"The Chamber Door"

Happy New Year!

Dear Friends,

I want to begin by sending wishes of health, happiness, and prosperity to all in both your personal and professional lives.

2011 was a prosperous year for the Chamber and I would like to thank you for your contributions through your membership, sponsorship, donations, event hosting, and volunteerism. The Berkley Chamber cannot exist without the continued support of our members. 

I would like to extend a special Thank You to the board members that completed their terms at the end of 2011. Dan Cleary (Coffee Beanery) served on the board from 2006 - 2011, Lisa Baker (Beaumont Hospital and DCB Designs) served from 2006-2011, and Tom Byars (Eagle Rock Insurance), who completed the last year in a term for a fellow board member. Tom also served on the board from 2008 - 2010. These individuals play a significant  role in the success of the Chamber and should be recognized for their contributions and volunteer hours.

We also have two dedicated individuals that have been an integral part of our board for many years, Phil O'Dwyer, City Council liaison and David Sabbagh, Planning Commission liaison.  Both Phil and Dave have been very valuable to our board and they will be surely be missed (although we know we will see a lot of Phil in his new role as our Mayor).  We thank both for their many contributions and wish them well.

As we move into 2012 we will swear in 4 new board members at our January meeting and as you know a new Executive Director will soon take the reigns. The last 5 years as the Executive Director of the Berkley Chamber have been wonderful and I thank you for your support and friendship.  I feel fortunate that this postion has allowed me to both work and be home with my children.  I love working and living in this wonderful city of Berkley.  I have met so many kind, supportive people over the years that it truly will be hard to leave.  However, I am confident that I will continue to see you in my travels through Berkley.  I am looking forward to taking part in the Chamber events as a Berkley resident!

I encourage each of you to take an active role in the Chamber:  attend coffees and mixers, volunteer at events, offer your suggestions and ideas, sponsor an annual event, attend board meetings, serve on a committee, recruit new members, attend joint Chamber functions, etc.  Whether you have a lot of time or just a little, any contribution you can make will only help the Chamber become bigger and better.  Let's use the momentum we have gathered over the past several years to make 2012 a stellar year!

My best to you,

Julie Melrose, Executive Director

 

Happy New Year!

 photo courtesy of CAPTURECOM, Inc.

As we begin a new year and think about our goals for 2011 it gives us the opportunity to reflect on past accomplishments.  2010 brought much success and we thank you for helping us achieve many goals.

We added 13 new members this past year to bring our total membership to 112.  We appreciate the support from our members and look forward to our continued partnership.  In addition to membership, your contributions through sponsorship, donations, event hosting, and volunteerism, mean we can bring you our annual events.  The Berkley Art Bash, our signature event, brought thousands of people into our city to enjoy, art, food, music, and the chance to experience all that Berkley has to offer.  Our annual Pub Crawl and Golf Outing continue to be enjoyed by many and it’s always a great way to have some fun while you promote your business.  Collaboration with the City, the DDA, our Chamber partners and our members, mean we could bring you workshops such as social media boot camp, financial insight, and green solutions; networking opportunities with leadership across Oakland county through business card exchanges, the South Oakland Expo, and joint Coffees; and participation in events such as Berkley CruiseFest, the State of the City Luncheon, and the Holiday Lights Parade.

One of our biggest accomplishments in 2010 was the launch of our new and improved Chamber Web site.  Our new site is easy to navigate, offers opportunity for advertising, easily promotes our events and provides our members and visitors downloadable documents.  We also joined the ranks on Facebook and Twitter. We have found this to be a wonderful tool to promote our events and keep in touch with our members and the community.  If you have not yet joined us on Facebook you hope will.   We thank our member partner Vision Fuel Media for these successes. 

The close of 2010 brought the completion of three board member terms, Kees Hiatt (PNC Bank), Eric Abrams (Fishbowl) and Jennifer Stark/Maureen McNamara (Amici’s).  Kees joined the Chamber board in 2006 and took over as our President in 2007.  We were all disappointed to hear Kees’ announcement at the State of the City Luncheon that he had accepted a position with another company and would be leaving the bank as well as the Chamber board.  In addition to his presidency, Kees started the Chamber golf outing 5 years ago and has chaired the event each year since.  He will be missed and we wish him well.  Tom Byars (Eagle Rock Insurance), a former board member, has stepped up to complete Kees’ term as well as be our treasurer in 2011.  Thanks to Tom!

