June 2012 - Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce

THE
CHAMBER
CHATTER
Volume 5
Issue 4
June 2012
It’s Half Time!
No don’t worry you haven’t missed summer and it is not quite football
season...yet...but summer, or “half time” if you will, is a perfect time to do a check up
on your performance and get your “game plan” in order for the second half!
The football coach will motivate and direct his team at the half. He is able to assess the
action and evaluate changes that need to be made based on the first half of the game.
In this tight economy doing a mid-year business check up could be very beneficial.
Although @70% of businesses are reported as doing “good”, most are still waiting for a
better reading on the uncertainty of the economy to plan new products or expansions.
Do not let the uncertainty stall out your growth, innovation and creativity! There are
things you can do to ensure a successful 2012. A performance review mid year can help
you recognize areas of concern or growth.
Have you gained the yards expected? Meaning...are you sticking to your budget, have
you improved performance goals or efficiency? What about profitability? If not it may
be time to reassess your strategies to ensure the outcome you expect. With the changes
in taxes for 2012, a mid year tax review could ensure you will not have surprises in the
final seconds.
Are you aware of your “competitor’s behavior”? What is your competition and
industry doing? If you do not know what your competitors are doing then how can you
set up your defensive game? Knowing who to block and where is essential. It might be
time for a strategic marketing plan but do your research by checking stats!
Are you creating an “EXPERIENCE” for your customers? Bottom line... what reasons
are you giving them to do business with you again. Providing an experience for the
customer is important in building your business relationship. Create experiences
customers remember, want to talk about, and in the end want to be “loyal” to.
Take advantage of “Half Time” and relook at your “Game Plan”! This is wear you
should motivate your team and decide if your running game or passing game was more
effective.
2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
BUSINESS AFTER HOURS
July 26, 2012
5:30-7:00pm
WPAQ Sundown Serenade
2147 Springs Road
Mount Airy, NC 27030
October 25, 2012
5:30-7:00pm
JEEM Farms, LLC
129 Quesinberry Road
Pinnacle, NC 27043
November 15, 2012
5:30-7:00 pm
Cross Creek Country Club
1129 Greenhill Road
Mount Airy, NC 27030
SEMINARS
Business Academy Monthly Educational Series
Upcoming Seminar dates and topics
July 10
Aug. 14
Sep. 11
Oct. 9
Nov. 13
Unemployment Insurance
Independent Contractor VS. Salary Employee
Workforce Respect
TBD
Holiday Parties VS Risk
HRCI Credits
HRCI Credits
HRCI Credits
PROGRAMS
August 30, 2012
3:00-5:00 Speed Networking
5:00-6:00 Social
Speed Networking
Cross Creek Country Club
1129 Greenhill Road
Mount Airy, NC 27030
September 13, 2012
11:30am lunch
1:00pm Tee Time
Chairman’s Cup 11th Annual Golf Outing
Cross Creek Country Club
1129 Greenhill Road
Mount Airy, NC 27030
October 12, 13, 14, 2012
9am – 9pm Fri. – Sat.
12noon-6:00pm Sun
46th Annual Autumn Leaves Festival
Downtown
Mount Airy, NC 27030
November 29, 2012
5:30pm Sponsor Reception
6-8:00pm Social & Silent Auction
BLACK Thursday Social & Silent Auction
Cross Creek Country Club
1129 Greenhill Road
Mount Airy, NC 27030
MEETING
January 24, 2013
6:00pm social
6:45pm dinner
52nd Annual Meeting
Cross Creek Country Club
1129 Greenhill Road
Mount Airy, NC 27030
The Mid-Year Review: Is your business growing
from slow burn or fast burn activities?
Until this year – I’ve kept my business and growth under wraps.
Why? Well, it’s because I didn’t feel like it was “enough” to share with anyone –
and was a bit shameful about the lack of growth too.
And if you think it’s easy working with a successful business while growing your
own “not just yet” exploding business – well, you’re wrong.
Everytime I look LKR’s numbers – I think about my own. I can’t help it.
And I bet you watch people too – wondering how they got where they are.
How does business growth REALLY happen?
You’ve probably seen all the reports of people building their list to 5 or 6k in 3
months and wonder – I’m cool, too, why can’t I grow my list like that?
What you don’t see is the networking, relationships, work, content creation,
thought, strategy and sweat that is generally happening behind the face of that
shiny entrepreneur.
This year has shown me the value of all those things – not in excess but in being
able to find the most effective way to grow my business without killing myself –
and holding down a more than full time job.
Being effective everyday is what has taken for me to see the steady growth spurt
I’m finally experiencing.
So – today – I want to share with you the elements that have caused my subscriber
list to grow faster than it has in the 3 years I’ve written on this blog and allowed
me to start making an actual income from my knowledge about business, launching, and project management.
I’ve used a combination of slower burning, marathon-like activities and faster, easier to see results fast strategies to create a business I can handle RIGHT NOW.
The Slow Burn
The strategies that build on each other, that stick around, the have long term,
lasting results are ones that over time create a compound interest effect in
business. Here are the ones that I’ve used most often and most successfully:
1. Guest Posts + Contributed Posts
I started guest posting in 2010 – first on LiveWell360.com, pilates industry
sites, and other health sites. This is when my voice and focus weren’t exactly
right yet. Though I am passionate about health and fitness topics, I was trying
to speak to a large, diluted audience.
In 2011 – my outreach got tighter – and I had posts on SimpleMom.net, The
Mogul Mom, and other sites that were getting me closer to my peeps. They
also got me clear sales for an ebook that I published in Fall 2011.
