CHAMBER Quarterly BRIEFINGS & Updates
April 2, 2012

April 2, 2012

I want to remind everyone who is interested in the May 18 races to get your reservations in as it is now April and not too early to decide if you want to attend. I do have to let Churchill know numbers by the end of next week. E-mail, call or send by mail. $40 a person for seat on millionaire's row, lunch and snacks and program. A fun day for all. Also check your advertising fund and see if you can spare anything for a trophy or sponsorship for our Aug. car show. We need to get the flyers ready with your names on them, but we are far from being full. I will invoice you closer to the time, but I need commitments right now. Thanks to all who attended the Awards dinner Thursday. The food was great (thanks, Lisa Hill of Lisa's Cakes and Catering.), the program went well, and I hope you all are working to get new members. Have a great week and a wonderful Easter.

March 12, 2012

Good Morning, Again a reminder to send in your reservations for the Chamber dinner on March 29. When that date was chosen, I held my breath as I knew it was basketball tournament time, but I do not believe there are any games that evening. Come out and enjoy networking and seeing who receives the Chamber Awards this year. If you want to just e-mail me and I will put you down and you can pay at the door, but if you make a reservation and do not attend, expect an invoice as we have to pay for your meal.

We still need several car show sponsors--DJ, park rental, specialty trophies, etc. Just give me a call to see what you might want. Thanks to those who have already committed to sponsoring. I do need one more main sponsor. Bedford Loan and Deposit has again renewed their sponsorship.

If you are planning to attend the races on May 18, I need you to let me know how many tickets you think you will need and I need the money by April 12. I have to pay up front, and we have to have the money by then. Tickets, lunch and program on Millionaire's Row are $40.00. I hope you can join us for a lovely day at the races at Churchill Downs. Races start about 2:30 so you can still work and have fun as well.

Don't forget to vote for the Smoke Dr.s BBQ sauce-Smokedoctors.com and on Facebook

If you have a sale, a new product or whatever, let me know and we will send it to all members. Just in case you think people never check up on you when they are not familiar with you, I can tell you a quick story of a call I received last week from Texas. A gentleman was checking on a contractor who said he was from Eminence, but I can find no one who knows him. This is what I told him after I checked phone books and others who might have had contact with him. I bet he didn't get the job. People know that if a business is a member of the Chamber, a reference can be given, which helps get more business. A great reason to belong!!!

March 5, 2012

Good Morning, Just a few reminders about our upcoming events. Don't forget to send in your reservations for our March 29 dinner. All reservations must be done by March 22 as I have to let the caterer know numbers. If you are a new member and plan to attend, please let me know and of course you can bring someone, but they will need to pay the $20 for the meal. Those who have been nominated for an award will receive a letter this week letting them know of their nomination.
Car Show trophies are doing fairly well, but we still need some sponsorships. I hope you realize the vast advertising potential for this as your business and information will be spread over 10 counties. We need to have all the trophies sold before the car cruises begin as that is when we give out the flyers.

Our day at the races really needs to have some response so I am sure I have the right number of tickets. Just let me know if you plan to attend on May 18.

If you forgot to place your ad in the This is Henry Co. magazine, call Barbara at 845-2858 so you will get your 20% discount. Time is running out on this.

Home Grown Business Launches Contest Video

Henry County's own Smoke Doctors BBQ has entered Walmart's nationwide contest to discover new products. The contest is open to any kind of product that can be found on Walmart store shelves.  New products were entered into the "Get on the Shelf" contest by submitting a video showcasing each entry that had to be approved by Walmart. The Smoke Doctors video highlights both their Original and Hot and Spicy barbecue sauces.

The contest takes place in two phases. Phase One is from March 7th thru April 3rd, the public is invited to vote on line for the Smoke Doctors' entry. The top ten vote getters from Phase One then move on to Phase Two where voting is again tallied from April 11th thru April 24th. The Grand Prize Winner will have their product placed on Walmart shelves and on the Walmart website. You can view the video at Smokedoctors.com and on Facebook and YouTube beginning today. Individuals may vote as often as they wish, but it must be done manually, one vote at a time. No automated votes will be accepted.  (webmaster's note: Go see it, it is really fun and you might just see a face or two you know!)

The Smoke Doctors, who are proud of their Henry County roots, filmed their video locally, used Hatfield Media of New Castle for the video production and the music for the video was provided by the popular local band, Six Miles South. "We are very pleased with and excited about our video and hope all our friends and supporters and their Facebook friends will turn out in full force with their votes for our contest entry." states Tony Moffett who along with Mount Hadden and Jessica and Michael Wilkerson own and operate Smoke Doctors BBQ, LLC. "Vote early, vote often," added Hadden, "it will take just a huge amount of votes to be the big winner."
 

Mount, Tony and Michael would also like for you to know that they are ready to help you with your MARCH MADNESS entertaining needs, just give them a call.

I am so thankful we were spared the huge tornados last Friday, but it is so sad for those who were hit. I know many of you have had that experience and do not want it again. It was a scary day! Hope this week is much better.

Pat

January 24, 2012

Just a few updates from the Chamber:

We welcome Paul Hornback as our new Senator in the KY legislature. As you know, new district lines were drawn and this moved Senator Ernie Harris to another area and we now have Senator Hornback who lives in Shelby County. He is a farmer. He will be attending our March dinner so you will have an opportunity to meet him.

I have here at the office applications and information about the Citizens' Police Academy which will begin on Feb. 6 at the state police post. I know several people who have done this and they speak highly of the class. It is for 12 weeks on Monday evenings at 7:00. You even get an opportunity to ride with the trooper. There is no fee to be part of this, and if you wish to get an application, come by my office or go to the website at www.kentuckystatepolice.org to download a copy or call Trooper Brad Arterburn at 502-532-6363 or his cell at 502-758-1211.

