CO MM ER CE W ES T PO IN T CH AM BE R OF THE UPDATE July 2012 Dog Daze of Summer & Sidewalk Sales Mark your calendars for the third annual Dog Daze of Summer on Thursday, July 26th. This fun event will happen on Main Street, with registration beginning at 6:00pm and the show beginning at 6:30pm. Bring your four-legged friend or bring your lawn chair and be entertained! This year, the competition categories will be: 1) Best Dressed 2) Best Groomed 3) Scruffiest 4) Best Matched to Owner , and 5) Best Trick. There will be prizes awarded in each category. There will also be a “Bark Off” contest for children and adults. Wimmer’s hot dogs, chips and water will be available for $3.00. On Friday, July 27th, Brunch on the Bricks (Chamber Coffee) will be held in front of Flower and Gift Gallery and Creative Xpressions as part of the annual Sidewalk Sales, hosted by the Chamber’s Small Business Council. The fun continues on Saturday, July 30th, with the annual Sidewalk Sales. Most retailers will open their doors at 7:30a.m. and will continue to have great deals throughout the day. Main Street will close from Park to Bridge Street from 7a.m. to 1p.m. to facilitate the Farmers Market and the Relay For Life Walk Star’s Trunk Sale, (look for more information inside). The Walk Stars will also be grilling up hotdogs in front of Schuetze Plumbing & Heating. Stop by to get a hotdog, chips and a drink for $3.00. Be sure to shop the Dog Daze of Summer Sidewalk Sales for some of West Point’s hottest deals! 4TH OF JULY Upcoming Events: Looking for fun activities for you and your family on the 4th of July? The fun begins early in the July 4 July 6 morning with a Fun Run hosted by Franciscan Care Services and continues with coed volleyball and horseshoe tournaments. July 10 Neligh Park will be a busy place as the day continues with family activities, including sidewalk July 10 July 19 chalk drawing contest, watermelon feed, bouncy house and obstacle course, many children’s July 26 games, and bingo. Bingo will be hosted by the St. Mary’s Youth Group this year. Be sure to July 29 bring your quarters because they will be playing for money this year! July 30 WP Chamber Celebration Relay for Life Chamber Coffee At Citizens State Bank Chamber Board Meeting Small Business Council Meeting Lunch & Learn-Microsoft Tips Dog Daze of Summer Brunch on the Bricks Sidewalk Sales There will not be a shortage of food, as the BBQ begins at 4:30. sponsored by the For more information about these or any Knights of Columbus. Also available will be funnel cakes, kettle corn, FFA’s lem- other Chamber events, please check out onade, as well as the Boy Scout food stand. the Chamber events calendar at AND….it wouldn't be the 4th without West Point’s famous fireworks at 10:00 p.m.! S e e be held www.WestPointChamber.com the entire schedule of events on the flyer included in this newsletter. (All activities will at Neligh Park.) THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU... Don Roeber-for continually updating the community sign. Dairy Queen, Godfather’s, Hide-away Grill, Subway, Shipwrecked, Lincoln Street Market, C-Cups Cupcakes, – for participating in the 3rd annual Taste of West Point. It was another huge success! Chris Kreikemeier & Bob Dinslage-for your help in setting up for the Taste of West Point. Participants-for bringing your taste buds to the Taste of West Point. See you next year! Sandy Luebbert and West Point Public Schools-for hosting another successful Future Leaders of America Camp! It is a great opportunity for nominated 5th & 6th graders from West Point, Dodge, Howells, and Oakland to learn leadership skills. CharterWest National Bank, Cuming County Public Power District-Operation Round Up, F&M Bank, Harry Knobbe Feedyards, Land O’Frost-Wimmer’s, and Valmont Coatings-for sponsoring the Future Leaders of America Camp! Northeast Community College-for hosting the Business After Hours on June 26th. Welcome Dr. Michael Chipps! TASTE OF WEST POINT The 4th annual “Taste of West Point” was held on Thursday, June 16th, from 58p.m. This event was brought to you by the Buy Local Committee. The rain didn’t keep over 200 people away, who enjoyed the fabulous flavors of West Point’s foods and beverages. The food vendors included Subway, Lincoln Street Market, Dairy Queen, Hide-away Grill, Godfathers, Shipwrecked and C-Cups Cupcakes. Beverage samplings were provided by Lincoln Street Market in the foyer of the Nielsen Center. Thank you to our vendors, volunteers, and Buy Local committee members for another successful “Taste of West Point”. We appreciate your help promoting West Point businesses, products, and services. CA$H MOB The first CA$H MOB of the summer was held on Friday, June 22nd. Many questions and anticipation surrounded this event. The location was disclosed on Facebook, announced at Chamber Coffee, broadcased on KTIC, and sent via email. Greeted with music, around twenty people “mobbed” True Value. John Yosten was pleased with the turnout. Visitors were heard saying “ I didn’t know they carried so many products.” Upon leaving participants were given a card and asked to take a short survey to help determine the next CA$H MOB location. Even if you didn’t attend this CA$H MOB, you can take the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/s/ PLSRSKC and help choose the next West Point business to be “mobbed”. Continue to follow us on the Chamber’s website and on our Facebook page for information on our next CA$H MOB to be held on July 20th. Welcome New Chamber Members Nebraska Business Development Center-PTAC Jerry Parriott 678 Pine Street Omaha, NE 68106 Z Wireless - Verizon Grayce Mclaughlin 117 N. Main West Point, NE 68788 402-372-0147 Animal Shelter of Northeast Nebraska Judy Funk Box 663 Norfolk, NE 68702 Creative Marketing Ideas for Summer by Miranda Brookins, Demand Media Whether your business sells seasonal products, or offers services that are useful year-round, there are ways to incorporate the summer season into your