Inside this Issue: To navigate throughout this newsletter click the pages listed below Page 2 President s Perspective, Mayors Prayer Breakfast Page 3 Page 4 October Luncheon, Alabama Power Page 7 Page 8 Alabama Super Spartan Race WBA, Membership Pole Page 5 Page 6 Harvest Run, Mayor s Business Before Hours New Members and Anniversaries Keep up with who s playing who! Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Saraland Christmas Parade 2016 Page 12 Promote your business, Walk for Life, Business Card Spotlight, Business After Hours How to host a Business After Hours Page 13 September Calendar Page October 2-3, 2016 WBA Forum Page 8 October 4, 2016 Mayor s Prayer Breakfast Pages 2 & 4 October 11, 2016 Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce Monthly Luncheon Page 3 October 19, 2016 Business Before Hours Page 4 October 22, 2016 YMCA Harvest Run Page 4 October 25, 2016 YMCA Gridiron Gala Page 3 October 25, 2016 Business After Hours, Juanita Chandler Page 10 November 18, 2016 Spartan Pre-Race Party 5-7:30 P.M Page 7 November 19, 2016 Spartan Race Page 7 Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce Mission Statement To Promote economic expansion and enhance the quality of life in the North Mobile Area, by supporting businesses, encouraging community leadership and fostering communication.
PAGE 2 10. 2016 Run your first 5K in 2016 Set a goal! How about the Harvest Run? I have a friend who started running at the age of 65. His wife was told by her doctor that she was to start walking to help her recover from a recent heart attack, so he would walk with her every afternoon. One afternoon he questioned himself about running from one utility pole to the next, and he did it. He then started running to two utility poles, then three, until he could run a mile. All of his hard work and dedication paid off when he could then run a 5K. Before he retired from running at the age of 87 he had set four age division state records. Remember: You can walk or run slowly, the goal is better health. Below are some benefits of running! Click here to view the whole article or continue reading to touch the main points. 1. Improve Your Health 2. Prevent Disease 3. Lose Weight 4. Boost Your Confidence 5. Relieve Stress 6. Eliminate Depression -Ron Mitchell Mayor s Prayer Breakfast On Tuesday, October 4, 2016 the Mayor s Prayer Breakfast will be hosted at the Saraland Civic Center at 7:00 in the morning. **Tickets are $5.00 a piece and can be purchased at the Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce and College Park Baptist Church** We would like to thank the 2016 Platinum Sponsors of the Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce
PAGE 3 10. 2016 Date: October 11, 2016 Time: 11:45 a.m Location: Saraland Civic Center; 716 Mae St. Speaker: Michael Dekle, Chief Probation Officer This month s luncheon will be held at Saraland Civic Center at 11:45 a.m. Prices of the luncheon have increased to $8 if you are a member of the Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce and $10 if you are not a member. 401K SOLUTIONS FOR ANY SIZE OF BUSINESS FREE Educational Event for Business Owners Dates: October 13th or 20th Time: 6-8 PM Location: 3938 Government St. Ste. 102 Mobile, AL (between I-65 & Azalea) **Register today at www.mainstayfg.com/401k** Ribbon Cutting Re-Cap Thanks to everyone who came out to support Elks Automotive and Bridgeway Academy in their Grand Opening Ceremony! Bridgeway Academy September 23, 2016 Elks Automotive September 9, 2016 May 24, 2016
PAGE 4 10. 2016 Join us on October 22 nd for this year s Harvest Run! To sign up for this event please click here
PAGE 5 10. 2016 Saraland Chamber of Commerce Membership Anniversaries The Board of Directors and staff thank the following businesses for continuing their support of the Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce. Country Inn & Suites Member Since: 2010 Farni & Farni Denistry LLP Member Since: 2009 Georgia Ruossos Catering Member Since: 2014 North Mobile Christian School Member Since: 2003 R & T Properties Member Since: 2009 Security Finance Member Since: 2012 Shell Chemical Member Since: 1998 Shiloh Baptist Church Member Since: 2008 The Rose Bud Flower and Gifts Member Since: 2014 Thompsons Paint & Body Shop Member Since: 1996 20 Year Anniversary Walker Lock & Key Member Since: 2006 10 Year Anniversary The Saraland Chamber of Commerce Welcomes our New Members Donna Gatlin Insurance & Financing Goldfingers of Saraland Iberia Bank Redemption Church Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce 939 Highway 43 South 251-675-4444 www.saralandchamber.com kirsten@saralandchamber.com shilo@saralandchamber.com The Mayor s Prayer Breakfast is October 4, 2016 at 7:00 a.m. at the Saraland Civic Center. Tickets are $5.00 each and are available at the Saraland Chamber of Commerce and College Park Baptist Church. Stop by to purchase your ticket today!
