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NORTHEAST KINGDOM CHAMBER
BUSINESS FOR BUSINESS MEETING
Nov. 20, 2009
The Northeast Kingdom Chamber held its monthly Business for Business meeting on Nov. 20 at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital. The chamber believes networking is one of the biggest benefits received from chamber membership and wants to keep you apprised of some of the networking and business opportunities available to our membership.
BURKE MOUNTAIN, Joe Kasprzak, East Burke
- Kasprzak reported that the season pass sales deal ends on Nov. 30 so urges chamber members to take advantage of the savings before the deadline ends. He reported the following items:
- Season passes are selling well at Burke Mountain.
- The establishment of a Ski Free Promotion, where if you extend your stay at Burke Mountain on a Saturday or Sunday, that you will either get a Friday afternoon or Monday day free.
- That if you purchase a four, five or six lift ticket, you get the next day free.
- Lift-Line Guarantee - That if there is more than a five-minute wait for the lift lines on a non-holiday designated day, you will receive a $10 discount voucher for another time.
- That of the reported 80,000 annual skier visits a year at Burke, that half come from day visits or about a 90-mile radius.
- The retention for season passes at Burke Mountain is very high.
- That Burke Mountain is becoming very aggressive in selling bus tour and group sale packages.
- That seniors over 55 can ski for just $20 on Tuesdays. The program is called the Free Spirits program.
- That Burke Mountain is offering a College Carload Day on Thursdays at the mountain, where a carload of college students will be able to ski for just $40 for all of them. Please note that each and every student must be wearing a seat belt to qualify for the program.
- That the Kingdom County Pass, at $199, is available for students in the Northeast Kingdom and Grafton and Coos counties in New Hampshire.
- That 50 different schools and 1,800 students participate in the Burke Mountain school ski program.
(Some restrictions may apply for the programs and sales listed above.)
PURPLE SNOWFLAKES/AMWAY GLOBAL, Donna Stark, Lyndon Center
Stark reported on the myriad of household, health, cleaning and beauty items available through Amway Global. She reported:
- Sales can be made by directly contacting her at the e-mail or phone number listed below.
- That the company has a burgeoning gift card and corporate gift program, which features items from Amway Global as well as many other national outlet stores.
- That the Lyndon Chamber, of which she is a member, is looking to make improvements to its information booth and urging any Lyndon voters to approve its construction request at the next Town Meeting.
LOU DiLORENZO BOOKKEEPING, LLC, Lou DiLorenzo, Waterford
DiLorenzo reported that her business covers a wide spectrum of bookkeeping services, either on-site or from her home office in Waterford. She reported:
- She has extensive bookkeeping experience working with businesses, more than 10 years.
- That she offers business tutoring and consulting and that she has taught college courses on the subject in the past. She currently teaches at St. Johnsbury Academy.
- She specializes in QuickBooks but is knowledgeable in a number of other accounting software programs.
- That one recent business she counseled has seen a 40-percent increase in business.
FARM-WAY/VERMONT GEAR (web), Carrie Gendreau, Bradford
Gendreau reported that this is the right time of year to be thinking about shopping at Farm-Way, as the store offers one of the broadest and most extensive shopping experiences in Vermont. Gendreau reported:
- That Farm-Way’s six buildings are located on 16 acres at its Route 25 location.
- That the store offers clothing, footwear (20,000 pairs), household and gift items, outerwear, farm-related items, furniture and much more.
- That the store features a very extensive web site that you can order items from if you can’t visit their Bradford store, www.vermontgear.com.
- That the store’s solar-energy system fuels 43 percent of the company’s needed electricity.
- That the store offers gift cards and certificates.
- That the store is a three-generational family business.
EMMA & COMPANY, Carrie Gendreau, Littleton
In addition to serving as the marketing person for Farm-Way, Gendreau operates a high-end women’s consignment store in Littleton. She noted:
- That the store is located in the heart of Littleton’s downtown, between Lahout’s and Dana Jewelry on Main Street.
- That the store is indeed a high-end women’s consignment shop and that women will find very attractive clothing at a very reasonable price.
- That gift certificates to the store are a great holiday gift.
VERMONT ASSOCIATES, Jan Stewart, St. Johnsbury
Vermont Associates operates training and development opportunities for workers over 55. Stewart reported:
- That workers over 55, especially in this economy due to layoffs, have exceptional skills and are very qualified.
- Vermont Associates will work with non-profit organizations to allow Vermont Associates employees to work at your organization and will pay the first 160 hours.
PASSUMPSIC SAVINGS BANK, Robert Bishop, St. Johnsbury
Bishop noted that Passumpsic Savings Bank is a full-service commercial bank that has been in operation in the region for more than 150 years. He also added:
- The bank offers Health Saving Accounts (HSAs) at attractive rates
- That the bank offers very competitive residential mortgage rates and that homeowners may want to consider refinancing their mortgage loans.
- That the bank offers America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) loans, where businesses can receive up to $35,000 in loan monies to help pay back up to six months of loan payments and have 18 months to start paying back the principal.
CATAMOUNT ARTS, Robert Bishop, St. Johnsbury
Bishop also serves as the treasurer of Catamount Arts and reported the following:
- That the Catamount Arts Auction was recently held and the event went very well.
- That the organization is selling 500 tickets at $50 a piece, with the grand prize being a new Suzuki car. He indicated that an anonymous donor will give an additional $10,000 to Catamount Arts if all 500 tickets are sold.
NORTHEAST KINGDOM CHAMBER, Darcie McCann, St. Johnsbury
McCann reported the chamber has been busy of late and reported:
- The chamber is starting to organize its second annual Membership Benefits Fair. It will be held the first part of the year.
- The chamber is working on a Marketing Survival Tool Kit, which features all the benefits and advantages of the chamber in a convenient packet. It will be sent out to all members at the end of the year and will be given to prospective members as well.
- The chamber is in the midst of making web-site improvements to its extensive web site, www.nekchamber.com, preparing itself for evolving technologies.
- That consumers are 63 percent more likely to buy products from a business that is a chamber member.
- That networking is, traditionally, the biggest reason businesses join chambers. About 65 percent of businesses join chambers for that reason.
- That the chamber is trying to offer more value-added benefits to our members without nickle-and-diming our members with additional costs, that we are here for businesses during tough economic times as much as we are doing good times.
NEW ENGLAND ALARM TECHNOLOGY, Robert Ziegler, St. Johnsbury
Ziegler has operated the alarm technology company for many years and reported:
- That his company has placed alarm systems in some of the largest businesses in the area.
- That his company offers closed circuit, second home, medical emergencies, low-temperature alarm and fire/smoke alarms systems.
- That pipes breaking in cold weather in your home do more damage than a fire and his systems can prevent that from happening.
- That his company offers a $15 a month, 24-7 monitoring service.
He also noted he sells a program called Pre-Paid Legal, which offers extensive legal services, for less than $200 a year, and Identity Theft, for $10 a month, which will help you if your identity/credit information is compromised and needs to be restored.
More Information: New England Alarm Technology/Pre-Paid Legal/Identity Theft, 802-748-9330
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