marketing plans. Make sure your summer marketing plans are consistent with your business and the message you want to send to your customers and potential customers. Organize Community Service Day Many businesses dedicate a portion of their time and money to support causes that are important to them and their customers. During the summer, organize a community service day; get local residents and your employees involved. Host a stream cleanup, a blood drive, a toy drive for a nearby shelter or plant a garden at a local nursing home. Select a cause that helps you give back to the community and attract potential customers, who fit your target market. Host Cookout Invite customers to join you and your staff for a “Customer Appreciation” cookout. Serve hot dogs, hamburgers, cold salads and soft drinks. Plan activities for children, such as a magician, arts and crafts, a moon bounce or a clown onsite making animals out of balloons. Connect with customers through casual conversation. Distribute Summer -Related Promotional Items Summer months are often spent on vacation; lying on the beach or cruising across the ocean. Potential customers are out and about on vacation, at local festivals and enjoying quiet time in the park. Give your customers products they can use while they relax, such as beach towels, reusable water bottles, inflatable balls, sunscreen and visors. Work with a promotional marketing company to order summer-related products with your company logo prominently displayed on them. Distribute these items to customers when they shop in your store or host a contest and use promotional items as giveaways. G i v e C u s t o m e r s S u m m e r Ti p s An d Ad v i c e As a business owner, you undoubtedly communicate with your customers year-round through newsletters, online or offline, by sending them company news and sales promotions. Send a special summer newsletter to customers chock-full of tips for staying safe in the sun, events to do in the area and barbecue recipes. Include information about sales or new products and services your business plans to offer during the summer. Ask customers to pass their newsletters along to friends and family who may find the information useful. Get Ready for Back-to-School While kids enjoy their summers at the pool and playing video games with their friends, parents are in planning mode preparing for back-to-school by purchasing school supplies and clothing. Advertise a back-to-school sale toward the end of July and early August, if your business offers products or services for students. Whether you offer pens and notebooks, uniforms or college planning services, use summer months to engage customers. Set Up Sidew alk Sale Bring your products outside of the store and set up tables to capture the eyes of customers passing by on their way to lunch, walking their dogs or out running errands. Use a sidewalk sale to unload excess inventory at discounted prices. Place an employee or two outside to handle questions, make sales and encourage customers to visit inside of the store to browse the rest of your inventory. Lunch & Learn: Join us for an informative technology event featuring step-by-step demonstrations designed to help you get the most from Microsoft Office in your day-to-day work. You’ll learn how to: • Get through everyday tasks more quickly • Overcome email overload • Create professional documents and presentations with more impact • Get insight into your data • Easily connect and share with customers and colleagues When: Thursday, July 19th ill rticipant w a p y k c lu e On soft py of Micro receive a co 0 ssional 201 fe o r P e ic ff O Time: 11:30-1:00 p.m. Location: Pizza Ranch, 245 S Main Street, West Point, NE Call the West Point Chamber of Commerce at 402.372.2981 to register...Space is limited so be sure to register today! Bring your laptop with you if you’d like to follow along. You must have Microsoft Office installed on your computer. JULY 2012 Sun Mon 1 Tue Wed 3 2 Thu Fri 4 5 9 10 11 12 13 Cha mbe r B oar d Me e ting 12 :00 p .m. 16 17 Re la y f or Li fe 7p .m. 18 19 23 24 25 30 21 Th e Tor tois e ve rsu s th e Har e 2 :00 & 5: 00 p. m. W es t P oi n t Co mm Th ea tre 26 Do g Da ze o f Summ er Do g Sh o w Re gi s tra tion 6:00 Sh o w 6 :30 Mai n S tr e e t 29 20 L un ch & L ea rn Ti ps & Tr i ck s Fo r Mi cr os of t O ff i ce 11 :30 -1 :00 P i zz a Ran ch Mi ss oula Ch il dr en’ s Th ea ter Au d i ti ons 10 -12 22 14 S PA P ap er Dri ve 8- 10a. m. S mal l Bu sin es s Co un ci l Me e ting 5 :45 p .m. H i de -A wa y G ril l 15 7 6 Ci tiz en s S ta te Ban k Re la y Fo r L if e Ch amb er Cof fe e Ci ty Cou ncil Me e ting 7 :00 p .m. 8 Sat 27 B run ch on Th e Bri cks 10 :00 31 Chamber Coffees begin at 10:00 28 S i de wa lk Sa le s 7 :30 West Point Chamber of Commerce 200 Anna Stalp Avenue PO Box 125 West Point, NE 68788 Phone: (402) 372-2981 Fax: (402) 372-1105 END: PLAN TO ATT ’S WEST POINT 4TH OF JULY CELEBRATION Officers and Directors J.D. Race, President Wells Fargo Bank Vaughn Beed, 1st Vice President Beed Transportation Jerry Wordekemper, 2nd Vice President St. Joseph Retirement Comm Tom Goulette City of West Point Heather Kreikemeier Franciscan Care Services Ryan Kuester Skywave Wireless Roger Kingsley Heartland Reality & Management Matt Richardson Central Catholic High School Matt Jansen West Point Travel Plaza Rachel Schinstock Valmont Coatings & W.P. Galvanizing Paula Buss Lincoln Street Market Kara Baumert Anytime Fitness Karey Rahn, Past President West Point News Lauren Manley Central Catholic High School Morgan Schultz West Point-Beemer High School Nathan Peatrowsky Central Catholic High School Jonathon Jahnke West Point-Beemer High School Office Staff Tina Biteghe BiNdong Bonny Emanuel Executive Director Administrative Assistant The purpose of the West Point Chamber of Commerce is to aggressively seek to unite and promote economic, cultural, and social resources of the community to ensure the continued growth and prosperity of the West Point Area.