I am delighted to share that we added 42 new members to our Chamber roster during 2012. While many of these were brand new businesses to the area, such as O'Reilly Auto Parts and Memphis & Me, several were already located in the community and sought out Chamber membership as a good fit for their existing and growing businesses, such as Shirt Tales and Oxbow Golf Course.
For many, many years our Chamber motto has been "Chamber members support Chamber members." When new members join the Chamber we work diligently to communicate this information to our existing members. The goal is to encourage our existing members to connect with the new members.
For each business and organization, this "connection" takes a unique form it may be stopping by to patronize the new member, keeping them top-of-mind when a challenge presents itself that the new member can assist with, or seeking out the new members at a Chamber event to make introductions.
Whatever form it takes, I encourage our members to continue the tradition of supporting one another. Last year we launched a Lunch Mob initiative to support our restaurant members. This initiative expanded beyond the Chamber membership as we encouraged the general public to also patronize these establishments. In 2013, watch for more Lunch Mob as well as the launch of Cash Mob to support our retail members.
Thank you to the following businesses and organizations that joined the Chamber in 2013. We are delighted to have your support of our activities and the business community. More importantly, we are delighted to help support you in your endeavors!
Chichester Sound Machine
Control System and Instrumentation Consultants
Deborah A Dunbar, CPA
Defibrillators of West Virginia
Downtown PKB
Dunkin Donuts
Edward J. Alfred
Elite Signs
First Microloan of WV
Founders Finance
Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie 2307
Funderdome Laser Tag & Indoor Golf
GAK3 Enterprises
Green Kiwi Frozen Yogurt
Harbortouch Point of Sale
Hillbilly Sandwich Shack
Kangaroo Kid's Bounce House
Kozi Klutter
Le Colour Bar on Grand
Leadership & Life Potential, LLC
Memorial Health System
Memphis & Me
N. F. Mansuetto & Sons
National Youth Advocate Program
Nutrition Pit
O'Reilly Auto Parts (Division Street)
O'Reilly Auto Parts (Murdoch Avenue)
Orchid Floral Design
Oxbow Golf Course
Pars Brain & Spine Institute
Prudential Financial Services
RonsPickoftheWeek.com
Ross IES
Shirt Tales Imprinted Sportswear
Skyline Steel, LLC
Smith Orthodontics
St. Joseph's Ambulance Services
Suddenlink Business
Susan Gent, Avon representative
The Family Crisis Intervention Center
Third Street Deli
West Virginia Fine Photography
Complete contact information for each of these members, including phone, address and website, can be found under the "Member Directory" on the Chamber website at www.movchamber.org
Upcoming Events:
January Business After Hours at the Nutrition Pit: Tuesday, Jan. 15
January Lunch & Learn with The Arc of the Mid-Ohio Valley: Friday, Jan. 18
Register on-line at www.movchamber.org for either of these events. Pre-registration is always encouraged.
Visit this space every other Sunday for more Chamber news. We also invite you to call us at 304-422-3588, email us at info@movchamber.org, or stop by the Chamber office at 409 1/2 Market St. in Parkersburg.
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Jill Parsons is president/CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of the Mid-Ohio Valley.
