Maplewood Chamber of Commerce

The Fabric of Our Chamber is Our Net

By Mary Kausch

MCOC Chamber Chatter May 2013

Mary Kausch, HR etc!! President Mapelwood Chamber of Commerce

As business people, when most of us hear the word “net” we think of gross revenues, profit margins and our bottom line—our net. For the Maplewood Chamber, though, “net” has another meaning. Together we are a net. We come together, connect, coordinate and engage, and through our interlocking energy, our Net catches ideas, inspiration, attention and business.

The fabric of the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce is the interconnecting Net of 147 members who engage with the City, the residents, our retail, restaurants, parks, entertainment, business expertise, services and products. Woven into our Net are our regular events—Net-Walks, Net-Rides, Net-Lunches and Net-Solutions as well as Ribbon Cuttings, Business After Hours and Educational Workshops. With each of these events, we catch each other’s wisdom, knowledge, perspectives and experiences—all of which benefit our business success.

Upcoming this month, our Net includes:

• May 9:           Educational Workshop – Cyber Liability and Data Breach
• May 18:         An event like no other – the 5^th Annual Taste of Maplewood!!
  (I hear there’s a Maplewood Pub Crawl on Friday, May 17—check the website calendar and plan to join us!)
• May 21          Ribbon Cutting and Business After Hours (check the website calendar.)
• May 22:         Net-Lunch
• May 23:         Net-Ride – place TBA.

These experiences and events knit together long-lasting partnerships—which, in turn, build our businesses and commerce, and strengthen the fabric of our community. It’s a symbiotic relationship, and all of us woven in the Net are capable of creating success for each other.

During this month, will you join in and help create and celebrate the strength and pride—the Fabric—of this community? Attend a Chamber Event. Attend several Chamber Events!! Get swept up in our Net!!

By Chamber Vice-President Adrian Glass of The Post Sports Bar & Grill.

A question any business owner should ask when being recruited to join the Chamber of Commerce is “What’s in it for me?”  There’s absolutely nothing wrong with this logical question.  As business owners, we should pride ourselves on obtaining as much information as possible in order to make informed decisions.  After all, in order to put ourselves in a position to more effectively help out our community, it is imperative that we first set ourselves up for success within that community.

Here’s the curve ball… many of our existing chamber members still aren’t quite sure of all the benefits at their disposal!?!  So while they’ve taken the first step in getting involved, they’re doing themselves a disservice by not taking advantage of everything the chamber has to offer!

So here are a few of the many ways that we hope to see you utilizing the chamber:

New Business Tool Kit -  http://maplewood-chamber.com/biztoolkit/ This new website feature tells you who your Councilperson is, explains possible financial resources available to you, shows you how to write a press release, etc.

Promotional Assistance- The chamber will assist in promoting your events, office news, job openings, etc. We do so on the chamber website, newsletter, and social media sites.  Being that we lack the capacity to read minds, the only way we know what you need or want promoted is by having you notify us!

Educational Workshops – In today’s business environment, it is crucial to harness all of the potential marketing tools made available in the digital realm.  The chamber routinely holds workshops to educate our members on the effective use of specific online resources such as; Twitter, Linked in, etc.  If you’d like to see a workshop geared towards a certain topic, make sure to let us know! 

Chamber Advantage Card – the discounts available to you locally will far outweigh the cost of your chamber membership

Networking Opportunities – Get to know your neighbors in the community, its only going to help you out in the long run (plus a lot of these events are fun)!  Net-lunches, Net-Solutions, ribbon cuttings, business after hours, and quarterly luncheons all afford you the routine opportunity to get to know other members of the community! 

Make no mistake about it, the Chamber provides the resources to assist in growing your business, but its ultimately up to you to put those resources to good use!

 Thank you for the great response to this opportunity. We have had more responses than we can accommodate for this particular mailing and future respondents will be put on a waiting list.

The Maplewood Chamber of Commerce’s new “Shop Local Direct Mail Program” takes advantage of the  U.S. Postal Service’s “Every Door Direct Mail”.

The Chamber will combine ads from up to 15 businesses into one piece, lowering the cost for each business. Businesses can use space to advertise special offers, announce events, or highlight services. The ‘Shop Maplewood” themed piece will be delivered to more than 6,000 residents and businesses in our area!

The Chamber will oversee the professional layout and design of the piece, including your ad. Ads are 1.98 by 3.4 inches. Participating businesses will simply provide the content for their ad, approval of the ad proof, and we take care of the rest.

On their own, a direct mail piece like this would typically cost a business thousands of dollars in designing, printing and postage on their own. Through the Chamber facilitating this program, businesses can launch a full-service direct mail campaign without the cost or the headache.

This mailing is scheduled to be distributed in mid May. Only 15 businesses will be featured in the mailing.

Special: Receive $25 off ad fees if purchasing before Thursday , April 11th!

Get the form here.

Thank you for your interest in being a vendor at the 5th Annual Taste of Maplewood Street Festival. With thousands of people attending the Taste of Maplewood Street Festival each year, there is no better place to promote and sell your products and services. We’re expecting our largest crowd yet on Saturday, May 18th!

The Taste of Maplewood (TOM) is a one-day street festival held on Sutton Blvd., just South of Manchester. Maplewood restaurants, retail boutiques, community organizations have booths on the street where they are able to promote and sell their wares and/or services.  Vendors purchase booth space from the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce and may sell and/or promote their products and services.  Vendors keep all proceeds made on the day of the event.

