Maplewood Chamber of Commerce

Recently, Jerry Gibbs, Chamber President, and I were interviewed by Ryan Martin of Maplewood-Brentwood Patch.com about the Chamber’s progress in 2011. As I prepared for the interview, looking back at the last 12 months, I was reminded just how far our organization has come in a short time.

In 2011, the Chamber  welcomed 17 new or relocated businesses to Maplewood with Ribbon Cutting ceremonies. We held well over 30 networking events for Chamber Members resulting in stronger relationships among our membership. The launch of our Net-Lunch program was a hit as well as our first ever Chamber Pub Crawl in conjunction with the City of Maplewood, Let Them Eat Art event.

The Chamber experienced our highest attendance and success in years for both of our signature events.  Despite a forecast of epic storms and torrential rainfall, the Taste of Maplewood Street Festival brought record crowds who enjoyed sunshine, live music and tasty bites from our restaurants. The Christmas Tree Walk looked like a cross between Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol and Black Friday at its very best. There is nothing more fulfilling to myself or our Board, then seeing Maplewood filled with visitors spending time and money enjoying our businesses.

Finally, perhaps our greatest accomplishment of 2011, was the launch of our website! Redesigning our website was a major part of our strategic plan that came to fruition in August. The new site allows us to serve and promote our Chamber Members in ways we haven’t in the past.

After reflecting on the year and trying to pinpoint the success factor, I concluded that it takes the perfect storm to create a year like 2011. It begins with a strong and innovative leader, like Jerry Gibbs, supported by a dedicated and involved Board of Directors. It gains momentum by buidling strong parternships with the City of Maplewood, MRH School District and community leaders. It grows by taking risks, experimenting with new ideas and thinking outside the box. Finally, it is sustained by our Chamber Members who choose to be active, involved and engaged. This was the perfect storm of 2011.

2012 Anniversaries

2012 marks significant anniversaries for several Chamber Members. Please let us know ASAP if your business is celebrating an anniversary that we haven’t acknowledged below.

Congratulations to all of the following businesses:

80 Years

Jay B. Smith Funeral Home

75 Years

 Sherwood Forest Camp

65 Years

 Essex Manufacturing

45 Years

 Unique Heating and Cooling

25 Years

 Cozad Commercial Real Estate

Gobberdiel Strategic Communications

Myotherapy Pain Relief of Missouri

20 Years

 Schaefer Shell

10 Years

Girls on the Run St. Louis

 Event Partners

Martz & Wilson

5 Years

Mike Piazza Automotive

Premier Insurance Source

Saint Louis Cellars

The Hermann London Group

Troll Construction

The Maplewood Chamber of Commerce’s 10th Annual Christmas Tree Walk is December 2, 2011.

Join us as we officially kick off the holiday season in Maplewood at the 10^th Annual Christmas Tree Walk. The festivities begin at 6:00 p.m. in Citizens Park with caroling, the grand lighting of the tree and Santa Claus’s arrival. Throughout the evening, enjoy free carriage rides, hot chocolate and a shuttle service that will take you through historic Maplewood. Visit our merchants and take advantage of their holiday shopping specials. Relax and refuel at one of our popular dining destinations or coffee shops that are featuring live entertainment. Make Maplewood your first and last stop for holiday cheer, shopping and entertainment. Very special thanks to our sponsors: City of Maplewood Special Business District, Citizens National Bank, Moosylvania, Sunnen Products Company, Patch.com and the MRH School District.

Participation information for Maplewood Businesses and 2011 Christmas Tree Walk Registration Form

Program of Events

 6:00 p.m.

• Grand Lighting of the Christmas Tree
• Caroling
• Arrival of Santa Claus
• Merchant Window Decorating Contest winners announced

6:30-9:00 p.m.

• Santa visits and photos and free carriage rides (7305 Manchester)
• Merchant Open Houses throughout Maplewood
• Free Shuttle Service (see map below)

See below for a list of participating businesses. Check often for updates.

