Resolutions circa 2016

Dear Friend ,   It's All About You Last week, I mentioned in passing that my daughter had shared a note that suggested that our resolutions for 2016 be focused outward. I am taking her wise advice and adding a splash of Chamber Joy!

Education, Legislation and Community Investment  In 2016, the Chamber resolves to provide you with additional opportunities to learn a tip or two that can help your business be more prosperous. We resolve to keep the lines of communications open with our county legislators during a year when the smallest vote could make the biggest difference. And we vow to provide you with joyous opportunities to spread your good company name over hill and dale.       Business Promotion and Networking Every chance we get we will be bragging about what a great benefit you provide to our visitors, shoppers, artists and people thinking about relocating to Franklin County. 2016 will be a year of knowing who you are and getting your name out there. Everybody loves a chance to network - meeting old friend, making new acquaintances and letting others know about the difference you can make. This year promises new hosts as well as new venues - come and check them out. Spreading the Good News In 2016 we will be bringing more education seminars, networking socials and community events to Enosburg, Swanton, Fairfax and beyond. Don't wait for us to call you, if you want to host an event - call us, we'll see you get a spot. In addition, we will be joining committees and attending important meetings in your neighborhood, looking for more ways to bring value to you - the member. Did I mention that I was excited? I'm excited! Did You Know? I told you about the live candle tradition on German Christmas trees last week. Did you also know that Firefighters were the highest paid profession in Germany during the months of November, December, and January?  Interestingly enough, after electricity was invented there was a drop off of seasonal German firefighters by 12,000%. Thanks, Aaron.

Please make a Chamber membership part of your success strategy. Join or Renew Today. And, thank you for your continued support of the Chamber in your community.

Dave Southwick

Something to Ponder...

Dear Friend ,   Merry and Bright As I have driven around the county over the last few weeks, I have noticed that the lack of snow has not kept people from decorating their homes or towns from lighting up their parks and street lamps. It is a special time of year no matter what or how you celebrate. It is a time of cheer and kindness for all.

Jumping Ahead  During this busy, crazy, chaotic time it is easy to get caught up in our own needs and desires. My daughter shared a link with me this morning that gently proposed that instead of focusing our new year's resolutions on things we plan to do for ourselves, that we turn our gaze outward and resolve to do more for the sake of those around us. In essence, take time to think of others first. Thank you dear.     Thinking of Others Luke was a physician, a man of intellect. He knew the ins and outs of the human body, how it is capable of handling physical and mental stresses and challenges. He writes of young Mary, a new mother, who some could argue has had the most chaotic and stressful holiday season of all. And as he ends his story of her stresses and challenges, he shares that Mary "...treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." I can't help but be in awe and wonder at the thought of someone caring so much for others that, in the midst of her own personal situation, she takes time to think of the impact on those around her. Amazing! Something for us all to ponder...  Did You Know? Christmas lights (also known informally as fairy lights) are a custom that goes back to the 18th century where candles were used to decorate the Christmas tree in homes in early modern Germany. Trees displayed publicly and illuminated with electric lights became popular in the early 20th century. By the mid-20th century, it became customary to display strings of electric lights along streets and on buildings as the decorations became detached from the tree itself. May your lights shine brightly!

Please make a Chamber membership part of your success strategy. Join Today. And, thank you for your continued support of the Chamber in your community.

Dave Southwick

Time of Thanks

Dear Friend ,   All On Board For the past two and one half years, our staff has been fortunate and blessed to have a magnificent Board of Trustees to guide us and provide a steady hand on the wheel of progress. They represent the salt and light of our community and are a constant reminder of what it takes to be successful while at the same time caring and compassionate.

Members of Gold I mention this many times in any given period, but it is a pleasure to work for such an enthusiastic group of Chamber members. Each day is filled with encouraging conversations, cordial welcomes and thought provoking challenges - all of which keep us coming back for more. We are unique in our mission in that we don't work for ourselves, we work for you.       Cast of Silver It is said that you can only be as good as the people you surround yourself with. Or that success is a function of a good team. In either case, we have a wonderful mix in our midst. Lisamarie keeps the front office and communications running like clockwork. She is a welcomed smile to all who venture through our doors or ring our phones. And on the toughest of days, she is a bright friend. Our Young Professionals team is so energetic that you simply have to wave your cup of coffee over them to get that extra jolt of caffeine. They are that bright light at the end of the tunnel. So Thank You As we slide into the holiday break, I want to express my sincerest thanks for the relationships that have been built, the seeds that have been planted, and the successes that we see each and every day. May 2016 fill your wildest dreams and may you find peace, joy and happiness in all you do.     Did You Know? Sometimes I get mushy.

