New Member Resources Central 12416 Hooper Road Central, LA 70818 225.261.5818 www.cityofcentralchamber.com 1 P a g e
The Mission of the Central shall be to guide, inspire, and promote the business and professional interests of its members and to enhance the economic, cultural and recreational opportunities for the citizens of Central. Join the chamber to Participate in valuable member services and benefits like our Member2Member Benefits Program and education classes. Receive a return on your Investment TODAY! Promote your company to achieve greater visibility & impact the community Market your business and expand your potential client base Enhance the business climate in the area Have a voice in fashioning the future of the city of Central The Central Serves the city of Central Is a private non-profit organization Is a network and professional development conduit Is a special interest group advocating the growth and development of businesses Is a member of the U.S. Publishes an annual Membership Directory & Business Guide Is the 2014 Louisiana State Small Chamber of the Year! 2 P a g e
Top 10 Reasons to be a Chamber Member Reason #10 Make great business contacts! Among the most visible and meaningful advantages Chamber membership offers is the opportunity to establish business contacts and relationships. Through this ongoing personal interaction, members develop a variety of resources and alliances that can help them build their businesses. Reason #9 Save bucks and lower your cost of doing business with other Chamber members! The Chamber s Member2Member Benefits Program & Office Depot Affinity Program enables you to save on products and services you and your company use every day. From discounts on car repairs to office supplies and computers, the money you will save on a single purchase can pay for your annual dues and more...and it is FREE to participate! Reason #8 ground breaking/ribbon cutting ceremonies Let the Chamber help you celebrate your new office, product, or renovation! We will help you promote the opening by providing you with mailing list of our membership and running the press announcements. Reason #7 Key Networking events. Whether it s our monthly Business After Hours event, our Mardi Gras Ball or the Golf Scramble, you d be hardpressed not to have a great time. Add to that monthly luncheon event and you ve got a calendar full of fun events you can attend at a premium price. Reason #6 Get all of the news you can use! The Chamber is in the information business. The weekly publication is featured in Central Speaks. The Chamber s electronic bi-weekly newsletter is emailed to over 500 subscribers. The website, cityofcentralchamber.com, features the latest community, member and Chamber news stories. Reason #5 Market your business to the city, the state, the region and Beyond! New residents and visitors stop by or call the Chamber office each year for information on local businesses. The Chamber staff only refers our members to these guests. Each Chamber member is listed in both our printed and online Membership Directory by category and company name. Reason #4 Get your voice heard! Get involved with committees and have a voice in decisions made to better the chamber as well as the City of Central! Reason #3 Have Access to elected officials! The Chamber provides regular face-to-face meeting opportunities with local, state and national elected officials at events like our monthly luncheon. Reason #2 Contribute to building a stronger economy! The Chamber champions activities that foster business retention and business development. Businesses create jobs. A healthy business environment is highly needed to promote a stable economy for Central. Reason #1 Invest in the future of Central! So, your business has been successful without the Chamber. Why should you join? The Chamber s ultimate goal is to improve the business environment, the economic health, and development and prosperity of our city. While many of our efforts and services can and will be of direct and material assistance to you, it is absolutely certain that our programs are indirectly helpful to all business and professional people, as well as the community we serve, and your membership fee maybe fully tax deductible. 3 P a g e