In 2012 – I amped up everything – had a clear focus for my guest posting –
started writing as a regular contributor on The Mogul Mom and then had
guest posts on big sites like TinyBuddha, PickTheBrain, LauraRoeder.com.
Over the years – the subscribers and traffic from these efforts have been
spikes for sure, but only after I focused my site and guest posted on topics related to my site, only then did I get more of a rush of subscribers for each
post.
2. Ongoing education and relationship building
I take lots of courses and some of them I become friends and get to know the
inner workings of the people who created the product or program. That’s just
the way I am. I like to connect past the training. This is one of those organic
things that happens as a result of me investing in my ongoing education.
3. Social Media
This year – I’ve made it a point to balance out sharing links and promoting
my work with getting to know people who retweet, share, link, like my
work. It’s proven to be a really great way to get leads and meet some amazing
people. Some have become clients – some have become friends… some
BOTH.
The Fast Burn
These are activities, systems or strategies I put into place and saw immediate
returns in the form of money, subscribers, and engagement.
1. Released Fearless Launching
Launching a program brings attention to you and your business even if it’s your
first time. I released the first round of this program using a very quiet approach
– no spiffy launch videos – just 4 blog posts with useful content about launching and then a webinar. Not only did I hit my mark for 1st time numbers in the
program, but I got a lot of new sign ups who are interested in Fearless Launching 2.0.
2. Launched a group coaching program to customers of Fearless Launching
As Fearless Launching was coming to a close, I knew I wanted to continue
working with a smaller subset of the larger group in the program. I sent out 2
emails detailing a simple coaching program — part group calls, part individual
check-ins. I limited it to only 6 people since I’d never done this type of program before… and it was sold out overnight – along with 2 additional people I
let in after!
3. Created The Launch Toolkit
I knew for awhile that my site was missing an optin. So, with a little inspiration from ThinkTraffic.net and LiveYourLegend.net, I decided to put together
my own toolkit of resources about launching. Since putting the resource up –
I’ve had a steady stream of signups every single day – ranging from 5 – 30 in
any single day. Prior to this… I had signups usually only around a webinar or
after a guest post. Now – it’s consistent.
4. Hosted Webinars
Offering 2 free classes – one on launching and one on building virtual teams
was the best thing I’ve ever done – and will continue to use… It gives you
those necessary spikes in traffic and subscribers that you dream of if you’ve got
little to no action in your aweber account.
In addition to being a great way to reach people and share my knowledge, it
was fun! I love teaching what I know…and it was interesting to see the response to the two different presentations – one promoting a product launch, the
other content only.
The Dirty Deets
Since I’m not in the business of comparison or bragging, but I do want to share
some idea of my growth, here are the main growth points I look at most often.
This is not an exhaustive list of stats to help you track your business but the ones
most people understand and look at when monitoring successes.
How much has my business actually grown?
 Traffic – up 36% this month and growing every month!  Subscriber Growth – spikes and peaks but an average of 8% per month (12%
this month so far – and the month isn’t even ½ over!)  Sales – well, 100% growth since I released my first program in February/
March. Sold out the group coaching program – though I did limit it to a very
small group. Sales conversion – There weren’t a ton of eyes on the first program – which
made my conversion much higher than normal – 10%! This makes me really
happy – since the connection with you is what’s one of my highest indicators of
success. 44% of these 10% opted to continue working with me in my group
coaching program. Cool, eh? Rules of business growth no matter what methods you use:
➡Give your absolute best content no matter if you are launching a product or
teaching a live class with no sales pitch or writing a blog post.
➡Understand that your business grows at the rate you can handle it. Believe it or
not, no matter how hard you push – if you don’t have room for that explosive
growth – you won’t get it.
➡Use a combination of slow burn and faster burn activities to see maximum and
consistent growth.
And the woo woo rule – Give more without expecting anything in return and let
go of the outcome (just a wee bit).
Now, take a look at your own business and list all the activities you’ve been doing to put your business on the success track. Are you focused on the slower
burning activities or do you spend your time on the faster burn ones?
WELCOME NEW CHAMBER MEMBER!
Across the Board Games
Across the Board Games is located at 449 North Andy Griffith
Parkway Mount Airy, NC 27030. Phone 336-410-4517. For additional information visit the website at
www.acrosstheboardgames.com
Across the Board Games was established in April 2011 and is
owned by husband and wife team, Jimmie and Brooke Johnson.
Across the Board Games is a fun, family friendly environment game
store.
Across the Board Games offers weekly events for ALL ages and
ALL tournaments are officially sanctioned. Trade - Ins are WELCOME!
If you love electronic games, board games, card games, you will
love Across the Board Games!
Across the Board Games
449 North Andy Griffith Parkway
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-401-4517
www.acrosstheboardgames.com
Welcome
NEW CHAMBER MEMBER!
The Cleaning Lady
Located at 263 Crimson Leaf Lane Mount Airy, NC 27030.The
Cleaning Lady is a commercial and residential cleaning company
that was established in 2011 by co-owners Donna Stanley (Phone
336-648-0049) and Amanda Puckett (Phone 336-710-7802).
The Cleaning Lady is fully insured, offers Free estimates, specializes in deep cleaning and homes with pets. The Cleaning Lady
also helps with reorganizing closets, cabinets, garages, basements, etc.
Do you need some help with organization? Do you need some
help with regular house cleaning or some help with a special
cleaning project? Just call The Cleaning Lady!
The Cleaning Lady 263 Crimson Leaf Lane Mount Airy, NC 27030 336-648-0049 or 336-710-7802 Welcome
NEW CHAMBER MEMBER!
