Building Better Communities by Building Better Businesses

2009 Grub Crawl SouthkentOrientation Breakfast

March 2009 Volume 29, Issue 3

Inside This Issue

This is a rst time event for ourChamber. We are excited toannounce that our rst SouthkentGrub Crawl will be on Thursday,April 30, 2009 from 5 to 10 pm.Wondering what Grub CrawlSouthkent is?

Grub Crawl is a food samplingtour of 10 12 restaurants.

Participants of Grub Crawl willbe transported by tour busesand/ or trolleys on a continuouscircuit between the participatingrestaurants, with stops at eachrestaurant every 15-minutes. Hostrestaurants will have food samplesfor you to taste and drink specialsto purchase throughout the event.Grub Crawlers may remain at eachlocation for as little or as long asthey desire.This is a great opportunity to bringyour friends together to enjoy anight out or provide a bondingopportunity for your corporateteam! Ticket prices are $20.00 perperson or $15.00 each for groups of ten or more.We will be hosting two foodtouring events each year; onein the spring, which will featureKentwood restaurants and one inthe fall, which will feature Wyomingrestaurants.The Wyoming Kentwood AreaChamber of Commerce is currentlyaccepting sponsorships for theFirst Annual Grub Crawl. Thereare sponsorship packages availableto accomodate every business'sbudget. This event is a greatopportunity to support our localcommunity and grow awareness of the Wyoming Kentwood Area.The events are open to the generalpublic, and will provide for severalopportunities to promote and growyour business.For more details log on to www.grubcrawlsouthkent.com or contact julie@southkent.org today. Find outhow you and your business can getinvolved in this exciting event!

J oin us at theChamber at 7:30am on Wednesday,March 25th. Spaceis limited andadvance registrationis required. Registerat www.southkent.org or call 616-531-5990.Whether you're new to ChamberMembership or you've been a memberfor a while but want to get more foryour dues investments, this is theevent you should not miss. There isno cost. and we'll provide a deliciouscontinental style breakfast and abottomless coffee pot to make up forthe early hour.We'll have active members on handto answer questions and help you getplugged in. Come to this breakfastand discover what the Chamber cando for your Business and make themost of your dues investment.

Grub Crawl 1Orientation Breakfast 1Opinion by J ohn 2Networking in March 3B to C Expo 3Chamber Bucks 4ChamberPartners 5Call for Volunteers 8Advocate Advertising 8Ambassadors Corner 9The Cruise Corner 10Education Committee 11Member Milestones 12Member Spotlight 12Calendars on Pages 6 & 7Log on to www.southkent.orgFor details.

YOUR CHAMBER MANAGEMENT

2009 Board of Directors

*indicates Executive Committee Member

*J ohn Crawford - President & CEO*Todd Duncan - Consumers Energy, Board Chair*Steve Marshall- MAS Advisory Service, Chair, Fin. &Budget*Norine Mulvihill - Option 1 Credit Union, Sr. V. Chair*Kathey Batey - Priority Health/ Spirited Presentations*Brent Holland - Chameleon Ltd.*Skip Knapp - EdwardJ ones Investments*Tom Kruisenga - W. MI Business Group, Past Chair*Brent Vander Kolk - Vander Kolk & Vander Kolk PLC,Legal Counsel

Community Relations Division (Blue)

*Kathey Batey - Vice ChairTommy Brann - Brann s Steakhouse & GrilleDan Van Dyke - PCO Associates, LLC*Brent Vander Kolk - Vander Kolk & Vander Kolk,.PLCLillian VanderVeen - Lenger Travel Services

Member Relations Division (Red)

*Brent Holland - Vice ChairRichard Chrisman - Hungerford, Aldrin, Nichols & CarterDanna Mathiesen - Mercantile Bank J ohn Schwartz - AT&T

Membership Development Division (Gold)

*Skip Knapp - Vice ChairRob Wells - AXA AdvisorsDiane Zandstra - W. MI Center for Family Health

Financial Development Division (Green)

*Norine Mulvihill - Sr. Vice ChairBetsy Artz - Loeks Theaters (Celebration Cinema)J oel Iakiri - Huntington Bank David Szidik - Money Mailers of SE Kent CountyMatt Uhl - Flagstar Bank

Ex-Of cio

Carol Sheets - City of Wyoming, MayorRichard Root - City of Kentwood, MayorCurtis Holt - City of Wyoming, ManagerBill Doren - Chamber Foundation Chair

My Business Advocate

Opinion by John

March 2009

By J ohn J . Crawford, President & CEO

Popular Misunderstanding of Howthe Economy Works

You have heard me say before that to have jobs, we rst haveto have an ef cient

Infrastructure

, a

Workforce

to do thework and Business

Capital

Money trying to make Money.Does Michigan need J obs? If youbelieve that we do, our Public Policiesthen, need to Solve the E

quation. Wedo have Infrastructure and we dohave a Workforce.

