Exec's Extra's

As Polly and I were discussing what we wanted to write about this week we ran into a little indecision.  We had several topics that we wanted to write on but we didn’t think that any of them by themselves were enough to be a full article.  So, I thought maybe we could splice them all together and make (in honor of Halloween) a “Franken-article.”  But then we thought that that title might be a little too silly so we are calling it “Exec’s Extras.”  From time to time I have extra things that I need to report to our Board of Directors that don’t quite fall into our normal agenda headings.  Since they are from the Executive Director and they are extra items, we get “Exec’s Extras.”  So here we go…..
Outstanding Chamber of the Year Award –
I recently wrote this on our Facebook page but thought it was important to include here as not everyone uses Facebook.  “Thank you all for the great comments, congratulations and well wishes!  "Chambering" is a team sport though and we have an awesome community wide team here in Cheboygan. From our outstanding Board of Directors, to our dedicated Ambassadors, Members, Volunteers and Staff, to our beautiful and proud community, we all accomplished something special with this award. Thank you for all of your support and congratulations to the entire Cheboygan Area! On a personal note, I am just bursting with pride at this award and would like to say that it is an honor, a privilege and a lot of fun to be your Chamber Executive Director! Now, "That's Cheboygan!"”
Invest Cheboygan County –
As I am writing this, it is Tuesday Morning and last night was the coaching night for this year’s Invest Cheboygan County New Business Pitch Night.  This is where all the selected entrepreneurs give a “dress rehearsal” run through of their pitch to the Invest Cheboygan County Committee Members, and a selection of coaches, in an effort to both be comfortable with the presentation and get some tips for last minute polishing before the real competition on Thursday November 1^st at the Cheboygan Opera House.  One word quickly came to mind as I watched the presentations…Wow!  The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Cheboygan County!  I know I said this in a previous article but it is worth saying again.  I can see every one of these businesses being a great addition to our business community in the county and I am excited to see who wins the prize monies on Thursday night.  If you haven’t reserved your seat yet please go to www.investcheboygan.com to do so.  Doors open at 5:30pm on the night of the competition.  Don’t miss it.  The future of the economy of our county will be on display!
It’s a great time to join the Chamber –
As many of you will remember, October is/was Chamber of Commerce Month in Michigan.  We have been doing little things to celebrate all month long.  We started with the State of the Community Breakfast and then we had little open houses each of the Mondays in the month.  The highlight for us though really was twofold.  1. The proclamation of support that our Cheboygan Mayor Bronson and the City Council issued earlier in the month and 2. Achieving the Chamber of the Year designation.  With all that has been going on this month we also want to reach out to any business that is not yet a member of the Cheboygan Area Chamber of Commerce.  Any business can join at any time, but our Board of Directors and our Ambassador Team are actively conducting a membership drive now through November 15^th.  With applications in hand, they are asking any business not yet a member, if they would like to join.  To give some added urgency to joining now rather than waiting, I wanted to share with everyone that any members that join now as part of this drive will be some of the last members that we put on our roster to be printed in the 2019 edition of Cheboygan Today Magazine.  We print over 10,000 copies of these magazines that serve as part chamber directory and part community profile.  We distribute them to all the Michigan Welcome Centers as well as take them to trade shows throughout the mid-west and send them out to everyone looking for vacation or relocation information about Cheboygan.  If you want to be included in this next year’s publication, now is the time to sign up for membership.  We will close our books on December 31^st.  Anybody who is not listed as a member by then will have to wait another full year to get into Cheboygan Today. Don’t wait!  Give us a call and we can get you signed up.
Christmas Holiday Parade of Lights –
This is an outstanding tradition in Cheboygan each year that has built some great memories over the years.  It may seem a little early, but December 1^st will be here before we know it.  We have applications ready for any entrants for this year’s parade right now on the counter in the Chamber Office.  If you would like to enter a float, now is the time to get planning and sign up.
Happy Halloween –
Finally, Happy Halloween to all those ghouls, goblins, ghosts, super heroes (both real and imaginary), story book characters, knights, princesses, robots, space explorers, animals and sports figures.  Have a save, happy, fun and appropriately spooky Halloween!