MikeMooreMedia

Eden Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Events 07.17.24

Jim Burnette, Executive Director. Networking Coffee August 19, Member of the Month, Leadership Rockingham, Chamber benefits, new marketing partnership with City of Eden, Visitor Center. www.EdenChamber.com

Duration:: 14m
Broadcast on:: 17 Jul 2024
Audio Format:: mp3

Mike Moore media welcome to our monthly podcast with the Eden Chamber of Commerce Jim Burnett directors in our studios Jim hey how are you welcome back thank you Mike good morning to you well I know you have a lot to talk about so let's jump right in all right great it's yeah we do have a lot to talk about this morning they've got a lot of things going on you know one of the things that we like to do is to make sure that we can get folks out to get them networking and so on so I want to make sure everyone is aware of our next coffee it's going to be at Eden City Hall and it'll be on August the the 19th and we welcome everybody to come out there just come into the lobby there and it'll be the conference room on the right it's where it's going to be held so it's a great networking opportunity and we look forward to meeting some new people we had some new people at our last coffee at the Mushroom Sea Cafe so you're looking forward to that good yeah okay and I want to mention our member of the month which is the UNC Health Rockingham Foundation they've done a great job in supporting the hospital Erica Vernon is the is the head of the foundation and has done a fantastic job since she's come in and working with us and we're so proud of that foundation of what it's doing for our hospital congratulations to them and one of the great programs of the Rockingham County is leadership Rockingham and that is put on by the chambers of Rockingham County Western Rockingham Regional and Eden and this is a program that's been in existence over 30 years and it's it's an annual program it's one day a month for the full day it's usually the second Wednesday of each month it runs from September through May and like I say it is an all-day type program and there's lots of things that are offered in this program it is a community development in government law enforcement health care education it covers all of those things members have a lot of opportunities for networking there as well and seeing what's going on with local business owners as well as the elected officials across the entire again this is a county wide you know we are part of this the Eden Chambers part of this but it is a county wide effort to make sure that folks are knowledgeable and meeting people networking and taking part in all of the events that are going on so that we take businesses to the different business organizations we take them to the parks we expose them to fundamental resources on what we call explore days and on these explore days we take them out like say to see all of Rockingham County for hands-on experience so they come out they they get to see these things and network with the people it's just great opportunities for leaders and future leaders that are in in our county as well so we're real proud to begin presenting that again and you can apply for that our application is on our website which is Edenchamber.com and go to that and apply for that like I say begins in September so we're powered off of that again sure leadership right now I can't believe that's been going on 30 years it has been I've got notebooks in my office that it back into the 90s yeah yeah a lot of people have gone through that program they really have if I look back at some of those old notebooks there's there's some a lot of folks like you say very very prestigious folks that are going through there good okay all right I also like to talk about you know just things we do for a member members of the chamber itself two things that we do typically in July are the drive-in night for our members now we have that play we had that planned for tomorrow night Thursday night and that looking at the weather it's just not going to be a good time storms thunderstorms and even proposed lightning coming out so we we're not going to have that and we have moved that to August 1st which is again a Thursday night and we had we knew we were going to have despicable despicable me for as the movie we hope we can have that again but we're working with Tim Robertson to find out exactly what movies we're going to be able to have on August the 1st yeah okay another fun event absolutely yeah and then next Thursday which is Thursday the 25th for our members we're gonna have splash pad night so get the folks come out and bring all the children and have a great time and we're having Santana's provide a nacho bar force there as well so it'll be a be a great event and hopefully the weather will cooperate with us and just be hot not rainy so yeah but even if it rains as long as it's okay I guess cuz they're gonna kids gonna be under the under the showers anyway sure yeah okay so that's a Thursday the 25th yes at the splash pad at Freedom Park at Freedom Park yes and let's see one of the things that I mentioned a while back so up a little bit of a tease we had some new things that we were working on Mike and I am very pleased to say we have got those in place now and I want to talk about those this morning oh wonderful this is a partnership and and partnerships I want to let everybody know you know as a chamber we can do certain things ourselves and we do as much as we can but there's so much more that can be accomplished with a partnership and we have we are working with enhancing our partnership with the City of Eden and we have several things that are now in place with the City of Eden that I want to mention this morning we're going to be doing some marketing more than we have been in the past not only our our things but thanks cross marketing with the city and the city will be doing the same thing and with that marketing I'm very fortunate to get to work with City Adams the marketing director for the City of Eden who is just fantastic and the job that she does and I'll be learning a lot from her as well so I'm real pleased to to get into that sure and then the next part is is also very exciting it's it's a business resources aspect of the partnership I'm going to be out talking to businesses anyway you know about what we can offer what we do as well as encouraging new member new business to join our membership and in that in those conversations I'm going to be listening for what do these businesses really need in the City of Eden and how can we help them as a chamber but I'm going to be listening for how can they be helped in other ways what do they really need in the City of Eden if