Spring?

Dear Friend,  I Want to be Warm Even with a fresh blanket of snow on my lawn yesterday, Easter was spent enjoying the promise of Spring with brilliant sunshine and moments above 40 degrees. My brother's dog even took off his housecoat for a bit during his romp through the house and yard. Yet, again this morning, I am frozen. Has anybody seen that groundhog?

FCCQ COREX Roundup As I mentioned, last week I attended the FCCQ, the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce's launch of Programme COREX, their newest program to stimulate trade between Quebec and Northeastern US. For all intents and purposes, this is a web-based dating service for companies seeking international business partners. The first step will be to get the system loaded with interested partners. Then, you'll be able to connect with potential partners through a matching service. To get things started on your end - go to www.corexb2b.com and register your company. More will follow. What's Happening with That Bill - You know, that one? As we move faster and further into this legislative session, it is easy to lose track of what is happening with our favorite bill of the day. Everybody has their favorite tool or service to keep them abreast - I happen to like the VTDigger Tool "Statehouse Topic Tracker" - pretty easy to use and always up to date. It even has links directly into the Vermont General Assembly site.  Disaster Planning Workshop - A Success Host Steve Paddock did a wonderful job presenting the basics of "Disaster Recovery Planning." His calendar filled up pretty quickly with groups interested in meeting with him one on one to work on specific plans for local companies. Never too early to get your head wrapped around recovery planning. Contact the Chamber office and we'll get you in touch with Steve.  Did You Know? In 1931, after the local bank had closed, the Tenino (WA) Chamber of Commerce began to issue wooden coins backed by prominent citizens. Denominations of 25 cents, 50 cents, $1, $5 and $10 were made from local spruce trees. Proceeds from the sale were used to purchase back the bank and eventually convert the wooden standard back to the gold standard.

Please make a Chamber membership part of your success strategy. Thank you for your continued support of the Chamber in your community.

Dave Southwick