Weekly Chamber Update

Serving Over 300 Businesses & Organizations In The Area

Shop Online at www.shopcyclewerks.com

From all of us at Cycle Werks we would like to wish you a Very Merry Christmas. After 30 years of business, We have all of you, our customers, to thank for keeping us around this long.
Thanks, so much.
We hope to see you soon, and would like to encourage you to keep on pedaling. Winter is a tough time to think about riding a bicycle but, we may have some cool gear to help you ride outside or even inside.

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THANK YOU TO OUR HOST: 

THE WHITEHOUSE LIBRARY

Thank You To Our Door Prize Sponsors:

Mary Kay-Carole Conner; Humana-David Williams; On the Beach Tanning-Barb Rees; Curves-Jennifer Boyles; The Whitehouse Inn-Tony Fronk; Kohne Camera & Photo-Lori Rupp; and Subway Fresh Catering-The Torres Family 

www.facebook.com/whitehouseohchamber

Did You Know.... The Chamber has a Facebook page and we want you to be a part of it.  Check it out today!   www.facebook.com/whitehouseohchamber

GET READY FOR THE BIGGEST CHERRY FEST YET…. NEW THIS YEAR…..A LARGE FLEA MARKET!!!!!
It’s the 30th Anniversary of the Whitehouse Cherry Fest: Thursday, June 7 through Saturday, June 9, 2012.
***Nominations Being Accepted For 2012 Parade Grand Marshal…Applications online!!
More information will be released by end of the month at: www.mywhitehousecherryfest.com

Friday, February 24, 2012 5:00-7:30 p.m- 3rd Annual Anthony Wayne Business Showcase
FREE FOR PUBLIC TO ATTEND! Sponsored by The Whitehouse & Waterville Area Chambers of Commerce
Come and browse our local businesses, enjoy food tastings and live entertainment, along with plenty of great door prizes!
Registration and online sign-up will be available SOON!

Friday May 18 & 19, 2012: Whitehouse Community Garage Sales
The Chamber will sponsor and promote the advertising for the 2-day event. We will not publish or advertise addresses with a map as we have in the past, but we will market this weekend in several newspapers and flyers.

Community Magazine: The Chamber will be launching a quarterly full color magazine for the Whitehouse Community in 2012 and if you are interested in submitting stories with relative content to our area, please contact the Chamber office.

Visitor’s Center: The Chamber is also designing a Visitor’s Center which is expected to be complete and open by the spring of 2012. This visitor’s center will promote the area businesses and non-profit agencies by displaying brochures, and information materials for the entire area. It will be open every day and evening and service our residents and visitors that come to our town.
 

Dec 1 - Dec 22, Monday thru Friday, HOLIDAY SHOP OPEN

Do your holiday shopping at Bittersweet Farms and help to support employment for individuals with autism. December 16, Friday, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. you can purchase one-of-a-kind handcrafted holiday gifts and homemade cookies. Everything for sale is made by the individuals with autism that Bittersweet Farms serves.

· A free photo opportunity is available with Santa’s Elf from 11 am – 1 pm.

· Enjoy complimentary tea and cookies while you shop.

· With a $35 purchase, you receive one free painting of your choice.

· Patra, our personal shopper, will assist you with your shopping needs.

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Newly Opened at 6778 Providence Street

Schiavone's Consignment Gallery in Whitehouse, Ohio, is a resale and consignment shop specializing in antique furniture, glassware, and other unique novelties. We buy, sell, and trade.  We are family owned and operated with more than 25 years in the industry. We take pride in our work as a leading provider of antiques and collectibles. Come on in and browse. We promise to make you feel at home.

Located at 6778 Providence St.  Phone: 1-888-596-2759                                                                                Hours of Operation
Wednesday–Friday, Noon–7:00 p.m.
Saturday, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.

Antiques
You'll find antiques in our shop dating back to 1890. Stop in and discover our amazing selection of antique glass, furniture, fishing gear, and books. We also have carnival glass and crystal, and a nice selection of Lenox™ crystal that will look wonderful on your dining table.

