Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce Summer 2011 Chamber News 2011 Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Shannon Tomlinson, President Tommy Julian, Vice President Dereck Warren, Secretary/Treasurer David Bachman, Past President Terry Bradley Carla Ellisor Mike Spring Scott Brumley Lila Tucker Tena Perez Tony Messenger 2011 Chamber of Commerce Staff Charity O Donnell, Executive Director Misti Armstrong, Office Manager Anna Lester, Chamber Intern/ Receptionist Thank you for making our new staff members feel welcome! Coming Soon: Junior Chamber The Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce is partnering with local Wanted: Your Promotional Materials! During the summer months, the Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce experiences an influx of walk-in visitors in addition to requests for tourism information and visitor mailings. We need your brochures, business cards, youth to form a new organization called Junior Chamber Leadership Program. Any interested high school students in their sophomore, junior, or senior years may contact Charity O Donnell at the Chamber office to get involved. JCLP is open to Broken Bow High School students or students of other high schools who reside in Broken Bow. JCLP allows high school students to contribute to community life and gain experience with non-profit organizations and activities. If you are aware of high school students that may be interested in gaining leadership experience and obtaining scholarship opportunities, please encourage them to pick up a Junior Chamber Leadership Program application from the Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce. In addition, if you are interested in serving as an adult advisor for JCLP, please contact Charity for more information. flyers, and promotional materials in order to provide tourists with information about shopping, lodging, food, and activities. Please keep our Chamber stocked with any materials you have available. Thank you for your cooperation!
C h a m b e r N e w s P a g e 2 Business Spotlights Broadway Offering sales and service on new and used boats. We sell parts, batteries, tubes, ropes, life jackets, and more! Boat & Motor Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm, Sat: 9am-2pm Located at 15 N Broadway in Broken Bow 580-584-2515 Like us on Facebook! Dirty Girl Soaps Our all-natural bath and beauty products are made right here in Broken Bow! Check out our chemical-free soaps, lotion bars, healing balms, foaming hand soaps, facial and body scrubs, lip balms, hair products, and much more! www.beadirtygirl.com contact@beadirtygirl.com We also offer T-shirts, tote bags, coffee mugs, and more. Like us on Facebook! Lucky Dog Resort Canoes & Kayaks Canoes, Kayaks, Tubes, Bunk Houses, Campsites, Friendly Service 580-584-2909 5 mi. East of Broken Bow on Hwy 70 Lucky Dog Resort offers visitors a fullblown outdoor adventure! Like us on Facebook!
P a g e 3 S u m m e r 2 0 1 1 New Members Dirty Girl Soaps Broadway Boat & Motor Lucky Dog Resort Canoes & Kayaks Sweetz Ice Cream & Candy Shop Complete Care Medical Hidden Hills Cabins Fox Run Cabins Whatley Sign Co., LLC Mountain Fork River Front Canoe & Kayak Rentals PuRRsonal ReDesign Lakeway Bait & Tackle Tippa Canoe, LLC Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma Sugar Creek Retreat B&B Catering David Jordan Hauling Broken Bow Photography Vacation Broken Bow Lake Sleepy Hollow Cabins & Gift Shop Chad Coons Design Hochatown Hideout Isbell Properties Lake Rat Rentals Hugs & Stitches...ox s Beavers Bend Retreat Aflac Carper Springs Cabins Blood Drive The next Chamber of Commerce Blood Drive will be held at the Broken Bow Fire Department on Thursday, Sept. 8 from 12-6 pm. Donate blood and save a life! Chamber Luncheons Don t miss out on the next Chamber luncheon, which will be provided free to members on Tuesday, August 16th. Andy James from OK Forestry will speak about preventing forest fires. Network, eat, and enjoy an educational presentation! Christmas Parade It s time to gear up for the 2011 Christmas Parade! Now is the time to begin preparations for floats, costumes, and banners. This year s theme is A Star- Spangled Christmas. Coming Soon: Online Bill Pay! Chamber members will soon be able to pay membership dues, submit advertising fees, and purchase Chamber banquet tickets online! Check back with the Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce for updates on our new online system. Insurance Available to Chamber Members Did you know that Chamber members are eligible for Blue- Cross BlueShield insurance coverage? Contact the Chamber of Commerce for more information. bchamber@pine-net.com Centennial Luncheon Celebrate Broken Bow s 100th birthday with us at the Chamber s Centennial Luncheon! The luncheon will be held Sept. 20 and is free to Chamber members. Non-members may pay $8 and celebrate with us!
