June 2013
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Meeting Notices
Monthly Business Luncheon
June 5, 2013 noon
Caroline’s 123 Water Street Apalachicola
Monthly Business Luncheon
July 3, 2013 noon TBA
Business After Hours
July 11th, 2013 5:30-7:00 pm TBA
Visitor Statistics
April 2001 1,342 April 2002 1,237 April 2003 980 April 2004 1,494 April 2005 1,189 April 2006 1,268 April 2007 2,200 April 2008 2,987 April 2009 2,497 April 2010 2,968 April 2011 2,731 April 2012 2,687 April 2013 2,379
Website
Visits 16,997 Unique Visitors 13,241 Pageviews 62,987 Pages / Visit 3.71 Avg. Visit Duration 00:03:45 Bounce Rate 42.14% % New Visits 70.40% Chamber Board of Directors
PRESIDENT
Donna Duncan 653-8976
VICE-PRESIDENT
Bud Hayes 927-3305 TREASURER Jerry Hall 653-9510
SECRETARY
Kristin Anderson 653-2249 BOARD MEMBERS Brenda Ash 653-8805 Kristy Branch Banks 670-1255 Mark Friedman 670-1253
Ginny Griner 653-8853
Bonnie Gomes 670-8450 Beverly Hewitt 653-9510 Mike Koun 653-2191 Michael Shuler 653-1757 Ouida Tartt 653-4687
Jean Ulrich 653-2900
Kevin Ward 899-0669
| New Members
Enjoy Apalachicola
Judi Stokowski joined the chamber with her a new business,Enjoy Apalachicola ® LLC. Enjoy Apalachicola provides corporate and vacation concierge services, specialized tours of Apalachicola, art gallery tours, food and restaurant tours and wine or beer tours. She also offers event planning, notary services, and wedding officiants, plus “how to” classes for fishing, or for those who want to learn new Southern recipes using our fresh seafood. For corporate businesses, she can provide a variety of services, such as Human Resources business consulting, grant writing, business writing, MS Office training and much more. Judi’s website will beenjoyapalachicola.com and she can be reached by email at or call 850-370-0463 enjoy32320@aol.com Forgotten Coast Wedding Officiant Welcome Krystal Shuler Hernandez with her new businessForgotten Coast Wedding Officiant. Krystal can perform ceremonies that commemorate life’s milestones: weddings, commitment ceremonies, and other events. She honors all philosophies and religions, beliefs and traditions, whether secular, religious, spiritual or interfaith. Krystal was born and raised in Apalachicola. She attended Tallahassee Community College and graduated with a paralegal degree. She lives in Apalachicola with her husband and baby boy Ezra. Check out her website at www. Richard Dagenhart Architect Richard Dagenhart joined that chamber last month. Richard is an architect and a professor of Architecture and Design at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. He has worked in the field for over 35 years. Richard built a house in Apalachicola on 7th Street. He plans to spend part of his time in Atlanta and part here in Franklin County. He designs new homes and does historic restoration. He can be reached at (404) 277-1837, by email rdagenhart@gatech.edu. Bayside Burgers Welcome Beth Millender and Kathy Brantley with their new business Bayside Burgers. Bayside opened March 11th, and has been getting rave reviews. They serve burgers, salads, seafood, steaks, pizza, daily lunch specials, oyster on the half shell, wings, and beer and wine. Try their local specialty, the one-pound Tate’s Hell Burger! Brenda and Kathy are experienced business women. They previously ran Miss Brenda’s in Carrabelle. Bayside Burgers is open seven days a week, closed at 4:00 pm on Sunday.Beth and Kathy can be reached by calling (850) 670-1025 or atkbupriver88@gmail.com. Trust One Payment Service Welcome Chris Bissell with Trust One Payment Service, a credit card processing firm that offers no term contracts, no monthly fees, a dedicated sales rep and back up office support. Chris and his wife Ginger have been a patrons of area businesses for over ten years and eventually plan to relocate to the area full time. Chris served in the Coast Guard for four years. He conducted law enforcement and search and rescue missions through the Atlantic, Caribbean and the Gulf. After the Coast Guard Chris joined longtime friend Rob Cason atTrust One Payment Service and has been there for the past nine years. They now serve over 3,000 merchants. Trust Oneis offering free hardware and special rates for members of the Apalachicola Chamber of Commerce, plus other benefits such as credit card machine or a swipe device for your PC, tablet or mobile phone, 20+ years of payment processing experience, no term contracts, no monthly minimums, a dedicated sales rep to call for any of your processing needs and back-up support staffed and managed by our own office. Check out their website at www.trustonepaymentservices. Member News -Cook Insurance is celebrating their 100 anniversary on June 3rd, 8:00 am-5:00 pm. They will be serving refreshments all day. Stop by and say happy anniversary! -Congratulations Lynn Wilson Spohrer, owner of the Coombs House Inn for being selected one of Conde Nast Johansen’s Recommended Hotels, Inns Resorts, spas