Long time Chamber staff member Kathy Hollins has passed away after a courageous fight with cancer.  A memorial service will be held for Kathy this Saturday, December 12, at 11 am at New Hope Full Gospel Church at 3550 East Pike.  The service has been moved from the Duncan Falls Methodist Church due to utility work taking place in the area. 

Kathy was a true professional who deeply cared about the members of the Chamber and the businesses in this community.  She is missed both as a friend and a colleague who made this organization better every day through her hard work and dedication.  Kathy worked for the chamber for 29 years in various capacities, most recently as our manager of member services.  The Chamber achieved record membership levels due to Kathy's ideas and effectiveness.

We here at the chamber office miss Kathy's upbeat personality, her many talents, and her friendship, and we offer our thoughts and prayers of support to her family.
 

Many thanks to the businesses who participated in the 2009 Holiday Tour, 61 locations were open for the event. Guests to downtown were treated to various forms of musical entertainment including a "Scottish fiddling" quartet, choirs and bands. Singing and dancing performances were held at different location with dancers of all ages performing. Good old fashioned holiday spirit was enjoyed by all that ventured downtown on a rainy evening.
 
The Miracle on Main celebration included the Sweet Adelines Friendship 7 Chapter, Broadway Babies and the ZHS Blue Knights jazz band along with Commissioner Bates, mayor Zwelling and George Hiotis sharing their holiday thoughts. Santa Claus was accompanied by Officer Schiele and Bosco on an antique Fire Truck driven by Bo Keck.
 
Special thanks to the volunteers who helped decorate downtown Zanesville- City Councilman Jeff Tilton, Attorney Derrick Moorehead, students and advisors from Muskingum University's Freshman Science program. The City of Zanesville Traffic Signal division and Muskingum County's Building maintenance department staff once again went above and beyond to make sure Downtown Zanesville is properly decorated for the holiday season.
 

It's December and we are all looking forward to the holidays, but it is still important to promote your business NOW since January and those long winter months when you are working hard on business development are right around the corner. 

And you can do that in a no-cost, low-effort way by attending the two chamber networking meetings next week. 

On Thursday December 17 is a "Third Thursday" lunch meeting at 11:30 am - the location will be announced.  These meetings are low key but helpful if you want to get your name and face out there more.  The other opportunity to network is the "Final Friday" meeting which this month will be on Friday December 18 at 8 am at the chamber office.  These meetings include a structured networking activity to assure you of making some contacts and promoting your business. 

If you plan to attend either meeting it is not required that you RSVP, but if you can it helps us know how many to plan for - send an email to  jriddle@zmchamber.com if you plan to attend.

HOT DEALS is a web based promotional benefit designed to provide members with an opportunity to post special offers, sales or promotions on a designated area of our website, www. zmchamber.com.  FOR FREE!
 
What a great way to get your name, your products and your services in front of potential new customers!  You can promote both products and services through a HOT DEALS listing.  Your offer, as well as any restrictions, is completely up to you, but we do ask that it be some sort of advantage, benefit or discount that is not available to the general public, and we ask that it be more than simply an advertisement (we have other advertising avenues you can use for that). 
 
To see what HOT DEALS are available to you as a Chamber member, go to www.zmchamber.com and click the HOT DEALS button located on the left side of the home page. 

To enter your own HOT DEALS offering, you will use the same member login and password that was provided to you to upload your company information for the enhanced member information  page (send an email to jriddle@zmchamber.com if you need this information again).  Here are the steps:

  If you have any questions or need assistance, email dmatz@zmchamber.com, jriddle@zmchamber.com, or
tpoorman@zmchamber.com.

We have come up with an easy way for members to freeze their Chamber membership dues rates - meaning NO increase again - for the 4th consecutive year.  It's simple:  If members pay in full for the 2010 membership year by January 29, 2010, their rates will remain the same as the last three years.  Those that pay after that date will see an increase.  More information on this opportunity to freeze your membership rates was sent with your initial 2010 dues invoice in November.  Just contact Dana Matz at dmatz@zmchamber.com with any questions about your membership