P a g e 4 S u m m e r 2 0 1 1 Beautification Committee Report The Beautification Committee of the Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce is hard at work on the Great American Cleanup. This is the nation s largest community improvement program and has a mission of maintaining a reputation for a clean city and keeping southeast Oklahoma beautiful. In March 2010, Janet Cress came up with an idea to keep Hochatown roadways clean. She stated that, through donations, we will take care of Hochatown. We may not be able to clean the county, but the roadside in Hochatown will be beautiful! As small donations began coming in, Janet coordinated crews to pick up the trash. They began working on small areas and soon her vision was a reality. Since the committee was founded, over 2,000 bags of trash have been collected, one piece of trash at a time. The program is only successful through donations. Since its inception, the community of Hochatown have joined together and collectively donated over $10,000 to keep Highway 259 clean and beautiful! Donations continue to grow, enabling the committee to expand their efforts. Thanks to donations from new partners, including the Broken Bow Lions Club, Janitor s Local Supply, and Kiamichi Chevrolet, the Beautification team will begin cleanup on Highway 259 south towards Idabel and on Highway 70 east towards Eagletown. Everyone is sick of the trash on the highways and there s no reason why we can t keep it picked up. The more donors we gain, the more we can expand our territory. Through continued donations, we can pick up more often, said Sharon Helms, co-chairperson for the committee. Trash is picked up in Hochatown along a 14-mile stretch at least 5 days a week. Litter is not going to stop, and we will not stop picking it up. It s time for all our business leaders and community partners to get involved, stated Janet Cress, chairperson for the Beautification Committee. A clean city is just good business and everyone is enjoying the reputation that Hochatown is receiving for keeping our city clean. The Beautification Committee is a non-profit organization that relies solely on donations. When a donation is made, the funds are used exclusively to pay the men and women who pick up the trash. Now that the group has three territories, each donation received will be earmarked for the location chosen by the donor. New donors are needed to continue the committee s focus on the future. After years and years of meeting, cussing, and discussing our trash problem, Janet has sustained this effort by growing from one mile to three miles to 14 miles, said Terry Walker, donor and supporter. Every morning as I drive north I am pleased at the CLEAN highway what a great way to start my day. Even on these 100+ degree days, they are out working the highway picking up trash EVERY day. I hope everyone will join us so efforts can be expanded to all the entrances to our area. Want to get involved and contribute to keeping Broken Bow gateways clean? Make your tax-deductible donation (no matter how large or small) each month to: The Beautification Committee Janet Cress, HC 75, Box 40-1 Broken Bow, OK 74728 Let s all do our part to keep our community clean!
C h a m b e r N e w s P a g e 5 New Business Awards Sweetz Ice Cream & Candy Shop PuRRsonal ReDesign Full Life Family Resource Center Don s EZ Pay Downtown Diner Lakeway Bait & Tackle Pizzazz Broadway Boat & Motor The Gym Sleepy Hollow Cabins & Gift Shop Uncle Charlie s Old Time Photos These new or expanded businesses have been recognized by the Chamber for successfully contributing to our community. Congratulations! Expansion & Improvement Awards B & N Hardware Marketing with Social Media The Broken Bow Chamber encourages each of our members to take advantage of the free marketing tools offered by social networking services. Setting up and maintaining a business profile may seem time-consuming at first, but providing yourself with an opportunity to connect with potential clients is well worth the time and effort. To help keep your business s social network experience running smoothly, here are a few suggestions: Post daily. Providing a daily post or status update takes less than five minutes and keeps your profile updated with fresh content. Connect with visitors. If someone asks a question or makes a comment on your profile, reply promptly with the information they are seeking. Support the area as a whole. Congratulate other local businesses on accomplishments and highlight aspects of our community that will interest potential visitors. Keep visitors informed about specials, sales, etc. When you have something new going on, let people know about it. Be sure to specify if the special, sale, or discount is a limited-time offer. Please contact the Chamber with any additional questions. Good luck!
113 W Martin Luther King Drive Broken Bow, OK 74728 Phone: 580-584-3393 Fax: 580-584-7698 Email: bchamber@pine-net.com www.brokenbowchamber.com Www.mccurtaincountygetaways.com Dates to Remember Chamber Luncheon Tuesday, Aug. 16 Blood Drive Thursday, Sept. 8, Nov. 10, Jan. 12 Chamber Softball Tournament Saturday, Sept. 17 (fundraiser for Junior Chamber Leadership Program) Centennial Luncheon Tuesday, Sept. 20 Folk Festival Friday-Sunday, Nov. 11-13 Christmas Parade Monday, Dec. 5 We wish all McCurtain County students, teachers, administrators, and staff a successful 2011-2012 school year!