Before we get into the week’s Chamber news, a couple of injustices need to be undone. Three weeks ago, I made a list of all the folks who made the Santa’s Workshop such a grand event. In the process, I left out two huge contributors to the success of that event.
The first is Sleeper’s Market whose volunteer crew was led by Barb Aiken. They started making gingerbread houses back in October and have spent weeks preparing for the event. And then six ladies there put all the houses together, made all the icing and decorations which were key to the event’s success. To leave them out of the list was criminal! Thank you!
Also invaluable was Margaret Kimball and her volunteers from the Arootook Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (Aroostook RSVP). That group provided the 400 pair of mittens given in the gift bags. Thank you so much, Aroostook RSVP, on behalf of all of us!
Okay, on to the week’s news. I visited The County Stove Shop and Sullivan Floor Coverings out on the Presque Isle Road recently. Both of these businesses have long supported the Chamber and between them have been serving Caribou area customers for a combined 70 years! And they are great people. Please go to the Caribou Chamber Facebook page to read their stories.
The Edward Jones office at 118 Bennett Drive in Caribou had a successful open house earlier in the month. And while I missed the event, I did visit them the following week. Be sure and read that story on Facebook too.
Speaking of the Facebook page, I was sent a congratulatory message from the director of the Bradford, Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce on how successful the CACC’s Facebook page has been. He was amazed that we had 4,629 “Likes” for our site which was more than half the number of people in our city.
As I visit our members, I ask as many questions about their businesses as possible and take pictures. It has all been rewarding but more importantly, it is hoped the online coverage makes an impact for our members. Facebook is a wonderful tool for the Chamber and its members as anywhere from 1,500 to 2,500 people read whatever is posted there.
While on the topic of social media, the Chamber also created a new Twitter connection. Look us up on Twitter @CaribouChamber and become a follower.
The new website is well on its way to becoming a reality. I am working with Chamber members, WEBX Centrics Design Group, on the site. Three hours were spent in training to learn Joomla, the programming language of the site. Who says an old dog cannot learn new tricks? The front page will have rotating pictures of Caribou. If you want to send along a picture of the city that you are fond or proud of, e-mail it to me at cacc@cariboumaine.net and I will put it into the rotation with credit. Perhaps we’ll make a contest out of it and let our city folks vote on their favorites.
The office received a beautiful book in the mail this week called, “Maine: The Way Life Should Be,” published by New England Business Media LLC. It is a gorgeous table book filled with pictures of our great state. The book will be donated to the library.
It has been a real busy and productive time of year here at the Chamber office. Membership renewal letters are going out, former members are being invited to come back home and internal systems are being created to make things much more automatic.
Kathy from the Recreation Department stopped by to get the ball rolling on the Caribou Winter Carnival. Things will really start rolling in that direction now. If your business, club or organization is interested in being a part of the Carnival in the planning stages and more, there will be a meeting at the Caribou Wellness Center on Jan. 8, 2013 at 6 p.m. We hope to see you there so mark it on your calendar!
The holidays sometimes bring out the best in people. This week, I received a remarkably kind congratulatory letter from Randy Richards of the Daigle Oil Company. His kindness meant more than he will ever know.
A local citizen called and asked about our “Shop local” sign out front of the office. This caller thought it was a joke as there was “nothing to buy locally.” This is exactly the perception that we all need to fight here. Ten years ago, there were no gift shops in town. Now there are several. There are still several grocery outlets in Caribou. Everywhere I look, I see creative people doing their best to carve out a niche. I have been writing about them on Facebook for all to see.
And so, I will not apologize for the sign. No, our town does not have the assortment of dress shops and other stores from our heyday during the Loring Air Force Base days. But we do have great people selling great products and we will support them. We can buy our flooring locally or from a big box store. We can support our own.
Soon we will be buying calendars as the new year approaches. It is our choice whether to buy a finely crafted local version for a reasonable eleven or twelve dollars or buy one made in China for four dollars. We can choose to forego our local grocery outlets and to run to the next town.
And believe me, I understand the budget choices we all must make when every $10 counts. But think about it. We can be a part of the solution. Caribou has a fine assortment of shops. It is my job to make you aware of them and I intend to do so. We have made gains here in town. The optimist in me thinks we have just started the gaining process.
Happy holidays from the Caribou Area Chamber of Commerce!
William Tasker may be reached in the CACC office at 498-6156 or e-mail him at cacc@cariboumaine.net.z
