MEMBER-TO-MEMBER: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR JUNE 26, 2015

From Ryan Craig 
Executive Director
Logan County Chamber of Commerce
ryancraig@loganchamber.com

   They’re gon’ put (CHAMBER MEMBER’S NAME GOES HERE) in the movies. They are going to make big stars out of (CHAMBER MEMBER). And all I got to do is act naturally (AND TALK ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS, GROUP OR EVENT).

Well, it isn’t quite like ole Buck Owens sang it, but very soon you will be seeing some of our first episodes of “Chamber Chat” — our new show on the Electric Plant Board’s SmartTV3. This week we spoke with WRUS (both Don Neagle and Chris McGinnis), Ron Barbe with Ventra Plastics, Amanda Pawley with Pawley Studios and Robert White, General Manager of EPB. The shows have been great. The people we have spoken with have been fantastic and I think “Chamber Chat” may actually inform the viewers about local Chamber members while being entertaining (despite the host).

   Look for some “Chamber Chat” coming your way by mid-July.

RIBBON-CUTTING FOR BARROW EYE CENTER, UPCOMING FOR HELPING HANDS

 

   There was a great turnout — we had a tough time fitting all of those who came in the picture — for the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting at Barrow Eye Center this past Wednesday. There was great food, fellowship and those in awe of the building, which we were proud to find out was done by local contractors! Congratulations to Barrow Eye Center and here’s to many more years of success in Logan County.

   Also, make plans to attend the Ribbon Cutting ceremony for Helping Hands, a service organization which has opened its doors in Russellville. The Ribbon Cutting will be this next Tuesday (June 30) at 11:30 a.m. at their facility on 1211 Nashville Street, Russellville.  This is where the ABC Plumbing used to be located. We want a big crowd out, so clear your calendars and plan on attending.

DON’T FORGET ABOUT LEADERSHIP LOGAN
   With school being out of session and people on vacation, it has been easy to forget the deadline for Leadership Logan is drawing near. With only six weeks left until the Aug. 1 deadline, our 2015-16 Leadership Logan Class is only half full. We know there have been several who have asked about the class, but haven’t signed up. Go to www.loganchamber.com and click on the link. We will also be sending out e-invites for Leadership Logan with links on the email to make it easy to find. If you have any trouble finding the link on our site, call Amanda Baker or myself at 270-726-2206 and we will be glad to help you. Leadership Logan is a great opportunity and if you know anyone who has participated, please ask them about it and I’m sure they will tell you how much they learn about Logan County, its businesses and its people.

LOGAN COUNTY FAIR INFO

   It is time for the Logan County Fair. There has been a lot of hard work by some dedicated people who are trying to build the Fair back up and make it THE event of the summer in Logan County. Let’s all make plans to come out next month for YOUR Logan County Fair.
   Here are some events that are sponsored by Logan County Tourism with some of the sign-up dates. We will have a complete schedule in the next couple of weeks. You can find the complete schedule now on our Facebook page.
   Logan County Tourism Presents all of the following events:

• Sunday, July 19, from 1:30-5:30 PM:  An Afternoon of Gospel Singing at the Logan County Extension Complex Ag Pavilion, Free Admission, Concessions available, Bathrooms available, Please bring lawn chairs to ensure seating.  Emcee Brent Summers, Singing Chairman Pete Lehman (call: 270-221-0014 for more info) Performances by: The Bilbrey Family Gospel Band @ 1:30 PM, Mt. Pleasant Gospel Band & Singers @ 2:30 PM, Wesley Walker, Dale Etheridge, Russ Funk from 3:30 PM-4:30 PM, Dearmond Family Gospel Band begins @ 4:30 PM.

 

• Monday, July 20, Karaoke Contest @ Logan County Extension Complex Ag Pavilion, $5 contest entry fee, Registration from 5-6 PM and contest begins at 6 PM.  Choose your song from these categories: Country, Bluegrass, Rock & Pop, Blues, Motown, Gospel, Country & Western, Bring your own CD.  Bring your lawn chairs to ensure seating.  Age divisions for Male & Female singers.  Youth 12 years & younger, Teen 13-19 years, Young Adults 20-35 years, Adults 36-60 years, Senior over 60 years. Concessions available, Bathrooms available.  For more info: Pete Lehman, 270-221-0014.

