Building Better Communities by Building Better Businesses

South Kent Swing Golf Scramble at The Pines Golf Course

May 2009 Volume 29, Issue 5

Inside This Issue

Mark your calendar for Friday, J une12

and tell your staff you're takinga day to do some quality networking.Your Golf Outing Committee hasselected

The Pines Golf Course

forour

Annual South Kent Sw ing

Golf Outing this year.Sign up as a team of four or as asingle golfer and we'll put togethera foursome for you. There will bean 11 am shotgun start so arrivethe course, carts, volunteer shirtsand in the program. Some packagesalso include a marketing booth onthe course, gol ng spots and websiteadvertising. Prices range from $100to $1000.Contact julie@southkent.org orcall 616-531-5990 to register or formore information on spending youradvertising dollars to market tomore than 100 golfers

and volunteerChamber Members.Golf Outing 1Orientation Breakfast 1Board of Directors 2Opinion by J ohn 2SCORE 3Cell Phones for Soldiers 3Recruiting Challenge 4ChamberPartners 5Lunch 'n Learn 8Ronald McDonald House 8Ambassadors Corner 9Cruise Corner 10Extra Credit 11Stimulus J obs 12Member Milestones 13iTIS Group Advice 14Calendars on Pages 6 & 7Log on to www.southkent.orgFor details.

early to check in and take advantageof the putting green or the drivingrange before your game.Your day will include use of thedriving range and putting green,18 holes of golf, cart, refreshmentson the course, a box lunch anddinner at the end of the day, wherewe'll present the prizes and holdsome really special drawings. Don'tforget to purchase your 50/ 50tickets and support your ChamberAmbassadors!

Early Bird Special!!!

Only $65 pergolfer with paid registration beforeMay 22

. (After May 22

the costis still only $85 per golfer). PaymentDeadline is J une 5, 2009

NOREFUNDS

after that Date.

Sponsorships Available:

There is asponsorship level for every budget.Packages can include advertising: on

The Pines Golf Course

w ill host the29

Annual South Kent Sw ing, a four person scramble. The Pines is located at 5050 Byron Center Rd. in Wyoming.

Build YourBusiness with the Chamber

Orientation BreakfastWednesday, May 137:30 - 9 am FREE!

Experts tell us that current economicconditions increase the need tomarket and advertise. Let us tellyou how involvement in Chamberprograms will give you accessto community leaders, otherbusinesses, potential referrals andreinforced brand recognition foryour business.You'll have the opportunity tonetwork with all of the membersand guests who attend. You couldalso win a free showcase table at afuture 3rd Fridays! or After Hoursnetworking event. We'll give twotables away in a drawing.You don't have to be new tothe Chamber to check outthis breakfast. We'd love theopportunity to showcase some of our premier opportunities to buildbetter business. We'll have staff,board members and volunteerson hand to answer all of yourquestions and to hear your ideas.Contact sue@southkent.org or logon at www.southkent.org to registeron line for this event. There is nocharge to attend but please let usknow you're coming.

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 - National City

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

April 09

By John J. Crawford, Chamber President

The Chamber. Now more than ever.

I have said many times that working for you at the Wyo-ming-Kentwood Area Chamber beats having a real job.The main reason I say that is because of the awesomeVolunteer members of the Chamber that take their turn atworking on behalf of the Community at Large and the Busi-ness Community in particular. While we don t always geteverything done perfectly the rst time, it is always inspir-ing for me to see these teams of dedicated people settingthe goals, making the plans and executing the plays thatreally are succeeding in making our area a better place todo business!

Chamber Work is Really Chamber FUN!

