Working Together

☼ Did you notice ???  Changes are being made to the "President's Desk" newsletter. Our Chamber President, Ron Sefcik, will no longer do the newsletter due to time commitments to his own business, AR Controls, and to his position as Hartford Township Supervisor.  The name of our newsletter will now be The Chamber Desk and comprised by our membership as a whole. If members have any contributions to the newsletter, please click here to email news to our webmaster for compiling. All news will be edited prior to publication.  Our printed version of the Chamber Desk will be published semi-annually, instead of monthly, and this will help save on printing and postage.  The email version of the Chamber Desk will be sent out as news becomes available. 

☼ Congratulations to those voted as the Best of Hartford Businesses at our Annual Meeting.  Each one provides top-notch service and we are proud to have them in our community.  If you haven't experience their services, give them a try....you'll be pleased.  Click on the links below to see who they are and a little about what they have to offer.

• Best Overall Community-Minded Business  -  Kellogg Hardware

• Best Manufacturing Business  -  Mann Metal Finishing

• Best Retail Business  -  Vicki McFarland Pies

• Best Service Business  -  S&A Automotive

• Best Professional Business  -  Hartford Lions Club

☼  A big w-e-l-c-o-m-e  to the newest members of our Chamber Board, Toni Yannie of PNC Bank (formerly National City Bank) and Sandy Clark of Kid Builders.  We are grateful to have these business representatives join our Chamber Board.  We also wish to thank Shelia Darling, of Larry's Used Cars, for her many years of service to our Chamber board.  She's been a jewel and we appreciate all of her efforts working in our community and the Chamber was privileged to have had Shelia on our board.

             It's coming, June 11, 12 . . . 
                     Click here for a tentative schedule of events . .  much more to come!

 Click here for a video and audio sample of our Live Entertainment with Levi Riggs - you'll enjoy this!
       (large video files, best accessed with high speed broadband or DSL, not recommended for slower 56k dialup modems)

                     2010 Strawberry Festival mail-in voting ballot and event registrations:
                         Click here for Prince-Princess and here for Sweetest Strawberry Baby pictures and mail-in voting ballots.
                         Click here for 2010 Strawberry Run registration form                        
                         Click here for 2010 Kiddie & Saturday Parade registration form
                         Click here for 2010 Arts-Crafts registration form (for commercial booth, use same form)
                         Click here for 2010 Food Vendor registration form.  VB Co. Health Department Guidelines.
                                                      Food Vendors, please call prior to sending in registration.
                         Click here for Talent Contest application
                         Click here for Horseshoe Tournament registration form.
                         Click here for Car Show and Motorcycle Show registration form.
 

Strawberry Festival Sponsorship Form - We still need sponsors.  If you did not receive a sponsor form, please consider a donation toward the festival expenses.  All amounts are appreciated and we depend on contributions to help make our community festival a success.  Click here to view our sponsor list on the website . . . we would love to add your name to the list, which is updated daily.

Tickets for the Little Choo Choo Train and A&A Amusement inflatable blowups are $1.00 each after our Chamber pays $2000.00 to offset the cost to ensure families can afford to bring their children to the Strawberry Festival without creating a heavy financial burden for them.  Bringing 2-3, or more, kids to the festival makes it very difficult (if not impossible) for the parents to pay full price for rides and food.  We want to make it an enjoyable day of fun for all families without having to worry about costs. Through contributions, our Chamber provides nice entertainment so adults, as well as kids, can enjoy a good family-oriented evening together. 

☼ Got kids?  Friday, June 12th is KIDS DAY at the Strawberry Festival. All the kids had so much fun last year during the Kiddie Parade, crowing ceremony, John Dudley's Magic Show, and this was all was capped off with the crowd-pleasing Compassion Gymnastic demonstrations.  We truly loved John Dudley and the Compassion Gymnastic performances and are having them back again this year.  Kids AND adults are sure to enjoy Friday's events again this year. 

☼ Our 2010 Sweetest Strawberry Baby and Prince-Princess voting boxes are located in Hardings and Rite-Aid Pharmacy.  Check our Hartford cuties online at www.hartfordmichigan.com.  A downloadable mail-in voting ballot is available on-line for folks unable to vote at the box locations.  All voting must be received by June 10th to be counted toward your favorite contestant.  Call or email grandmas, grandpas, aunts & uncles, friends, relatives, and co-workers (no matter where they reside) so they will vote for their favorite contestant. With 9 beautiful Babies and 14 stunning Prince-Princess contestants to choose from, the choice may be a difficult task.  At a penny per vote, any amount is accepted for voting.  Crowning of our Strawberry Royalty will be on Friday, June 11th at 6:30 p.m. in Ely Park, immediately after our Kiddies Parade.

☼  Reminder - Chamber yearly memberships expired on December 31, 2009.  If you haven't done so yet, please send in your renewal dues.  The Hartford Business Directory is up-to-date on our website with a CoC designation beside current Chamber member listings.  Click here for the updated membership list.  If your business name is not shown, we haven't received your 2010 renewal form and dues. This list is updated daily and your name will be added upon receipt of dues. Out of the area listings is not permitted without Chamber membership.  On behalf of the board, we thank you and hope you will continue to support the Chamber. 

Dues must be received by June 8th to be included in our updated Chamber brochure. 
New 2010 brochures listing Chamber members will be available at the Strawberry Festival and 24/7 on our website.
Send in your new or renewal membership payment today.  
We’d be happy to renew your membership and we always welcome new members.

A real advertising bargain at
$15.00 for individuals or $30.00 for businesses and organizations.
Click here for a Renewal - New Member Application

☼  Agenda for June 8, 2010 Chamber Meeting

 1.  Call to order
 2.  Minutes presented from January-April meetings.  Motion to approve.
 3.  Strawberry Festival update
 4.  Treasurer's Report
 5.  Request for  Chamber to be in Sister Lakes "Bigfoot 4th of July" parade
 6.  Items not on the agenda
 7.  Adjourn

 Important Dates To Remember 
► Tuesday, June 8, 2010 - Chamber of Commerce meeting 12:00 NOON at Hartford City Hall.
► Friday, June 11, 2010 - Strawberry Festival Kids Day.
► Saturday, June 12, 2010 - Strawberry Festival all day..

Until next time,
Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce
          

View other Hartford events on our Local Events and Special Meetings and Announcements calendar - always online on our website at  www.hartfordmichigan.com.


Shop locally whenever you can . . . it's important for our businesses AND for your community!!

 Officers for 2009

(L-R)
Trustee Timothy Nyhuis - (269) 621-3251 - Click here to send me an email.
Vice President - Natalie Rios
Trustee - Sheila Nye (269) 621-2405 - Click here to send me an email
Trustee - Shelia Darling   (269) 621-3594  -  Click here to send me an email
Secretary - RoxAnn Rodney-Isbrecht  (269) 621-2477 -  Click here to send me an email
Trustee - Pat Vawter  (269) 621-3988 -  Click here to send me an email.
President - Ron Sefcik  (269) 621-4349 - Click here to send an email
Trustee - Tammy Ackerman (269) 621-3038  Click here to send me an email
Treasurer - Tad Moody (269) 621-4526 -  Click here to send an email
Trustee - Kim Sinclair  (269) 621-3651 - Click here to send me an email

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