• Monday, July 20, Little Mr. & Little Miss Logan Fair Pageant, inside the Logan County Extension Complex Office Meeting Room, Pageant begins at 6 PM. Deadline for entry is July 16, 2015.  $15.00 entry fee.  Each child can bring one adult in free. For All Others: Door Admission $5.00 for anyone over 12 years of age, 12 and under get in free. Categories for boys & girls 0-6 months,  7-12 months, 13-18 months, 19-23 months, 2-3 years, 4-5 years, girls only 6-7 years, 8-10 years, 11-12 years. For entry forms see the Facebook Page for Logan County Tourism or pick up/drop off forms at the Logan County Tourism Office (Inside the Historic Old Logan County Courthouse), The Logan County Chamber of Commerce or The Logan County Extension Office.  Trophies are being sponsored by Daymar College.  Sarah Herron Photography will be there to take pictures of contestants. Emcee will be Marty Marshall. For more info, contact the Logan County Tourism Office at 270-726-1678.

• Tuesday, July 21, Ms. Teen & Queen Pageant inside the Logan County Extension Complex Office Meeting Room, Pageant practice will be held Monday, July 20 from 1-3 PM for all contestants.  Entry deadline is July 10. Entry Forms can be found on the Logan County Tourism Facebook Page or can be picked up/dropped off at the Logan County Tourism Office, the Logan County Chamber of Commerce or the Logan County Extension Office.  Teen Pageant will be for girls ages 13-15 years.  Queen Pageant will be for girls 16-21 years.  Entry fee is $30.  Emcee will be Chris McGinnis from WRUS. Sarah Herron Photography will be there to take pictures of contestants. For more info contact the Logan County Tourism Office at 270-726-1678.

 

   That is all for this week! Let me know if you want to be on “Chamber Chat” in case I forget to get around to asking. Also, make sure if you or one of your employees want to be in Leadership Logan’s next class to contact us!

Ryan

MEMBER-TO-MEMBER: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR JUNE 19, 2015

From Ryan Craig 
Executive Director
Logan County Chamber of Commerce
ryancraig@loganchamber.com

    When I'm out and about visiting I am amazed at the level of concern our business owners, managers and community leaders have for our community. Often the conversation of retail development, education or just having more for our youth is brought up and the sum of those conversations have brought me to the realization that perhaps what we need the most is a gigantic idea basket.

   I once read a great story about how signs which simply said "THINK" would sit on desks and over doors at IBM. The famous "Think" signs were based on the old 1911 slogan by accounting and business pioneer Thomas J. Watson. The signs became more than a slogan, more than a motto, it became a philosophy.
   So, I say, let's "Think." Let's give serious thought to what we want to change, what we want to put our time behind and where we would like the place we live to move toward.
   Next week the United Way of Southern Kentucky, which has performed a Herculean feat of surveying thousands of people in the counties (including Logan) in our area and coming up with what they call potential "Goals for the Common Good." Those goals deal with education, income, health and a community safety net. Next week the United Way of Southern Kentucky will announce its new community impact focus and we hope to be able to bring that information to you and use their information to help us all "Think" about what is to come for Logan County and how we, as a Chamber, as a community, as individuals can make a true difference.
   So, get your "Think" signs out, collect your ideas in your idea basket and stay tuned for more.

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS, READY FOR RIBBON CUTTINGS
   We welcome Barrow Eye Center and Alpha Pest Management as our two newest members. Barrow Eye Center will be having a Grand Opening and ribbon cutting event on their beautiful new building next Wednesday (June 24) at 8:30 a.m. We hope to have beautiful weather and a big crowd out to support Barrow Eye Center. Barrow Eye Center is located on 102 Armory Drive right next to McDonald's in Russellville.
   Alpha Pest Management joined this week and is here to see to your pest management needs. Call them at 270-776-5527.
   We will also be having a ribbon cutting on June 30 at 11:30 a.m. for new Chamber member and new service group for Logan County, Helping Hands. Helping Hands will have their Grand Opening of their facility/store that day. They are located in the old ABC Plumbing building on Nashville Street in Russellville.

"CHAMBER CHAT" WILL SOON BE UNDERWAY
   For those brave souls who volunteered to be on the first "Chamber Chat" programs on the Electric Plant Board's smartTV3 channel we will soon begin filming. Thanks to all of those who offered to be our guinea pigs, I think this will be a truly excellent way to promote and show off our Chamber members. Thanks again to the staff at EPB for being patient with us!

