
Dec. 7, 2016
FROM THE PRESIDENT: JENNIFER HALL, SEMCO Construction BARTOW IS HAPPENING I certainly hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! What a great weekend of food, fellowship, and football! I hope you helped our local small businesses with “Shop Small Saturday.” Remember to Buy Local; and Buy Chamber! Once December kicks off, there is plenty to do and see in Bartow. Thursday, December 8^th, is our Business After Hours (AKA Fun Thursday) at Boswell and Dunlap. We will be honoring our Professional Development Academy “graduates” with their certificates at this event. Friday night, December 9^th, is the Annual Bartow Christmas Parade. The parade begins at 6:00 p.m. Contact Main Street Bartow (863-519-0508) for more information. The Festival of Wreaths is going on at the History Center until December 10^th. You can view the wreaths on their website at www.polkhistorycenter.org. Bartow Ford will host Winter Wonderland on Saturday December 10^th from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. The kids will have a blast! And, if you’re looking for Christmas Music, stop by Spath Jewelers at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 10^th, to hear the Reflectsons. On December 14^th, Watson Clinic Bartow will have a Ribbon Cutting/Open House for the new Gynecology office. Stay tuned for more info on that event. This is just the tip of the proverbial iceburg of things to do here in our great town. I hope to see at some of them! Until next week, *Jennifer* *Hall* Your Chamber President, 2016 CHAMPIONS CUP Congratulations to the 2016 Champions Cup Winners! Here they are: BUSINESS OF THE YEAR: Bartow Ford BUSINESS TO BUSINESS: Pyramid Fasteners SERVICE/PROFESSIONAL: Travel Leaders / International Sun Travel RETAIL BUSINESS: The Krazy Kricket COMMUNITY SERVICE: Bartow Ford NOT FOR PROFIT/ COMMUNITY ACTION AGENCY: Bartow Community Healthcare Foundation, Inc. MAIN STREET BUSINESS: Sweet Magnolias EMERGING BUSINESS: The Krazy Kricket SPIRIT OF BARTOW AWARD: Jennifer Hall Karen Guffey HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam Click here to see past winners of this prestigious award. Read more about this prestigious event at the link below: http://www.bartowchamber.com/index.php/greater-bartow-chamber/bartow-chamber-chamber-events/bartow-chamber-champions-cup PHOTOS HERE! MEMBERSHIP MILESTONES 30 YEARS Pat Crisman 20 YEARS Southside Package & Lounge, Inc. 5 YEARS Counter Effects by Roger NEW MEMBERS *Caterers* All Racked Up BBQ David & Stephanie Kimbrough 3420 Stoneway Dr. Lakeland, FL 33812 (863) 670-5325 *Advertising Agency* Lakeland Outdoor Advertising Ms. Kathy Oertel General Manager 215 E. Bay Street, Suite 7 Lakeland, FL 33813 (863) 603-0373 lakelandoutdoor.com *Motorcycles/ATVs/Side by Sides* Sackett Motorsports, Inc. Mr. Ryan Sackett 350 W. Brannen Rd. Lakeland, FL 33813 (863) 397-5562 Visit Website here. *Individual Member* Ms. Diane Ward DIPLOMAT Day Spas Bella Grace Day Spa Angela Radford/Robin Wilson 1989 Hwy. 17 S., Bartow (863) 537-7074 Ribbon cutting on Thursday, Dec. 8, 9:30 a.m. *Construction-Contractors* Romeo’s Roofing Mr. Audie Romero P.O. Box 1163 Auburndale, FL 33823 (863) 944-7719 Visit Website here. MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY Want to find a retail or service business? Click here. 2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Jennifer Hall, President SEMCO Construction Sharon Casey, Immediate Past President Retired Banker Clint Edwards, President-elect, Vice President Tom Edwards Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE LIST SUPPORT OUR NEWSLETTER SPONSORS! WANT YOUR COMPANY LISTED HERE? Contact Barbara@bartowchamber.com CHAMBER QUARTERLY HAS 40K READERSHIP Reserve your space now in the Spring Chamber Quarterly Magazine and hand your business card out to more than 40,000 readers for only $85 per issue. Call Barbara Adamson at 863-533-7125 for more information. JOIN ENGAGE & GET A COOL CUP! Want this cool cup? It can be yours, simply by joining ENGAGE Young Professionals. Here's the link to learn about ENGAGE and to join. Become the Community Leader you were meant to be, sign up today! SEE US HERE!	