Kids Go Round
Kids Go Round is a very new business established June 1, 2012 and is
located at 1217 West Lebanon Street (next door to Food Lion) Mount Airy,
NC 27030. Phone 336-786-1067. Kids Go Round buys and sells new and
slightly used children’s clothing and children's items. Co-Owners of this new
business are Michael Herlocker and John Mitchell.
In Michael’s own words:
The idea for our store came about several years ago. Two families have
joined together to open our own children's store. Our Kids Go Round family
started with the Herlocker's, Mitchell's, Norman's, and the Perez families.
With having so many children in our third generation, we see how quickly
kids clothing and essentials are outgrown and rarely used. Kids Go Round
buys and sells new and slightly used clothing and children's items. We offer
cash for the things we accept, so it gives our customers a way of getting
paid for cleaning out their closets.
We chose Mount Airy for our first store because of the small family oriented
town and its surrounding communities. Everyone has been so helpful and
encouraging in getting the store open. Local business owner Tom Webb
has helped in getting our location and introducing us to so many people.
We are now open to buy your children's best used items. We plan to open
our doors to sell in mid-July. Kids Go Round has already donated clothes
and other items to local churches. Many of our customers donate some of
the items we cannot buy. If you have a group in need of similar donations
please contact us. A ribbon cutting/grand opening is planned for later this
summer.
Kids Go Round
1217 West Lebanon Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-786-1067
Welcome
NEW CHAMBER MEMBER!
Harvest Grill
Harvest Grill- Located at 230 Cabernet Lane, Dobson, NC
27017. Phone 336-366-3590 or visit www.sheltonvineyards.com.
General Manager/Chef- Paul Lange, VP of Finance- Crystal
Branch and Manager- Lisa Johnson invite you to experience
Harvest Grill, established in 2005.
Harvest Grill, located on the grounds of Shelton Vineyards, offers
upscale dining with a bistro style atmosphere, with an enclosed
patio as well as an intimate dining room.
Harvest Grill at Shelton Vineyards invites you to relax in the
Yadkin Valley and entertain your palate with a wide array of food
and fabulous wines. From the patio, guests enjoy overlooking the
grapevines and kitchen garden that provides some of the fresh
and local ingredients found in the restaurants delectable dishes.
Open Monday - Thursday 11a.m.-9p.m., Friday - Saturday 11a.m.10p.m. and Sunday - 11a.m.-5p.m. (11a.m.-6p.m., Daylight
Savings Time). Chef Paul features Sunday Brunch every Sunday!
Harvest Grill
230 Cabernet Lane
Dobson, NC 27017
336-366-3590
www.sheltonvineyards.com
Welcome
NEW CHAMBER MEMBER!
Bello Vino
Bello Vino –Bello Vino is the newest restaurant to open in Surry
County and is more than a Brick Oven Pizzeria! Located at 134
Twin Oaks Road Dobson, NC 27017. Phone 336-353-9405 or
visit www.sheltonvineyards.com.
Bello Vino offers diners the creativity and delicious fare of Chef
Paul in a very casual atmosphere. In addition to pizzas, pastas
and Italian entrees, diners have access to a full bar featuring
beer, cocktails, specialty drinks and of course Shelton Wines.
From the bar patio you are able to enjoy a beautiful Surry County
sunset.
Hours are as follows: Monday – Closed, Tuesday-Thursday 11:00
Am - 10:00 PM, Friday-Saturday 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM and
Sunday - 11:00 AM - 9 PM.
Bello Vino
134 Twin Oaks Road
Dobson, NC 27017
336-366-9405
www.sheltonvineyards.com
Welcome
NEW CHAMBER MEMBER!
Mount Airy Meat Center
Mount Airy Meat Center – Located at 133 Old Buck Shoals
Road Mount Airy, NC 27030. Phone 336-786-2023. Established in
1997 by owners, Gray and Kathy Gwynn. The management staff
includes; John Fosner, Cindy Sprague and Cody Spurlin.
Mount Airy Meat Center is a full service meat market specializing
in high quality meats and fish. They feature a wide variety of
custom cut beef, pork, poultry and ground beef.. …..fresh ground
beef patties are made each day. Mount Airy Meat Center custom
cuts to YOUR specifications! Many of our local restaurants
demand the finest quality meat products and supplies and they do
business with the Mount Airy Meat Center.
The sales floor at Mount Airy Meat Center has a large variety of
produce, high quality frozen items, and specialty sauces and rubs.
A visit to the Mount Airy Meat Center guarantees that your beef
choice for your cook- out or your next family gathering is the highest quality available!
When you want the best ….Mount Airy Meat Center is the place to
go!
Mount Airy Meat Center
133 Old Buck Shoals Road
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-786-2023
Bruce Maxwell- CFO Elastrix, LLC Presenter at Chamber of
Commerce monthly Business Academy
Business Leadership, Culture and Politics: The Art of Creating Ownership was the topic of the June
12th Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce Business Academy, a monthly educational series.
Bruce Maxwell, CFO – Elastrix, LLC was the presenter and the Surry County Economic Development
Partnership sponsored the seminar held at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Mount Airy.
Bruce Maxwell was a compelling speaker. He was able to deliver a wealth of information that was
absorbed by all of us like we were sponges! With a Masters in Business and years of experience in
the private sector, the last twenty-five spent in Silicon Valley, Bruce Maxwell stated that Elastrix, LLC(new
company located in Pilot Mountain that will employ unique technology to re-use rubber) is his seventy-six
business start-up and seventy of them no longer exist. Bruce stated how important it is for a manager to
catch someone early in their career and to begin grooming them for a leadership role. Out of all of the
monthly series we have hosted, this was by far the very BEST presentation and we thank Bruce for
sharing Business Leadership, Culture and Politics: The Art of Creating Ownership with our
membership! Below are a few of the highlights from his presentation.