ADULT EDUCATION HAS NEW FACEBOOK PAGE
   A class project from Carl Sandage has produced a new Facebook page for Adult Education and for the community. According to Carl, the page's theme is "Paying it Forward" for those who join the page to post things we take for granted or seldom notice. "We all have things to be thankful for in life," he said. "Just look."
   Sandage said there is also another purpose for the page. "The Adult Education supports local GED students with a scholarship program for fees and texts," he said in a letter to the Chamber. "Many students haven't the funds for their books for fees and I would appreciated support in this effort."
   There is information on the page about how to contact the Adult Education Center (their address is 121 S. Spring Street, Russellville, KY 42276) and links to Adult Ed's web page is on the Facebook page as well.
  Adult Education will be having its graduation at Logan County High School on Sunday, June 28 starting at 2 p.m.
   Here is the link to the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LoganCountyAdultEdPayItForward?fref=ts

That is all for this week. Stay cool and be cool by joining us to help celebrate Barrow Eye Center's Grand Opening this coming Wednesday!

Ryan


  

Prepare for Success in Your Small Business

How to prepare for Success in Your Small Business

From smallbizsurvival.com

   Being prepared for success may mean many things. Probably the first thing the owner must prepare for is being able to handle expanded orders and a growing client base. How will you fill new orders? Do you have or can you get the materials or goods you need? Do you have plans for expanding your workforce? Have you been getting your procedures and policies in order?   Business owners work hard to achieve success. Yet when they achieve that goal, sometimes they are not ready for the consequences.
Owners often are focused on being able to overcome all sorts of hurdles as they open and run their business. It rarely occurs to them that they also need to do some planning for success. Success can bring challenges just like struggling along can. Sometimes the challenges can be even more unsettling. It shouldn’t be like this is a thought many owners express.

   I have seen several small businesses get a big order only to see them practically lose their business in the process of filling it. All of their effort was spent trying to get things up and running, and when the big order came, they had no idea how to handle it.
   The owner also must remember to keep his or her celebrations in moderation. You certainly should enjoy the moment of such achievements, but understand that true business success is long term in nature and work remains. Stay motivated and don’t let this slow your efforts in building and maintaining your brand and reputation.
   Staying focused on the present also is important for small-business owners. Achieving a big order or some other measure of success is great, but understand that much, maybe even all, of the effort in making that happen comes from work done earlier. Focusing on the win actually is focusing on earlier work. As the owner, you need to be looking at today and tomorrow and working toward continued forward progress.
   Probably the last reminder for business owners is to use this time to rethink their goals. Make sure that these goals will continue to challenge you. Keeping a challenge in front of you is what helps maintain your passion and drive.
   Business owners are told to prepare to mitigate risk and plan for the bumps in the road. Rarely is advice offered on spending some time knowing how you will handle hitting the home run.
   Think about what success can mean and develop a framework for managing your business when it arrives. Your goal is to make this achievement a regular thing.

MEMBER-TO-MEMBER: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR JUNE 12, 2015

From Ryan Craig 
Executive Director
Logan County Chamber of Commerce
ryancraig@loganchamber.com

   Marketing is a lot about showmanship and, brother (or sister), do we have a show for you this week! Starting with our new logo and brand for the 2015 Tobacco & Heritage Festival, a new tool that will be offered to the membership to help their business and how we may have more vendors (more food!) and much more fun (ever heard the term, enhanced bouncies?) and a way to alleviate the crushing crowd right after the parade at the Festival.
   It was a big week with some big news, so relax and ready yourself for a big ol' slice of Chamber Awesome Pie!

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, OUR NEW LOGO ...

Many thanks goes to the Tobacco Festival Steering Committee, who are doing some amazing work, I might add, for the theme and idea for this year's Tobacco & Heritage Festival. A special thanks to 2015 Chamber President Shane Hayes and Gerald Printing's lead designer Barry Arnold for the amazing logo. This logo is different from logos in past years because it will include our theme "Past, Present and Future" but it will also include what we are calling a "permanent" logo for the Festival that can be used for other promotional items in years when we don't yet have a theme. It will also help when it comes to statewide advertising for the event.
   It is a great marketing tool for the BEST festival in the state (that's right, I said it) and I couldn't be prouder. The line to order the T-shirt and hats forms at the left.




SIZEUP BUISNESS TOOL WILL HELP BUSINESSES, RETAIL EFFORTS

Click on this picture to read it.

   The Chamber Board voted earlier this week to approve the purchase of the SizeUp Local Business Intelligence tool to be an add-on bonus for the Chamber membership and it will also be a great tool for those who are looking to expand, build or start a new business in Logan County. The tool will be free for members to use and for a small fee, the Chamber staff will help anyone who is trying to determine where they should put a business, who will be their competition, and the SizeUp tool will even give them a good idea about whether they should be starting a business at all. This isn't done with opinion, but with cold, hard facts.
   SizeUp will offer business and industry analysis — basically, how your business is performing compared to competitors (even in other counties — and will give you charts and maps on where your potential customers are located and if you are reaching them. The tool will also offer what the company calls Competitive Intelligence — geo-visual listings of prospective customers, suppliers and competitors— all so you can either determine an expansion or if you are wanting to start a new business, where you could be best located.
   The tool will also help you find the best places to advertise and will give you tons of demographic information such as the labor force and consumer expenditure data for Logan County.
   The Chamber also will use the information garnered from the tool to help with our ongoing Retail Recruitment/Retention Program and after some training, we hope to be able to train our Chamber members on the best way to use the tools so they can save on costly decisions or even more costly consultants! Look for a launch date for SizeUp very soon.

