Chamber of Commerce Newsletter

Transcription

1 Chamber of Commerce Newsletter A PUBLICATION OF THE LAKE ALFRED CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Executive Director Marilyn September 2018 Edition LUNCH - AND - LEARN The Lake Alfred Chamber of Commerce held their August Lunch-and-Learn at The Back Porch. The speaker was Lake Alfred Police Chief Art Bodenheimer. The Chief informed us that from the first of the year to July there have been 117 crashes this year, compared to 202 for all of The calls for service are 5,015 compared to 8,302 for last year. Chief Bodenheimer spoke of scams that are in the area, some of the happenings with cybercrime and the school guardians and resource officers. It was an interesting presentation that everyone paid attention to. Thank you to Growers Fertilizer for sponsoring the program. Thank you to The Back Porch for letting us use their restaurant with the great food and great service. Thank you to all of the people that attended and supported this event. Thank you to LAPD Chief Bodenheimer and the officers of the Lake Alfred Police Dept. New Chamber Members Welcome our newest members, Shawn s Studio of Hair & Nails, 130 E Haines Blvd, Lake Alfred, and Parti Poodle, Inc, 815 S Lake Shore Way. Shawn s Studio, owned by Shawn & Brian Finley, was established on January 15, It provides hair, nail, waxing services and pedicure services for men & women. Parti Poodle, Inc. is owned by Melinda Langford and was established January 1, They provide pet grooming and hope in the future to provide pet massage and boarding.

2 Dunkin Donuts Breaks Ground in Lake Alfred On Monday, August 20, 2018, at 9 a.m. the City of Lake Alfred and the Lake Alfred Chamber of Commerce hosted the groundbreaking festivities for the new Dunkin Donuts. The attendees had the opportunity to enjoy Dunkin Donuts and coffee. The District Manager, Randy Quinn, from Hardee s was on site with several types of Hardee s biscuits. Both businesses and a Dollar Tree will be sharing the site, which was once belonged to Grey Trucks. Up until recently, other semi-trucks were using the lot for parking. Shovelers included the developer Ashley, State House Rep Sam Killebrew, Chamber President Ed Arbuthnot, Mayor Charles Lake, and the City Commissioners and the City Manager. Everyone hopes to see a grand opening at the end of the year or shortly into the New Year. City Administration Building The office where you pay your utility bill and handle other matters has had a facelift. They will be adding pictures and a monitor to show upcoming events. Coming Soon! October 1 st Lang Sun Country Groves will be open for business. Yes, Taste of Florida Café will have all their good food ready. If you haven t been there, you need to try it.

3 School Supplies Delivery School supplies were gathered by the Lake Alfred Chamber of Commerce and CenterState Bank in Lake Alfred. Several businesses brought supplies for the collection. These were divided out according to the supply lists. The largest type of supplies were spiral notebooks, crayons, pencils and glue. More of the crayons and glue went to the Lake Alfred Elementary School and Karen Siegel Academy than the other schools. Discovery High School received more of the college ruled notebooks. Discovery Academy and Polytech received both college ruled and wide ruled notebooks and paper along with some glue and color markers and a few boxes of crayons. The staff in each of the schools expressed their appreciation for the supplies. Faculty that saw the supplies coming into the school had come to look. They were appreciative of the color markers and dry erase markers that were included. Thank you to everyone that donated supplies. This not only helps the students, but also the teachers and staff that do not have to pay so much out of their pocket to make sure the students have supplies. The Chamber will gather supplies for the students again when they return from their Winter break. Gun Safe Tickets are still available for $5 at the Chamber office or CenterState Bank in Lake Alfred. The tickets are $5 and you do not need to be present to win. The tickets will be drawn on Sept. 8 th at the Golf Tournament. BUTTONS & BOWS CRAFT & BAKE SALE Saturday, November 3 rd will be the annual Buttons & Bows Craft & Bake Sale. The sale will be held in the ballroom of the Hampton s Club House, 1094 US 92 West, Auburndale FL, from 9 AM to 2 PM. This is sponsored by the Hampton s Helping Hands and raises money for clothing, toys and food for underprivileged children of Auburndale. Donuts, coffee and lunch will be available for purchase. For additional information or registration form, contact Barb Bohik, bbohlk@gmail.com or Tracy scoob21@yhoo.com

4 Any business or individual that wishes to contribute a raffle prize for the golf tournament or items for the golfers goodie bags is invited to do so. Just contact the chamber office at

5 Crackdown on Veterans Charity Scams Last month, Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam announced that the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has joined a nationwide partnership, spearheaded by the Federal Trade Commission, to help Americans identify and avoid fraudulent charities that claim to benefit veterans and service members. The department joins the FTC, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and other law enforcement officials and regulators of charitable organizations throughout the country to support the "Operation Donate with Honor" initiative. Before donating to charitable organizations that claim to help veterans and service members, Floridians should follow these simple tips: Ask questions, such as: "Who is the fundraiser and who will benefit from the donation?"; "How much of the contribution goes to the charity mentioned in the request?"; and "How much of the donation goes toward administrative and fundraising expenses?"; Research the charitable organization at FloridaConsumerHelp.com to see if the charitable organization is registered with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and how much of a donation will go toward the individuals the charity intends to help versus operating expenses; Report any suspicious charitable solicitations by calling HELP-FLA ( ) or, for Spanish speakers, FL-AYUDA ( ). Home Repair Fraud Fraudulent businesses frequently appear after a disaster or bad weather that causes large-scale damage to take advantage of those who need assistance and repairs. It's important not to be pressured to give any business a large sum of money upfront. If you do, you may never see the work completed or the business ever again. Most legitimate businesses will assess the damage and give a quote for the total amount to be paid once the work is finished, instead of a flat down payment upon arrival. Follow these tips to protect yourself against home repair fraud: Get itemized estimates. Check each contractor's address, license and complaint history by calling the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) at (850) or by visiting DBPR's website at MyFloridaLicense.com. Never agree to a cash-only deal. Ask for a written estimate and inspect the terms carefully before signing and agreeing to any offer. Protect yourself from liens against your home. Make sure your contract states that the contractor will obtain notarized, written releases of lien from all subcontractors and suppliers before you will pay each payment. City offices and the Chamber of Commerce will be closed on Monday September 3, 2018, for Labor Day. Have a safe holiday.

6 NOTE: There is also a link on the lakealfredchamber.com website for you to register for the run. This will be an annual event.

7 Chamber Member Services Members, if you have an event you want to publicize for your business, please let us know or if you are looking for an additional employee. We will be happy to include the information in The BIZ. This normally goes out the last week of the month, so information needs to be submitted during the 3 rd week of the month. New Business can request a ribbon cutting / Grand Opening event. This should be scheduled a minimum of 2 weeks out. We are here to help you and we need your help to do that. Please keep in mind, we fill 3 4 Board positions each year. During the month of October, we will ask for any names of business people interested in filling a position on the Board. Thank you to the City of Lake Alfred for its support of the Community and Residents of Lake Alfred. We are growing. EDITORS CORNER The September edition of the BIZ newsletter has arrived. Please take the time to read and share with your family and friends. Then take a little time to share an article with us about your business. We are looking for a paragraph or two. Your business could be on one of these pages next month. What better way to advertise your business than a short story about what you sell or the services you provide. We thank everyone for their inputs for the three categories, which are, Connect with the Community, Connect with Business and Connect with the Government. These categories represent the core values in our mission statement, to advance economic growth, enhance our business climate and improve the quality of life for each and every person who calls Lake Alfred home. To all the businesses and people that have submitted articles, THANK YOU! Marilyn Anderson Executive Director