Highlights from the Leadership Section
Leadership is the process of enrolling people in a vision and then empowering them to create/realize
it.
Command verses Leadership- command derives from power of the commander and the fear of the
commander. Leadership derives from the vision of the leader and the willingness of the led.
Styles of Leadership include: authoritative- my way or the highway style; visionary- strong vision for
the company and this style requires a buy-into the vision by everyone; charismatic-most powerful
style…because you follow this person; consensual- builds a consensus with the team and aligns
them; delegational-judges character to delegate the tasks; absentee- not paying attention and makes
no decision..often seen in second generation business leaders.
The Role of the CEO is first to create vision. That communication flows from the top down. Hiring the
team, setting the incentives, coaching, driving the plan and allocating resources. In a recent poll 94%
of those employed hate their jobs.
Leadership Traps like-you are the company attitude, the inability to delegate, refusal to accept
criticism and input, fear of competent subordinates, showing favoritism, doing things the same old way
and not knowing when to let go of and move out to the way were discussed.
Leadership Skills include – being able to separate yourself from the company. One half of success is
purely luck! Leverage and maximize the talents of the employees hire professionals and get out of the
way. Listening skills are the most important quality a leader can have. Surround yourself with more
talented people and just run the team and to always be fair.
Phases of Leadership, Motivating The Team & Creating Ownership, and Nurturing Yourself followed
in the Leadership section of the seminar.
Highlights from the Business Culture Section
The Business Culture is a set of norms for how people interact in the workplace. Create a Culture
where communication flows from the top down, deliberate verses accidental action, nice people
can finish first, every employee is an owner and the millipede effect were points discussed.
Maintaining a Culture – where there is employee trust, talk to employees, off site events and
activities that may include employee families, listen to employees and engage them, acceptance
of suggestions and criticism, praise employees publicly, challenge people, ask employees how
they would fix a problem, be approachable, along with top management behavior were
discussed. Bruce noted that Call Centers loose 5% of their employees each month and by year
end 60% are gone due to the business culture of that industry. Cultural Phases, and the
Corporate Constitution completed the section on Business Culture.
Join us for our next Business Academy, a monthly educational series held the second Tuesday
of each month beginning at 8:30am at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites. Our next seminar is
Tuesday July 10, 2012 and the topic will address unemployment insurance.
Corporate culture viewed as important by most employers,
but measured by few.
By News Reports
June 20, 2012
Companies that measure corporate culture have more engaged and committed
employees, according to the results of a study from Critical Metrics, LLC. The
findings also revealed that although most employees and senior leaders think that
measuring corporate culture is important, few companies measure it, and even
fewer do it well.
Forty-six percent of the 236 management and human resources professionals
from U.S.-based companies who participated in the study said that their company
measures culture. In those companies that measured culture, only 57% of
employees thought their leadership team did a good job of doing so.
The findings also highlighted the benefits of measuring culture. Companies that
measured culture have employees who understood the culture and were aligned
in their view of that culture. Both, cultural understanding and alignment are
linked to important business outcomes.
When employees were aligned in their view of culture, good things were
happening. Of those employees who thought that their views of culture were
similar to the views of leadership, 85% reported being committed to the
organization (compared to 48% of those who perceived misalignment) and 87%
reported being satisfied with the organization (compared to 33% of those who
perceived misalignment). When employees report cultural alignment, they are
less likely to leave.
Similarly good things were happening in organizations where employees
understood organizational culture. Employees who understood organizational
culture were more committed to and satisfied with the organization, were less
likely to leave in the next year, and were also more likely to recommend the
organization as a great place to work.
If measuring culture is beneficial, why doesn’t everyone do it?
The most common reasons companies did not measure culture had to do with
not seeing the need to do so. Twenty-two% of participants thought that their
company did not need to measure culture. Another 20% of participants said
that the leadership of their company did not think it was important to measure
culture or that it was not a priority. Other responses included “We don’t know
how to do that” or “We hadn’t thought of it before.” Only a few participants
talked about such reasons as lack of resources or people.
“It seems that companies are paying lip service to culture,” said Critical
Metrics President David Youssefnia. “Everyone talks about how important
culture is, and the results of our study show us the great benefits of measuring
culture and having an aligned culture. Yet, few actually dedicate time to
measuring and understanding their culture. Those companies that do focus on
culture (think Southwest Airlines and Zappos.com) continue to benefit from
having strong cultures with increased customer loyalty and stronger internal
and external brands.
“But before culture can become a competitive advantage for your company,”
he continued, “it needs to be understood and reinforced within your
organization, and culture measurement is the first step in this process. Our
study’s results show us that not measuring and monitoring your culture can be
a costly mistake. Clearly culture matters. Culture is becoming one of the most
powerful competitive differentiators for recruiting and retaining talent and
building a strong internal and external brand.”
The study, conducted in the spring of 2012, included responses from 236
management and human resources professionals from U.S. companies with
100 to over 5,000 employees. Participating companies came from a
cross-section of industries including health care and social assistance,
educational services, business consulting, manufacturing, and finance and
insurance. The study focused on issues related to the measurement and
perceptions of organizational culture, cultural alignment between employees
and senior leadership, employee work engagement and business performance.
Critical Metrics, LLC, is a Seattle-based consulting firm that helps clients
understand what drives employee and customer success.
Dr. Leslie Stoklosa, Chiropractor Holds Ribbon Cutting and Open House
“I felt it was finally time”, said Dr. Leslie
Stoklosa. “Opening a practice has been
a dream for a while.” “Dr. Leslie” has
been in chiropractic and nutrition
practice in Mount Airy, NC since 2008
with White Sulphur Springs Chiropractic
Services and Choice Physical Therapy
and Wellness. She received her
Doctorate of Chiropractic and Master's
degree in Applied Clinical Nutrition from
New York Chiropractic College. While
working hard building her client list, she
has been very committed to supporting
the Local Business Community. Dr.
