Annual WEB Fair – Right before the start of the new school year, the Chamber participated in the WEB Fair, held this year at Giles High School.  We gave away a door prize of a Spartan or Green Wave Christmas ornament (winner’s choice).  We also had a stocked table full of brochures, maps, tourism guides and information on Giles County.  Director, Cathy Clark and Chamber Volunteer, Lawanda Robertson manned the booth and had a great time!

“From Bah-Humbug to Booming Holiday Sales” was the name of the workshop held in October at Giles Country Club.  This workshop was free to Chamber Members and sponsored by the Small Business Development Center at Radford University.  The guest speaker was Retail Expert, Marc Willson.  Marc spoke to attendees about everything retail from how to stock your shelves for maximum sales, how to decorate your window to increase walk in traffic to the latest apps and technology.  The workshop was well attended and very informative.  Hopefully, we will be able to offer another workshop like this one in 2012 and if we do, please mark your calendar to attend.  This was one of the best values for our Members this year, especially those who are independent merchants.  The information gained by all at this workshop was invaluable and the Chamber was pleased to be able to offer this at no charge.

Rich Creek Community Center was the venue for the annual Chamber of Commerce Fall Banquet.  We had a great evening, wonderful food and company!   A heartfelt thank you to Rich Creek Mayor, Gary Eaton and the Town of Rich Creek for the use of the Community Center; Riverview Nursing Home for our delicious meal; and the following Members for donating items to our gift basket raffle:  Shaena Muldoon (Palisades gift certificate), Altavista Vineyards (2 bottles of Virginia wine), Smith Valley Meats (gift certificate), Mountain Lake (Brunch for 2), Natural Bridge (certificate to all attractions at Natural Bridge Village) and Cecily Britts (wine glasses to enjoy the wine!!).  We greatly appreciate your support and generosity!!

Meet the Candidates Forum – The Chamber of Commerce was pleased to host a Candidates Forum in late October that was free and open to the public.  We met in the circuit courtroom in the Giles County Courthouse and had Candidates on hand seeking the following offices:  State Senate, State Delegate, Commonwealth Attorney, Sheriff, School Board, Board of Supervisors and Pearisburg Mayor.  We appreciate each of the Candidates taking time from their busy campaign to attend this Forum.  We had a standing room only crowd!  Panelists were Al Katz, Debbie Morris and Cathy Clark.  Dan Level served as Time Keeper; Butch Mullins served as Moderator.  Each Candidate was allowed 2 minutes to introduce themselves and 2 minutes to answer a question asked by one of the Panelists.  A huge thank you to the Pearisburg and Narrows Junior Women’s Clubs for providing the delicious refreshments!  We hope that all those in attendance found this Forum interesting and informative.  The Chamber was happy to be able to offer this Forum as a free service to Members and County citizens.

Welcome New Chamber Board Member...

The Chamber would like to welcome to its Board of Directors, Mr. Nathan Snidow.  Nathan is the Manager of the McDonald's in Pearisburg and has attended many Chamber Board meetings over the past few months as a guest.  Recently, there was a vacancy on the Board.  After a unanimous vote by Board Members, we welcomed Nathan as a Board Member!  Thank you Nathan for your involvement and support of the Chamber!! We are fortunate to have you aboard!!

PAST EVENTS:

The Chamber and AEP were delighted to host Mr. Charles Patton, President and CEO of AEP, at an informational luncheon. Mr. Patton spoke to Chamber members and invited guests in attendance on Tuesday, August 2 in the Fellowship Hall at Riverview Baptist Church in Ripplemead. This event was very well attended and guests enjoyed Mr. Patton's direct and honest approach to issues facing AEP and it's customers. Special thank you's to AEP, Judy Frazier and Pastor Shahn Wilburn for all their work and efforts!!

A luncheon for Members was held in September at Giles Country Club, sponsored by The Lewisburg Regional Airport.  Those in attendance enjoyed a delicous lunch and listened to guest speakers from the Airport in Lewisburg discuss the current services and future plans they have for the Airport.

The Chamber held our Summer Mixer in August at New River Grille in Pembroke.  Steve and Kathy Akers did a wonderful job with the food and drinks while Members mingled, networked and socialized on the patio.  This Mixer was sponsored by D&A Napa Auto Parts and Steve Chafin, Farm Bureau Insurance.  Thanks to CB Andrews with D&A Napa, Steve Chafin with Farm Bureau, and of course, Steve and Kathy Akers, Owners of New River Grille for their support and sponsorship of this Mixer.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS......

The Chamber is pleased to welcome Amanda's Hair Studio, Sage Automotive, McDonald's of Pearisburg, Brown Insurance and Specialty Auto Care as new members!!

Special thanks to Members who have decorated the Chamber window this year!! The displays have been so well done and enjoyed by many passing by. We are happy to be able to offer this advertising opportunity to our Members. This month's display is from The Palisade's in Eggleston. If this is something you are thinking about for your business or organization, please call the Chamber office at 921-5000 to reserve a month during 2012. This has been very popular among Members and the calendar fills up quickly.