GBACC NEWSLETTER

OCTOBER 2007

One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do
and always a clever thing to say – Ariel and Will Durant

The next monthly membership meeting of the Greater Brunswick Area Chamber of Commerce will be held at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, October 3rd at the Green Country Inn, located at 620 Souder Road. The featured speaker will be Mr. Robert Hyatt of US Treasury - FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement) Bureau, the in-house Emergency Preparedness Specialist. Mr. Hyatt will be presenting Emergency Preparedness Information from the following: American Red Cross; FEMA; Dept. Homeland Security; CDC; State and Local Governments; Update on Possible Bird Flu Pandemic and more. The “Spotlight" Speaker will be a David Smith of Smith Home Team. As a member of the Special Events Committee he will talk about the GBACC and LBA Halloween Gala. The meeting will begin at 7:00 PM with networking, light refreshments, followed by the business meeting; the guest speakers will follow the meeting.

Greater Brunswick Area Chamber of Commerce and The Lovettsville Business Association invite you to THE HALLOWEEN COSTUME GALA

Mark your calendar for Thursday, October 25, 2007, 7:30 to 11:00 pm for the GBACC and LBA Halloween Costume Gala, sponsored by the Brunswick Eagles Club. The Greater Brunswick Area Chamber of Commerce (GBACC) and the Lovettsville Business Association (LBA) are joining together for this fun event. Put on that special costume (not required but encouraged) and come on out to the Brunswick Eagles Club at 401 Central Avenue in Brunswick. The moon will be full, so all the ghouls and monsters will have a spooky good time. There will be networking, dancing, refreshments, a silent auction and a cash bar. You could win a prize for the best or most original costume! This event will replace the GBACC’s regular October Business Card Exchange and the LBA's October monthly meeting. There will be tables set up for your business literature and displays.

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 meetings will alternate between morning and evening, as follows:

The remaining schedule for 2007:

November 7:30 am; December 7:00 pm

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

GBACC NEWS:

The GBACC General Business Meeting was held at the Green Country Inn on September 5th at 7:30 AM. Sherri Wright of Book Crossing was the "Spotlight Speaker" and hosted the Business Card Exchange on September 20th. She informed the group Connie Phillips Insurance would be providing the refreshments.

The featured speaker was John Beck of KCH Business Solutions. His topic was: Is your business getting a steady stream of referrals day in and day out from others? If not, does your business have a proactive referral generating system in place? If you don’t, you could be losing out on an easy way to grow your business, without spending a fortune on advertising dollars. Mr. spoke about an easy 4-step formula for getting more referrals for your business. A general question and answer session provided some interesting ideas from members in attendance.

The September Business Card Exchange was at Book Crossing. Members and guests attended to network with other members and enjoy a fantastic buffet sponsored by Connie Phillips Insurance. Door prizes were won by the following: a CM Bloomers Florist gift certificate was won by Robyn McGrath of Moore, Clemens and Co; a butter pecan cake donated by Green Country Inn won by Beverly Morton Billand of Patowmack Farm; a Halloween Basket donated by Dee Hannum-Dean of DHD Bookkeeping Services was won by Sherri Wright of Book Crossing; another Halloween Basket donated by DHD Bookkeeping was won by Oneida Heffner of H&R Block; a gift certificate donated by Book Crossing was won by Mary McCormack of Sage Small Business Services; a bottle of lavender spray donated by Stone Manor was won by Rose Marie Burkey of Connie Phillips Insurance and a double chocolate cake donated by Green Country Inn was won by Michelle Kershner (and her very happy son Mason) of Brunswick Main Street

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FROM THE MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: If you know someone who may be interested in joining GBACC and you would like someone to contact them please email: Brian Roosa blroosa@firsthorizon.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:

Chris Owens – Mass Mutual Life Insurance 10/04

William Hopwood – Brunswick Self Storage 10/15

Nevin Camp – N-Tech Mechanical Services 10/18

Donald Dodd – Bill’s Tire & Auto Center 10/26

Buddy Rizer – Vegas Radio, WTRI 10/31

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.

GBACC OCTOBER BUSINESS OF THE MONTH

ALTITUDE HOME INSPECTIONS, INC.

Altitude Home Inspections, Inc. is owned by Jeremy Biser of Brunswick and Josh Browning of Oakland, Maryland. The company was founded in February 2006. It provides residential inspection services to clients from Baltimore to Garrett County, as well as portions of Northern Virginia. It provides Maryland Department of the Environment certified Lead Visual Inspection and National Radon Safety Board certified in-home Radon inspection services to clients in Frederick, Washington and parts of Montgomery counties. Jeremy Biser has served the Greater Brunswick Area Chamber of Commerce in the past as Co-Chairman of the Membership Committee and Member-at-Large for the Board of Directors. To learn more about the company and services offered, please visit www.altitudeinspections.com or call 301-834-9116."

