October2011 newsletter - Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce

Wakulla Chamber and You: Partners For Success
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October 2011
President’s Message
Message
President’s
23 High Dr.
Cool breezes are finally starting to arrive!
P.O. Box 598
As we enter the last quarter of another challenging year there
Crawfordville, FL 32326
are many reasons to be thankful for the lives we lead. Most of
the people in this world would change places with us at the
Tel: 850-926-1848
Fax: 850-926-2050
drop of the hat, we need to count our blessings as we move into the season of
Thanksgiving.
Our Board of County Commissioners seemed to bring several issues to clo-
Wakulla County
Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors
President
sure at the marathon September 6 meeting. They voted in the garbage assessment, this will allow us to quite dipping into general revenue to fund an
operation that was costing vastly more that the tiny tipping fees we were paying when we carried in our garbage.
John W. Shuff
The BOCC also voted to increase the Fire MSBU from $61 to $75; this was
President Elect
probably worthwhile as the Fire Department was punished last year when the
Amy Geiger
county staff encouraged the various fire departments to create their
Vice President
Tammie Barfield
“Christmas Lists” in a vain attempt to pass a $193 Fire MSBU. This “increase’
puts the Fire Department back where it was prior to the misguided effort last
year.
Treasurer
Dustin Grubbs
The Chamber supported the Tourist Development tax increase as we will not
Secretary
get eco-tourism visitors if we don’t have money to promote the many unique,
Mary Wallace
Past President
Kimberly A. Moore, MBA
bountiful, and beautiful attributes of Wakulla County, our rivers, springs, and
bays. We also firmly support paid staff to stay abreast of grant funding that
comes available to a nimble Tourist Development Council. We would like to
take this opportunity to thank the entire TDC Board of Directors for the excellent job they do pushing Wakulla county to the fore.
Our BOCC also finalized the Public Utility Tax with an offset in the millage rate,
accounting for decreased property values, to achieve revenue neutrality.
It is now time to take a breather as we begin to deal with the unintended consequences that will arise from all this activity. I do not ever remember a Board
that tackled so much in such a short time, necessity may have played a part,
but I will say that we have fundamentally changed our approach to funding
Continued
our government and changed for the better. Taxing by assessment, as we have been moving towards,
allows us to better understand the cost of providing our basic services. When they are paid for through
Ad Valorem taxes and the general fund, we tend to take the cost for granted. Taxing by assessment
also adds a degree of transparency to our budget process as the tendency to shift general funds around
lessens. I commend our Board of County Commissioners for taking these politically tough decisions. We
will have rough patches to sort out but we are headed in the right direction.
The recently instituted Chamber luncheons continue to attract good crowds, with the last being held at
Beef O’Brady’s. These events offer great networking, a break from the daily grind, great food, and a
good time! We hope to see you at the next one!
Covenant Hospice hosted the September after hours mixer to the pleasure of us all. These events, like
the luncheons, allow us all an opportunity to catch up with somebody that we have not seen in a while.
It also gives us some insight as to what these businesses or organizations do in and for our community. These events are free so don’t let the next opportunity pass you by!
The nominating committee has heard back from our members and will meet soon to propose a slate of
officers and new board members, thank you for participating!
Let’s take a minute to recognize Jo Ann Palmer, all the members of KWCB, and all 560 participants in
the Coastal Clean-up held on September 17th. We are proud of Jo Ann as she is one of our current
Board members, and proud of the fact that KWCB was started by one of our Directors, and Past President of the Chamber, Ray Boles.
We thank St. Marks Powder, WALMART, The Stow Away Center, Capital City Bank, Centennial Bank,
Wakulla Sheriff’s Department, and both Super Lube locations in Crawfordville for participating in the
Chamber’s food drive during September and setting up boxes for collection. In addition, Progress Energy employees generously donated several boxes of food to help out as Wakulla is one of their service
areas. Our food donations will go to local food pantries, and will help local families put a warm meal on
the table. We have extended our drive until the third week in October so keep your generosity flowing!
It gives me great pleasure to make this next announcement! By the time this edition of the Wakulla
news is published my darling wife, Petra, will have been sworn in as a U.S. citizen!