Eric Abrams joined the board in 2007.  Eric has lead us to 4 successful years of the Berkley Pub Crawl, which as many of you know has been a wonderful event and a great way to get a taste of the restaurants and bars in Berkley.  

Jennifer Stark and Maureen McNamara have served on the board of directors for 6 years. They are active members of the community and the Chamber.  They have sponsored our Art Bash¸ golf outing, and CruiseFest year after year, hosted our board meetings, the golf outing banquet, the Berkley Pub Crawl, and the holiday party.  Our thanks and appreciation goes out to Jen, Maureen, Eric, and Kees for all you have done to help the Chamber of Commerce thrive.

We are pleased to welcome 3 new members to the  Board of Directors, Robert Lebow, Council Thrift (pictured top left), Angela Taub, Michigan Property Managers (pictured right), and Carrie Vestrand, City Style (pictured bottom left).  We are excited to have them and look forward to their ideas and enthusiasm.

We hope you will make some time to attend our Annual Membership Meeting on Wednesday, February 23^rdat the coffee beanery café. We will combine networking with our structured meeting where we will talk about our goals for 2011.  Click here for a complete listing of 2011 events.

We look forward to all that 2011 brings and our continued partnership with each of you.  As always¸ we welcome your ideas. Please feel free to share them with us at a chat or blender, a Board Meeting or by email or phone. 

Fondly,

Julie Melrose, Executive Director

julie@berkleychamber.com or 248.414.9157

News from the Chamber

Happy Summer Berkley Chamber!

I hope the start of summer finds you well. We kicked summer off at the Chamber on Saturday, June 12th at our 9th Annual Berkley Art Bash. We were once again thrilled with the record number of artists that participated and the residents and guests that supported our event.  Lot's of hard work and organization goes into this event each year and a HUGE thank you goes to April McCrumb, owner of catching fireflies, for everything she does to ensure the success year after year. We absolutely could not do it without her. Mark your calendar for next year as the Berkley Chamber presents year number 10 on June 11, 2011!

If you have not yet joined us on Facebook or Twitter be sure to do that.  It is a great way to keep up with what is happening here at the Chamber as well as events around town.  Also, we want to know what is happening in your business...do you have a special anniversary coming up, an event, a big sale? Let us know so we can help you promote it.  If you have a facebook page please send us your link so we can add you to our favorites.

Keep an eye out because coming real soon we will be launching our brand new Chamber web site!  Vision Fuel Media has been working very hard to create our new site and we are excited about the many features we will soon have and we think you will be too.

As always, if there is something we can do for you please let us know. We hope to see you at an upcoming Chamber Chat and Berkley CruiseFest.  You will find details of the upcoming summer events in this newsletter.

Best Regards,

Julie Melrose, Executive Director

Happy New Year!

Happy 2010!  On behalf of the Chamber of Commerce I would like to wish you a happy and prosperous year ahead.  2009 was a great year at the Chamber and we are happy you were a part of it.  We welcomed 27 NEW members this past year to bring our total membership to 105!   We were also pleased to produce our first Chamber Directory and Community Profile which was distributed this past Fall.  We were thrilled with the finished product and received some wonderful praise.  Our Annual Events continued to grow and brought excitement to the community.  We again look forward to the Art Bash, Cruisefest, Golf Outing, Pub Crawl, and State of the City in 2010.

The end of 2009 also brought the close of two board member terms, April McCrumb (Catching Fireflies) and Tom Byars (Eagle Rock Insurance).  April has served on the board for six years and each year she has organized and run the Berkley Art Bash.  She did let us know that she will continue to do this even though she is no longer on the board.  Good thing because we couldn't do it without her!  Tom has served 3 years on the board as well as the board treasurer.  In addition, Tom was in integral part in bringing the Chamber Directory to fruition.  Our thanks and appreciation goes out to both April and Tom.  We are pleased to welcome back Bridget Dean (...have you any Wool?) who has accepted a 2nd term on the board.  We also welcome two new members, Melissa May (National City) and Alan Semonian (Ameritax Plus).  Both have been very involved in the Chamber and will certainly bring great ideas and much enthusiasm to the group.  We are looking forward to working with both of them.