DECEMBER BUSINESS: TRAVEL LEADERS Left to right: Travel professionals Cindi Beahm, Skip Fitch, Blanche Bryant, Terri Lynn Goodrich and Chamber Member Services Director, Barbara Adamson December Business of the Month ________________________________________ Travel Leaders International Sun Travel 705 East Street, Bartow, Florida 33830 (863) 533-0511 blanche@intlsuntvl.com Established in 1980, Travel Leaders International Sun Travel offers you access to more than 100 years of agents' experience! They combine first-hand knowledge, cutting-edge technology, competitive pricing and exemplary service to meet your travel wishes. They do it all - airline tickets, cruises, destination weddings, family reunions - they can help make it all happen for you. Give them a call to get started on the corporate travel exeperience you deserve, or vacation of your dreams! WANT TO FIND OUT HOW TO BECOME THE BUSINESS OF THE MONTH? Contact Barbara Adamson, Membership Services, 863-533-7125 or email barbara@bartowchamber.com HELLO BARTOW! MEMBERS PARTICIPATE FOR FREE ROI ALERT TO ALL MEMBERS! We've established a new perk to your membership. Now, as a member of the Greater Bartow Chamber of Commerce, you may include a promotional item for your business in the HELLO BARTOW! welcome baskets for new residents. PARTICIPATION IS FREE OF CHARGE! If you are interested, contact Barbara Adamson, Membership Director, (863) 533-7125, or reply to this email. FUN THURSDAY AT BOSWELL & DUNALP LLP Join us for a wonderful Christmas celebration at Boswell & Dunlap on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016, 5:00 p.m. Mark your calendars today! See you there. MEMBER MICRONEWS SPATH JEWELERS OFFERS FREE CONCERT FOR CHRISTMAS A free Christmas Concert is set for Saturday, December 10, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Spath Jewelers, 1360 N. Broadway Ave., Bartow. Singing will be The Reflectsons, a nationally-known Gospel group. For more information, contact Spath Jewelers at 863-533-9569. read more... CHAMBER EVENTS (All meetings are in the Chamber Boardroom unless otherwise noted.) DECEMBER Thursday, Dec. 8, 9:30 a.m. BELLA GRACE DAY SPA RIBBON-CUTTING 1989 Hwy. 17 South, Bartow Thursday, Dec. 8, 5:00 p.m. BOSWELL & DUNLAP FUN THURSDAY 245 S. Central Ave., Bartow Friday, Dec. 9, 6:00 p.m. DOWNTOWN CHRISTMAS PARADE Saturday, Dec. 10, 9:00 a.m. BARTOW CHAMBER FORTRESS FITNESS At Fort Blount Park FREE Exercise Class for the whole family! Thursday, Dec. 15, noon DIPLOMAT CHRISTMAS PARTY Tuesday, Dec. 13, 3:45 p.m., 4:00 p.m. BOARD/EXEC COMMITTEE Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. WATSON CLINIC BARTOW GYNECOLOGY RIBBON CUTTING - OPEN HOUSE NEW OFFICE LOCATION AT THE BAYCARE BARTOW REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER Dr. Tarek Garas & Nicole Rule, ARNP-C 2000 Osprey Blvd., Suite 100 Bartow, FL 33830 Friday, Dec. 23; Monday, Dec. 26 CHAMBER CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS *FOR A LIST OF COMMUNITY EVENTS LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE, CLICK HERE AND THEN CHOOSE "EVENTS"!* B2B BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGE DEC. 14 Business to Business will continue after the first of the year! Merry Christmas! BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MORNING BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGE Plenty of coffee and fellowship with your fellow member business owners. Bring lots of business cards and give everyone two - one for them and one for a friend. Hope to see you there! NO REGISTRATION NECESSARY. DON'T MISS FORTRESS FITNESS FOR NOVEMBER! This is a great time of exercise for the whole family! Marie Wilmot, local fitness guru, has designed a program for the Chamber to help the community get fit! Find out what types of exercise suit your needs by coming out to Fort Blount Park on the second Saturday of each month at 9:00 a.m. You can experience a different kind of exercise in each class. It's a blast! RUDOLPH ROUNDUP It's Rudolph Round-Up 2016! We invite you to join Heartland for Children in our 12th Annual Rudolph Round-Up Holiday Toy Drive. With your help, our goal is to help make incredible holiday memories for 1,400 local children who have experienced abuse and/or neglect. Whether you are a new donor or one who has supported children's holiday wishes previously through Rudolph Round-Up, we need your help to provide for all of the children in need. Bring new, unwrapped toys to the Bartow Chamber for Polk County children today! Rudolph Roundup is a project of Leadership Bartow XVII. RIBBON-CUTTING, OPEN HOUSE FOR WATSON CLINIC COMING UP!
Newsletter1 - Dec. 7, 2016