We welcome our new and existing businesses that joined our local Chamber during September, please
know that your Chamber is not affiliated with the National or State organizations:
Back Door Liquor Store – Spring Creek Road and Highway 98, Elite Flooring, Tallahassee, Hardee’s of
Crawfordville, Lamar Advertising, Shell Point Realty, Preble – Rish Engineering – Jasper Thomas Road,
Bridlewood Apartments –Crawfordville, Mineral Springs Seafood Inc., DBA Mineral Springs by the Bay
and Bouy’s Bayside Restaurant –Panacea, Wave 94 Radio Station
Yours in Service,
John W. Shuff
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Ribbon Cuttings
The Chamber held a ribbon cutting for its new member, Bright
Beginnings Preschool and Day Care, September 7th, 2011
Lucy Ward has been in the childcare business for over 28 years.
She started in the childcare business when she saw the need for
quality childcare. To Lucy a child needs the chance and the environment to just be a child, and to learn and grow with love and
a gentle guiding hand. Lucy or MeMe as she is called by the
children has never had a new facility in all her years of business. With the opening of the
new center this dream has become a reality. Bright Beginnings Preschool and Daycare is
located at 360 Shadeville Highway. Bright Beginnings cares for children from 6 weeks to
12 years old.
Transportation is provided to
Medart Elementary, Shadeville Elementary, Crawfordville Elementary, and to the Wakulla Educational Center. Bright Beginnings is open from
6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Breakfast, lunch, and
snack are provided. Bright Beginnings offers a
VPK program, Early Headstart, and a preschool
program. Bright Beginnings accepts Early Learning Coalition students and private pay students.
Our doors are always open if anyone would like to
come in and view the center, or if you have any
questions please feel free to call us at 926-9949.
Ponder Enterprises and the Hardee’s of Crawfordville were proud to officially kick off their
recent remodel with a ribbon cutting with the
Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce on
Tuesday of this week. The remodel included
new sidewalks, countertops, seating décor,
picnic tables, outdoor digital sign, interior and
exterior painting and much more. Ponder Enterprises first invested in the Crawfordville community almost 22 years ago.
“We are
proud to reinvest in the Crawfordville community – a location that has been with our company since our early days. We invite everyone to enjoy our line of Thickburgers and to also make Hardee’s signature Made from Scratch biscuits a part of their morning routine,”
said the Director of Marketing, Elizabeth Faulk. A family run franchise, Ponder Enterprises
opened its first Hardee’s in Donalsonville, GA in 1984, and is where it has its headquarters
today. Ponder Enterprises has a total of 24 restaurants spanning across Southwest Georgia, Southeast Alabama and North Florida.
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After Hours Networking
Covenant Hospice and NHC sponsor
Wakulla Chamber of Commerce business mixer
Covenant Hospice partnered with National HealthCare
Corporation to sponsor the Sept. 15 Business Mixer for the Wakulla Chamber of Commerce. The
mixer was held at NHC offices located at 3034 Coastal Hwy. in Crawfordville. Sponsorship included providing snacks and refreshments to business
after-hours attendees. Karen Henry, Community Educator with Covenant
Hospice, and Laura Hyde, Marketing Representative for NHC, coordinated
the event that was well attended by local chamber members.
Covenant Hospice is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing
comprehensive, compassionate services to patients and loved ones during
times of life-limiting illnesses. Covenant Hospice improves care for all patients at the end of their lives by example and education in Wakulla,
Franklin, Leon, Liberty, Jefferson, Madison and Taylor counties. For more
information, please call 850-575-4778.
Chamber Networking Mixer @
From the desk of Petra Shuff
Our September luncheon was another great success. We would very much like to thank
Beef O’Brady’s for hosting and for all of their support of the Chamber and community
alike. Harold and Julie Slayton, owners of our local “Beef’s” are very involved in our community, and host charitable events for different non-profit organizations, and our schools.
The salad, and a wonderful chicken dish with rice and broccoli was a healthy choice and
definitely a crowd pleaser. A special thanks to my favorite server, Jay, who single handedly took care of our crowd of 33.
Once again, we want to thank our attendees and local businesses for bringing a large array of raffle items. The $33 cash prize was won by Mary Wallace, who donated her winnings back to the Chamber. Mary suggested starting these luncheons to add an additional
networking opportunity for our members, and to earn a little extra money for our organization. She therefor felt that her winnings should be donated back to the Chamber.
Thanks Mary!
Several of our members invited a guest and, Cyndy Murphy with Rainbow Intl., and Mary
Wallace with Cook Insurance each invited a guest that became a member during the
luncheon. Welcome Pamela L. Power with Bridlewood Apartments, and Kimberly Williams
with Williams Seafood, Inc. DBA Mineral Springs by the Bay and Buoy’s Bayside Restaurant!
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Continued
New member Lamar Advertising shared that the company recently acquired Summit Advertising.