Leslie is very active in The Greater
Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce as a
Member and Ambassador. She is also involved with BNI Platinum Producers, a local networking
group. After much support from the community she felt it was finally time to turn a small dream into
reality. On April 27th Dr. Leslie held her official Ribbon Cutting and Open house with incredible
attendance from Chamber Members at her new location 304 E. Independence Boulevard, Suite 202,
Mount Airy, NC.
Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce Chairman of The Board, Dennis Lowe, congratulated Dr.
Leslie for her hard work and wished her much success. City Manager Barbara Jones who cut the
ribbon also celebrated and welcomed Dr. Leslie as a new business in Mount Airy.
Family, Friends, and Chamber Members were invited in for refreshments and a tour of her new
office. Dr. Leslie provides chiropractic care for those in pain and those that want to prevent health
problems in the future. There is conservative use of hands-on treatment for faster results and less
money out of your pocket. Her primary focus is treating the spine with chiropractic care. Symptoms
that may be treated by Dr. Leslie include: low back pain, neck pain, headaches, shoulder pain, knee
pain, sciatica, numbness and tingling in the arms and legs and colic in newborns.
Dr. Leslie Stoklosa, chiropractic physician, serves Surry, Stokes, Rockingham, Forsyth and Yadkin
counties in North Carolina, and Grayson, Patrick, Carroll, Wythe and Floyd counties in Virginia. She
offers affordable pricing and one-on-one scheduling to maximize your busy schedule. Regular office
hours are available by appointment on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
If you are experiencing pain and think that you have tried
everything there is, call Dr. Leslie's office today to see how
her services can help you live a more healthy and fulfilling
life!
Dr. Leslie Stoklosa, Chiropractic
304 E. Independence Boulevard, Suite 202
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-429-5147
http://www.facebook.com/drlesliestoklosa
Ribbon Cutting Held at The Painted Palace Kids Spa and Boutique
The Official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held on Friday May 4, 2012 at The Painted Palace Kids
Spa and Boutique located at 125 East Oak Street Mount Airy, NC 27030. Owner Sherry Hardy with
the help of her family and close friends transformed an ordinary space into a sensational “Beauty
Retreat” for young girls! The Painted Palace Kids Spa and Boutique is truly a unique shop to the
downtown area; catering to a very niche market of very young girls up to early teens. The Painted
Palace is the perfect place for a young girl’s birthday party with several of her closest friends, the
perfect place for a team or group celebration, the perfect place to pamper any young girl…..the
perfect gift for anytime…. A Girls Day Out at The Painted Palace Kids Spa and Boutique!
Over forty Chamber Members and guests attended the Ribbon Cutting and Open House event and
thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Some guests brought their children and some brought their
grandchildren to experience the new spa and boutique. Mayor Deborah Cochran, City
Commissioners Dean Brown, Scott Graham, and Steve Yokeley, City Community Development
Coordinator Martin Collins, and DBA President Phil Marsh were in attendance along with two Very
Special guests, Mrs. Marjorie Rees and Congressman Howard Coble.
Sherry Hardy, Alledia Hess and staff invited guests into The Painted Palace that was decorated in
bright pinks, lime greens, and shades of turquoise accented with zebra stripes, sparkles and glitter.
The Painted Palace Boutique was a shopper’s paradise filled with items for sale like monogrammed
totes, flowers for the hair, head bands, jewelry of all kinds, body and hair glitter, tiaras for special
little Princess, feathers, peace signs, dress-ups outfits and so much more!
The Painted Palace Kids Spa and Boutique offers so many pampering services for young girls or for
a group of young girls! Manicures, pedicures, facials, foot and hand soaks and massages, body
glitter, head feathers and more.
Birthday packages available that include special treatment for the Birthday Girl….Honoree gets to
wear a crown and a plush robe; each of her guests adorned in a robe and each served a sparkling
drink. No birthday is complete without a trip to the party room for a private party complete with
cupcakes!
Celebrate the “Girls” in your family with an experience that will last a lifetime…….A Girls Day Out at
The Painted Palace Kids Spa and Boutique!
“A Girls Day Out”
The Painted Palace Kids Spa and Boutique
125 East Oak Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
(336) 719-0772
Chamber Business After Hours Event Held at The EARLE
On Thursday May 10, 2012 The Surry
Arts Council hosted a Chamber Business After Hours Event at The EARLE
Theatre located at 142 North Main
Street Mount Airy, formerly known as
the Downtown Theatre.
The theme of this event was to celebrate the Top Ten Things to do at The
Earle! Some of the things you can
do…. Play a Fiddle, Eat Popcorn, Watch
a Documentary, Check out the Memorabilia, Take an Audio Guided Tour, etc. Being in The EARLE brought back memories for a
lot of us…..and how special a trip to the movie theatre was… growing up!
Surry Arts Council Executive Director - Tanya Jones, Operations Director - Lynn Hinson,
along with Theater Operator- Ken White lured guests into the theatre lobby with the
delicious aroma of movie theater popcorn! Lynn and Ken worked feverously keeping up
with the demand from the guests as we all sought out our own bag of freshly popped
popcorn and a soda to wash it down with. Alan Connolly, Swanson Snow, Emmitt Forrest,
Jack Loftis, Nancy Malone were among the SAC Board Members who welcomed and
greeted guests as they arrived.