and Villas of the Americas, Caribbean and Pacific. A Conde Nast staffer visited the inn on Tuesday, May 7th. She professionally scrutinized all aspects of the inn including rooms, bedding, towels, staff, food, and grounds. The Coombs House Inn passed with flying colors. -The Apalachicola Bay Animal Clinic welcomes Dr. Alison P. Jennart. She is the new veterinarian at the clinic. Alison is a graduate from Auburn University and has been practicing for seven years, most recently in Panama City. PRESS -Lucy Tobias’ article Apalachicola Or Bust is in the spring 2013 issue of The New Barker magazine, Florida’s top dog publication. Lucy was here last fall with her dog Obi and they traveled the town. The article has a side bar that highlights the working dogs of Apalachicola. Featured are: Edgar at the Bowery Art Gallery, Paco at Bob Lindsley’s gallery, Sweet Pea and Daily at the Funky Fiddler and Cap at Apalach Outfitters. -Dr Beach named St George Island one of America’s Top Ten Beaches (#3) this year! The list has been on many TV news shows and newspapers. Congrats Josh and the State Park staff and volunteers. Be Prepared Hurricane season is almost here. Are you ready? The Franklin County Sheriff’s office has a great new tool call Code Red that can alert you via cell phone in the event of an emergency such as hurricanes and storms. Download the Code Red app and sign up here. This system replaces the WENS System. All landlines are automatically signed up. Also, sign up for your retry tag at the Franklin County Emergency Management office (850) 653- 8977. Small businesses are the economy of Franklin County. They provide most of the employment and generate most of the income for local folks. What would you do if the building your business is located within was damaged or destroyed in a disaster? Almost 40% of small businesses that close due to a disaster never re-open. Where would you go to continue providing your customers with your business services? Would you be prepared and have the correct resources, databases, contact information and other necessary items to adapt to these changes? Having a disaster plan that identifies important items will help ensure your business is prepared to survive during unexpected and difficult times. For information on writing a plan for your business go to http://www.sba.gov/content/ The Franklin County Emergency Management Office also has a great website with helpful information. During a disaster listen to Oyster Radio 100.5 fm and monitor the Franklin County Emergency Management website. Events Turtle Talks ANERR will host Sea Turtles Franklin County's Oldest Visitors each Wednesday in June at 2:00 pm. Fisherman’s Choice 14th Annual Kids Fishing Tournament Charles and Rex Pennycuff are hosting their 14th annual Fisherman’s Choice Youth Fishing Tournament on June 8th. Kids 16 and under will fish for fresh and saltwater species. Each entry receives a t-shirt, and after the tournament, entrees are invited to attend a cookout at Fisherman’s Choice where they will weigh in their fish, eat hot dogs and hamburgers and get some great prizes. In years past, Rex says they gave away 170 rods and reels, tackle boxes and a dozen cast nets. Prizes are given for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place, and include all major fish species. Entry is free and generally about 200 kids sign up. Call Fisherman’s Choice for more information at (850) 670-8808. SGI Mullet Toss The annual SGI Mullet Toss will be held June 8th, at the public beach in front of the Blue Parrot Ocean Front Café. There are men's, women's and children's divisions. Folks line up and pay a small entry fee that goes to charity for the privilege of flinging a fish for distance and prizes. To participate, just show up Saturday morning at 10:00 am June 8. For more information, contact the Blue Parrot (850) 927-2987 Full Moon Climbs The Cape St. George Lighthouse will have a Full Moon Climb on June 23. The sunset/full moon climb happens from 7:30 p.m. -9:00 p.m. and will include light hors d'oeuvres and a sparkling cider toast to the full moon. The cost is $15.00 for the general public and $10.00 for members of the St. George Lighthouse Association. After sunset, climbers can view the full moon from the top of the lighthouse at the cost of $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Space is limited. Reservations are recommended (850) 927-7744. Upcoming climbs will be on July 22nd and August 21. | Directors Column
Summer is here. Our new year begins at the end of June. We elect new board members and officers for the 2013-2014 year at our June 5th, luncheon to be held at Caroline’s in Apalachicola. Don’t miss it. The current board is developing a slate of candidates and officers to lead us through the new year. If you would be interested in serving on the board, call Anita at (850) 653-9419 or emailanita@apalachiocolabay.org or contact any of our board members listed on the left side of the newsletter.