Committees: Be an active voice with these groups Great way for you to meet people and/or for people to get to know more about you and your business Normally meets once a month for about an hour Business Over Breakfast/Business After Hours (BAH): Food and drinks are provided Great networking opportunity to pass out business cards & meet new people Leads For Lunch: Great networking opportunity to talk about your business Meal provided Member2Member Discount Program (M2M): You can receive discounts from over 30 participants just by showing your membership card. Included in every new member and prospect packet Promoted on our website Participants are allowed one free copy of the Chamber s mailing list in label format Ribbon Cutting: You pick the date & time (please give us 2 weeks notice) We provide the ribbon and scissors The free publicity you will receive includes: promotion on the Chamber website, Facebook page, and in the local paper. It s your event. Make it as grand or as simple as you like. It can be as simple as coffee and donuts in the morning, cake and soft drinks in the afternoon or as elaborate as a catered event with food and music in the evening. One last suggestion is to have an open house and encourage everyone to tour the facility, if appropriate. Additional Benefits: Post press releases on our website Free participation in the Office Depot Affinity Program Mailing list (excel format) of all chamber members Placement of business cards, brochures, etc in the Chamber s lobby Company information published in annual directory Company information listed in our online directory 4 P a g e
2014 Board of Directors & Staff Board of Directors Ti Barnes Walton Ti Barnes II, 12628 Hooper Road, Central, LA 70818 Brockwell Bone Aptus Marketing, 12118 Gurney Road, Central, LA 70818 Reda Cockerham CJ Brown Realtors, 3029 S Sherwood Forest Blvd. Ste. 200, Baton Rouge, LA 70816 Stephen David Whitney Bank, 13585 Hooper Road, Central, LA 70818 Chris Dickerson Investar Bank, 7244 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70808 Les Hunt Hunt s Tire and Car Care, 10440 Greenwell Springs Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70814 Si Kora KG Capital Management, 13192 Bricksome Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70816 Tim Lazaroe RV Cams, 8889 Sullivan Road, Ste. C, Central, LA 70818 Wayne Leader AA Mini Storage & Central SuperSuds, 12414 Hooper Road, Central, LA 70818 Michelle Lewis Lewis Wrecker Service, Inc., 9955 Joor Road, Central, LA 70818 Tommie Morden Central City Chapeaux Chicks Chapter of the Red Hat Society, Central, LA 70818 Kevin Rogers Rogers Regional Eye Center, 18522 Magnolia Bridge Road, Ste. 101, Central, LA 70739 5 P a g e
Lucky Ross Ross Tire & Service,LLC., P.O. Box 78349, Central, LA 70837 Russell Starns Chase Healthcare, Inc., 8855-2C Sullivan Road, Central, LA 70818 Heidi Wendt Ochsner, 1700 Medical Center Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70816 Chamber Staff Ron Erickson President & CEO 225.261.5818 broron@cityofcentralchamber.com Juanita Ross Vice President of Member Development 225.261.5818 jross@cityofcentralchamber.com Darci Perkins Administrative Assistant 225.261.5818 chamber@cityofcentralchamber.com 6 P a g e
Ribbon Cuttings The Central is excited about your upcoming ceremony and we are committed to providing you with maximum exposure! We offer this service as a benefit of being a Chamber member at no additional cost to you. The success of a ribbon cutting or grand opening ceremony can directly impact your business potential. Therefore, we have compiled a few simple guidelines to assist you in the planning and coordination of a successful event. Set a date In selecting a date, the Chamber requests a minimum of 2 weeks notice. Once you have a date and time in mind, contact the chamber office, 225.261.5818, for availability. Every attempt will be made to schedule your ribbon cutting on your requested date. However, based on availability, another date may need to be chosen. You will receive a confirmation for your scheduled ribbon cutting date. The time of the event should be the time of the actual ribbon cutting. Get the word out Once the date is confirmed, it will appear on the Chamber s website calendar and will be added to our e- newsletter. We will invite fellow Chamber members, nearby businesses and community dignitaries. For even further promotions, we will give you a Chamber membership mailing list to send invitations. You can invite friends, family, and business colleagues. Ceremony Checklist Ribbon The Chamber will provide the ribbon for your ceremony. Scissors - The Chamber will provide the large ceremonial scissors that actually cut the ribbon. Photography - A Chamber staff member will bring a camera to photograph your cutting. However, we