Over sixty guests moved to the theatre for a short program where they were entertained
by the young musicians in the fiddle and guitar class taught by Jim Vipperman who has
worked with the SAC for over 10 years. Chairman of the Board Dennis Lowe thanked
everyone for attending the event and introduced Alan Connolly President of the Surry Arts
Council Board who spoke briefly about the Surry Arts Council and the programs it
provides to our community. He thanked the SAC Volunteers and the SAC Board Members
who are so dedicated to the mission of the arts council and bringing the arts to the
community. Tanya Jones, the Executive Director was introduced and she spoke about the
importance of preserving and protecting our musical heritage. She mentioned the
EARLE’S new website and how important it was to have two venues open 7 days a week
for our local citizens and our tourists. Tanya invited everyone to experience the Blackmon
Amphitheatre concerts, the Andy Griffith Playhouse productions, The EARLE events and
the Ole-time Heritage Music Hall and the Andy Griffith Museum and Siamese Twins
Exhibit.
Earlier this year the Surry Arts Council decided to house the Old-Time Heritage Hall with
the other traditional music events already hosted at The EARLE. Now the home of The
Old-Time Music Heritage Hall, the lobby displays items and artifacts from Surry County’s
musical heritage and pictures of various artists adorn the theatre walls. Thanks to the
audio guides, guests now have the opportunity to hear the biographies of some of these
artists.
The music heritage of Surry County continues with WPAQ’s Merry-Go-Round, the
second longest running live radio broadcast in America held in the theatre each
Saturday from 11am- until 1:30pm, along with jam sessions from 9am-11am. The
Voice of the Blue Ridge a monthly concert with a live radio format is held every
third Saturday. Weekly free youth fiddle and guitar lessons are held at The EARLE
along with monthly old-time dances, and clogging lessons. In addition to this busy
schedule feature movies are still shown each week, and local school programs and
community events. Open Monday – Friday 11:00am until 3:00pm, Saturday 1:30pm
-4:00pm and Sunday 1:00pm – 3:30pm. $3.00 per person admission and $5.00 for
admission & audio guide. Ticket price includes admission to the Andy Griffith
Museum and The Siamese Twins Exhibit.
The evening was so much fun and was enjoyed by all in attendance. Thank you
Surry Arts Council for inviting us to The EARLE Theatre, a treasure in its own right
and now a living museum of our musical heritage!
The EARLE
142 North Main Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-786-2222
www.TheEarle.org
Surry Arts Council
218 Rockford Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-786-7998
www.SurryArts.org
Ribbon Cutting and Chamber Business After Hours Event Held
at
Group 3 Real Estate and Therapeutic Solutions Massage and
Wellness
On Friday evening May 18, 2012 at 5:00pm the official Ribbon Cutting
was held for Group 3 Real Estate and Therapeutic Solutions Massage
and Wellness located at 304 East Independence Boulevard in Suite 100
and Suite 101.
These two local businesses combined their efforts and transformed what normally looks like a parking lot into
an Outside Gala! Guests migrated to the centerpiece of the event, a white renascence style tent where This &
That Catering by Mary Planer had created a work of art with her wonderful display of appetizers. Guests
sampled the delicious food and drink and made their way to one of the white draped standing tables that was
adorned with beautiful spring bouquets. It was a beautiful setup that was enjoyed by over seventy-five guests
on a beautiful evening in downtown Mount Airy. Ann Yokeley, Steve’s wife, worked very hard to make sure
every detail of the event was perfect and she did an incredible job!
The Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce Chairman of the Board, Dennis Lowe welcomed everyone
and thanked the hosts for event. Mayor Cochran, City Commissioners; Dean Brown, Scott Graham, Shirley
Brinkley and City Manager Barbara Jones, along with family and co-workers joined - Krystal Star Jones,
Owner of Therapeutic Solutions Massage and Wellness and the Co-Owners of Group 3 Real Estate- Steve
Yokeley, Janet Stewart and Vernon Luffman to cut the ribbon. Guests were invited to tour Therapeutic
Solutions Massage and Wellness and to tour Group 3 Real Estate.
Thank you Krystal and Thank you Steve, Janet, Vernon and Bill for allowing us to visit/tour your businesses
and for your warm and friendly hospitality!
A higher level of confidence when buying or
selling real estate
Improve your quality of life and enhance your overall
health.
Group 3 Real Estate
304 East Independence Blvd.
Suite 101
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-719-2999
www.group3realestate.com
Therapeutic Solutions Massage and Wellness
304 East Independence Boulevard
Suite 100
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-710-8190
www.amtamembers.com/krystalstarjones
Chamber Surprise Patrol visits Wood’s TV, Inc.
On Tuesday May 22, 2012 around
9:15am, fifteen Chamber Ambassadors, Staff and the Chairman of
the Board entered Wood’s TV, Inc.
located at 729 Worth Street in
Mount Airy.
Employees, Jeff Johnson and
Donna Tolbert soon saw the lobby
area fill to capacity as this group
carrying balloons, candy and
cookies made their way inside.
Once inside we asked for Tyco, Jr.
and Mike Wood and both were in
the office. Mike Wood made his
way to the lobby and Tyco, Jr. soon
joined him. To our surprise it was
Mike’s birthday and celebrating
with the Woods TV staff seemed
very appropriate! We explained
that the purpose of our visit was
simply to say, “Thank You” to Wood’s TV for being a Chamber Member and since it was Mike’s birthday we decided to sing Happy Birthday to him.
Since we had such a large group, we asked Tyco and Mike if they would give us a brief history of the
business. Wood’s TV, Inc. was established in 1950 and has been in this location since 1963. The structure was a
house at one time and was added onto years later. At one time there were four Wood’s TV locations…one in
Marion VA and even one in West VA.
