Newsletter August 2005 

New Members - The Chamber welcomes the following new members: 

                                Van-Ayers Treats               Ultimate Security

                                Babies & More Daycare    

                                Hampton Inn – Guntersville

                                The Lakeside Loft

                               

Membership Renewals - Thanks to the following businesses & individuals for renewing their Chamber membership:

                                Angular Marine          Weeks Construction

                                Collazo Farms            Barry & Beverly Kirkland

                                Edward Jones             Barnes Heating & Cooling

                                Carolyn Dennis           The Trading Post

                                Old Macdonald Petting Zoo 

                                Ross-Graden Lumber

                                Pierce Harris                        Grant Auto           

                                H & R Block                          The Video Shack

                                Grant Animal Clinic  

                               Jones, Milwee & Ross                   

                                Parker Law Firm                    H & R Block

                                Grant Family Medicine        Steve Marshall

                                Waterfront Grocery                 DAR School

                                                               

Highlights of  2rd Quarter 2005  Board Meetings & Events:

•          The monthly meetings of the Board of Directors were held on April 12, May 10, June 14, July 14, and August 9.  The President called the meetings to order and minutes of the previous meetings were approved as read.  The Treasurer reported a balance of $2,050.61 as of March 31,  $1,222.43 as of April 30, $904.05 as of May 31,  $4.267.56 as of June 30, and $4,910.71 as of July 31.
   

•           Three Board Member positions became vacant due to the resignation of the President-Elect, Past President and the expiration of the 3 year term for a Board Member.  Gary Franks, Danny Lewis and Faye Frazier were appointed to fill these positions until November.   Election ballots for new Board Members will be mailed out to you in December.  Please vote, we need your input.
   

•          The Annual Members Banquet held in April at the Broken Arrow Country Club was well attended.  Guest speaker, Ralph Stacy, President/CEO, COC Assoc. of AL, entertained guests.  A delicious meal, catered by MiMi’s Country Tea Room, was enjoyed by everyone. Thanks to all, who nominated and voted for people, whom they would like to recognize as outstanding members of our community.  The response was overwhelming and the following is the result of our members choice awards:  Ann Barnes, Merchant of the Year, Beth Cagle, Educator of the Year, Robert Patterson, Volunteer of the Year,  Naomi Barfield, Citizen of the Year, and Lola McDonald, Lifetime Community Service.   Chamber awards were presented to outgoing Board Members, Bobby Joe Rice, Ann Barnes, and Naomi Barfield.  Outgoing President, Don Milligan, received an award of appreciation for hard work and dedication to the COC.  Sheila Barbuck, received the Chamber Volunteer of the Year award.
   

•        Thanks to Gary and Florene Franks for making arrangements and organizing the “Chamber Shootout” on June 4^th.  The Chamber served breakfast and lunch to the North Alabama Regulators shoot-out at Cavern Cove.  This was a fund raiser for the Chamber.
   

•         Don Milligan, Immediate Past President, turned in his resignation to the Board due to family obligations.  The Board reluctantly accepted Don’s resignation.  The Chamber appreciates Don’s service to the Board.  Thanks, Don, for serving as President, Immediate Past President, Board Member and member to the Tourism  and Golf Committees. 
   

•     Hilda Page 1^st VP, contacted Jim Page, VP of Governmental Affairs & Communications & John Seymour, President & Chief Executive Officer, Decatur-Morgan County COC, to set up a meeting  with  the Board Members on May 19^th  at the Chamber Office to discuss Long and Short Range Plans for the Grant COC. 
       
•     Danny Lewis, Cathedral Caverns State Park, has been appointed   t o serve on the Board of the Marshall County Tourism as representative for  the Grant Chamber of Commerce.  Danny will be a valuable asset to the Chamber.
   
•     Chris Clark reviewed the Program/Goals for the Chamber which are to be implemented as a result of the series of meetings with “target groups”.  Hilda Page made a motion to adopt the Program/Goals and Gary Franks seconded the motion.  The Board voted to adopt the plan and start implementation immediately.  Chris Clark was praised for the excellent job he did on the Program/Goals.
  
• Thanks to Peoples State Bank for sponsoring the Early Bird Coffee in July.  Guest speaker, Michelle McDaniel, Better Business Bureau in Huntsville gave a very informative talk about a topic that we should all be concerned about, Identity Theft.
  