encourage you to bring a backup camera. If you would like to have additional photos taken at your ceremony we would encourage you to have another photographer. Have Fun - Anything goes as this is your event! Your ribbon cutting will be the first time most people enter your business. Consider tours, door prizes, discounts on products and services, marketing materials including brochures, price lists and sample products, that will encourage your guests to become customers. You may want to consider having coffee and donuts in the morning, soft drinks and dessert in the afternoon or a catered event with food and music. After the ribbon cutting The Chamber will publish your photograph and business information on the Chamber website, www.cityofcentralchamber.com and on its Facebook page. Your business will be awarded a Ribbon Cutting plaque. We will also make sure that the local newspapers have everything they need about your special event. Congratulations and best of luck to you! 7 P a g e
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2014 Central Calendar of Events Chamber Monthly Membership Meetings (2 nd Wednesday of each month) 11:30AM-Networking 12noon- Meeting @ Kristenwood Reception Hall 14025 Greenwell Springs Rd. (across from St. Alphonsus Catholic Church----(Luncheon-$12.00) January 8 July 9 February 20* August 13 March 12 September 10 April 9 October 8 May 14 November 12 June 11 December 11 Leads For Lunch (4 th Wednesday of each month) 11:30AM 1:00PM - $12.00 January 22 June 25 February 26 August 27 March 26 September 24 April 23 October 22 Krewe de Centrale Mardi Gras Ball February 1, 2014 Saturday 7-12pm (Former Starkey Academy) *4 th Annual Awards Banquet February 20, 2014 Thursday 7p.m. Kristenwood Reception Center Cooking in Central Fundraiser for Central Community Schools May 30, 2014 Friday Crawfish Boil St. Alphonsus Catholic Church Central, La. May 31, 2014 Saturday Cook-Off & Live & Silent Auction Chamber Golf Tournament October, 2014 Miss City of Central Pageant October 2014 Christmas Festival Christmas Banner Decorations Thanksgiving January 1, through-out Central Running of the Elves 5K November 29 Saturday Tree Ceremony and Display December 4 Thursday Corner of Hooper & Sullivan Parade December 6 Saturday Start at Zoar Baptist Church Carnival December 5-7 Fri-Sun Central Middle School 9 P a g e
Powered-Up Savings When you enroll in the Central Chamber with Office Depot, you will receive unbeatable discounts on your office supplies, office furniture, technology, copy/print, and much more. Let the Central Chamber show you how to maximize these savings! Here are the highlights: Deeper discounts on the items you purchase most often 15-30% off Copy Paper, Ink, Toner, and General Supplies A straight 5% discount on nearly everything else Office Depot sells A stronger retail presence-you will save money on every purchase you make An enhanced ordering process-easier to access program discounts both online (through the chamber website) and in stores Coupons, catalogs, and exclusive offers, to help maximize your savings Next Day Delivery (in all major markets) and Free Shipping for all orders over $50 To receive these incredible benefits, please complete this form: Company Name Office Supplies Contact Name IT Supplies Contact Name Shipping Address City State Zip Billing Address (if different than shipping) City State Zip Phone Number Fax Email Address Number of Employees Average Monthly Supply expenditures Would you like to have access to our website so you may place your orders online? Yes No Is your business tax exempt? Yes No (If yes, please attach your tax exempt form.) Interested in learning more or signing up? It s FREE to get started! Contact your Office Depot representative: Karen Bass FAX 2257524844 Karen.Bass@officedepot.com 10 P a g e
Investments: $50.00 Payment: Cash or Check Monthly Sponsorship include: Central Monthly Sponsorships Newsletter & Weekly Events Exclusive Sponsorship of all Communications Advertising in the weekly E-Newsletter(at least 8 mail outs a month) & E-mail blast Flyer Distribution to Chamber Members in attendance at the monthly meeting Table Sponsor (optional) Logo Displayed at Luncheon 3-Minute Business Infomercial at Luncheon, if so desired Please fill out the information below: Sponsorship Month: Name of Business: Contact Person: Phone No.: E-Mail: Website Address: Signature: Logo: Please send your Logo in jpeg format to chamber@cityofcentralchamber.com *Make your check payable to Central 11 P a g e