Dues are Due in July. We are emailing our renewals this year to help save postage and time. The first week of June, you will receive an email with a hyperlink directing you to a renewal form (if you are a new member or already paid for the new year, please disregard the email). Click the link in the email and it will take you to the renewal invoice. Please print out the form, update your information, enclose a check and return it to us. Yopu can also renew by credit card. Just call us at call (850) 653-9419. If you have any questions, please email usinfo@apalachicolabay.org or call. You can also update your own information. Go to the website www.apalachicolabay.org, and click onChamber Members Login at the bottom of the home page. When theMember Page comes up click on My Information and log in. You will need to log in using your email and your password. Forgotten your password? Enter your E-mail address in the space and a new one will be sent to you automatically. Update or make any changes to your information. Remember to save at the bottom before you leave the page. You can also see how many times your listing has been accessed. Go back to theMember Page then click on Analytics this shows how many people have viewed your listing, the category your business is listed in any how any time they have clicked on your website. Anita Grove, Executive Director .jpg)     
The Bay and River Needs Your Help
The US House of Representatives is currently considering the Water Resource Defense Act (WRDA) bill. As the public law governing our nation’s water resources, no enactment of congress is more important to the survival of the Apalachicola River, or to the health and productivity of the Apalachicola Bay, than the 2013 WRDA bill. The US Army Corps of Engineers administers the bulk of the laws outlined in this Act, including how much water should be released from reservoirs located throughout the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee- The US Senate passed its version of the WRDA bill and in the coming weeks, the US House of Representatives will craft its own version. Communities throughout the 19,600 square mile Basin are looking to Rep. Steve Southerland to introduce specific language directing the Corps to provide the Apalachicola River with the freshwater flows necessary to sustain the Apalachicola River and Bay. Let your voices be heard BEFORE June 7th • Rep Southerland (850) 561-3979 • Chairman Bill Shuster, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee: http://transportation.house. Tell them: You support sustainable flows in the Apalachicola and you want a WRDA bill that directs the Corps of Engineers to provide the flows necessary to sustain Apalachicola River and Bay! Small Business Help Christine S. Urban, Business Analyst, MBA from the Small Business Development Center at FAMU has been doing workshopa and one-to-one business consuling at the chamber office. She is also available every weekday by calling 850-561-2041 or Christine.urban@famu.edu If you have questions or ideas that you need a sounding board for, call her. That is what they do, help small businesses. No question is too hard or simple. She can also work by skype or come down if you need it. Got Ideas? Suggestions? How can the Apalachicola Bay Chamber better serve you? Is there something that we can do better to help your business? Is there something you would like to see us add or change on the website, at the visitor’s center or in the visitors’ guide? Ideas are always welcome. Feel free to call or email us with your ideas atinfo@apalachicolabay.org. Volunteers Always Welcome The Apalachicola Bay Chamber Visitor Center seeks volunteers to help at the visitors center and with special projects. Duties include giving our visitor information, answering questions about places to stay, restaurants and things to do. If you would like to help, we’d love to have you. It can be a fun and rewarding. Contact us for details (850) 653-9419 or email us at info@apalachicolabay.org | ||
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