What does 2010 bring for the Chamber?  We hope that it brings a year of partnership..with our members, the DDA, the City of Berkley, and our neighboring Chambers of Commerce.  We hope to work closely with everyone so we can continue to bring great things to our city and surrounding community.

We look forward to working with you in 2010 and hope to see you in the near future at a Chamber Chat, Berkley Blender or our Membership Meeting.

Sincerely,

Julie Melrose, Executive Director

Notes from the Chamber

Greetings Berkley Chamber!

I would like to extend a congratulations to our wonderful Mayor and City Council Members that were chosen by the citizens of Berkley in the recent election, Mayor Marilyn Stephan and Council members, Phil O'Dwyer, Steve Baker, and Lisa Platt-Auensen. Congratulations to all of you.  I look forward to working with you.

I would also like to extend my gratitude for those that attended the 9th Annual State of the City Luncheon in October. We had record attendance and all enjoyed a delicious lunch at Farina's Banquet Center as well as informative presentations by our community leaders.  Thank you to Mayor Marilyn Stephan, Mr. Alex Allie, City Manager, City of Huntington Woods, Mr. Michael Simeck, Superintendent, Berkley School District, Mr. Alan Semonian, Chairperson, Berkley DDA and Mr. Kees Hiatt, President, Berkley Chamber of Commerce. Read on in the newsletter to hear about the Best of Berkley Awards.

Our last blender for 2009 will be this Wednesday, November 18th.  Stop in on your way home to say "hi" and grab a delicious treat from Party Cakes.  Blenders and chats are informal events and you can come for a few minutes or stay the whole time. If you are looking to make some new contacts this is the place for that.  Your peers make great referrals.

I would also like to encourage everyone if you have not yet hosted a chat or a blender to sign up for one in 2010.  These are great opportunities to show off your business.  I personally love visiting all the different business around the community. There is an opportunity for one chat and one blender per month. 

It is hard to believe that this year is coming to a close in just over a month.  On behalf of the Chamber, we thank you all, our members and our supporters.  We hope you will join us on December 17th at our annual holiday party so we can say "thanks" in person.  You will find details of the event in this newsletter.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner I am thankful for this wonderful community we live in. I am thankful that I get to work, live, and raise my family right here in Berkley!  I have met an abundance of wonderful people over the past couple years and you have made it so easy and fun to do my job. 

I look forward to seeing you at an upcoming event.

Best Regards,

Julie Melrose, Executive Director

A few notes from the Chamber

Hello Berkley Chamber,

Last week-end was another very successful CruiseFest.  The CruiseFest committee put a lot of hours into the event and each year it just gets better and better. Thanks to all the volunteers on the committee.  I would also like to thank our CruiseFest t-shirt sponsors and Armadillo Printwear for printing the shirts and for their donation.  Our official "Berkley CruiseFest" t-shirt was a huge hit.  Everyone loved the design by BHS student, Maxton Hammerle.  We were busy all day Friday selling the shirts.

Gold Sponsors: Amici's Pizza, Bagger Dave's, 24 Seconds, and Berkley Masons

Silver Sponsors:  Eagle Rock Insurance, Copilot Printing, City Style, Kopy Katz, Perquisitz, Aero/Pacific Custom Draperies, The Print Stop, Edible Arrangements, ...have you any Wool?, Berkley Animal Clinic, Shanbom Eye Specialist, McCourt's Music, and Frederick Collins Construction

Bronze Sponsors:  National City, Evolutions

Family Sponsor:  Mayor Marilyn Stephan

And our final thank you for CruiseFest week goes to those that supported our Chamber Challenge Blood Drive.  It was a very close contest but the Berkley/Royal Oak team took 1st collecting 33 units of blood!  Combined we collected 79 units helping 237 patients!  Awesome job!

We are now in the planning stages of our Fall events which you will read about in this newsletter. We are seeking door prizes for both our Golf Outing 9/11and Pub Crawl 10/1 as well as golf related trinkets for goody bags.  Door Prizes can be gift certificates of any value or any type of item that you would like to donate.  This is a great way to get your name out there and bring in some new customers.  We are also looking for volunteers to help us during the Pub Crawl.  We will need 2 Chamber Representatives to be at each venue to punch cards and answer questions if needed.  Please send me an email if you would like to volunteer or donate a prize.