Bridlewood Apartments was excited to announce their Civil Service
Discount, a 5% discount on rent for an apartment to Law Enforcement, fire fighters, teachers, nurses, military personnel, state, city
and county employees. In addition, new renters under any of the
above described categories will receive a reduced security deposit of
$99, and application fees will be waived.
Susan Schatzman with Habitat for Humanity of Wakulla reminded of
their upcoming golf tournament taking place October 21st. “The Drive
for the Build” golf tournament will help raise the necessary funds for
the next Habitat for Humanity home build. This will be the 10th home
built in Wakulla.
Herb Donaldson Herb announced the 20th Annual Meeting of the Wakulla County Historical Society
at Wakulla Springs, 6 p.m. The Historical Society will hold an annual Open House at the Museum
located at 24 High Drive in Crawfordville on Dec. 13. The exhibits feature our worthy veterans. The
gift shop will be open for unique gifts including the new release of the annual collectable ornament.
This year’s feature is beautiful and focuses on Panacea with the Mineral Springs Hotel on the front and the Blue Crab Festival on the back.
Gift shop is open on Thursday and Friday from 10 – 4 p.m. and the 1st
Sat. The genealogy suite is open for research. Volunteers to help preserve historic documents would be welcome.
In conjunction with Founders Day in March, in association with Palaver
Tree Theatre Company, the Historical Society will present the annual
event “Wakulla Story”. This year’s theatrical production will also be in
conjunction with Women’s History Month. If you know of any local
women heroes whose dedication and service to our community are
worth recognizing, please call Herbert Donaldson at 1-718-682-3870
or Cathy Frank at 251-5201.
Our next luncheon will be held October 26th, at Buoy’s Bayside Restaurant in Panacea.
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ED2GO Online Classes
The following ed2go online classes will be available to our members and employees in
good standing, at no charge. If you are interested, contact our office for more information, requirements and/or a registration form and enrollment instructions. Class start
dates are as follows: October 19 and November 9.
Registration forms must be submitted to the Chamber office for verification prior
to enrollment.
If you have any requests for particular classes not listed, please contact our office 9261848 or wakullacochamber@embarqmail.com for availability.
♦
Speed Spanish 1 and 2
♦
Excel – 2007-2010 versions offered
♦
Creating Web Pages
♦
Accounting Fundamentals
♦
Small Business Marketing on a Shoestring
♦
Introduction to QuickBooks – 2009-2010 versions offered
♦
Publisher – 2003 and 2007 version offered
♦
Introduction to Word 2007 and 2010
♦
Word 2007 Intermediate
♦
Individual Excellence
♦
Access – 2003-2007 version offered
♦
Introduction to InDesign CS5
♦
Introduction to Creating Word Press Websites
Brown Bag Lunch Series held at Chamber office:
October 17th, 2011 from 11:30am –1pm - Managing through Coaching & Mentoring
hosted by the FSU Jim Moran Institute
November 2, 2011 from 11:30am -1pm - Record Keeping hosted by FAMU Small Business Development Center
All classes are free to Chamber members and employees. We would like to encourage you
to let us know of any ed2go online classes or Brown Bag Lunch Series workshops you
would like to see offered!
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Welcome New Chamber Members!
Lamar Advertising
Bridlewood Apartments
Wave 94
4706 Capital Circle SW
7 Homestretch Lane
3225 Hartsfield Road
Tallahassee, FL 32305
Crawfordville, FL 32327
Tallahassee, FL 32303
(850) 877-4184
(850) 926-1134
(850) 562-4564
Danny Funderburg
Pamela L. Power
Doug Apple
Williams Seafood, Inc.
Preble - Rish, Inc.
DBA
Shell Point Realty
36 Jasper Thomas Rod
Mineral Springs By The Bay
2627 Spring Creek Hwy.
Crawfordville, FL 32327
Bouy’s Bayside Restaurant
Crawfordville, FL 32327
(850) 528-0030
Panacea, Fl 32346
(850) 926-8120
Alan Wise
(850) 984-2248
Dee Shriver
Kimberly Williams
Elite Flooring
Hardee’s of Crawfordville
Back Door Liquor Store
4525 Capital Circle NW, J 20
Crawfordville Hwy
2627 Spring Creek Hwy.
Tallahassee, FL 32303
Crawfordville, FL 32327
Crawfordville, FL 32327
(850) 251-2698
(850)
(850) 926-8122
Donnie Friesen
Elizabeth Faulk
Gene Stover
Rico Thompson
(General Manager)
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