GBACC NEWSLETTER APRIL 2007

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. -- Sir Winston Churchill

The next monthly membership meeting of the Greater Brunswick Area Chamber of Commerce will be held at 7:00 PM on Wednesday April 4th, at the Green Country Inn located at 620 Souder Road. The featured speaker will be Samantha Servey of Agent 007 Real Estate Inc. in Frederick. Ms. Servey will speak on "Marketing Makeover". Some of the questions she will address are: Who/What are your Products/Services? What are you doing now? What do you want to be doing? Come get an idea of what you can do to attract more customers. Ms. Servey has a passion for finding creative solutions to marketing challenges

The "Spotlight" Speaker will be Kitty Nalewaik of Gallery in the Woods. The meeting will begin promptly at 7:00 PM with the business meeting first followed by the guest speakers.

The Business Card Exchange in April will be held on April 12th at Gallery in the Woods located at 1109 Silver Run Place in Knoxville. Directions: From Route 67 north toward Boonsboro turn left onto Garretts Mill Road, then left onto Brown Road then another left on Silver Run Place. For more information contact Jerry Knight at (301) 834-5774.

On Wednesday, May 16, 2007 GBACC will hold the first GBACC Golf Classic at Hollow Creek Country Club in Middletown, MD. See the GBACC web home page for the details and sign up form. www.gbacc.net or call Jerry Knight 300-834-5774. Mark your calendar for this date.

Monthly membership meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of the month at the Green Country Inn, 620 Souder Road, unless otherwise designated. Each month, the meeting will alternate between morning and evening, as follows.

The schedule for 2007:

January 7:30 am     May 7:30 am     September 7:30 am
February 7:00 pm    June 7:00 pm    October 7:00 pm
March 7:30 am       July 7:30 am      November 7:30 am
April 7:00 pm         August 7:00 pm   December 7:00 pm

Take a moment to look at the photo gallery on www.gbacc.net . New Pictures are posted.

All minutes to all meetings in March will be posted on the GBACC web site under Meeting Minutes. www.gbacc.net

GBACC NEWS:

The February GBACC Business Card Exchange was on February 28th so it did not get into the February Newsletter. Carey Perkins of C.A.F.E hosted the event, which had been postponed from earlier in February. The Green Country Inn co-sponsored the Card Exchange. Several new members were in attendance and everyone enjoyed a great evening networking. The door prizes were won by: Jean Toleman of the Harpers Ferry Hostel won a Blanket Tote donated by BB&T Bank; Kitty and Bob Nalewaik of Gallery in the Wood won a gift certificate from the Green Country Inn; Charlie Summers of Stauffer Funeral Home won a print by Bob Nalewaik of Gallery in the Woods.

The GBACC General Business Meeting was at the Green Country Inn on March 7th at 7:30 am. Nineteen members and guests braved the snow to attend the meeting and were rewarded with an excellent speaker. Several others spoke at the meeting. Tony Cane of WTRI Radio told the group the radio station is offering a special deal to GBACC members. Michele Kershner of Main Street discussed the Community Legacy and NBW anticipated cuts. Mary McCormack of Sage Small Business Services was the "Spotlight Speaker". Jon Bailey of Wood Street, Inc in Frederick, MD was the featured speaker. His talk "Web Marketing - An Interactive Discussion" was given to a very appreciative audience.

On Friday, March 9th Tracy Noel and Norman Turley of the Governor's Office of Business Advocacy and Small Business Assistance met with Jerry Knight of GBACC and Walt Stull of the Brunswick City Council and EDC. They were in Brunswick to discuss problems small towns are having attracting business. We are hopeful some speakers or seminars will be forthcoming as a result of this meeting.

March 10th was the official start date for GBACC. The Anniversary Business Card Exchange was held on March 15th at the Green County. Thirty people attended on the rainy evening. GBACC was the sponsor for this exchange. A selection of cheese and crackers, vegetables trays and meat balls were arranged on the table next to a beautiful flower arrangement from CM Bloomers. Ellis Burruss donated the delicious mulled cider. Kitty Nalewaik of "Gallery in the Woods" was the official Business Card Basket Holder. (Note that Kitty and Bob will be having the Business Card Exchange on April 12th). The prize donors pulled the winning cards, and all of the donations for the door prizes were very generous.

We were happy to have two new members join GBACC at this Business Card Exchange. Ann Metzgar of Jake's Mom Cooks and William Warren of Emmanuel Computer Consulting.

The Business Card Exchange is so helpful in making contacts with other business owners. I hear members talking to each other about plans they have for their businesses and many discover services they did not know were available in the area. So please don't look on the Business Card Exchange as just a social event. It is truly a valuable tool in getting the word out about your business.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
Estelle Belt - Master Docent at the Brunswick Railroad Museum 04/01
Dolly Eshbaugh - Railroad Museum store clerk 04/01
Judy Cheng - Emerald Garden Chinese Cook House 04/08
Karlen Keto - Clerk at the Brunswick Post Office 04/15
Paul Orrison - Engineer at the Brunswick Railroad Museum 04/18
Ann Metzgar - Jake's Mom Cooks 04/21
Brian Handy - Handy Appliance Service 04/28
If your name is not mentioned in this column during your birth month please contact me so it can be added to our GBACC Birthday list.

NEWS AROUND TOWN:

Vegas Radio 1520 AM - WTRI. Listen to the "Buddy Rizer Morning Show". Buddy hosts a show based on great music and shares important information for the local listening area. Buddy will make you feel good about starting your day!