PAGE 6 10. 2016 KEEP UP WITH WHO S PLAYING WHO AND WHEN ALL GAMES START AT 7:00 PM Saraland Spartans Varsity: 8/19 Baker @ Baker 8/25-Leflore @ Ladd 9/2-Daphne @ Daphne 9/9-Blount @ Home **Shell Night** 9/16-Robertsdale @ Robertsdale 9/23-Murphy @ Home 9/30-Gulf Shores @ Home **Youth Night** 10/7-Baldwin County @ Home 10/13-Spanish Fort @ Spanish Fort 10/21-Bye 10/28-B.C Rain @ Home **Homecoming & Senior Night** Satsuma Gators Varsity: 8/19 Cottage Hill @ Home 8/26-Leroy @ Leroy 9/2-Bye 9/9-W.S Neal @ Home 9/16-UMS @ Home 9/23-Citronelle @ Home 9/30-Escambia Co. @ Escambia Co. 10/7-Andalusia @ Andalusia 10/14-Monroe Co. @ Monroe Co. 10/21-Thomasville 10/27-Chickasaw @ Chickasaw
10. 2016 PAGE 7 November 19, 2016 Alabama Super Shell Chemicals Pre-Race Party Alabama Super Spartan Race November 18, 2016 5:00-7:30pm
10. 2016 PAGE 8 Women s Business Alliance Second Annual Women s Business Forum! Enjoy two days in Gulf Shores listening to various speakers including Lucy Buffet! Don t forget about Business After WHAT S YOUR OPINION? Members Only Could text messages from your local Chamber office help with promotions and reminders? If you would like to see Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce introduce text messaging to help be at the convenience of you, click here!
PAGE 9 10. 2016 Saraland Christmas Parade 2016 The Saraland Civic Forum cordially invites you to be a part of Saraland s 48th Annual Christmas Parade. The parade is scheduled for Saturday, December 10, 2016 at 12 Noon. In case of rain, the parade will be held December 17, 2016 at 12 Noon. The theme for this year s parade will be PEACE ON EARTH. The fee for participating will be $30.00 (non-refundable) per unit. There will be an additional $5.00 charge per motorcycle. ATV s will not be allowed. There will be a $25.00 charge for returned checks. The first 25 spaces are reserved; all other spaces will be determined as entrance forms with fees are received. All units should be in place by 11:00 a.m. at Saraland Middle School. Trophies will be awarded for 1 st, 2 nd, and 3 rd place entrants. Trophies will be awarded on Saturday night, December 10 at 6:30 p.m., at the Saraland Civic Center. ONLY DANCE TEAMS WHOSE PRIMARY ADDRESS IS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF SARALAND WILL BE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE. A Santa Claus float will be provided, and no other Santa s will be allowed in the parade. Each float is required to have a minimum of 75 lbs. of candy and/or trinkets.no HARD CANDY, PLEASE. No eighteen-wheelers or similar size vehicles will be allowed. We appreciate your help and participation in making this year s parade a great success for the City of Saraland and our neighboring communities. All entries must be postmarked by December 6, 2016 to insure your participation in the parade. Please send a check or money order payable to Saraland Civic Forum, P.O. Box 462, Saraland, AL, 36571. If you have any question regarding the parade, please contact Bill Silver at 675-4873 or the Saraland Chamber of Commerce at 675-4444. Sincerely, Bill Silver, Chairman **IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS YEARS PARADE PLEASE COMPLETE THE APPLICTION AND SUBMIT IT TO SARALAND AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE**