Citizens National Bank (7305 Manchester Ave.)  Train Display, visit and picture with Santa and Mrs. Claus

Kakao Chocolate (7272  Manchester Ave.) Handmade chocolate samples, specials on hot chocolate

Tigerlily Gifts & Monograms (7328 Manchester Ave.) Book signing by Amanda Doyle, personalized ornaments by artist

Home Wine Kitchen (7322 Manchester Ave.) 3 course special menu for $40 (not including alcohol)

St. Louis Salt Room (2739 Sutton Blvd.)   Open House, celebrating our first year with various specials offers

Paramount Jewelers (7348 Manchester Ave.)  Holiday appetizers and drinks

Charm Boutique (7312 Manchester Ave.)  Christmas cookies

Roots (3104 Sutton Ave.)  10% off entire purchase and light refreshments

Vom Fass (7314 Manchester Ave.) Complimentary wine tasting, apple punch, cookies

Encore Baking (2730 Sutton Blvd.) Complimentary cake samples

Maya Cafe (2726 Sutton Blvd.) Live entertainment and specials on selected drinks

Concordia Lutheran Church (7291 Sarah) Complimentary food, music performances, and caroling

Foundation Grounds (7298 Manchester Ave.) Seasonal drinks including hot cocoa, apple cider, and honey cardamom latte

Gisele’s (7318 Manchester Ave.) Special pricing on certain items for the evening only

Stellar Batik (2506 Sutton Blvd) Light refreshments

Penzeys Spices (7338 Manchester Ave.) Complimentary  1/4 cup jar of Penzey’s mulling spice

Boogaloo (7344 Manchester) Live entertainment and specials on holiday beverages

Saratoga Lanes (2725A Sutton Blvd.) Buy one game bowling get one free or free shoe rental

Airedale Antics (7316 Manchester Ave.) Refreshments, $5 nail trims or coupon for later use, meet trainer Jennifer Huddleston, 50% off marked gift items

The Post Sports Bar & Grill (7372 Manchester Ave.) $2 Schlafly seasonal beer

The Wood (2733 Sutton Blvd.) Live entertainment, special on Irish hot chocolate

2012 Membership Form Website_distributed

What’s out? Black Friday What’s In? Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday is on November 26th.  Nationwide, the public is asked to shop “small” on the Saturday of the biggest shopping weekend of the year. There is no better place in St. Louis for small business shopping than Maplewood! Below is a list of Maplewood businesses running special promotions on Small Business Saturday.

Check back often for an updated list.

Tigerlily Monograms & Gifts (7328 Manchester Rd.) Complimentary food and wine punch, 20% discount on personalized ornaments

Maplewood Scooter Company (7509 Manchester) $300-$1000 off selected Scooters, 10-30% off Scooter accessories

The Kerry Cottage (2119 S. Big Bend) 10% of the proceeds taken in will be donated to St. Vincent de Paul

We asked Maplewoodians what they are most grateful for this Thanksgiving. Feel free to add your own piece of thankfulness in the comments section below or send it to us and we’ll update our list below.

I’m thankful for the many blessings in my life: wonderful friends and family, two adorable dogs, a rewarding career, and an incredible community. Above all, I’m thankful to be sharing this journey with the lovely Gwendolyn Ragno. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Ryan Martin, Patch.com

I am thankful for all of those people who have enriched my life over the years. Each of them, in their own way, have helped to mold and shape me into the person I am today. I look forward to spending time with friends and family over the holiday season and taking time to appreciate all that life has to offer us. Sometimes life is all too short and we forget to take time from our busy schedules to appreciate the simple things in life and to let our loved ones know just how much they mean to us.
Ron Jagels, Edward Jones

This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for family and friends.  Throughout the year, they have been there for the support and guidance!
Kari Kraichely, Charm Boutique

My family, each and every one of them!
Stacey Demos, Frontenac Engineering Group

I am most thankful for God, followed by my health and that of my family and friends. I am also grateful that I live in the greatest country in the world and for the military who make it possible. Finally, I am most appreciative for coffee, red wine, keyless entry, QuikTrip, radio stations that don’t play Christmas music, Pat Trout, sea salt caramels from Kakao Chocolate and signs that the skinny jean fad is over.
Jeannine Beck, Maplewood Chamber of Commerce

We are thankful to be in a place in our lives where we work with great people, have loving families, are healthy, and enjoy what we do everyday.  This year we are excited to sponsor a family to make sure they can have an enjoyable holiday season.  And if I am being honest, I am thankful for mashed potatoes!Adam Kruse, The Hermann London Group