• The Golf Tournament tentatively scheduled for August 20 has been postponed.  The Chamber will be in touch with Joe Powell about the next possible date and will be announced as soon as possible.
  
• A motion made by Hilda Page and seconded by Faye Frazier to sponsor a stage at a cost of $150.00 at the next Cowboy’s Shootout on September 30 – October 2, was approved by a majority vote.
  
•  Gary Franks, reported that he had been in touch with Morgan Andretti, Huntsville, about the possibility of a cycling club having a biking trail through Grant.  The Chamber would be responsible for mapping out the trail and providing water & refreshment stations positioned along the trail for the cyclists.  Mr. Andretti would assist in setting up the initial trail.  Faye Fraizer and Gary Franks will meet with Mr. Andretti  to see if this is an event the Chamber would be interested in  sponsoring .
  
• Hilda Page and Faye Frazier will rotate times to meet with Brenda Barnes after the Economic / Industrial Board meetings.  They will summarize the Board meetings and prepare a report for the Economic & Industrial Committee to present at the COC monthly Board meetings.
  
• Jean Brewer, President, reported that she and Mayor, Carolyn Dennis, had met with members of the DAR School Board to discuss the possibility of the COC providing a tour of the DAR School campus to tourists that visit the Town of Grant.  The DAR was favorable to the idea and this will be discussed later in more detail.
  
• Jean Brewer, President, presented a Board Member Commitment Pledge to the Board in the August meeting and it was accepted by a majority vote.
  
• Thanks to Naomi Barfield for hosting the Early Bird Coffee on Friday, August 19^th.  A delicious breakfast was served in the Patriot’s Room at First Bank of the South to approximately 30 people.  Guest speaker, Captain Ed Teal, gave a very informative talk about a serious problem that has invaded our communities, Child Molestation.

 Upcoming Events-         

·         Program Plans/Short & Long Term Goals for the COC presentation – 8/25, 7:00 P.M., First Bank of the South in the Patriot’s Room.

·         Founder’s Day – 8/26 through 8/27

·         Pow Wow – 9/10 through 9/11 at Grant City Park

·         September Chamber Board Meeting – 9/13, 11:00 A.M. Chamber Office

·         Early Bird Coffee – 9/23, 7:30 A.M. hosted by Gary Franks at Cavern Cove.

·         Start of Ambush at Cavern Cove – 9/30

·         October Chamber Board Meeting – 10/11, 11:00 A.M. Chamber Office.

·         Cathedral Caverns will have their 2^nd Fall Festival on Sat., Oct. 29, 5:00 P.M. - ?  There will be Spooky cave tours, Spooky hay rides, games, food, fun and more. Tickets for all events will be available at the welcome center.  All cave tours will be only $5.00 per person.

·         Early Bird Coffee – 10/21, 7:30 A.M. hosted by Danny Lewis at Cathedral Caverns.

Fourth of July Festival - The Town of Grant celebrated its First Annual Fourth of July Festival this year and it was a huge success in spite of the weather.  Terri Campbell, Director, did an outstanding job in coordinating the events.  There were many activities for the entire family to participate in and varieties of foods to choose from were available.  The First Baptist Church featured homemade ice cream at their booth.   The Grant Chamber of Commerce sold pizza, donated by Jason Upton, Dominos, and drinks at their booth.    There were also hamburgers, hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy available from other booths.  The SCA staffed the games and assisted in setting up booths and decorations.  The Watermelon Eating Contest was a big hit with the children and there were plenty of melons available, thanks to donations from Foodland of Section, Publix and Wal-Mart of Hampton Cove.  Attendees enjoyed great music provided by local musicians and the cloggers were also a big hit.  The event ended with a spectacular fireworks display, one of the best I have ever seen.  If you did not have a chance to come out and enjoy this community festival, make plans to come for the 2006 celebration.  Thanks to the following supporters of the festival:

Doug and Teri Campbell                             Robert and Dimple Patterson

Gunter Mountain Firefighters Association     Carolyn Dennis

Golden Age Apartments                               Brenda & Anthony Barnes

Grant Chamber of Commerce                       Video Shack

First Bank of the South                                 Hodges Dental Lab

Crowder Wire & Cable, Inc.                           Chris Clark

Grant Pharmacy                                            Jean and Don Brewer

Marshall County Legislative Delegation         Chris & Tammy Weeks

Peoples State Bank                                                             

 

Chambers of Commerce – At the heart of the local economy, the backbone of the nation’s economy, you’ll find a Chamber of Commerce, celebrating and promoting the diversity (and uniqueness) of their communities, Chambers of Commerce really do form the fabric of America.