PAGE 10 10. 2016 UPCOMING BUSINESS AFTER HOURS Spotlight of the Month Accelerated Accounting Accelerated Accounting was purchased by James Thomasson in 1995. James also purchased Three Notch Tax Service in 2003, Doggett Tax Service in Saraland in 2007, Craig Taylor CPA practice in 2009, ProTax Solutions in 2011 and D&A Financial Services in 2015. James has been in business since 1987 and has three locations around the Mobile area including 410 Hwy 43 S in Saraland. He and his staff at Accelerated Accounting prepare individual and business tax returns, including partnerships, corporations and LLC s. Our Management staff includes Bonnie Dobson, 26 years experience, Angie Cain, 11 years experience and Kari Hunsinger, 5 years experience. Our offices are open year round for your convenience. We pride ourselves in being better than the rest. If you had your taxes prepared by one of the big chains last year, we will prove we are better. We will only charge you one half (50%) of what they charged you last year and you will get our unconditional money back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied with our service, I will give you your money back. ~James Thomasson 410 Saraland Blvd South 675-5551 2803 Government Blvd 380-9429 6161 Three Notch Rd 666-5551
PAGE 11 10. 2016 Business After Hours Procedures Hosting Hosting a Business After (or before) Hours is a wonderful opportunity to showcase your business. These events are extraordinary opportunities for our members, and potential members, to get to know each other.we all would rather do business with people that we know and respect. These events provide that venue. As a host, your business will gain additional profile. Our hope is providing these guidelines is to better understand how to get the most out of your Business After Hours. This is a networking opportunity and we encourage attendees to have their business card on hand. However, we do ask that you respect the business hosting the event and keep distribution of your promotional material to a minimum. Suggestions -Know why you want to host this event and articulate that with the Chamber staff. You might want to have as many people as possible at the Business After Hours or you might want to have a more targeted approach to getting a more specific audience to the event. -Business After Hours are often scheduled months in advance. The date is typically the 3 rd Thursday of each month. If you need to change the day, the chances of conflicting with other Chamber/community events increase dramatically. The Chamber tries not to schedule anything on the evening of a Business After Hours but by moving the date, scheduling conflicts become more possible. The networking event s typical hours are 5-7pm. The highest attendance will be from 5:45-6:30. With a Business Before Hours, the typical time period is 7-8:30. Business Before Hours is typically less attended. We do not have a calendar of Business before Hours so any date selected can be approved through the Chamber staff. -Recognize that people seek something to do with their hands. They also seek commonalities through which they can begin a conversation. Serving food often gives folks that option. We can provide you with a list of Chamber member caterers. You want to make this an experience people can remember and talk about in a positive fashion later. The Chamber staff will work with you to determine an approximate number of attendees. -Do something memorable. It m ight be a tour of your facility, or a 5-10 minute talk about what you do or provide an activity for the guests. (If you did the latter, make it no more than 15 minutes). -Provide door prizes it doesn t need to be many but some that might show off your product line/service would be great. The real value of door prizes is you will have the business cards of those that attended the event. You can send out a thank you note, email, etc. to those attendees to make the evening more memorable. -Have fun people want to enjoy themselves. Have fun try to make this experience memorable. Try something new. To get a feel for how you want your Business After (or before) Hours to be memorable, go to others through the course of the year to determine what you liked or would change. If you would like your business to sponsor the next Business After Hours event, please contact the Saraland Chamber of Commerce by clicking here.
