City of Alma
Don Schurr,
Greater Gratiot Development
Brian Smith,
County of Gratiot
Jeff
Vibber, Ponderosa
Chamber
Staff:
Sheila
Bishop,Executive
Assistant
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Chamber
announces 2008 Athena recipient, Sue Malone, Director of
Psychiatry and Volunteer Services, Gratiot Medical
Center
Upcoming
Events:
MAY
EVENTS
Highland Festival
Carnival
May
2 - 11, 2008
Think spring and come out to enjoy the
Highland Festival carnival May 2-11, 2008 at the Fair
for Youth Fairgrounds, Alma. What a great way to spend
the day with your family! Ride all day for $15 or enjoy
testing you skills at the many game booths and do not
forget those delicious hot and crispy elephant ears!
Come and enjoy the great spring weather and help raise
funds for the 41st Alma Highland Festival and Games.
Carnival
hours: Saturday and Sunday 12 noon - 10:00 pm and Monday
- Friday 4pm -10 pm
May
3, Golf Outing, Pine River Country Club
May
4, St.
Louis Shopping Day
May
18, Dust Off Car Show, Ithaca
May
23, 24 & 25, Alma Highland Festival
& Games
Visit
the Entertainment Tent
May
26, Memorial Day Parade & Service at Ithaca Cemetery
May
30, Traveling World War II Museum, Downtown Alma
JUNE
EVENTS
June 7, St.
Louis Annual Fishing Derby
June
12, Golf Outing, Hidden Oaks, St.
Louis
June
21-28, Gratiot Ag Expo, Ithaca Fairgrounds
SEPTEMBER
EVENTS
September 6th Lucky MacDuck Community
Day
Co-Sponsored by Alma Action Association and the
Pine River Arts Council
New
at the 41st Alma Highland Festival
& Games
May
23-25, 2008
Get ready to strap yourself into the only
full-size NASCAR Spirit Cup Target Dodge car of tomorrow
racing simulator in the world! That's right, the
Official #41 Red Sorenson Target Dodge (COT) simulator
from the Sprint cup Series is coming to the 41st Alma
Highland Festival & Games.
Click
Here To Learn More
***Available
Now***
Remember
to pick up a 2008 Member-to-Member Discount Card
available at the Chamber at a very low cost of $5.00
each.
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By
Roger
Cook
Every
business needs to generate a demand for their
goods or services. Without the demand, there is no
business. So what can we do, as a community, to
attract people to Gratiot County? What
"demand" could we create to increase commerce and
jobs? One solution is to encourage retirees to
relocate to Gratiot from other cities and states
where high taxes, high crime or congested traffic
combine to make life as a senior citizen
difficult, at best. Others in the county have had
similar thoughts and we have discussed various
brainstorming issues but no formal action has been
begun. Now is the time for action, so here is a
proposal. Why not let the Gratiot Area Chamber
take the lead in marketing the County as an ideal
retirement location to targeted...
Read on...
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By
Don
Schurr, President, Greater
Gratiot Development, Inc.
What's
going on? It would be impossible for me to count
the number of times I hear this question. People
are not asking rhetorically; they want to know
about the local economy or about a specific
project. They are understandably concerned about
the stories they read and hear in the media and
they are curious about how that news affects them,
our local businesses, and the projects pending in
the Gratiot community. The following are short
answers to two of the most...
Read on...
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St.
Louis
Middle of the Mitten
Association
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By
Heidi Sitts, Chair and Phil Hansen, St. Louis DDA
With
the weather getting nicer, look for events to
start coming up in St. Louis soon!
Sunday,
May 4 the St. Louis Area Historical Society has
planned a Dedication of the Historic Park (depot
area) on Crawford
Street celebrating the
$700,000 MDOT Enhancement Project that is just
being completed. The event, which begins at 2:00
p.m. that day, will feature a talk by local
historian Dave McMacken and performances by the
Midstatesmen Chorus (barbershoppers) and Nikkari
Elementary students. Be sure to stop by and see
all...
Read on...
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Alma
Action Association Update
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By
Lisa Comer, Chair and Aeric Ripley, Alma DDA
The
first Spring Fling Season Kickoff Golf Outing,
sponsored by the Alma Action Association, will
take place May 3, 2008 at Pine River Country Club.
Lunch and registration will begin at 12:00 noon,
with a shotgun start at 1:00 p.m. Registration is
only $35 per person and that includes your lunch
and a cart. This golf outing will help the support
the Christmas Celebration, Christmas lights, and
banners.
The
41st Annual Alma Highland Festival and Games is
set for May 23rd, 24th, and 25th at the Alma
College Campus. The festivities begin with the
entertainment tent on Friday night, which runs
from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. The entertainment will
continue all weekend long, for those who may not
know where...
Read on...
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Gratiot
Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to be honored
at National Brownfields
Conference
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Mr.
Chelsey
Foster Project Manager, Greater
Gratiot Development, Inc.
The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will
recognize the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority
of the County of Gratiot (administered by
Greater Gratiot Development, Inc.) for a
significant contribution to the EPA Region 5
Brownfields Program at the National Brownfields
Conference in Detroit on May
5th. The award is specifically related to Merrill
Fabricators' redevelopment of the former Oxford
Automotive/Lobdell-Emery plant in Alma.
Recognition
for the project relates to the large and...
Read on...
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Chamber's
Agriculture Business After Hours Big Success, with
over 200 in attendance
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