111 S. Wabash St.
Wabash, IN 46992
http://www.wabashchamber.org
e-mail - info@wabashchamber.org
phone: (219) 563-1168
fax: (219) 563-6920
November 2000
Let the record be made straight - Wabash Area Chamber of Commerce TAC committee co-chair Jack Porter has reported to past Chamber President Phil Young that the committee's job is now complete - some 16 years after its commission. Well, we certainly hope that it doesn't take every ad hoc committee established by the Chamber Chair that long to complete their assignment, but in this case it is pretty understandable given the fact that the first response from INDOT was No Way - No How. Then, after modification of the project and purpose, Jack and Glenn Tanner were told it would take at least 20 years to get this project moving.
It was a glorious day October 19, 2000 as some 300 to 400 people from all walks of life along the corridor gathered just west of the Rt 9 and Hwy 24 junction on the new pavement. With the sound of traffic and occasional horns in the background select dignitaries including the Governor of Indiana displayed their pride in the accomplishments of the HHIC group and INDOT. It is even a very scenic route. The Wabash and Huntington High School Bands added to the celebration in the air on the warm fall day. So far about half of the total funds needed for the Fort Wayne to Lafayette project have been spent. That still leaves some work to be done, but the emphasis now shifts away from our area. Promises have also been made at all levels to complete the project started here in Wabash. Just think, the Christmas decorations, purchased by the Chamber about the same time this project started, have been used for years, refurbished twice, stored as trash, and finally scrapped in the same amount of time.
Be assured that this group also knows that its job is not done. There is still work to be done at the west end of the corridor between Logansport and Lafayette. Just because the work has moved from our doorstep, Jack, Phil, and Glenn are quick to convey the importance of staying on top of those who have made promises to complete the project.
MEMBER NEWS
Have you had changes or improvements in your business? Have you received an award, reached a milestone, or completed additional training? We want to know. Share these things with your chamber partners. They too enjoy hearing. Call, FAX, E-Mail, or mail notes to the chamber office.
EDUCATION FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION has announced that they will be conducting school conflict resolution workshops for elementary and secondary school personnel. The elementary session will be held November 8 and 9 at Manchester College and the secondary school session will be held at the Town Life Center in North Manchester on November 15 and 16. Each session runs from 8 AM to 4 PM. For more information on these sessions contact ECR at P. O. Box 275, North Manchester, 46962 or call 219-982-4621 or e-mail ecr@hoosierlink.net.
MITTINGS ELECTRONICS & COMPUTERS, owned by Robert and Sue Mitting, has been awarded RadioShack Corporation's Gold Sales Award for 1999. This award was presented in August at the Dealer/Franchise Showcase meeting held in Fort Worth, Texas. The award is based on the volume of RadioShack products purchased. Congratulations Bob, Sue, and staff at Wabash's Radio Shack in Wabash Village. In addition to this award, Bob and Sue have also been named to RadioShack's prestigious Circle of Excellence honoring top performing dealerships. Congratulations to all at this fine Wabash business!
The Internal Revenue Service is offering some small business tax workshops in the area in November and December. "Starting a Business & Record Keeping" is offered in Merrillville November 17, Indianapolis November 30 and Evansville December 7. "Sole Proprietor & The Home Based Business" is offered in Fort Wayne December 6. "End of the Year Tax Clinic" is offered December 8 in Merrillville and Indianapolis. E-mail your reservation to indy.atyourservice@irs.gov.
Congratulations to WABASH HEALTHCARE for their innovative way of decorating and celebrating Halloween. Chamber Board Member Tony Pulley and President Galen Bremmer had the honor of judging the Halloween decorations put together by Healthcare employees working in different areas of the facility. Of course the overall winners in the project were the residents who were obviously enjoying the creative and colorful displays. Kudos to the staff for caring so much for the environment created for visitors and residents. It was clear to us that the employees not only enjoyed their job, but have pride in their facility.
PATHFINDER SERVICES, INC. has announced a fund raising activity at Samuel Mancino's Monday, November 20 from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM. 10% of that day's proceeds will go toward special outings for Pathfinder clients in the year 2001. Help out this campaign by patronizing Samuel Mancino's located in Wabash Village Shopping Center anytime during those hours. Or if you wish, donate directly to the fund by sending it to Pathfinder's Services P. O. Box 322, Wabash.
PEABODY RETIREMENT COMMUNITY has issued an invitation to Holiday Cooking Magic to be held Thursday, November 16, 2000 at 9:30 AM in the Community's Enrichment Center. This program is hosted by Jo Crook, and is designed to reveal quick and easy tips for the holidays that will leave your guests in awe. RSVP to 219-982-8616. By November 14.