PAGE 12 10. 2016 romote your Business The Chamber is advertising business cards that are linked directly to your website for both the monthly newsletters and through our website. If you would like to promote your business, please contact the Chamber of Commerce. The cost for advertising your business card is $250 annually. Congratulations to this month s Business Card of the Month! Don t forget to submit your business card at the next luncheon for your chance to win a free advertisement in the next Newsletter! Click the business card to visit their website
PAGE 13 10. 2016 Chairman of the Board: Rick Schaffer President: Ron Mitchell President Elect: Evelyn Gibson Treasurer: Scooter Thronson CO/VP Administration: Wayne Lyssy VP Membership& Diplomats: Houston Cunningham VP Econ. Development: Jeff Kahn VP Community Development: Eddie Holmes VP Governmental Affairs: Bill Silver VP Public Relations: George Burroughs VP Special Projects: Donna Jones Greg Cawthon, Re/Max Gateway Eloise Frost, Individual Member Juanita Chandler, Chandler Properties Dr. Aaron Milner, Superintendent Brian Wilson, Walmart Sheron Atwell, Exit Realty Nick Patel, LaQuinta Inn Terri Pringle, SARPC Anita Clark, C Spire Jeff Schmitz, Alabama Power Bradley Flowers, Alfa Insurance Joel Ross, First Community Bank Jessica Neff, Mediacom Chris Mears, Mears Electric Tom Williams, Satsuma Council Ronnie Outlaw, Bama Auto Parts Del Williamson, Quint s Sporting Goods Chris McFarland, Smoothie King Tammy Little, Shell Chemical Joe Freeman, PNC Bank 4-Woman s Club, 10 am 4-Widowed Persons Service Saraland Civic Center, 10am 4-Lion s Club Saraland United Methodist Church, Noon 4-Board of Adjustments Saraland City Courthouse, 6pm 5-Rotary Club of North Mobile Catfish Junction $10pp, Noon 6-Sunshine Club 11-Widowed Persons Service Saraland Civic Center, 10am 11-Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce Monthly Luncheon Noon, Saraland Civic Center 11-Planning Commission 13-City Council Pre Meeting Saraland Chamber Board Room 6:00 pm 13-City council Meeting 6:30 pm 13 Keep Saraland Beautiful, Noon, Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce 13-Sunshine Club 15 Disabled Veterans of America Saraland Civic Center, 9am-noon Contact: Tom Williams 251-648-4811 18-Widowed Persons Service Saraland Civic Center, 10am 18-Lion s Club Saraland United Methodist Church, Noon 19-Rotary Club of North Mobile Catfish Junction $10pp, Noon 20-Sunshine Club Senior Citizen Center, 11:00am Saraland Municipal Annex, 6pm 24-Woodmen of the World 312 Celeste Road Saraland, 6pm 25-Widowed Persons Service Saraland Civic Center, 10am 25-Civic Forum Saraland Civic Center, 10am 25-Board of Directors Meeting, Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce, 12:00 noon 27-Sunshine Club 27 City Council Pre Meeting 6:00 pm 27-City Council Meeting 6:30 31-Halloween G.E.D Classes Monday-Thursday, 9:00 am- 12:00 pm Saraland Civic Center Contact information: James Williams 251-679-5517 Saraland Quilting Club Monday, Wednesday, & Friday, 1:00 pm Saraland Civic Center All ages & skill levels are welcome Chief J.C. West, City of Saraland Veronica Hudson, City Council If you would like to add an event or monthly organization meeting to the Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce s monthly calendar, please click here to email the Chamber. 939 Highway 43 South Saraland, AL 36571 www.saralandchamber.com kirsten@saralandchamber.com shilo@saralandchamber.com Phone number: 251-675-4444 Fax number: 251-675-2307 Connect with us on: If you would like to know how your business can become the next Spotlight Business of the Month, please click here. Saraland Area Chamber of Commerce Mission Statement To Promote economic expansion and enhance the quality of life in the North Mobile Area, by supporting businesses, encouraging community leadership and fostering communication.