My Business Advocate

Building Better Communities by Building Better Businesses

January 2010 Volume 30, Issue 1

Coming Events

Children's Book Sale Dec '09-Jan '103rd Fridays! Networking Luncheon 1/15/10Annual Meeting and Silent Auction 1/22/10Chamber After Hours 2/11Metro South Multi Chamber Speednetworking 2/123rd Fridays Networking Luncheon 2/19Chamber After Hours 3/11Business 'n Books Days 3/22-26Kentwood Career Expo and Sport of Words Speech Contest 4/14

Calendars on Pages 6 & 7Log on to

www.southkent.org

for details.

Annual Meeting and Silent Auction: Gala Event Planned

"Invitations are in the mail!

Our dedicated group of volunteersgot together the week afterChristmas to send out your personalinvitation to our 29th AnnualMeeting and Awards Dinner. Wehope you can join us.Send back the reply card by January18th or contact Sue at the Chamberto reserve your seats for only $45.00each. (Phone reservations mustinclude a credit card payment).

Reserve early and save!

Theprice goes to $65 after January 18and tickets are $85 at the door.(All sponsorship levels includereservations for dinner).We'll wrap up 2009, gear upfor 2010 and recognize specialaccomplishments by volunteersand area businesses at our 29thAnnual Meeting and Awards Dinner.Our Businesses of the Year havebeen selected and we are waitinganxiously to hear the outcome.Many great nominations forBusiness of the Year were submittedthis year and all of them weredeserving. Congratulationsto everyone who recieved anomination and we wish all of youthe best in the coming year.

Don't forget the Silent Auction

held during the evening. Yourdonated item will help us raisenon-dues revenue to support 2010Chamber Programs. And your highbid could result in scoring a greatbargain on goods and services youcan use in business or in yourhome. Donation forms are availableon line or by emailing sue@ southkent.org.

Get the details

for both of thesegreat events happening in one galaevening and register on line at www.southkent.org or email sue@ southkent.org for assistance.

Who will win Business of the Year Awards for 2009? Suspense is building for the big announcment of our newest Gerald E. Fessel Distinguished Service Award. We'll reveal the best kept secret in Kent County at our 29th Annual Meeting on Friday, January 22, 2010 at Noto's Old World Fine Italian Dining. Don't miss the big reveal!

Get Your Business Noticedwith a donation for our2010 Silent Auction!

Your donation of desirable goodsor services willsupport 2010 Chamberprograms and events.Build Brand Recognition while your company name isdisplayed at the auction.Receive Donating Businesslisting in the Auction CatalogListing of your item andbusiness name on our on linecatalog at www.southkent.orgContact sue@southkent.org formore information or to submita donated item. We requestthat items donated not requireadditional cost to redeem afterpurchase.••••

YOUR CHAMBER MANAGEMENT

2010 Board of Directors

*indicates Executive Committee Member

*John Crawford - President & CEO*Norine Mulvihill - American Diabetes Association,Board Chair*Todd Duncan - Consumers Energy, Past Chair*Kathey Batey - Priority Health/SpiritedPresentations, Senior Vice Chair*Matt Uhl - National City Bank*Danna Mathiesen - Mercantile Bank

*David Szidik - Proforma Innite Marketing

TBD - Legal CounselTBD - Chair, Fin. & Budget

Community Relations Division (Blue)*Kathey Batey - Sr. Vice ChairTommy Brann - Brann’s Steakhouse & GrilleRichard Chrisman - Hungerford, Aldrin, Nichols &CarterJohn Schwartz - AT&TBrent Vander Kolk - Vander Kolk & Vander Kolk,.PLCLillian VanderVeen - Lenger Travel ServicesMember Relations Division (Red)*Matt Uhl - Vice ChairBetsy Artz - Loeks Theaters (Celebration Cinema)Skip Knapp - EdwardJones InvestmentsTom Kruisenga - The Kruisenga AgencyMembership Development Division (Gold)*Danna Mathiesen - Vice ChairBob O'Callaghan - Citadel BroadcastingJoel Iakiri - Business Interconnect Group, LLCFinancial Development Division (Green)*David Szidik - Vice ChairBrent Holland - Chameleon LtdCarol Crawford - The Alternative BoardDan Van Dyke - PDS Group LTDDenise Hughes - D2 MarketingRob Wells - Vantage Pointe Financial

Ex-Ofcio

Jack Poll - 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

January 2010By John J. Crawford, Jr.President & CEO

It's a Brand-New Decade!

With each New Year celebration, we take the time to craftnew plans and re-dedicate ourselves with renewed optimism.

With 2010 here, the rst decade of the 21st Century has

drawn to a close and we're launched into an entirely newdecade. While business challenges still remain large, let'suse this milestone to look forward to business and jobgrowth and renewed prosperity.When you look back over past decades, many successfulbusinesses, like Ford Motor Co (1903), Chevron Oil (1930),HP (1939) and Gentex (1974) were created during economicdownturns. Many millionaires beganbuilding their fortunes in cyclicaltroughs. This can be a great time tobuild your business! The Chamber will focus even more this year on helping create opportunitiesfor you to increase your sales. We'llalso work to line up workshops andspeakers who are succeeding to share with you ideas and managementstrategies that work.

Annual Meeting Shines a Bright Spotlight - SilentAuction Provides Great Values

Plan to join us on Friday, January 22 for the Chamber's29th Annual Meeting. Tony Noto and his crew will be hostingus at his beautiful Noto's Old World Italian DiningConference Center! Great networking with business andcommunity leaders, great values on items offered at theSilent Auction and, of course, the chance to recognizeoutstanding companies and individuals. We'll alsothank Todd Duncan of Consumers Energy and his 2009

Board of Directors for a terric Chamber year. Details at

SouthKent.Org.You'll also meet Norine Mulvihill from the AmericanDiabetes Assn, our 2010 Chamber Board Chair andhear her vision for a great 2010. Your Board of Directors works tirelessly all year long - along with more than 15

committees of Member volunteers - to bring you rm

extraordinary Membership value!I want to mention how proud I am, too, of the otherChamber staff members who help carry out the Chamber'smission each day. Janine Burns, Sue Bynum and Julie Janes-Brown have risen to meet many challenges in 2009and are looking forward to kicking off an awesome 2010!

The Chamber. Together, we'll all achieve more.

At least that's myOpinion by John

Community Turns Out for Chamber Santa Parade

Santa Claus and Janine Burns (staff liaison for the committee), pose at Brann's Steakhouse and Grille where Santa stopped after the parade for pictures with his fans.A young parade fan takes time to give Santa his wish list after the parade.Tommy Brann hosted Santa and invited everyone to bring cameras for pictures with our Guest of Honor.Santa came to town in his very own sleigh

mounted on a oat furnished by

Huntington Bank

. Thanks to all of the "elves" that rode with him as his escorts.Great big thank you to everyone who came out to march. We had 48 entries in this year's parade which lasted about an hour. Families from the Wyoming and Kentwood Area lined S. Division Avenue to get a glimpse of Santa and to wish our marchers Merry Christmas.

Celebration Cinema had a "Princess and the Frog" oat

complete with a pond and princes and princesses among the lilypads.Rogers High School Marching Band lines up to escort Santa to town. Rogers was one of four bands that participated this year.