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The Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, a chamber based out of St. Johnsbury with more than 400 members, has business members throughout the tri-county region known as the Northeast Kingdom - the counties of Caledonia, Essex and Orleans. About 50 percent of our membership is from St. Johnsbury, with the remaining members located throughout the region.
The Northeast Kingdom Chamber is the largest and only full-service chamber in the region, handling travel promotion, community/economic development, legislative/governmental relations, business training and promotion of regional projects.
REFERRALS
The NEK Chamber handles an estimated 60,000 phone, mail, relocation/business relocation and Welcome Center inquiries per year, about 20,000 at the Welcome Center alone. These inquiries result from strong and aggressive advertising, brochure production and distribution efforts, Welcome Center services; and coordination with other chambers of commerce and business associations. The chamber also sends out hundreds of relocation packets each year.
MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
The Northeast Kingdom Chamber publishes an 80-page directory of chamber members that is distributed to members and to individuals, both locally and in response to requests coming from all over the nation and has a complete online directory that is updated daily. Members get a free listing in the printed directory and the opportunity to advertise in the publication at low cost. Members can obtain labels of the chamber membership for a nominal cost.
THE REGION'S MOST EXTENSIVE WEB SITE
Membership dues entitle member businesses to a free listing on the Northeast Kingdom Chamber web site, free 70-word description, free picture and free web-site and e-mail links on the Northeast Kingdom Chamber web site, the most extensive web site in the region. The web site includes tourism, relocation, business relocation, chamber member information, community profiles, general regional and business information, and a regional calendar of events. The site is one of the region’s best web resource guides for business and tourism inquiries. Chamber members may link from the chamber site to their own site. The web address is www.nekchamber.com. Chamber members are also given the opportunity to have a web page for their business on the chamber site for a reasonable cost. The web site averages hundreds of thousands of page views each year ... and that number is growing. Chamber members may also choose to promote their business through a reasonably priced banner ad on the chamber's web site.
ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTERS
The newsletter features items of interest about chamber programs, new members, upcoming events through two different newsletters - a newspaper-style newsletter (every three months) and an e-mail blast (sent out about every two weeks). These newsletters are distributed to more than 500 businesspeople within the region. Chamber members can submit materials to the newsletters free. Members are encouraged to send in submissions for news items. This is a great way to promote your business to the greater chamber membership at no cost
PUBLICATIONS
The Northeast Kingdom Chamber prints and distributes more than 75,000 brochures per year. The chamber believes it should aggressively promote its own members and region through its brochures and web site. The chamber believes membership in the Northeast Kingdom Chamber and its initiatives and the additional association with the Northeast Kingdom Travel & Tourism Association makes a great one-two marketing/promotional punch for members.
NEK Chamber publications include:
Tourism & Services Brochure - About 50,000 printed each year. Distributed to all 16 state rest areas, all tourism/relocation inquiries, co-op advertising efforts, mailings and travel & trade shows, etc. The brochure is aggressively promoted at Canadian tourism shows and the Eastern States Exposition, the largest annual fair on the Eastern Seaboard.
Snowmobile Map for Kingdom - More than 5,000 printed each year. Distributed to shows, inquiries and all advertisers and outlets throughout the region. The only snowmobile map for the entire tri-county region.
Regional Map - More than 20,000 printed. A tear-off, two-sided map of the Kingdom distributed at all rest areas within the state and Kingdom outlets. Back side of map includes advertisers who are helping to subsidize the cost of map by their ads.
STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM TRAVEL & TOURISM ASSOCIATION
For the past 20 years, the NEK Chamber has had a continued and strong involvement with the Northeast Kingdom Travel & Tourism Association. NEKTTA, comprised of chambers and hospitality businesses, serves as the tourism lure organization for the tri-county region. NEK Chamber members have the opportunity to partner and receive enhanced hospitality benefits by becoming a member of the chamber and NEKTTA. Businesses receive discounted membership in NEKTTA if they are already a member of a chamber. The NEK Chamber believes membership in the two organizations gives businesses a great one-two marketing punch - by marketing close to home with chambers and further afield with NEKTTA. NEKTTA's web site is www.travelthekingdom.com.
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
The Northeast Kingdom Chamber sponsors and organizes a number of events throughout the year including:
Annual Meeting - Held in late mid-winter. About 225 to 250 members attend.
Monthly Legislative Breakfasts and Chamber Briefings.
St. Johnsbury Fall Foliage Festival - Upwards to 2,000 to 3,000 people take part in the festivities.
Business Celebration - An event held to celebrate our member business accomplishments. About 250 people attend each year.
Super Raffle - The chamber’s biggest fund-raiser, held in July, with more than $5,000 raised for the chamber in one night.
Citizen of the Year - Celebrates the good deeds of local citizen.
Ribbon Cuttings - Held on an ongoing basis, to celebrate businesses opening in the area.
Business Roundtable Sessions - An issues-related forum, giving companies the opportunity to address business concerns that the chamber may help to address.
And many other events and activities.
SEMINARS AND WORKFORCE TRAINING
Classes and training is done in conjunction with area business and professional people, as well as guest experts on subjects of interest to our members.
SAVING MONEY, PURCHASING POWER
Additional benefits include:
Health Insurance Plan with one of the nation's largest insurance companies, CIGNA.
Dental Insurance Plan, with one of New England's largest carriers, Northeast Delta Dental.
Low-Cost Elective Insurance Plan with one of the nation’s largest such insurance companies, Worksite Solutions/AON Insurance (one of the only chambers in the state to offer the plan).
Low-Cost Long-Term Care Plan, providing nursing home/assisted care help for employers and employees.
Low-Cost Long Distance and Local-Service Telephone Services with the Connect One Plan (one of the only chambers in the state to offer this plan).
Chamber bulk-mail permit number for bulk mailings, which saves members money.
Certificate of Origination Verification Services, for members wishing to ship items or products out of the country.
Member-to-Member Discounts, with member businesses giving discounts for services to their fellow chamber members.
Networking possibilities at chamber mixers and our many events.
Low-Cost Advertising co-op possibilities in chamber publications and co-op ads.
Membership Labels at a nominal cost.
NEK Chamber Membership Discounts to those bringing in new memberships.
Grant-support Letters, for those seeking alternative funding.
Advocacy on issues that affect our region.
MISSION STATEMENT OF THE NORTHEAST KINGDOM
The Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce consists of businesses, professional firms and individuals from Northeastern Vermont. The chamber initiates and supports efforts to increase the prosperity of our regional economy while preserving the distinctive quality of the Kingdom and its people.
CONTACT:
Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce
51 Depot Square-Ste. 3
St. Johnsbury, VT 05819
(802) 748-3678,
fax: 802-748-0731,
www.nekchamber.com
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