Thank you to all the members that joined us for our Annual Membership Meeting on February 23rd. We know everyone is busy so we appreciate the time you can spend with us. It is especially nice because most of our contact is through email or social media so every once in awhile it's nice to see your smiling faces! A special thank you goes to our sponsor, the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, and our host, the coffee beanery cafe. We appreciate the support from both of these companies.
If you were unable to make the meeting read on for a brief overview.
Dan Cleary, Chamber President and Julie Melrose, Executive Director kicked off the meeting by re-capping our successes of 2010. We are now 120 members strong and we continue to gain exposure in the community. We have worked closely with the DDA and the city and will continue do so into 2011. Our events grow on a yearly basis and we look forward to implementing some new ideas this year.
Alan Semonian, DDA Chairperson, spoke about the parking lot project (South side of 12 Mile between Griffith and Robina) that will begin this Spring. The DDA has also been working on plans for a Farmer's Market. They have surveyed residents, visited other Farmer's Markets, and are talking with Farmers about selling their goods. More details to come with the hope of having a Farmer's Market here in Berkley by June. The DDA is working on a grant to make improvements to the Coolidge streetscape, and have you noticed the red banners along 12 Mile and Coolidge? These were hung prior to the holidays and they really add a nice touch to our downtown.
Jason Ryan with Vision Fuel Media joined us to give us an update on our Social Media. 32% of our fans on Facebook are 25-34 years and 30% 35-44 years. We average 170-300 impressions per post and 9,441 people both fans and non-fans have viewed our News Feed from January 19th - February 17th. Overall we are pleased with the additional exposure we have gained through both Facebook and Twitter.
We once again encourage you to send us information to post on facebook or tweet to our followers. If you have not yet become a friend of the Berkley Chamber of Commerce on facebook please do. You can do that through the link to the left side of this article.
Colette Farris and Laura Blake from SOCRRA presented information about the Free recycling program that is being offered to all Berkley businesses. If you are not recycling yet in your business now is the time to begin. Again it is free! Read on in this newsletter to get more information.
Finally, we introduced David Johns and Dawn Kubala with the Challenge Cup. We have partnered with them to bring an exciting new twist to our golf outing on September 9th. This Ryder cup style will offer a memorable and unique experience for all golfers. There will be plenty of sponsorship opportunities and fun for both golfers and non-golfers. Mark your calendar for September 9th.
If you have ideas for future membership meetings please feel free to share them with us.
