My Business Advocate

Building Better Communities by Building Better Businesses

October 2009 Volume 29, Issue 10

Coming Events

Membership Drive Puts Event Focus on Member Referrals

In August, the Wyoming-KentwoodArea Chamber of Commerce Boardof Directors challenged our staff,Board and Membership to sign atotal of 25 new members betweenSeptember 1 and November 30,2009 and the best way we knowto do that is by signing up yourmembership referrals.

Between September 1 andNovember 30

, the Chamber willoffer multiple opportunities for youto invite your potential memberguests to great low-cost to no-costnetworking events. (Check out theComing Events Box in the lower leftcolumns on this page).We're offering access to great

business building benets and you

can help us spread the word.Simply invite all of your businessacquaintances to attend one ormore of the free or nearly no costevents scheduled this fall andgive them a taste of ChamberNetworking and insight into someof the other business buildingopportunities available to ourmembers. The Chamber will have membershipinformation and applicationsat each event and will haverepresentatives on hand to discussthe potential growth and brandrecognition that can be accessed when they join. Get them to comeand we'll do all the work!

Special incentive packages

are being offered by

CitadelBroadcasting

and

The GrandRapids Press

in addition to thefree business card sized ad that will be available to every newmember turning in the couponposted on the website and theMember Recuitment Challengeoffered by Pat Pols and the MemberRecruitment Committee. There will be a Member/NewMember Reception at the BusinessExpo on October 29th from 5-7 PM Join us and try to

Crack the Chamber Vault.

Get a chance to win $25,000 in cash. Bring a not yet member guest to earn anotherchance to win. Each potentialmember referral is another chanceto crack the vault. There have never been moreincentives for referrals as there areright now, and it is for a limitedtime. Reservations for most eventscan be made on line at www.southkent.org or call 616-531-5990.

Board Election Ballots Delivered 10/1-10/3Government Matters @ Chamber Ofce 10/5Metro South Multi Chamber Seminar w/ T. Rubleski@ Pine Rest Family Institute, 300 68th Street SE 10/8Chamber Ater Hours @ Sarah Care Adult Day Care 10/8Multi Chamber Speed Networking@ Woodland Creek Community Room 10/9"Ask The Pros" Forum 10/15Board Elections-Ballot Deadline 10/153rd Fridays! 10/16Orientation Breakast 11/19Santa Parade 12/5Legislative Luncheon @ Brann's Conerence Center 10/26South Kent Business Connections @ Applause Banquet Ctr 10/29Government Matters @ Chamber Ofce 11/2Chamber Ater Hours 11/123rd Fridays! @ Hilton Hotel 11/20Annual Meeting and Silent Auction 1/29/2010

Calendars on Pages 6 & 7Log on to

www.southkent.org

for details.

Who do you know that should be a member?

YOUR CHAMBER MANAGEMENT

2009 Board of Directors

*indicates Executive Committee Member

*John Crawford - President & CEO*Todd Duncan - Consumers Energy, Board Chair*Steve Marshall- MAS Advisory Service, Chair, Fin. &Budget*Norine Mulvihill - Sr. V. Chair - American DiabetesAssociation*Kathey Batey - Priority Health/SpiritedPresentations*Brent Holland - Chameleon Ltd.*Skip Knapp - EdwardJones Investments*Tom Kruisenga - The Kruisenga Agency, PastChair*Brent Vander Kolk - Vander Kolk & Vander KolkPLC, 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 & VanderKolk,.PLCLillian VanderVeen - Lenger Travel ServicesMember Relations Division (Red)*Brent Holland - Vice ChairRichard Chrisman - Hungerford, Aldrin, Nichols &CarterDanna Mathiesen - Mercantile BankJohn Schwartz - AT&TMembership Development Division (Gold)*Skip Knapp - Vice ChairBob O'Callaghan - Citadel BroadcastingRob Wells - VantagePointe Financial GroupFinancial Development Division (Green)*Norine Mulvihill - Sr. Vice ChairBetsy Artz - Loeks Theaters (Celebration Cinema)Joel Iakiri - Huntington Bank