Mike is Mac Wood’s son and Tyco is Tyco, Sr.’s son; their dads are brothers and visit the store several times a
week. The Wood’s family has a long history of being small business owners and entrepreneurs. Brothers, Mac
and Tyco Wood owned The Mount Airy Times and sold it to The Mount Airy News, owned WSYD Radio and sold
it to WPAQ. Once owned a café/taxi stand/bus station on Willow Street about where Gardner & Gardner
Attorney’s Office is located and at one time had a business across from Haymore Church. This generation of
Wood’s began their careers on the service truck and moved up the ladder the hard way.
Today, Wood’s TV, Inc. competes with the big box retailers and internet sales but the locally owned business
excels in customer service and has a loyal customer base that includes several generations within one family. To
stay competitive in an ever changing market of gadgets and technology Wood’s TV began adding additional
products early on to their inventory. Wood’s TV added Direct TV to its product list in 1994 and Dish Network in
1998. Today they are also a payment center for Duke Energy customers to pay their bills.
What sets Woods TV, Inc. apart from the competition? Wood’s TV, Inc. is a locally owned and operated business
that provides excellent service to their customers. Mike and Tyco Jr. grew up here, went to school here and have
raised their families here…just like their father’s generation. If you have a question or a concern, call or drop
by… they’re just like family!
Thank you Mike, Tyco Jr., Jeff, Donna, and Lisa for your kind and gracious hospitality! We had a wonderful time
at Wood’s TV, Inc. Sorry to have missed Adam Hunter and Doug Coe who were on an installation call.
Woods TV, Inc.
729 Worth Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-786-4191
Wyatt’s Trading Post, Mayberry Coffee and Miss Angel’s
Heavenly Pies Host Chamber Business After Hours
Three Chamber Businesses combined their talents and expertise and hosted an
awesome Business After Hours on Thursday June 7, 2012. Chamber Ambassadors
greeted over sixty-five Chamber Members and Guests who were on hand for the event
held at Wyatt’s Trading Post featuring Mayberry Coffee Company and Miss Angles
Heavenly Pies.
Mayberry Coffee Company owners Robin Weber and Teresa Hurd were making a
variety of coffee samples including iced coffee for the guests to try. Angela and Randy
Shur, owners of Miss Angels Heavenly Pies had set up a wonderful display of pies and
cakes for the guests to try. Wyatt’s Trading Post owners, Melissa and Mark Wyatt had
merchandised their shop with an incredible selection of favorite collectible lines that
appealed to everyone.
The shop was a buzz with introductions and conversations as guests continued to pour
into the shop filling it to almost capacity! Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce
Chairman of the Board, Dennis Lowe thanked the three businesses for hosting the
Business After Hours event and thanked everyone for their support of this event.
Each of three businesses gave a brief overview of their business beginning with
Mayberry Coffee Company.
Mayberry Coffee was established in 1994 in the quaint home town of Andy
Griffith. Mayberry Coffee is everything Mayberry, thus the motto being "Porch Sittin'
Pleasure In Every Cup".
Every cup is smooth and satisfying to the most discriminating palate. The newest blend
that Mayberry Coffee Company offers is a bolder, dark blend of 3 beans; Guatemalan,
Honduran, and African organic.
Flavored Coffees are also available and look for special blends during the holidays!
Mayberry Coffee Company is a full service coffee company providing fresh ground
blends, coffee pots, all the condiments necessary for a good cup of coffee and hot
chocolate and tea. Mayberry Coffee Company uses a local roaster, local packaging
and the logo and website were created by a local designer! Robin Weber and Teresa
Hurd are coffee lovers and they bought the business from Bob McLaughlin who taught
them everything they know about coffee.
Miss Angles Heavenly Pies owned and operated by Angela and Randy Shur
has become an must visit shop while you are in downtown Mount Airy. From the
street you can watch the bakers as they mix, bake and frost those delicious items
that you cannot resist once you open the door and walk in! Using fruit grown on their
own orchard at Rolling Hills Farms; Angela, Randy and their team bake 5’ and 9”
pies, turnovers, cakes, Danishes, breads, cookies, brownies and custom orders.
Miss Angels Heavenly Pies is a real success story…. the Shur's who moved here
from New York and have made Mount Airy their family’s home.
Wyatt’s Trading Post, Inc. has a unique assortment of gifts, collectibles and
home décor including: willow tree figurines, college art, painted ponies, Boyd’s Bears,
primitive decor and folk art, keepers of the light and bear throws. Yankee candles.
Mama Says, hand carved walking sticks western themed gifts and Jim Shore
products. Locally owned and operated by Melissa and Mark Wyatt where the
customer remains #1.
The hour and half flew by as members and guests sampled the coffees, delicious
treats and looked around the wonderful shop. This event a big success and we thank
Wyatt’s Trading Post, Inc. for hosting the event and featuring Mayberry Coffee
Company and Miss Angels Heavenly!
Wyatt’s Trading Post, Inc.
701 West Pine Street, Suite 300
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-789-7700
www.wyattstradingpost.com
Mayberry Coffee Company
175 Myers Drive
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336- 755-3255
www.mayberrycoffee.com
Miss Angles Heavenly Pies
153 North Main Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336- 786-1537
Cutting and Open House held at Mullins Pawn Shop and Jewelers
The Official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Mullins Pawn Shop and Jewelers was held on Friday June
8, 2012 at 3:00pm followed with an Open House event. Frances Mullins and her staff welcomed
guests to their NEW location at 1911 Caudle Drive in Mount Airy.
The new location has a wonderful view to the outside and provides plenty of daylight inside the
store. Centrally located and easy to find, the new location has already seen new customers who
said they had no idea that Mullins Pawn Shop and Jewelers was in town.