Finally, if you are looking for meeting space we have a Chamber Member with an available room to rent at a low rate.  Let me know and I will send the information to you.

I hope everyone enjoys the last few weeks of summer and we hope to see you at one of our Fall events,

Best Regards,

Julie Melrose, Executive Director

julie@berkleychamber.com

Greetings from the Chamber

Hello Berkley Chamber,

I hope this finds you well.  I am sure you are looking forward to Spring as am I!  These warm March days are certainly giving us a taste of what is yet to come.  I hope with Spring right around the corner we will see many of you out and about and stopping in at our upcoming events. 

So far it has been a busy 2009!  We have welcomed several new members to the Chamber, which puts us just under the 100 mark!  I know we will get there this year!  I recently received a suggestion which I thought was a good one, especially in these tough economic times.  How about giving a gift of membership?  You can enjoy it for an entire year, it doesn't wilt or go bad...If you know of someone that does not have a Chamber membership, and perhaps it just isn't in the budget right now, why not consider giving it for a gift.  Please contact me to discuss the details.

If you haven't made it to a chat or a blender recently why don't you join us on March 31st?  These gatherings are very informal and really a great way to meet fellow members.  Many relationships and contacts have formed as a result and it really is fun!  Details of the next event are in this newsletter.  I would like to thank Telcom Credit Union, Coffee Beanery Cafe, and Odd Fellow Antiques for hosting our coffees and membership meeting this year.  We appreciate you opening your doors for us.  I would like to thank YOU for your attendance and encourage you to keep coming.   If you would like to host a morning coffee or evening mixer and show off your place of business please let me know.  Dates and times are flexible.

Last week the Berkley Chamber participated in the 2nd Annual South Oakland Business Expo. It was a great success.  The Chamber booth was quite busy and it was nice to see so many of you. I hope you found it beneficial as well.  We had close to 100 exhibitors and 1,500 visitors!!  The Royal Oak Chamber really did a fantastic job leading the charge with this event.  If you missed the SOBE this year be sure to mark your calendar for next year.

if you are not taking advantage of your Chamber benefits I would just like to remind you that as a Berkley Chamber Member you eligible for the following:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance - discounts on group and individual insurance
• Office Depot - hundreds of discounted supplies
• Verizon Wireless - $60 off equipment plus additional discounts on monthly packages

Also, don't forget to let us help you with advertising and promotions. Submit an article for the monthly enewsletter, send us an email and request an eblast be sent out to members to tell them about an event, give us promotional material for the 12 Mile window encasement, and tell us about your upcoming events so we can put them on our web site.

Lastly, I came across the following quote from a recent article in HOUR Detroit Magazine.  I would like to pass it along because I think it is a message that we should all consider and share:

"If we all spent $10 a week on Michigan Products, we could put $36 million every week back into the state's economy".  

I know we all continue to do our part to support our local businesses but you can extend it to the items you buy at the grocery store.  Check out this web site Buy Michigan Products. This site contains an amazing list of Michigan Made products and businesses.  You can promote your Michigan Made products and business and subscribe to the newsletter.  Shop local, dine local, buy Michigan!

Well, this "note" to the Chamber turned out to be a bit lengthier than I had anticipated so I will close by reminding you to contact me with any questions, concerns, and suggestions. I can be reached at julie@berkleychamber.com or 248.414.9157.  I look forward to seeing you around town.

Warm Regards,

Julie Melrose, Executive Director

Happy New Year

Dear Friends,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all much health, happiness, and prosperity in 2009!  2008 was a successful year for the Chamber, which would not be possible without your support.  So, a huge THANK YOU to all of you. 