What s missingThe Dow Jones The Gas Gaugeof our Capital.

On November 4, 2008,the nation s business capital gasgauge (the Dow J ones Avg) stoodat 9,625.28. On March 5, 2009,after implementing and announcingsweeping U.S. government programs,the gauge stood at 6,594.44. - a decline of 32%. That sdramatic.Investors are seeing their Capital evaporate and are notliking what they see coming out of Washington BusinessCapital ows to where it is welcomed and stays where it istreated the best.

It s Not the SUPPLY of Money It s the SPEED of Money.

SO many of us, because of the media and lack of understanding, believe that economy is the sum total of allthe cash in the economy like it s a giant bathtub full of dollars. If you have more than I do it must be because youhave grabbed more out of the tub than I was able to. That snot fair! . So, we have based our public policies based onthat widely accepted misunderstanding.The Economy is dynamic. It is measured by the SPEEDat which the money supply turns over. It is not a tub fullof cash. The tub is called the money supply. It might besomething like $500 billion while the nation s economystands at $15 trillion GDP that means that money supplyhas turned over 30 times in one year.If we want business capital back in the market, if we wantconsumer con dence retired, if we want more J OBS thenall our public policies need to be set to encourage the ow of money and capital once more.Washington s plan of Government Spending as an economicsolution are troublesome because1. it s not sustainable over a long period of time, and2. the money spent must be taken from someone elseTry to stay as upbeat as possible and seek out new marketsfor what you do. We ll get through this together. TheChamber is working hard for you! Keep Smiling!

is Capital

the investments needed to put business ideasinto practice. We need to and we can make Michigan aCapital

Magnet

rather than a Capital

Repellant

SPECIAL EVENTS

April 18, 2009 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Woodland Sports on 28th Street

Promote Your Business to Thousands of Consumers in the Community

South Kent

Consumer Expo

Find LOCAL Sources for the Products and Services You Need at Fair Prices!

Exhibitor Information

Contact Julie Janes-Brown at 616-531-5990 for Sponsorship and Exhibitor Applications

Member Vendor Cost:Non-Member Vendor Cost:Before Mar 15 After Mar 15Before Mar 15 After Mar 15Exhibit Space

$ 95.00

$130.00$150.00 $185.00Electrical$ 25.00 $ 35.00$ 40.00 $ 60.00Add'l Space$ 75.00 $100.00$100.00 $150.00

A $75.00 Deposit is required of all Exhibitors with Vendor Application.

Traffic Building Promotion

1. 170 Radio Commercials includinga Remote Broadcast at the Expo2. 280,000 Circulation Newspaper Ads3. 30,000 Circulation Direct Mailers4. Hundreds of Posters in Area Businesses5. Crosswalk Banners6. "Forward to a Friend" Email Campaign

Platinum SponsorsGold Sponsors

Your Business LogoYour Business Name Your Business Name Your Business Namecould be here incould be here in could be here in could be here inall advertisingall advertising all advertising all advertising

Produced By

Wyoming-Kentwood AreaChamber of Commerce

Building Better Communities by Building Better Businesses

1, 2, 3 Huge Networking Opportunities in March

Thursday, March 12 from 5-7pmcheck out Chamber After Hours atWoodland Creek. This will be ourlast After Hours until October. Logon to www.southkent.org for moredetails.At the Clubhouse3300 East Paris SE in Kentwood.Door prize: Overnight stay for twoat

Hilton Grand Rapids Airport

and dinner at

Spinnakers

Multi ChamberBusiness Over Breakfast

#1#2#3

Three huge opportunities tonetwork in March and two of them are FREE! Don't forgetto bring LOTS OF BUSINESSCARDS!Friday, March 20, 11:30-1pm.Cost is $15 for members withregistration 48 hours prior to theevent. We've had record numbersfor the past two months so we'reat the Hyatt one more time! If youhaven't seen this beautiful facility,this is the last chance to attend3rd Fridays! there. We move to anew location in April Watch thewebsite for more information afterMarch 20. Plan to join us at theHyatt, 2150 Metro Lane SW, ByronCenter at M-6. Invite your not-yet-member guests to be eligible for aspecial prize drawing. They couldwin a free lunch!

Friday, March 13 with Hudsonville,J enison, Greater Grandville Chamber& Wyoming- Kentwood AreaChamber.

It's FREE for MembersOnly.

Space is limited, advanceregistration is required. Contact julie@southkent.org or call 531-5990.

Speed Networking

is a tool forgroups or people wishing to meet,exchange ideas and expand theirnetworking circles. Participants inthe program engage in some 20 ve-minute, face-to-face, conversationswith like-minded individuals inmusical chairs fashion. Be preparedto give a 1 minute commercial onyour product or service.7:30 am - 8:00 am - InformalNetworking8:00 am - 9:00 am - SpeedNetworking