David Szidik - Proforma Innite Marketing

Matt 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,

Building Better Communities by Building Better Businesses

Opinion by John

September 2009By John J. Crawford, Jr.President & CEO

Neighboring Local Chambers BeginNew Era in Collaboration

Thinking Locally, Acting Regionally

Will Create New Opportu-nities for Local BusinessesI am very happy to announce some more great progressin our unending quest to enhance the value of yourChamber Membership! Five local Chambers of Commercein the South Metropolitan area have elevated their level of collaboration.Metro South Chambers The Grandville-Jenison AreaChamber, the Wyoming-KentwoodArea Chamber, the HudsonvilleArea Chamber, Byron Center andCutlerville-Gaines Area Chamber areplanning a series of joint projectsto create and encourage newopportunities for business in theirrespective areas. We’re billing our joint efforts under theheading of the “Metro South Chambers of Commerce” andhave developed a logo for these programs. The Metro South Chambers logo is a fast way for us tolet our Members know that a particular workshop orother event is open to all participating Chambers. All of the Chambers in West Michigan and across the statecommunicate with each other regularly. We are blessed tohave 35 to 40 active and successful local Chambers in ourregion!” The Metro South Chambers are next door neighbors that arelocal, suburban Chambers. We have found that our Memberbusinesses have asked for increased cooperation and theyvalue this broader interaction enormously!Sandy LeBlanc is the Executive Director of the newly mergedGrandville-Jenison Chamber. “For now, we are really onlyfocusing on those programs that create added business-building opportunities for our Members.” LeBlanc said.

“Helping our area businesses nd and develop new

customers is a very high priority for all of our Chambers.”

LeBlanc and Crawford rst started putting some joint events

together in early 2009 and they have proven to be verypopular among many Chamber Members. In combination,

the four Chambers have about 1,400 Member rms.

(Continued on Page 4)

BUSINESS GROWTH

The Biggest and Best Networking Event of the Year – Oct 29

Want to grow your business? Thenplan on attending the

SOUTH KENT BUSINESS CONNECTIONS

Event on Thursday, October 29

from 11:30p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the

ApplauseBanquet Center

on 28

Street. This event combines a Lunch ‘NLearn, a Business Expo, and aMembership Drive Reception -- allin one action packed afternoon. Itpromises to offer great learning andgreat connections to build yourbusiness. This year, the Event will be opento and marketed to all METROSOUTH CHAMBER Members andNot Yet Members through multipleChamber Newsletters, E-mailBlasts, NewsTalk Radio Advertisingand Direct Mail Advertising to W-K Area businesses. This event isshaping up to be the Biggest andthe Best Networking Event of theYear!We already have 33 Sponsors andExhibitors signed up with someshowcase tables still available.We moved locations this year to amore central location and a largerfacility to allow more than the 42exhibitors and 450 attendees thatparticipated last year.

The Lunch ‘n Learn will feature

dynamic and knowledgeable PennyGeorgevich, Executive Director fromBNI Michigan on

How to Build Your Business with Referrals!

from 11:30a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Learn valuabletips on building your businessthrough referrals during this powerpacked Lunch n’ Learn. Cost for theLunch ‘n Learn is $15 for ChamberMembers and $21 for Not YetMembers.

A Membership Drive Reception

(Free Appetizers/Cash Bar) from 5p.m. to 7:00 p.m. will be held in theExpo area for new members andnot yet members to meet the Boardof Directors, Committee Chairs andother active members.Contact Julie Janes-Brown at theWyoming Kentwood Area Chamberor at www.southkent.org for furtherdetails.

We would like to thank our

GOLDSPONSORS

–

Proforma

Innite Marketing

Solutions

and

CitadelBroadcasting's

new

WJRW1340 AM News Talk

station;and

SILVER SPONSORS

– IOI Pay, MarketingHelp!, PresortServices, Great Lakes CommunityDirectories and Principal Financial/Michael DeVries; for helping makethis event possible.

Thursday, October 29, 20091:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m

New Member Reception Starts at 5:00 p.m.

FREE ADMITTANCE WITH YOUR BUSINESS CARD

Applause Event Center

28th Street SE Just West of Breton

(Behind Pietro's)

Support Our Sponsors

Gold Sponsors Silver Sponsors Bronze Sponsors

ATL Credit Union Two Men and a TruckCostco BNI of MichiganLake Michigan Credit UnionThe RapidEdward Jones/Skip KnappCambridge Partners Inc.Signworks Hungerford Aldrin Nichols & CarterHuntington Bank Fast SignsMapes Insurance Agency

Produced By

South Kent

Business Connections

Great Learning and Great Connections to Build Your Business

The Biggest and Best Networking Event of the Year

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Great LakesCommunity Directories

Michael DeVries