Please make a Chamber membership part of your success strategy. Join Today. And, thank you for your continued support of the Chamber in your community.

Dave Southwick

Feeling Good

Dear Friend ,   Potpourri For 200 Where have I been...missed you...Happy Thanksgiving...hope your turkey was free range and large...what's with this weather...love the warm temps...miss the snow...thanks for a great Member & Friend Social...expect it again next year...Tractor Parade was awesome...love packed streets...Festival of Trees was OMG...hope you were able to go and that you took home a gorgeous tree...thank you to all who make Franklin County incredible.

Feeling Good Tip #1: Shop Local I have just conducted a Chamber of Commerce sanctioned social experiment. I stopped in five different local stores and bought at least one Christmas gift in each one. After the first store, I felt a smile growing that eventually became stuck to my face. Second store, I said hello to a complete stranger. Store three, I was giddy. Store four delivered my gift to my office, I became euphoric and hugged the delivery person. And store five, well, they had to throw me out for high-fiving...everyone. Thus proving that buying local is the #1 feel good tip of the season. Imagine what would happen if each of us were to buy two gifts in each store???? Yep, feeling good just dreaming about it.     Feeling Good Tip #2: Join or Re-join Your Chamber I know at first this might sound a bit selfish but stick with me for a minute. Not only does your membership support important local research (see Tip #1) but you will also be making a huge difference in Franklin County. Here's how it works. For every new member or membership renewal that comes in between now and the end of February, the Chamber will make a financial donation to the Watershed Mentoring Program. You heard me, a portion of your dues will go to help match needing kids with trained mentors and that has been shown to improve their chances for genuine success. Does that feel good or what? Check the mail, your renewal letter is there some place.     Did You Know? The supportive, healthy relationships formed between mentors and mentees are both immediate and long-term and contribute to a host of benefits for mentors and mentees. Benefits for youth: lower high school dropout rates; healthier relationships and lifestyle choices; enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence; improved behavior, both at home and at school; stronger relationships with parents, teachers, and peers; and decreased likelihood of initiating drug and alcohol use. Benefits for mentors: increased self-esteem; a sense of accomplishment; creation of networks of volunteers; and (my favorite) increased patience and improved supervisory skills. WIN-WIN!!!

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

Dave Southwick

Politicians and Great Food

Dear Friend,  Politicians and Great Food Really? In the same breath? Yep, now stick with me cause this might take some concentration. Here we go. You can read about politicians and their position on the issues and you can read about great food and how wonderful the critic claims the dish might have been. You can even listen to the same exchange on a radio station or watch it live on the television. But until you are in the same room with either one, you will never get a true read on what is in front of you.

Political Candidates Last week, I had my first opportunity to meet the five candidates running for the open seat of Vermont Governor. I sat in on an Economic Summit at ECHO - four were there in person and the fifth was televised. Each was given an opportunity to make a short presentation on their position regarding the issue and then the four that were in the room participated in a Q&A round robin. All quite civil, informative and well run by the host VTDigger.com. Had I just read the transcript of the evening, I would have been fed the sterile script of each response. But by actually being in the room with the candidates for a couple of hours, I gleaned much more than just their responses. How did they treat the people around them? How approachable were they? Did they present a different persona when chatting with a prospective voter than they did at the podium? In fact, did they use the podium or did they work the room? What did it feel like to shake their hand, look them in their eyes or hear their response to an invitation to visit Franklin County?  We are so fortunate in Vermont to have the incredible access to our political candidates. Therefore, it is imperative that each voter get out and meet the candidates face to face. I want to make some analogy to squeezing fruit and vegetables but I like my job.          Great Food  I bet you can see where I am going with this. If you want to really enjoy great food, you have to get out there and squeeze it, savor it, inspect it and taste it. You just can't take someone else's word for it, you have got to experience it for yourself. Kristen Hughes is the Healthy Roots Coordinate for Franklin and Grand Isle counties and has been working hard to facilitate access to locally sourced foods. Tomorrow afternoon (11/10) from 3:00 to 5:00 pm in the Hideaway at the Northwest Technical Center on the BFA St. Albans Campus, Kristen is hosting a Vermont Chefs and Farmer Forum where the "...intent is to open up a dialogue between local chefs and local farmers, in an attempt to promote the use of more local ingredients in your menus." Here is a chance for anyone involved in the food service industry to meet the local food producers and influence their plans for the 2016 growing season. Now I can say it, you can literally squeeze...  Contact Kristen at khughes@nmcinc.org to let her know you're coming. She will be thrilled to see you.   Did You Know? On Sept 26, 1960, Massachusetts Democratic Senator John F. Kennedy and Republican Vice President Richard M. Nixon face each other in the first nationally televised presidential debate. Kennedy arrived looking well-groomed and confident, while his opponent Nixon, who had just been released from the hospital after two weeks recuperating from a badly injured knee, appeared haggard and was sporting a "5 o'clock shadow" or light beard. Although he arrived in a wrinkled suit and appeared underweight and had a grayish pallor, Nixon refused the assistance of a makeup artist, a decision he likely later regretted. Kennedy clearly "won" the debate, a fact attributable to both his superior comfort level with the new communication medium and his "telegenic" good looks.