The HONEYWELL CENTER has announced the following activities during this newsletter period:
Sunday, November 26 7:30 p.m. Sawyer Brown
All events will be held at the Honeywell Center, 275 West Market St., Wabash. For more information or to order tickets, call 563-1102 or 800-626-6345 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The editor of your chamber's MONTHLY newsletter apologizes and deeply regrets the tardiness of this issue of the newsletter. It is nobody's fault but the editor. Coming on top of putting together the Annual Report, a couple days off, the Annual Dinner, end of the year, and our Annual Audit, time just did not materialize to write this newsletter as important as it is. This is the first time since the membership committee decided to go back to monthly, we have just not been able to meet the schedule. It was not the printing or the putting together that held it up - it was the writing. I am sorry! ed.
The Wabash Area Chamber of Commerce, you may recall, entered into an agreement with CHAMBERBIZ several months ago. Well, now that you have had some time to go into that web site and look at it, we would like to know what you think. Did you register as a Wabash Area Chamber of Commerce user? ChamberBiz has just increased the stipend paid to the host Chambers for each person registering. We will receive $2 for each new registrant. If we could get enough businesses to register, we could omit that extra fund raiser. But, more importantly, we think that it has some useful information for Wabash businesses. PLEASE GIVE IT A TRY! Go to our web site - www.communinet.org/wa_chamber and click on the ChamberBiz button.
While we are on the subject, we are finalizing our new web site. Mark Sapusek, Visionary Web, has been working very hard on creating a more modern and easy to use site. We have also secured www.wabashchamber.org as our new domain. Exciting things are happening. We will be able to have much more up to date information on this site. It became very difficult to make any changes on the old site as everything had to go through Mark. We are exited about what is coming, but as of yet do not have an opening date. We also secured www.wabashchamber.net and another site www.wabashchamber.com as being owned by us but flowing into wabashchamber.org. Unfortunately our email address will change to wabashchamber.org also.
One of the reasons for the tardiness of this newsletter is the fact that the Chamber staff barely had time to wrap up the Annual Dinner before Linda Rea and her associate descended on the office looking hard at the last year. We had left several challenges on the table for Linda - after all we wouldn't want her to be bored during her time in the Chamber office. As usual she was way ahead of us. However, the good news is that at least from the exit interview there are only a few re-classifications to perform in 2000, and that profit figure we have been boasting is verified as actual. There were also only a couple management notes. Management Service contracts and the fiscal agency for the VISION program has swelled the Chamber budget figures to almost $200,000, but admittedly most of that is on an in and out basis. To state that the audit process has been simplified due to our new accounting software is an understatement. Instead of searching for things that Linda needed, we were able to just print out the reports . The chamber very much appreciates the in-depth audit that Linda and her staff from Rea Logan give us each year. Much of the total cost of the audit is underwritten by Rea Logan.
Keiffer & Wolfe Business Services, Inc. - 5605 South Old St. Rd. 15, Wabash joined the Chamber during our recent membership drive.
Keiffer & Wolfe provide tax preparation and planning for corporations, individuals, partnerships, LLCs, estates, and fiduciaries. They also offer financial consulting, estate planning, business entity consulting, bookkeeping, and payroll services.
The organization of the 2001 Chamber continues. Chair Jerry Banks has successfully put together a slate of chairpersons for the various Chamber committees. Now those chairpersons are on the hunt for committee members. They are out checking with prior members to see if they will continue their service and finding new blood. If you are not already serving, won't you consider being involved in one? Simply, call the office and we will pass your name to the chair. Here is a list to consider:
Public Relations - Dee Byerly
Membership - Greg Pettit
Small Business - Skip Daughtry
Government Affairs - Shelly Neal
WACCY Golf - Bill Foulke
Fund Raising - Beth Miller
Home & Business Expo - Beth Miller
Partners in Education - Tony Pulley
Dues Restructure Task Force - Bill Foulke
Seminar - Rex Stitsworth
Leadership Development - Kerry Heiser
PICK YOUR FAVORITE AND CALL 563-1168!
Customer service was the topic of the day November 9th at Ivy Tech as the Wabash County Hospital sponsored a session featuring their Customer Service Team. A good crowd filled the room on a topic that we all can use some updating on the rough edges. Join us for these valued sessions coming:
January 11 Public Speaking Tips Kim King, Ivy Tech State College
Sponsor - Hayes-Lemmerez
Noon - Cinergy/PSI
March 8 Employee Retention Ron Thibos, Dukes Memorial Hospital
Sponsor - Family Physicians
Noon - Cinergy/PSI
May 10 Coaching - It's not about sports! Kelly Stouffer, Ford Meter
Sponsor - The Ford Meter Box Co., Inc.