Don't forget to send in your nominations for our Community Awards. I am again attaching the info for you and a nomination form. Please share this with anyone that might be interested. These are due by Feb. 6. The nomination can be done on any paper, as using the form is not required as long as the information is there.

I am still trying to find at least 6 people who would like to take the Leadership Henry Co. Class. I am going to try to start a class in April and run through Nov. If you are interested, please let me know. The tuition is $200 which covers food (2 meals each meeting), some transportation, and other expenses. Your employer must give permission for you to be off 1 day a month and also may pay your tuition if they wish. You will be amazed at the information you will learn about the county that you may have thought you knew well.

Hope you week goes well! Pat

January 16, 2012

Don't forget to send in your nominations for the Awards dinner on March 29 that the Chamber sponsors each year. If your business would like to sponsor an award and have your business name on it and present it to the winner, give me a call. There is a sponsorship charge of $100 but you will receive a ticket to the dinner. The dinner is sponsored by Farmers Deposit Bank in Eminence. If you would like to sponsor an award, let me know by Jan. 31 as they have to be ordered with your business name on it. There are 7 awards: Outstanding Farmer, Chamber Member, Emergency Service Personnel, Educator, Business Person, Business Beautification, and Outstanding Citizen.

We also would like an appetizer sponsor. One of the reasons to be a member of the Chamber is the opportunity to get your name out there and show the communities you really care about Henry Co. Sponsorship is one of the ways to do this. Thanks to all who have helped with the many opportunities for sponsoring in the past, and I hope all members will give some thought to helping with this.

January 12, 2012

Just a few updates along with the Chamber's congratulations to Chuck and Mary Smith on their awards. Chuck has done a great job on his wine and Henry Co. should be proud of his work. (See an excerpt.)

Also on Jan.28 at 2 p.m. Donna Duncan will present the 2011 Ky Heritage Quilt Society Quilt Challenge Quilts at the Henry Co. Public Library at 172 Eminence Terrance. The event is free and open to all ages. If you cannot make that one, they will be shown again at Twin Oaks Assisted Living in New Castle on Jan. 25 at 1:30. This is a great opportunity to see some amazing quilts!

Our date for the March dinner has been set for March 29 (Thursday). This is our awards dinner and is a great dinner to sponsor as we usually have a great group attending. Sponsorships run $500 for the entire sponsorship or $250 for a partial sponsorship. This helps the Chamber keep the budget in line. You receive 4 tickets for the whole sponsorship and 2 for a partial and also your name is on the invitation and program and you have time on the program to tell everyone about your business. Call me at either 641-1512 or 845-0806 if you want to sponsor the dinner or just e-mail me. Don't forget to send in your nominations for the awards. They are due by Feb. 6.

Eminence Education Foundation will have their annual fund raising dinner for scholarships and classroom grants on Feb. 11th at the Eminence School Gym. Please check this out as it is really a good dinner and the silent auction as well as the live auction is a lot of fun. Call Karen Paris at 269-0012 for tickets or to make an auction donation.

We are also planning our annual car show for August. Trophies will be $25, and we need you!! I will be sending out info on the specialty trophies and sponsorship opportunities in the next few weeks. Stay safe and warm as we get some winter weather. Pat

January 5, 2012

Good morning, I cannot believe a year has passed since we did our award nominations. I am attaching the criteria for the various awards and a nomination form, but if you choose to use regular paper for your submission, it is fine. You may nominate yourself or someone or business you think is a good candidate. The dinner honoring nominees and winners will be the end of March. Anyone is eligible as long as they meet the criteria. A couple of the nominations are for chamber members only (chamber member and business person), but the rest are open to the community. Share your info with friends and family as we would like a good sampling of our communities.

Also at our board meeting, the board decided that our car show trophies would be $25 for sponsorship. You may sponsor as many as you wish. Great advertising and you really help our the chamber. We also need presenting sponsors. Call me at 845-0806 if you are interested. I will be sending out all the sponsorship opportunities very soon.

Thank you for all you do to keep the Chamber as the main body promoting pride and progress in Henry Co. You all are great! Pat

January 2, 2012

Good Morning,

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. The Chamber hopes 2012 will be an improvement over 2011.

If you are working on your company's budget for 2012, I sincerely hope you can allot money to be a sponsor of trophies for our car show or be a presenting sponsor. This is great advertising as the flyers are distributed in numerous counties at car cruises and shows all over the area. Another way to get your name out there is to sponsor a dinner or event that we will have in 2012. Without sponsorships, we will be forced to raise our dues (which is something we do not want to have to even think about). We will have 3 dinners, our Harvest Showcase breakfast, our car show in August, a lunch, and new ideas of what you might want are welcome. We also will have a membership drive, and we will need all members to help with this. More details on this will be sent later. Also if you want to sign up as a sponsor of any of our events, you can do so right now to be certain you get the one you want.

March is our awards dinner and we will be getting information to you on this after our Jan. board meeting. June will feature a speaker as will the September dinner and Nov. lunch. If you sponsor an event, you receive 4 tickets for a $500 sponsorship and 2 tickets for a $250 sponsorship. You also have time on the program to share info and/or provide company advertising to attendees (pens, notepads, clips etc.) and your company's name is all over the program. Call me at 845-0806 or my cell at 641-1512. Remember, if your business is having a sale or event, let me know and I will share it with the members.

Don’t forget to send me YOUR breaking news. My e-mail is  or call 845-0806 or my cell at 502-641-1512.