Our successes were plentiful:  We welcomed 23 NEW members to the Chamber and 72 returning members.  We partnered with Royal Oak, Ferndale, Madison Heights/Hazel Park, and Clawson Chambers for the 1st South Oakland Business Expo.  10 Chamber Chats, Berkley Blenders, and Seminars were made possible because of our dedicated hosts. The 7th Annual Art Bash brought us more artists than ever before and filled 12 Mile with people from near and far.  Cruisefest t-shirts sold like hot cakes - thank you to our sponsors and our BHS student for her design.  Our 4th Annual Golf Outing was enjoyed by many, and Pub Crawl 2008 was attended by over 100 people!  2 Berkley businesses, and a Berkley High Student were recognized by the Chamber for their outstanding achievements. We hosted the State of City Luncheon and the Holiday Shopping Trolley. And lastly, we closed 2008 with your company at our Holiday Party.  It was nice to see familiar faces as well as make some new friends.  Thank you to our members, Chamber of Commerce supporters, hosts, sponsors, advertisers, and donors we could not have done it without you.  Whatever your part was in our 2008 success it is greatly appreciated! 

I would also like to thank the Board of Directors and the Chamber Liaisons for their commitment and dedication to the Chamber of Commerce.  They are a fantastic group of individuals to work with and our accomplishments would not be possible without them.

We are looking forward to 2009 and our continued partnership with you.  We will once again bring you several Annual Events and we continue to seek hosts for our Chats and Blenders.  We are very excited about our newest partnership with NovoPrint, who will publish our 1st Chamber Directory.   

Mark your calendar so you can join us for our Annual Membership Meeting at the Coffee Beanery Cafe on Thursday, January 26th from 8-9:30 a.m. We welcome all members and potential members. We will review our accomplishments for 2008 and our goals for 2009. Information will be available about the Chamber Directory and Chamber Benefits.

As always, I welcome your ideas and suggestions.  I look forward to seeing you at our events and around town in 2009!

Sincerely,

Julie Melrose

Executive Director

Is it Spring yet?

Dear Berkley Chamber,

It’s hard to believe that it is already March! The year is going by quickly...and it’s been busy at the Chamber. If you have not had the opportunity to make it to our Chats, Blenders, or Events, don’t fret there are still plenty of opportunities.  We have 2 Business Seminars coming up, 2 Morning Chats, 1 Evening Blender, and the Berkley Art Bash is right around the corner.

On February 28th we held our Annual Membership Meeting.  Thank you to our members and potential members that joined us.  We appreciate your time and support. A special thanks goes out to Dan Cleary at the Coffee Beanery for hosting the meeting and providing us delicious coffee and scones. I would also like to thank Ginger and Scott Page at Edible Arrangements for the delicious fruit bouquet. It tasted as good as it looked! We were also pleased that we had representatives come from both the Detroit Regional Chamber and Office Depot.  Lisa and Ed presented the benefits that our members receive just for belonging to the Berkley Chamber. If you missed the meeting that’s okay…you can still participate.  Click here to download an Office Depot Form to receive discounts on hundreds of supplies that you buy on a daily basis.  Download office_depot_sign_up_flyer.doc.  Fill it out and fax it in.  It just takes a minute to start saving.  For information on other benefits such as health insurance or cell phones please contact me.

On March 12th we participated in a very successful South Oakland Business Expo in conjunction with Clawson, Ferndale, Hazel Park/Madison Heights, and Royal Oak Chambers.  100+ businesses exhibited and hundreds of people visited.  Be sure to check out the photo album to view pictures from the event.

I look forward to seeing you around town and as always, please feel free to contact me if I can assist you in any way.

Julie Melrose

Executive Director

Berkley Chamber of Commerce

Thanks!!

Dear Chamber Friends,

I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone for warmly welcoming me into my new position as Executive Director.  I have just completed my first "official" month and have met a lot of wonderful people.  I know there are still many of you that I have not yet had the opportunity to meet with face to face but hopefully I will get that chance real soon.  I am here to assist you and hope we can work together to make the most of your chamber membership.  I welcome your comments and suggestions and look forward to working with you.

As you continue to read the newsletter you will read about the many events that we have coming up: Berkley CruiseFest, the 2nd annual Golf Outing, the new Berkley Pub Crawl, and many more.  Don't forget to keep checking the events calendar on the web site as it is updated regularly. 

In addition, we are pleased to let you know that we are working on our 1st Chamber Directory.  We are in the early planning stages and will be seeking feedback from you.  You will be receiving a survey via email asking you to answer a couple questions regarding advertising.  I encourage you to take just a minute to fill it out and return it to us.   We will keep you posted with our progress and let you know when to expect publication. 

Again, thank you for your continued support and feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance. 

Best Regards,

Julie Melrose

Executive Director