If any member has not received a Membership Certificate, please contact Mary McCormack at 301.473.9777 or Mary@SageSmallBusiness.com.

NEWS AROUND THE AREA:

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@brrm.net

Jerry Knight of Cripple Creek Antiques had dinner at Bonnie’s Country Kitchen and tried the fried pickle. Jerry said it was really different and tasty. He would encourage you to give one a try, as well as the many delicious sandwiches on the menu!

The Brunswick Garden Club meets every 2nd Saturday of the month at Beans in the Belfry at 10:00 a.m. The current members invite anyone to attend. For information contact: Debby Fortkamp at dfortfamp@juno.com or Michelle Tuwiner at loving-life@mac.com . On November 10th at 8:00 am (or later) the Garden Club will be planting flowers and bulbs at the “Pocket Park” across from Beans in the Belfry. Anyone with an interest in gardening is invited to assist!

The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm hours of dining, Reservations Required

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday Brunch, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Give Beverly a call at 540 822-9017 for reservations.

We have two wonderful locations for brunch, Patowmack Farm and Beans in the Belfry.

The Green County Inn now offers a new service. They are now making desserts on-site daily. Specialty cake flavors are: carrot w/cream cheese frosting, butter pecan with butter crème frosting, spice with cream cheese frosting, red velvet with butter cream frosting, strawberry with vanilla fronting, chocolate, coconut pineapple upside down cake and double fudge. The have fruit pies and meringue pies also. The desserts are sold by the slice or whole. Drop by for dinner and dessert, or just pick up a dessert to take home.

It is with regret we bid farewell to "Vegas Radio?", 1520 AM – WTRI. Owner Buddy Riser made the decision to close the station. Buddy has been wonderful helping and acting as DJ with many events in Brunswick. Best of Luck to you Buddy! Your show will be greatly missed by many in the Brunswick area. Vegas Radio will still be on the Internet so hopefully Buddy will stay involved with our area. The new website is www.vegasradio.net

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:

Kristine Condie, President of Total Basket Cases, Inc, is pleased to announce the newest Basketeer to the TBC family. Kristin Umbaugh joins TBC as a Regional Sales Director handling Loudoun County. Kristin comes to TBC with years of experience in project management and TBC is delighted to have her on board. Total Basket Cases is located at 2 E Pennsylvania Avenue in Lovettsville and specializes in corporate gift giving programs while offering a multi-department retail store. (A Basketeer is an employee of Total Basket Cases.) www.totalbasketcases.com (540) 822-9415

Mary McCormack of Sage Small Business Services and GBACC Treasurer would like to advise: German Sausages, Pretzels, Beer, an Oompahpah Band and a Juried Craft Show – what’s not to like, right? Access to it all can be yours for only $3 per person admission. October 20th (10-5) and 21st (noon-5) at Schifferstadt, 1110 Rosemont Ave, Frederick.

Come out and enjoy the day while helping to support historic preservation through Frederick County Landmarks Foundation. (Held rain or shine)

Sherri Wright at Book Crossing would like our members to know that Book Crossing will be open on Sundays 1pm to 5pm beginning on Railroad Days Weekend through at least the month of December.

From Jean Toleman of Harpers Ferry Hostel: The HI-Harpers Ferry Hostel is coming to the end of its '07 season. The Hostel will be open until Nov. 15 for individuals and groups, camping and indoor stays. After November 15th the hostel is open for groups of 10 or more during the winter months until we reopen with full services on March 15, 2008. HI-Harpers Ferry Hostel makes a great place for conferences and workshops. We have hosted church groups, writers’ conferences, scouting activities and ethnic festivals in the past. For information on prices and activities in the area contact us at our new e-mail address: mail@harpersferryhostel.org or call Carol at 301 834-8859.

Diane Ellis of Sundance Art & Frame writes: Sundance Art & Frame will have a special art show during October. "Images of a Railroad Town" shows paintings, drawings, and photographs of scenes and landmarks in Brunswick, featuring river, railroad and architectural images. The opening is on First Friday, October 5, from 5-9 p.m. The show continues the entire month of October. Regular hours are Wednesday through Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 12-4. All artwork is for sale.