NEW THIS YEAR: New in 2013 is the addition of a food contest where one dish and one drink will be named the “Best Dish of Taste of Maplewood”& ”Best Drink of Taste of Maplewood“. All restaurant vendors will be automatically enrolled in the contest. Celebrity judges will include: Allyson Mace, Sauce Magazine, John Carney, KTRS 550, and James White, Mayor of Maplewood.

VENDOR INFORMATION

There are three types of Vendors: Non-Profit, Retail, and Restaurant

Step 1- Review Vendor Guidelines & Vendor Q&A

Step 2-Complete the Vendor Registration Form-click here

If you need electricity, complete Step 3

If you are selling food, complete Step 4

If you are selling alcohol, complete Step 5

If none of these apply, skip to step 6

Step 3- Complete the Electricity Requirement Form –click here
If you do not request electricity-it will NOT be available to you for the event

If you are selling food, complete Step 4

If you are selling alcohol, complete Step 5

If neither of these apply, skip to step 6

Step 4- Complete the Temporary Food Establishment Application-click here
This is required by the St. Louis County Health Department-application should be returned to them by May 1)Note: If you are selling  food, you may be required to attend a mandatory meeting the 2^nd week in May.

If you are selling alcohol, complete Step 5

If not, skip to step 6

Step 5- Complete the Application for Temporary Caterer’s Permit-click here
This is required by the Missouri Division of Public Safety: Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Application should be returned to them by May 1. Note: Once you are a registered TOM vendor, the Chamber will notify the City of Maplewood to release the City approval letter & City license (items 3 & 4 on the Caterer’s Permit checklist-scroll down on the link above to
view checklist.)

Step 6-Submit Vendor Registration Form and ElectricityForm (if applicable) to the Chamber Office by April 26^th. Submit documents by mail: 2915 Sutton Blvd., Maplewood, MO 63143  email: director@maplewood-chamber.com  fax: 314-781-5397

Tickets are now on sale for the Ryan Hummert Maplewood Night at the Ballpark scheduled for 7:15 p.m. on Friday, May 17th-Cardinals Vs. Brewers. It is also adult cap night!

Tickets are $24.00 with a portion of the ticket proceeds benefiting the Ryan Hummert Memorial Fund. You can purchase tickets by contacting Karen Scheidt 314-646-3604 or k-scheidt@cityofmaplewood.com.  Tickets can be ordered online by going to www.cityofmaplewood.com and clicking on “Fun For A Cause- Save The Date” and choosing the order online option.

The Salvation Army is hosting a Trivia Night on April 20, 2013 at 6:00pm. Teams of eight can register for a $100.00 donation.  This is an alcohol free event. Free popcorn and soda will be provided.  Prizes will be given for first place and best decorated table. For more information contact The Salvation Army 314-781-5434.

With thousands of people attending the Taste of Maplewood Street Festival each year, there is no better place to promote your business. We’re expecting our largest crowd yet on Saturday, May 18th! Taste of Maplewood sponsorships are both affordable and effective! Sponsorship’s can be customized to fit every budget and need!

Sponsor satisfaction is our top priority and for that reason, we have elected to limit the amount of sponsors at certain levels this year. While this may translate into lost revenue, it ensures that our secured sponsors are given the highest visibility and will not be lost in a sea of logos.

To view all sponsorship opportunities and levels, click here.

To download the sponsorship form, click here.

To view pictures  illustrating how sponsors have been recognized at the Taste of Maplewood, click here. 

Interested in Vendor Registration? Click here. Make sure to check the 2013 Taste of Maplewood Event Webpage for event updates and details.

February was a month of involvement! On almost a daily basis, I was involved in our community – consuming the food, entertainment, retail wares, business services, products and expertise available to all of us. I felt LocaVore happiness!

In addition to utilizing the commerce aspects of this community, I also enjoyed numerous sunrises and sunsets, marveled at unique architecture, conversed with friendly residents who greeted me on every walk, and even helped many who were stuck in the snow. I felt fulfilled.

We ceremoniously welcomed three new businesses to the City of Maplewood, enjoyed NetWalking on chilly mornings (sharing morning beverages and conversation afterward), bonded at our NetLunch at Imo’s Pizza, learned much at the Technology Roundtable on mobile apps and, of course, reveled in business-after-hours camaraderie. I felt LocaVore gratitude.

I have been in my glory!! And I know this feeling is due to involvement. It makes me feel strong. This community gives us all strength.

The Chamber of Commerce board is currently finalizing its focus on fulfilling the 2013 strategic plan. We have been reaching out to you – wanting to know your priorities for strengthening and sustaining your businesses. Please contact me directly at mary@hretc.com to share more of what’s on your mind. We are bringing more educational experiences to our membership, to assist with your business endeavors. Stay tuned by checking the Chamber’s calendar.

March offers an equal number of involvement opportunities for you to join us in creating and celebrating the qualities that give our community strength and pride: weekly NetWalking and sharing, ribbon-cutting ceremony, bonding at the monthly NetLunch, enjoying business after hours, and attending educational sessions. These are for you! Let them bring you happiness, fulfillment and gratitude as you grow your business. 

I am looking forward to my involvement in creating healthy, long-lasting partnerships that will grow and sustain our business economy during March. We are a team effort. We are Cornerstones for one another. We cannot succeed without this partnership. This requires involvement.

Will you join me in creating mutual successes in our business endeavors and life?