RIBBON CUTTING SET FOR BARROW EYE CENTER
   Make plans to attend the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Celebration for BARROW EYE CENTER on June 24 at 8:30 a.m. We are looking forward to celebrating the new building, which is located next door to McDonald's in Russellville.

STILL NEED MORE FOR "CHAMBER CHAT"
We are grateful for those who have already signed up to be on the Chamber's new show "Chamber Chat" on the Electric Plant Board's smartTV3 channel. We still looking for more volunteers. This program will be a great opportunity for local businesses to share what they do with the community. Thanks goes out General Manager Robert White and his staff at the EPB for allowing a program that will highlight our membership!

AMBASSADORS SUMMER PROJECT
   Be on the lookout as our Ambassadors continue to visit the membership as part of their summer project. It's one thing to see me walking through the door, but I also think the membership will appreciate these volunteers taking time from their work and lives to visit with the Chamber members to just stop by, say hello, and see how you are doing. Thanks to all our Ambassadors for the work they do!

RELAY FOR LIFE TONIGHT
   Let's all make sure we are ready, willing and able to attend, donate, and support the Logan County Relay For Life event starting at 6 p.m. tonight (Friday) at Logan County High School. There are very few, and perhaps none, of us who haven't had a loved one diagnosed or pass away from some form of cancer. There is hope for a cure, and Relay For Life is a huge way to show your support for the hope of a bright, cancer free day or to remember those we love who have gone before us but are not forgotten and are still loved.

   I am proud of all of the exciting things the Chamber is doing and look forward to helping local businesses and the event of all events in Logan County — the Logan County Tobacco and Heritage Festival!

Have a great weekend!

Ryan

MEMBER-TO-MEMBER: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT FOR JUNE 5, 2015

From Ryan Craig 
Executive Director
Logan County Chamber of Commerce
ryancraig@loganchamber.com
   
   These are exciting times at the Logan County Chamber of Commerce. We are gearing up for the Tobacco and Heritage Festival (look for our big reveal on this blog next week) and we are laying the framework for our retail initiative (more on that next week as well), but this week I'm excited to say the Chamber will be having a program on the new Electric Plant Board smartTV3!
   The program is tentatively called "Chamber Chat" and it will consist of some footage spotlighting local business and industry in the Chamber and I will be interviewing a person from a business, a key figure in a business or community or even perhaps the head of a local charity or program. Now, we are looking for volunteers from our membership to appear on the show. If you, or your business wants to be part of the show, give me a call or email me at the Chamber. We will be in touch later on in the month to let you know when filming will start. This will be a great way to highlight local businesses and we are grateful for General Manager Robert White and the EPB staff for the opportunity.
   And, like my television hero Ron Burgundy, we will keep it "classy" and hopefully help the channel's viewers learn more about Logan County, its businesses and the people behind the scenes.

RIBBON CUTTING FOR HANDBAGS AND MORE

   A big thanks to Handbags and More by Judy on Hopkinsville Street in Russellville for allowing the Chamber to come and celebrate Judy's business with a ribbon cutting Thursday. There was a nice crowd and Judy has even nicer merchandise for one to peruse inside! Congrats and future success for Handbags and More!
   We also will be having a grand opening and ribbon cutting celebration for Barrow Eye Center on June 24 starting at 8:30 a.m. so make plans to attend that celebration as well.

RELAY FOR LIFE NEXT WEEK
   Let's all make sure we are ready, willing and able to attend, donate, and support the Logan County Relay For Life event next Friday (June 12) starting at 6 p.m. at Logan County High School. There are very few, and perhaps none, of us who haven't had a loved one diagnosed or pass away from some form of cancer. There is hope for a cure and Relay For Life is a huge way to show your support for the hope of a bright, cancer free day or to remember those we love who have gone before us but are not forgotten and are still loved.

   That is all for this week. I'm keeping it short because next week will have girth and depth perhaps not seen on this blog. Great news, exciting times and as always thank you for being a member of the Logan County Chamber of Commerce.

Ryan