Surrounded by elected city officials, family and staff, Frances Mullins and Mayor Deborah Cochran
cut the ribbon to the new location. Over forty-five Chamber Members and Guests were on hand for
the ceremony and invited inside for refreshments and a tour of the store.
Mullins has been serving this community since 1984. Beginning on North Main Street with the
purchase of the Jewel Box across from the Chamber in the 1980’s, relocating to the south end of
Main Street across from Snappy Lunch in 1985 and opening the pawn shop business in the
basement. The pawn shop business was so good a second location was opened on the other end of
Main Street in the 400 block. Then in the early 1990’s Mullins Pawn Shop and Jewelers moved to
Surry Plaza on West Pine Street where both businesses had room to grow under one roof. Mullins
remained in the Surry Plaza for twenty-two years until now.
Mullins Pawn Shop is the oldest and largest pawn shop in Surry County. For twenty-eight years
Mullins Pawn Shop and Jewelers has brought quality merchandise at an affordable price to this
community…new and used items…. Even making loans on most anything of value. Mullins Pawn
Shop and Jewelers has a
huge selection of firearms, tools, musical and electronic equipment to choose from. Guitar lessons
are available by Mount Airy’s very own local musician/vocalist….Dennis Tolbert.
Mullins Jewelers has one of the largest selections that you will find. Jewelry covers about ½ of the
sales floor and everything you could ever wish for…. Is in a showcase. There is a huge selection of
rings, earrings, necklaces chains and more to select from. Mullins has daily sales and specials and
has in-house jewelry repair. Whatever you’re looking for….look at Mullins Pawn Shop and Jewelers
first!
Thank you Frances and your staff for inviting us to join in the celebration of your new location! We
had a great time and wish you much success!
Mullins
Pawn Shop & Jewelers
1911 Caudle Drive
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-789-7109
336-786-6417
Sheetz Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening Held on Thursday June 14th
The new Sheetz located at 2905 Rockford Street in
Mount Airy opened on Thursday June 14th to a crowd
of hundreds of Sheetz fans. People had waited in line
since 8:00pm the night before to receive one of the
$100 gift cards given to the first fifty patrons. Grand
opening day cars were parked along Rockford Street
as people walked to the Sheetz store due to the huge
crowd in attendance. It was evident that the traveling
public and local citizens were excited about this new
commercial development and the low gas prices that
posted to the Sheetz gas pumps shortly after the
opening. $2.99.9 per gallon created a title wave of
reduced gas prices throughout Surry County and we,
the consumer have benefited!
Local dignitaries and Sheetz officials from the corporate office were in attendance as we all awaited
the grand opening of the first commercial business located at the intersection of I-74 corridor and
Rockford Street. The opening of Sheetz at Rockford Street/Highway 601 and the I-74 Connector will
encourage additional development at this main intersection, which is a major gateway into Mount
Airy. The development at this intersection can and will be influential to stopping the traveling public
and giving our community a chance to invite them to see more and to stay longer. This new Sheetz
convenience restaurant represents 40-45 new full and part-time jobs with a $3.5 million investment
into the Mount Airy/Surry County tax base.
Charlie Sheetz and other corporate representatives from the Pennsylvania-based headquarters
rallied with the employees and customers in a fun filled grand opening ceremony. Sheetz has a
reputation of being a great community member and begin loyal to the areas that they do business in.
The 6,500-square-foot store in Mount Airy is the company’s 43rd location in North Carolina and one
of 10 stores to open this year in North Carolina. The Sheetz in Dobson will open later this week.
Congratulations to Sheetz and their staff for an awesome grand opening and thank you to all of those
who helped to make this new
development at our most
popular gateway into Mount
Airy possible!
Sheetz
2905 Rockford Street
Mount Airy, NC 27030
336-719-2478
www.sheetz.com
January-May the staff has tracked and greeted a total of 16,760.
In the month of May 2012 the staff greeted 5,136 Visitors.
The Top 10 States Represented of most visitors includes: North
Carolina, Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia and Alabama.
The staff greeted international visitors from: Canada, Germany,
Scotland, Wales, United Kingdom with several from England and
the Ukraine.
Occupancy Tax Figures
In January 2012 the Occupancy Tax
collections were up 20.83% from
January 2011. In the month of February 2012 the Occupancy Tax collections were up 33.50% from February 2011 and in the month of
March 2012 the collections were up
3.77% from March 2011 bringing
the total change from the prior year
to 5.22% Year to date.
July 4th
Fireworks Celebration
at Veteran’s Park
Band at 6PM and a fireworks
display right after sundown.
Parking at the park is free, but cash
donations for our local food banks
are encouraged.
200 N. Main St.
Mount Airy, N.C. 27030
336-786-6116 Main
336-786-1488 Fax
The Mission of the Greater Mount Airy
Chamber of Commerce is to advance,
promote and encourage successful
business growth for our members.
Supporting LOCAL businesses and
Chamber Members F1R$T, keeps
58% more of your dollars and jobs in
our community strengthening our
local economy!
Betty Ann Collins - President
Email: president1@mtairyncchamber.org
786-6116 Extension 6
Tanya Taylor- Membership and Communication Director
Email: membership@mtairyncchamber.org
786-6116 Extension 4
Renae Shaffer - Finance Director
Email: admin@mtairyncchamber.org
786-6116 Extension 8
Jessica Icenhour Roberts - Tourism Director
Email: tourism@visitmayberry.com
786-6116 Extension 3
Yvonne Nichols - Autumn Leaves Festival Director
Email: yvonne@mtairyncchamber.org
786-6116 Extension 5