If you would like to meet new people and learn Brunswick's history please consider volunteering at the Brunswick Railroad Museum. Interested persons please contact the museum at: 301-834-7100 or contact@bbrm.net

Congratulation to Diane Ellis for getting maximum publicity for "The Birds of Antietam" exhibit at Sundance Art and Frame. She made the front page of the Citizen and the Frederick News Post. When a business gets this kind of publicity it is not only good for their shop but also good for all of Brunswick. People have an opportunity to see that we have interesting things to offer in town.

In the last newsletter I wrote we that we have one car repair shop in GBACC… but we have two! Brunswick Citgo on the corner of Souder and Maple does car repair and has been very popular in the Brunswick area for many years.

On a personal note: I recently had a visit with Elizabeth and Spencer at their Stone Manor B&B. If you have someone special coming into town and you want complete elegance, take a drive out to the wilds of Lovettsville and visit Stone Manor. You will be delighted with beautiful décor, stimulating conversation and gourmet fare… what more could you ask for in a Bed and Breakfast?

Editor's note: If you have any positive news about our area, drop me a line and I will include it in this space

NEWS FROM THE MEMBERSHIP:

IKO Real Estate is donating $700.00 for the Brunswick Railroad Museum to obtain the services of a cleaning crew to clean the museum before their grand re-opening. Thanks to Lou Iaquinta for this generous offer. Mary McCormack of Sage Small Business Services donated $25.00 toward the cleaning effort and GBACC gave a donation of $100.00.

From Diane Ellis of Sundance Art and Frame: Come to downtown Brunswick for First Friday on April 6 from 5:00 to 9:00 pm. There are some fun activities going on including a bike rodeo, hay rides, ambulance rides, and Vegas Radio will be playing music in Square Corner Park.

Jean Toleman from the Harpers Ferry Hostel writes: the hostel is open and taking reservations for individuals and groups. On April 14, Don Messersmith, a world renowned ornithologist will be presenting a FREE lecture entitled: "Western Australia: Birds & Wild Flowers". We invite people to come out to the hostel in early afternoon to take a self-guided bird walk, then join us for supper with the lecture starting at 7:00 p.m. For information or to RSVP, people can call the hostel at 301 834-8859.

Angel White of Occasionally Handbags would like the GBACC Membership to know the Brunswick Elementary School PTO is having a Book Drive beginning now and continuing through the end of April. The book drop will be located in the school library, and will benefit the children of Brunswick Elementary with a Summer Reading Program. If there are any questions please contact Roxanne Falconer at 301-834-8244.

We welcome the following new members to GBACC:

Amy Benton on The Gazette is a new GBACC member. If you have any local news give Amy a call at 301-846-2100.

Stone Manor Vineyard and Orchard Bed and Breakfast in Lovettsville is a welcome new member. You really need to see Stone Manor - it is beautiful. Elizabeth VanHoutte and Spencer Ault are the hosts. If you have visitors coming or having a special event give Stone Manor a try. Call Elizabeth at 540-822-5409.

We are happy to welcome another business from Middletown to GBACC. Middletown Valley Title and Escrow, LLC has joined our group. The description in the GBACC Directory is: Title provider, real estate settlement company, title and escrow. Give Sandra Johnson a call at 301-371-0248 with any questions.

Jake's Mom Cooks, a new business started by Ann Metzgar of Brunswick, has joined GBACC. There are a bunch of us out there to busy and tired to cook every night. Give Ann a call at 301-834-5074 and give yourself a rest.

William Warren of Emmanuel Computer Consulting has been working on computers in the Brunswick area for about three years. If you have a computer problem give William a call at 301-524-5271.

PARADE IDEA:

A few of the GBACC members have discussed having a float in the November Veteran's Day Parade. Not just a car or truck with people in it but an honest to goodness old fashion float. (Remember your homecoming parade in high school?) Start brainstorming and we will try to get some members together soon to begin planning.

APRIL EVENTS:

April 6, 2007 - The 11th Annual Bike Rodeo at City Hall. Parking lot starts at 6:30 pm. The Registration is from 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm. There will be an obstacle course and a bike inspection. There will be lots of prizes and give-a-ways.

BOOK CROSSING EVENTS: Check their website at thebookcrossing.biz

For a complete listing of BEANS IN THE BELFRY EVENTS, please access their website beansinthebelfry.com

Maryland Games Club at Beans in the Belfry
Every THIRD SATURDAY from 1pm-7pm. Join Karl Musser and share his hobby of playing intriguing and amusing board games from around the world. It's good, old-fashioned entertainment.

NEWS from the Brunswick Library:

For Adults:

Book discussion - Monday April 23 7:30 pm - Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier

Calling all poets! To celebrate National Poetry Month, Brunswick's Norma Chapman and her Bethesda Poetry Group will be here to read poetry. The public is invited to come and hear poetry, and if you wish, bring a poem to share (one of your own or one you love) Reception with light refreshments - Monday, April 9, 7:00 pm

For Teens:

Book Club - April 10 7:00 pm - Runaways: Pride & Joy by Brian Vaughn

BrainChild: Our Teen Voices - Publish your work in BrainChild! Submit electronically to brainchild@fcpl.org or to any FCPL branch. Include name, phone or e-mail, school, and grade. Deadline for spring edition is April 15.

For Children:

Make and Take craft - April 12 and April 26 (all ages) Drop in any time day or evening to make a self-guided craft.

Acting Up! - enjoy a play by our young thespians - April 19 at 7 pm
Puppet shows - The Name of the Tree and The Popcorn Dragon - April 24, 7 pm
Hands-On Science (ages 8-11) Roaring rockets - Wed April 11, 5 pm
Spring is Sprung - Help us paint giant-size flowers to decorate our library. Wear painting clothes! - ages 3 and up April 28, 1 pm

Have a Wonderful Spring Day!

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