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

Dave Southwick

We Need Your Help

Dear Friend,  The Hardest Part is Asking We have reached that point where we need your help. In order for us to grow our Chamber outreach and programming we need to strengthen our membership numbers. And, we need your help to make that happen. Please take a minute and think of one business or organization that you feel would benefit from being a member of the Chamber and invite them to our Member Social this coming Thursday. We need your help.

Memberships Drive the Chamber Fact, the Regional Chamber of Commerce is one of the few organizations that exists with the single focus to promote the business, tourism and culture in our County. We have no other agenda - Lisamarie and I come to work each day to support you, period. Fact, I attend between 12-15 gatherings a month just to represent the best interest of the Chamber membership and to build relationships at meetings that members themselves cannot attend. Fact, the Chamber is funded completely by member dues and member sponsorship. We receive no outside funding. Fact, without you, there is no Chamber.      Is Membership Worth It?  Good question. All social research shows that membership in community organizations is driven by perceived value. For the past two years, our team has been working diligently to build a Chamber presence throughout the county that brings definite value to the membership. We divide our time into the critical areas that, in some way, meet the needs of every business and organization. Networking, education, legislation, community investment, communications and business promotion. Value? Yes, the Chamber IS working for you.     I Need Your Support Thursday night, 5:30 pm, in the Bliss Room - we will be hosting a Member/Guest Social to answer questions and share more about the value we being to the table. Free food, cash bar, sign ups and referral incentives. Please come, bring a friend, we want to keep building on a good thing. RSVPs Requested Did You Know? Society as a whole benefits enormously from the social ties forged by those who choose connective strategies in pursuit of their particular goals. We know from many studies that social capital can have what economists call "positive externalities." That is, quite apart from their utility in solving the immediate problem, interpersonal ties are useful for many other purposes. (Better Together, Robert Putnam)

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

Dave Southwick

Quick!!

Dear Friend,  Software, Can't Live Without It If you want to be successful in business then you have to find those three or four monster apps or software tools that just make your job that much easier. The days of doing everything by hand went out with churning butter. Not that I ever churned butter but I did crank out a few tubs of ice cream. And a pint of Ben & Jerry's Fish Food is still the way to go. But I digress...

Accounting for Idiots I know, right, idiots should not be doing accounting. But if you have the right tools, a little bit of computer common sense, the right software and a great accounting consultant well then you can do your own books. I am living proof. QuickBooks has saved my accounting bacon. And with a few tricks up my sleeve, thanks to my friend Gina Clark, I can even knock out the bills, reconcile the check books (yes, I saidbooks), make deposits, enter the payroll, produce the board reports and even generate an invoice. And you thought I was just another pretty face.      How Did That Happen?  Start by picking the right software - we use QuickBooks but their are others, then get a good consultant to train you up, use memorized transactions, keep good notes and make it a routine. It also helps to have manual close by for quick references on those tough to remember combinations of key strokes. In no time you will be doing the books without a nervous breakdown.    We'll Help You Out This week, our Strategies for Success Seminar is Quick Tips for QuickBooks featuring Gina Clark and her magical touch. Join us to get the inside scoop on just how easy it can be to accomplish the basics of small business bookkeeping. Note the new day,Wednesday, October 28 from 4:00 to 5:30 pm at the St. Albans Library on Maiden Lane. Reserve Your Spot Now - CLICK HERE. Did You Know? Before the first hapless accountant was called a 'bean counter' the phrase was also used as the name of a place where beans were sold, especially in the USA where 'pork and bean counters' were commonplace in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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

Dave Southwick