The Greater Middle Country Chamber of Commerce
Regular Business Meeting
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
12:00 noon
Middle Country Library, Centereach Branch
Centereach, NY
Dinner will be catered by
Badolato's Market
Lunch will be catered by Caffe Amici
$15.00 per person



Our featured member will be Margaret Schweigert, Margaret Schweigert Chiropractic

Kristen Walsh, Long Island Regional Director for US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will be our speaker

There will be a new member orientation on Tuesday, January 19th at 11:30AM at the Middle Country Library in Centereach. The monthly general meeting will take place immediately following in the Teen Room.

AFFORDABLE CUSTOMER SERVICE WORKSHOPS

Our chamber, along with the Brookhaven Coalition of Chambers is presenting three interactive workshops conducted by Noetic Think, a Long Island-based think tank based at Adelphi University.  “Building Loyalty and Ensuring Revenue” will be held at the Middle Country Public Library from 6:00-9:00 p.m.  The first half hour will offer light refreshments and networking.

The February 3 workshop is  “LOYALTY, a measure of customer quality”, the March 3 workshop will be  “COMMUNICATING for optimal impact”, and the April 7 workshop is “Adding VALUE through better decision-making”.

The low cost for this invaluable information is $25 per session, or $60 for all three sessions if you’re a Chamber member. Non-chamber members pay $40 per session, or $90 for all three sessions.  Space is limited. Reserve early.

For more information or to register, contact Ryan Gessner at the Miller Business Resource Center at 631.585.9393 x228 or gessnerryan@mcpl.lib.ny.us

BE THE EXCLUSIVE BANNER AD ON THE CHAMBER WEB SITE

The GMC Chamber of Commerce Web site has hundreds of hits each month.  We are now offering an exclusive monthly banner sponsorship at the top of that web site.  Only one banner will be displaying for a whole month and it’s only $125.00.  Contact the chamber to reserve your month.

NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION PRIOR TO JANUARY 19 MEETING

On Tuesday, January 19 at 11:30 a.m. (prior to the general chamber meeting), we will be conducting an orientation to the chamber. All new members or current members seeking more information about the chamber are invited to attend at the Centereach branch of the Greater Middle Country Public Library.

The general meeting begins at 12:00 noon and will feature a Caffe Amici catered lunch.   Margaret Schweigert, Margaret Schweigert Chiropractic will be the chamber featured member. Our speaaker will be Kristen Walsh, Long Island Regional Director for US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

COULD YOU USE AN EXTRA $1000.00?

The Town Of Brookhaven Chamber of Commerce Coalition is presenting one $1000.00 Small Business Improvement Award.   The business (fewer than 50 employees) must be a member of their chamber of commerce. 

Compose a request in writing and mail it by February 26th to: BCCC, P.O. Box 126, Port Jefferson Station, New York 11776.  

Requests for the award will be judged by how beneficial the money will be used to improve the business. i.e. updating and purchasing equipment, capital improvements, professional services; consulting evaluations, business plans, marketing strategies, promotional advertising, signs, energy efficient improvements-lighting, insulation etc. Money may not be used to supplement operating expenses of the business.

The award will be presented at the Annual BCCC Member of the Year Reception on April 15th.   For more information contact Barbara Ransome at 474-5019.

ARE YOU RECEIVING AND SHARING ALL THIS USEFUL INFORMATION?

The chamber will begin a quarterly, hard copy newsletter mailed to each member.  It will be a multicolor, professional piece that you can read at your leisure, place in your office or reception area, or pass it on to others to read and appreciate.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS ISLAND-WIDE

Our first ever member GMC chamber directory will be published this spring.  A full-color, high quality magazine with an original artwork cover will showcase the middle country area.  This community and visitors guide will feature a pullout section listing all chamber members and a map of our area.  This is an excellent opportunity to promote your business, the chamber, and our area as 10,000 books will be published and distributed in the greater middle country area and throughout Long Island in early spring 2010.   We encourage you to be part of Passport to Greater Middle Country and contact Reeni Brill at 473-0340 or by FAX at 514-3382.

Our chamber is growing and we’re continuously striving to add value to your chamber membership by providing more marketing opportunities to help your business prosper.  We encourage you to be part of Passport to Greater Middle Country. 

INTERESTED IN A BUSINESS BOOK CLUB?

The chamber is planning to launch the GMC Chamber Book Club.  Here’s how it will work:  participants would suggest business-related books to spotlight, everyone would read the book chosen for that month, at the next meeting the group would discuss the book read and also decide which book to read for the next meeting. The dates and meeting location will be up to the participants.  Let us know if this interests you.

NEXT BREAKFAST MEETING IN FEBRUARY

The first breakfast meeting was a rousing success – we have scheduled the next one for Tuesday, February 16.