Don’t forget Brunswick Main Street’s special Weekend Winedown event during Railroad Days. It will be indoors in the vacant Newberry Building at 36 W. Potomac Street and features micro brewed beer and local wines. Winedown is Friday Oct. 5 from 5-9 p.m. and Saturday Oct. 6 from noon – 9 p.m. Support your downtown revitalization program and have fun at the same time!

From Brunswick Main Street:

BRUNSWICK MAIN STREET PARTNERS WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND THIS FALL!

We are very excited to over an opportunity to become involved in "ABOUT FACE." It is a wonderful cooperative workshop between Brunswick Main Street and The University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. The Advanced Urban Design Studio, which is one of the ?nal studio classes for graduating architects before their ?nal thesis, will be coming downtown as part of their curriculum this fall.

We are looking for 5 candidates who wish to take advantage of this opportunity. A three-tier study for the revitalization and renovation of the selected commercial properties, which fall into Brunswick’s Historic District area, will be developed. Brunswick Main Street is encouraging those who have any considerations for façade work to jump at the chance for this assistance in gaining a new vision for their property! The result of the course will be Schematic Design and Design Development drawings that will be displayed at an installation downtown for an extended period of time through the Holidays. We want to share our vision with our community!

The goal of this project is to assist the owner/business in visualizing options and projecting costs, and to demonstrate what can be done with designated budgets. When applicable, Brunswick Main Street will even help the property/business owners submit for grants and funding to aid in the completion of these projects. This study is free. DEADLINE for application is Friday, October 5th.

Class work begins November 1st, and finishes December 11th. The sooner you apply, the sooner we can get started! Call MAINSTREET at (301) 834-5591 or email bunswickmainstreet@yahoo.com for more information.

We welcome the following new members to GBACC:

(Check the web directory for more information about our new members)

Moor, Clemens & Co. Inc. – We are happy to welcome Keith Seekford of Moor, Clemens Insurance to GBACC. Keith can be reached at (703) 777-1275 to discuss your insurance needs.

We are very happy to welcome the Brunswick AERIE #1136, Fraternal Order of Eagles. The Ladies Auxiliary joined GBACC last month. Our membership is looking forward to the October Halloween Business Card Exchange at the Eagles Club.

DHD Bookkeeping Services – Mary McCormick, Sage Small Business and Sherri Wright of Book Crossing both referred DHD to GBACC and we offer them a warm welcome. Dee Hannum-Dean, owner, missed our September birthday list and her birthday was September 1st. A belated happy birthday to you, Dee!

OCTOBER EVENTS:

FIRST FRIDAY – "Railroad Days Kickoff party" will be held on October 5th from 5:00 to 9:00 pm –Celebrating Brunswick’s rich heritage. Weekend "Winedown" will be at 36 West Potomac Street. Join in the fun for live music, local wine, microbrew beer and FUN! $3.00 cover. You must be 21 and over to participate in this portion of the activities.

October 6th and 7th – Brunswick Railroad Days – Variety of street and stage entertainment, craft show, train rides, car, truck and motorcycle show and lots of activities for all ages. GBACC will have an information table across from Cripple Creek Antiques.

Saturday, October 27th the Brunswick Halloween Block Party – Enjoy fun at the Square Corner Park from 7 pm to 10pm. There will be a live band with games and projects for the children. Also it is the Trick or Treat Night. Roam the streets of Brunswick with ghosts and ghouls from 6 pm to 8 pm. The shops on Potomac will pass out treats at their storefronts.

The Leechel L. Reynolds Memorial Fund BASKET & CASH BINGO event will be held on Sunday, October 21st at the Brunswick Eagles Club. Doors open at noon and bingo begins at 1:30pm. Cost is $40 for advance tickets and $50 at the door. Lunch is included in the price. There will be 25 basket games and 25 cash payout games and 55 door prizes to give away!

To purchase tickets, please contact Betty Reynolds at (301) 834-8890, or Geri Reynolds at (301) 834-5264. 100% of all proceeds support the Needy Families Project

BOOK CROSSING EVENTS: Check their website at www.thebookcrossing.biz for all their upcoming events.

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

MARK YOUR CALENDAR - UPCOMING EVENTS

MORE DETAILS TBA ON THE FOLLOWING :

November 4th – the 75th Annual Veterans Day Parade

November – The Business Card Exchange will be at Blue Ridge Floor and Tile in Jefferson

December 13th – The Business Card Exchange will be at Stone Manor in conjunction with the Lovettsville Business Association

January 24, 2008 (Thursday) – The 2nd annual GBACC Award Dinner