Noon - Cinergy/PSI
Call the Chamber office today at 563-1168 to register yourself and a group of your associates!
Animal Control Services - 509 West Elliott Road, Wabash. Specializing in the removal of all problem wildlife. 563-5932
Circus Hall of Fame - 3076 East Circus Lane, P.O. Box 700, Peru. We have the Circus Hall of Fame, the Home of Circus Greats, an educational and entertaining museum filled with costumes, posters, models, and a 1934 Hagenbeck Wallace Circus in miniature. Ten weeks every summer we produce a professional big top circus filled with animals and performances.
GOLD LEVEL SPONSOR
1. Special recognition at each Chamber event: Business Before Hours - Brown Bag - Business Expo - Annual Dinner - WACCY Golf, etc.
2. Special recognition in our monthly newsletter
3. $100 in Chamber Bucks
4. Special recognition in all publications
5. Special recognition: On-Line Membership Directory
Only $500 over the normal investment
Merchants be ready - train your staff how to redeem them.
Your Chamber office has received orders for over $55,000 in Chamber Gift Certificates so far for the holidays! These are from Wabash employers re-investing in our economy. Now with over 300 redemption locations LOCALLY IN WABASH, this program is just a winwinwin situation. The Hoosier Heartland Corridor is a great project, and will bring a lot of traffic into Wabash, but this holiday season we must also be prepared to face the fact that it is going to be easier to get out of Wabash to shop. LET'S KEEP AS MANY DOLLARS AS WE CAN AT HOME! Support our local businesses - use em or lose em!
Chamber gift certificates are good at ANY Chamber member. They may be purchased either in $5 increments (for those under $50 per person) or in any increment you desire for larger than $50 gifts. All the business has to do is to treat them as they would any check in their register procedures. Simple and easy. Get your orders in today for the BEST GIFT IN WABASH!
Welcome Pettit Printing and Cinergy/PSI
Gold Level membership has now been pledged by two additional long-time active Chamber supporters! Pettit Printing, 2000 Small Business of the Year, is excited to join the golden chamber investors. Owner, Greg Pettit, is a retiring Board Director, but remains extremely active in Chamber Business as Membership Chair and strong advisor to the Home and Business Expo Committee. Jerry Banks. District Manager for Cinergy/PSI and incoming Chamber Chair was the next one to pledge gold level membership. In fact he is the first one to follow the pledge up with a check making Cinergy the first PAID Gold Member. Dues investments for the other two have not come due yet.
WHO WILL BE NEXT? Gold Level Membership is only $500 above your normal dues investment. You will receive $100 directly back in the form of Chamber Bucks to be spent at any Chamber function where there is a fee. Your business will also be highlighted as Gold Level Member at every Chamber Function. Call us to become GOLD today.
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BOARD MEMBERS - 2001 |
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Board Chair: Jerry Banks Cinergy/PSI Chair Elect: Steve Ford Ford Meter Box Vice Chair: Skip Daughtry Beauchamp & McSpadden Treasurer: Bill Foulke Cinergy/PSI Past Chair: Brian Howenstine Wabash True Value President: Galen L. Bremmer Wabash Area Chamber of Commerce |
Ed Bellows Wells Fargo Bank Larry Hoover Quality Electric Lynn Yohe Yohe Realty Tony Pulley Pulley Financial Services Dick Rider Wabash Marketplace Dee Byerly Retired - North Central Coop Kerry Heiser Frances Slocum Bank |
Glenn Lightner Smurfit Stone Container Corp. Brad Perrott YMCA Roger Cromer First Federal Savings Bank Rick Gray Martin Yale Industries Dave Hunter Wabash County Hospital JoEllen Lambert Farm Bureau Insurance Joel Stein Tiede, Metz, Downs, Lynn, Schlitt |
Business Before Hours
Business Sponsors -
K & M Floor Covering
Wabash Valley Chrysler
Paradise Monument
Wabash County CVB
Big Brothers Big Sisters
Trinity Lutheran Church
Emcee - Keri Mattern
Brown Bag Seminar
Topic: Public Speaking Tips
Presented by: Kim King, Ivy Tech State College
Sponsor: Hayes Lemmerz, Inc.
Location: Cinergy/PSI