The last couple of weeks I’ve worn the ladies in the office out with lame ideas for our last quarterly newsletter, scheduled for Oct 1st. I have kicked around several half baked ones, and the ladies have kicked most of them straight out the door for their overall yuck-ed-ness.
We are searching, and we would like to finish our era of the CCC&I with one last newsletter which would be something positive, memorable, personal for our businesses and clients, and noteworthy. Since we don’t have Oprah’s depth of purse strings, we are somewhat limited in big name participants, elite gifts for all businesses in Caribou, and that kind of thing.
One of the items I believe we have decided on is a few “drawings” for fund-raisers, and “gifts” back to a few lucky winners. One of the drawings is going to be for “Kids” (you knew it already), another for Working Women (win a house cleaning, by our really very fabulous cleaning folks, who are covered by our insurance, and definitely trustworthy, thorough and fussy!), and the last two we’re trying to gear to the general populace. We’re going to have the timeframe to purchase tickets, or in the case of the little ones, just come in and sign up, from Oct. 1st to Sunday noon, of our last Craft Fair on Oct. 17th.
If you have ideas on something good for the last two “giveaways” drop us a line or give us a call! Beyond these items, my plan at the moment is a yearbook type of newsletter (with some of it in color even!) where we’re going to find good homes for some of the really great photos we’ve accumulated these last many years, and I’d like us to address something personal to everyone, so make sure you look for yourself!
This brings me to the last event we’re planning to host as a chamber team: the Fall Arts & Crafts festival. We have asked the Tatitudes folks from Houlton to come Saturday, and we’re planning a live remote one of the two days, and we’re going to borrow the Cash Cube from the Houlton Fair Association again, so there’ll be some fun things going on for everyone to participate in.
We tried a Spring Craft fair this past June, and while most of the crafters who attended (and several who couldn’t but are mainstays for the fall one) were anxious we might plan another next spring. We have begun telling folks we won’t be planning one, and so for us, this will be one of the last times we’ll actually get to see many of our crafters, who know Jeannie, Jenny and I by name, and voice when they call, or whatnot. So, we’re planning to incorporate them in this last newsletter as well.
We’ve watched Goldie have babies, and over the last 10 years, see them go from being swaddled to helping Mom with set-up and take down. Several of the crafters have expanded into co-op arrangements with other crafters, and we’ve tried to keep them in our publications to help spread the word about their products. There are so many people who we’ve been fortunate to get to know, eat their food, purchase their items, be introduced to their families, and interact with.
We’re sad for school to start again, and for harvest to begin, it’s been a lovely summer, and we hate to transition to this last season. On the up side, the latest Caribou map and guides have arrived, with a great piece on the Gray Memorial Church, and we’ll be distributing them the next week or so throughout the community.
So take care, think discount school supplies, and if you have any great ideas for a couple of giveways, let us know. We plan the money raised will be split between our friends at the Caribou Historical Society, the Soup Kitchen and Caribou Kiwanis.
Wendy Landes, MPA, is the executive director of the Caribou Chamber of Commerce & Industry. She can be reached in person at 24 Sweden Street, Suite 101; by telephone at 498-6156 or via e-mail at wlandes@cariboumaine.net.