they need something from the city I'm going to provide that seed back to the city manager the John Mendenhall if they need something from another organization from say ADTS I'll go to them and talk to them if they need something for the while the boys club then I can go and talk to them so again it's me being that that connection between the businesses and their needs of what they what they really need to to prosper and grow in Eden and stay in Eden yeah so that sounds like a great great approach to things there we feel it is I've talked with John Mendenhall about this and we feel like you know this this is going to be something that's going to be very beneficial for the City of Eden okay other things that we'll be doing under this is our listening sessions want to set up some where we might call in or invite in 15 to 20 leaders of businesses and do the same type thing those that I can't you know get out to immediately we'll start having some meetings and listening sessions for them so we just invite them in and do the same type thing what is what are your needs what do you really need you know to prosper and grow in Eden so we'll be doing those probably at City Hall and maybe at the chamber as well but we'll be conducting those with with with the chamber as well as probably some staff from the city as well that sounds great yeah we also want to work in the town areas so we'll be working with our Main Street director Ken White on the Main Street programs and trying to increase and enhance the businesses in in the town areas to make sure that again what are their needs how can we help them and promote them we want to promote that's part of our job as a chambers to promote the businesses as well so we're very excited about that and like I say we work with Main Street director Ken White on that thank you for sharing that I think that you're listening and you're responding and you're connecting yes we're trying to what we try to do in our coffees is having the network so we just doing it this on a little bit larger scale and trying to connect the people and the businesses to the to the organizations where they can get can get some help okay the other big thing that I'm really really excited about partnering with the city is we're going to become also in include in our business at the chamber a vista center this is something I think that that have been in the in the sites of Eden for a long time but no one is really taking this on and like I said we're going to partner with the city of Eden and we're going to become a vista center so we are not a hundred percent sure what all that's going to take it but we've got a lot of research to do to get that in place and we've got our two folks working the chamber with me Deborah Blizzard and Karen Chacon that we working on setting that up and and finding out what all we need to do within that vista center again I get to work with Cindy Adams some more we're going to set up some meetings with the hotels and to find out again as a vista center what can we do to help the hotels and how can we help promote them so we want to get that in place and start those conversations and see what we can do there and then the final part of this partnership we talked about messages and cross-marketing with the city we're going to have a digital message board in front of the in front of the chamber I'm working on now with with a vendor out of reason to finalize the design of that message board and work on that and and see what all we really need and work where it's the most visible and so we're really excited about that it's going to take a few months to get it in place I understand not only once we approve all the design it's just going to take a while to order get the parts in so I hope people will bear with us and now that they know that this is coming that it's going to still take a few months to get this so we're just just excited I'm really excited about this Mike I'm really oh I'm excited with you this is wonderful news it really is it really is so you know these are just some of the things that are coming up and things that we have going on and and it's it's a very busy time I am finding out that there's always something going on in Eden between the chamber and between the city and it matter of fact I'll go ahead and mention Cindy Adams shagging on field crest this Saturday again as long as the weather holds out on that too so yeah we're real pleased about all that so well making things happen isn't that just a exciting all the way around it really is exciting when you feel like you can do something to make something happen to work with people to make these things happen it's just a great pleasure that you get to see that you're trying to do something for your community sure well I'm so glad you're in the studio here with us today Jim to to let us in on some of these good things happening with the Eden Chamber of Commerce thank you thank you Mike I just want to say as we wind up here today you know one of the things that that we're trying to do is to communicate as well as we can if there are avenues of there are so many avenues today in the past there were only one or two the radio in the newspaper today there's so many more avenues and I want to make sure that we're trying to cover them all so if anyone has some suggestions on other ways that we can communicate so let me just say you know monthly we do this podcast with you I'm also starting a monthly video with Roy Sawyer's on our CEO so I'm real pleased about those so monthly we have information in Eden's own journal so that's there we also put out an email blast every week used it it's on a Friday it's a weekly type of thing I don't think a lot of enough people receive that I put it that way so if you want to receive this email go to our website and we've done some work on our website as well go to our website and you can sign up for email and we'll make sure that you get that so again and what are we missing I don't know let us know and we'll try to make that that communication effort as well I look forward to that email blast yeah that has some good information always it really does it really does and I'm just pleased again that that we have folks that put that information in and again our members can submit information to put on there as well so we're pleased about that so again communicate communicate communicate in network and so what can we do to help help you understand what's going on so again so I'm Jim Burnett the the Executive Director of Eden Chamber Commerce again website is Edenshamber.com you can reach us at 336-623-3336 which is the number it spells Eden and website and Facebook we have Facebook page too so please join us thank you Jim [BLANK_AUDIO]