Everything for the Collector
We feature a whole host of novelties and knick-knacks for every room in your home. Find some great gift items, too. Check out our collection of baseball, football, and NASCAR® trading cards and our die-cast metal models for the kid in everyone.
Hunting & Fishing
How about a new rod? We have a line of poles, lures, and other gear for the well-stocked angler. For hunters, we carry tree stands, hunting clothing, decoys, and camouflage.
Tools
If it's power tools you want, we have an enviable collection. Find what you need and more in our assortment of workbenches, drills, saws, chainsaws, drill bits, lathes, and other tools. We carry models by major manufacturers, such as Craftsman® and Black & Decker®.

10 steps every business should take to prepare for disaster

Business Continuity: Business as usual. Even after a disaster.
Ten steps every business should take to prepare for a disaster. Submitted By: Mark Reilly, Diversified Insurance Service

When people think of disasters, they generally envision hurricanes, tornados or floods - catastrophic events that devastate communities. But for a business, a disaster can be something as small as a failed switch or computer virus. These seemingly minor events can have a shocking impact on a business, often bringing operations to a standstill.

“The impacts of an interruption can be stunning,” says Bob Boyd, President and CEO of Agility Recovery Solutions, the industry leader in mobile business continuity solutions for small to mid-sized businesses. “Statistics indicate that about 60 percent of the businesses affected by a disaster will not survive because they do not have a recovery plan in place.”

Creating a basic, executable disaster recovery plan is one of the most important steps you can take to protect your business and assure business as usual – no matter what the scenario. Below are ten key steps to help you get started.

1. Assess your risk – both internally and externally.
Which disasters will most likely impact your business? Though major disasters dominate the headlines, most business interruptions are caused by every day events, such as power outages, human error and technology failure. It is important assess your risk for catastrophic weather occurrences, but equally if not more important to assess exposure to more commonplace risks.

2. Assess your critical business functions.
Evaluate and document how your company functions and determine which processes, employees, equipment and materials are critical for your daily operations. Critical business functions include such things as billing, payroll and service fulfillment. List these functions and determine a process for restoring them in the event of an interruption.

3. Plan for an alternate location.
What would you do if your building were inaccessible tomorrow? Where would you go to continue basic business operations? Review your site requirements and determine a plan for recovery. Alternate site options include your home, a branch or second location, the site of a similar business, or a vendor that provides mobile recovery.

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Tom Friedel, Padgett Business Services

Whether you file as an individual, a corporation, a small business owner, or are self-employed, as the end of the year draws near, you're probably thinking ahead to tax season and filing your taxes.

Most tax provisions of course, remain the same (IRA contribution limits for example), but a few such as personal exemptions have been adjusted for inflation and others have been extended due to legislation and are set to expire at the end of 2012.

From tax credits, exemptions and deductions for individuals and Section 179 expensing for small businesses, here's what you need to know about tax changes for 2011.

Individuals

* Personal Exemptions: The personal and dependent exemption for tax year 2011 is $3,700, up $50 from 2010.
* Standard Deductions: In 2011 the standard deduction for married couples filing a joint return is $11,600, up $200 from 2010 and for singles and married individuals filing separately it's $5,800, up $100. For heads of household the deduction is $8,500, also up $100 from 2010.

Individuals - Tax Credits

* Energy Tax Credits for Homeowners: Energy tax credits for homeowners expire at the end of 2011 and are not as generous as in previous years. In addition, a taxpayer who has claimed an amount of $500 in any previous year is not eligible for this tax credit.
Homeowners can claim an Energy Star window tax credit of up to $200 maximum as well as a water heater tax credit, which includes electric, natural gas, propane, or oil, up to a maximum of $300. The same maximum ($300) applies to air conditioners, but insulation, doors, and roof credits are capped at $500. The furnace tax credit (includes natural gas, propane, oil, or hot water) and is capped at $150 maximum and efficiency must be at 95%.

 

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