I’m thankful to be part of such a talented and ambitious team of people, with countless opportunities to put my skills to great use, doing what I love every day.
Carol Mertz, The Rampant Creative Group

I’m thankful for good health and for the successful year we’ve had at Moosylvania and at Hatch.  We’ve been blessed to the point of being able to give back to the community efforts for Joplin and for Joe’s Place.  We’re filling shopping carts this month for a local food pantry, so as we continue to give we receive much in return!
Sharon Ayers, Moosylvania

As a business owner I’m thankful this holiday season for belonging to such a supportive community.  I also cherish all of the employees and patrons that have built our reputation into what it currently is today.  Staff members play such an integral role in any customer experience, and I’ve very thankful for their diligent work ethic day in and day out.  On a personal level I’m very thankful for the many wonderful relationships I’m lucky enough to have developed and hopefully strengthened over the past year.  Because at the end of the day, the relationships in our life are truly what matter most, and often times this is easy to lose sight of.
Adrian Glass, The Post Sports Bar & Grill

The Chamber has created an additional award to recognize a Chamber business who performed or contributed exceptionally within their industry or community within the last year.

For years, the Chamber has recognized individuals who have given significant time and resources to the community with the Business Person, Citizen and Educator of the year awards. These awards are given annually at the Dinner/Auction. The new award is different because it recognizes the accomplishments of a business rather than an individual and the award is based solely on merits earned in the last year.

Jerry Gibbs, President of the Chamber comments, “It allows us to spotlight businesses making strides in their industry or community. Since the award is based on contributions made in recent history, the recipient could be a well-known established company or an up and coming emerging business.” Nominations will be accepted through December 16 and the award presentation will be performed at the Annual Meeting/First Quarter Luncheon at Schlafly Bottleworks on January 24th.

Click here for Maplewood Business of the Year Award Overview including criteria, eligibility and nomination information.

Click here for a Maplewood  Business of the Year Award Nomination Form

Nadir Djavaherian was presented with the Business Person of the Year award. Djavaherian owns and operates Auto Plaza Maplewood (formerly Auto Plaza Ford) and the Maplewood Scooter Company. He is a Chamber Board member and also serves on the Special Business District Commission. His former industry recognized him earlier this year in awarding Auto Plaza Maplewood the Ford Motor Company’s Presidential Award for which only a handful of dealerships are awarded each year.

Djavaherian exemplifies what it means to be a good corporate citizen demonstrated by his support given to charitable organizations and community initiatives. He has provided support for chamber luncheons, the Taste of Maplewood Street Festival, Maple Days, the Maplewood Centennial, Community Fair, Women Making History and Let Them Eat Art. He continued his support even during times that his industry was facing economic crisis.

Djavaherian serves on the economic development committee for which he has been instrumental in creating a small business toolkit. He is well respected among colleagues and community leaders for his sharp business sense and a desire to help the Maplewood community.

The Citizen of the Year Award was awarded to Maplewood Mayor James White. Mayor White grew up in and has continued to reside here all of his life. After spending 30 years as a St. Louis County Police Officer, he served  10 years as Maplewood Police Chief for which his daughter described as “a dream come true”. As Chief of Police, White is credited with improving the professionalism of the department and making operational changes that ensured officers had the proper equipment.

After retiring as Chief, White continued his public service efforts by running for Mayor of Maplewood for which he ran unopposed. As Mayor he has worked to bring greater visibility to area non-profits and shows strong support for initiatives that create neighborhood ties such as the Block Party events. White is active within the business community in attending and taking part in ribbon cuttings, attending networking events and being available to business owners and community leaders.

Mayor White and his wife Lucy raised 5 children here in Maplewood. They can be found around town attending and supporting community events such as the Summer Concert Series, Let Them Eat Art, and the Christmas Tree Walk. They are actively involved at their church, Immaculate Conception where they volunteer many hours.

The Educator of the Year Award went to MRH High School Math teacher, Cheryl Carmon. Carmon is described as enthusiastic, nurturing, tenacious and someone who always goes the extra mile for her students. She participates on leadership teams at both the building and district levels and is a National Board Certified teacher, the highest level of proficiency awarded in a teach position.

Beyond the classroom, Carmon participates in Women Who Look Ahead, a young women’s group. She also coaches volleyball and track, and keeps score at the basketball games. She also mentors two young math teachers.