 For individuals seeking information about the business climate within a community, Chambers are the primary source.  Chambers often are the catalyst for the business opinions and representative for business needs.  In these circumstances, Chambers are particularly unique in that they act as a collective voice, speaking from a much broader economic framework than individual businesses or politicians ever could. 

The work of local Chambers of Commerce is vital to the success of every community’s business life.  For businesses both large and small, Chambers provide bottom line programs.  They fight for pro-business legislation and even form public and private alliances, with the support of Chambers, small businesses turn to Chambers as a necessary resource for growth.

 In addition to addressing economic issues, Chambers provide leadership in civil and social programming.  Through innovative programs, Chambers address many concerns, including those dealing with health care, education, and crime prevention. 

Therefore, a strong dynamic business community benefits the entire community.  Chambers directly involve themselves in the entire community to create an environment where people want to live and work.

 Grant Chamber of Commerce Special Meeting-

President, Jean Brewer, called a special Board meeting to order on May 19, 2005 at 7:00 P.M. at the Chamber office.  The purpose of this meeting was to meet with John Seymour, President, and Jim Page, VP of Governmental Affairs & Communications, of the Decatur-Morgan County COC, and to develop a plan for Long and Short Term Goals for the Grant Chamber of Commerce.  Approximately12 people attended this meeting.

 Mr. Seymour and Mr. Page assist small Chambers, such as, Grant to help them become more efficient.  One of their suggestions was to set-up “focus groups” from our business members to find out what they need from the Chamber to help them become more successful.   Also, ask this group how the Chamber can improve the quality of life in Grant.  They also talked about the infrastructure of the Chamber and ways we might restructure to become more efficient.

 After the initial meeting with Mr. Seymour and Mr. Page, the Board scheduled a series of three meetings on 5/24, 5/31, and 6/9 in the Chamber Office with small target groups of local business people.  Chris Clark took the ideas that came from these meetings and developed a Plan for Short and Long Term Goals and how to accomplish these Goals.  The Board had a follow-up meeting with Mr. Seymour and Mr. Page on 6/27 to review the Plan.   Mr. Seymour and Mr. Page was very impressed with Chris’s report and agreed that this was a Plan that the Chamber should follow.

 Board of Directors – 2005

                Jean Brewer, President   

                Chris Clark, President Elect

                Hilda Page, 1^st Vice President  

                Gary Franks, 2^nd Vice President

                Kathy Ferguson, Sec/Treasurer       

                Faye Frazier, Board Member

                Danny Lewis, Board Member      

                Patty Rice, Ex-Officio Member          

                Brenda Barnes, Ex-Officio Member

                Carolyn Dennis, Ex-Officio Member

 Grant Chamber of Commerce Mission Statement-

 The mission the Grant Chamber of Commerce is to create unity between the businesses and the community and encourage the development of all segments of the community.  We will create a plan to enhance tourism, support our local government and businesses, and promote social, educational, and cultural events for our citizens, by working together and forming partnerships.

 President’s Paragraph -  This is my first communication to you since officially taking office in May.  I want to thank the membership for allowing me to serve on the board again.  The Chamber has such an important role for the town of Grant and surrounding area in promoting the business' and one of the greatest attractions in all of the Southeast, Cathedral Caverns.  We have so many wonderful things happening in the Chamber now.  The Board has  approved and is  implementing a wonderful Program and Goals for the Chamber that will benefit all of Grant and the area.  Thanks to Chris Clark for all his work in developing the program.  I look forward to the coming months in working with the Board and community to promote our Town.  Together we can work miracles but divided we will fall.

Jean Brewer, President    

Director’s Corner  -    The Chamber would like to utilize this newsletter to it’s full potential by publishing it on a monthly basis and reaching out to more than the Chamber members.  In order to accomplish this, we need a committee working on the newsletter to have interesting articles each month and provide a chamber/community calendar.  If you would be interested in serving on this committee, please let Jean Brewer or Sheila Barbuck know.  If you have articles for the newsletter, mail the item(s) to the Chamber office or send them by email to (barbuck@charter.net) or (grant@nehp.net). 

                                                            Sheila Barbuck, Executive Director