A couple of projects that I need to draw your attention torst include Business n Books Days and the Sport of WordsSpeech Contest organized by the Chamber s EducationCommittee. These two efforts put more than four dozenChamber Members into area elementary schools and helpedto guide and judge 5th Graders in their rst public speak-ing efforts. Kathey Batey, Division Vice Chair from Prior-ity Health and Spirited Presentations and Connie Ziebarthof Celebration Cinema, Committee Chair, deserve lots of credit.Others on the Committee include J ulietta Brothers, RonMusich, Betsy Artz, Dani Lane, Lori Roberts and SueBynum, Chamber Staff. Special THANKS to Mayor CarolSheets and Stephanie Leonardos from Amerikam for theinspiring speech judging, too!The Business Growth Committee, chaired by Carol Craw-ford of TAB Michigan, did a terri c job organizing our rstCommunity EXPO last month! Major kudos to DennisKavanagh of Central Payment System, EXPO Chair andBlair Entenmann from MarketingHelp! Other Members are,J ennifer Newell, Melissa Kinstner and Susan Sasak. I amvery proud of your efforts! Great J ob well done!Your Chamber Ambassadors continue to pile up an impres-sive record this, under the leadership of Casey J ankoskafrom Express Employment Pros! They grabbed an ideafrom the Michigan Ambassadors Conference last fall andran a hugely successful GRUB CRAWL that allowed 11Kentwood restaurants to show off their best! What a greattime what a great project! Members of the sub-committeeare Amanda Lewis, Shawna Myers, Danna Mathiesen, KatieKober, Amy Pierce, Brent and J udi Holland, Vickey Argo,J ason Russell and Bob Carpenter. J ulie J anes-Brown andBob O'Callaghan lent staff support. Awesome job!Get involved! Build business and Social Friendships andhave some great Fun!

At least, that s my opinion by J ohn!

SURVIVING THE RECESSION 2009

SCORE OffersAdvice with Five Smart Strategies

by Ernie Birge, SCORE Volunteer

Wyoming-Kentwood AreaChamber of Commerce (WKACC)

members face challenges on manyfronts, including lower consumerspending, rising unemploymentand tightening credit. In ationpressurs have hit both businessesand consumers. By acting quicklyand decisively to protect yourbusiness today, your business canmake it through the recession in apro table position.

Senior Core of Retired Executives(SCORE)

and the

WKACC

haveteamed up to offer members afree business review and planningsession. The volunteer expertsat

SCORE

have experience in awide range of business areas,including: strategic planning,cash ow management, nancialassessments, sales forecasting,sales pipeline planning andbusiness mentoring.

SCORE

CEO Ken Yancey says,"Small businesses feel the creditcrunch rst. We have seen dif cultyaccessing capital and collectingpayments from customers." Yanceyadds, "Don't wait. Now is the timeto meet with a

SCORE

mentorto make plans to tighten creditpoliciews, cut expenses and look at holding cash in your accounts.Experienced

SCORE

mentors arehere to help you plan actions tosurvive the recession and growwhen the economy turns around."

Small Business Survival TipsDon't Panic.

Be calm andrealistic as you review yourbusiness. Focus on thefundmentals and what you cancontrol. Your competitors maybe struggling too. Take stepsto make sure your businesssurvives.

Consult your mentors.

Getfeedback from informal advisorsyou trust. Ask

SCORE

foradvice and meet to review thehealth of your business. Planfor a pro table year in 2009,even with potentially little or nogrowth.

Look for local funding.

Contact your city, county orstate governments when youseek captial. Sometimes there

1.2.3.

are programs with grants orloans in speci c industries.Many economic developmentof ces have programsfor quali ed small rms.Community banks also may bea source for a line of credit. Asolid business plan can helpyou make your case.

Find ways to cut costs

.Monitor cash ow weekly. Cutoverhead and hold the line onprice increases. Make sure youhave good collection policiesand diligently seek timelypayment. Keep good records of your inventory and be carefulnot to overstock shelves.

Continue your marketing.

This is the time you needmarketing the most. Itreassures your customers thatyou are still there to servethem, and it can help you reachnew markets to sustain yourbusiness. Visit your existingclients to nd out how theirneeds may have changes.Adjust your product and servicemix to meet changing demand.For more information, call 616-771-0305 or visit

SCORE

online atwww.score.org.

4.5.AT&T

, Volunteers from the AT&TPioneers, and Cell Phones forSoldiers (CPFS) have recycled morethan 2.5 million wireless devicessince Earth Day 2008, beatingtheir intended goal by more than700,000 units.CPFS recycles used cell phones anduses the proceeds to buy free phonecards for U.S. Troops overseas.According to the EPA only 10% of all cell phones being discarded areactually recycled. CPFS's recyclingpartner, ReCellular, estimates thatrecycling 2.5 million phones hasprevented more than 153 tons of e-waste from entering land lls.AT&T offers two ways forconsumers to recycle phones.Wireless customers of any carriercan drop off used cell phones andaccessories at any AT&T storeor download free shipping labelsfrom www.att.com/ recyclewireless.Check out the site and order yourfree "starter kit" to start yourown recycling campaign at yourworkplace.