Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Mayor Bill Jordan

September 28, 2011
Carol Beddingfield
Executive Director

Chamber Chatter

Mayor Bill Jordan was honored by the North Alabama Industrial Development Association with the Michael D. Roberts North Alabama Excellence Award.

This award was created in 2003 to publicly recognize special groups, people, projects or activities that have positively impacted the North Alabama region both economically and socially over the past year.

Michael D. Roberts served as the assistant director of NAIDA from 1988 until 1994 and as the executive director from 1995 to 2003. He lost his battle with cancer on August 21, 2003. Due to Mr. Roberts’ dedication to the area and his zeal in assisting in the creation of jobs for the people of North Alabama, the NAIDA Board of Directors deemed it appropriate to memorialize him in this way.

The other winners of this prestigious award include Congressman Bud Cramer and Congressman Robert Aderholt.

As I listened to Jimmy Durham, DeKalb County Economic Development Authority Director, present Mayor Jordan’s accomplishments, I realized just how fortunate we are to have such a dedicated public official.

Another tribute to Mayor Jordan is the success of our Boom Days Heritage Celebration. Visitors and citizens were very complimentary of our city’s hospitality and facilities.

The Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament sponsorships were given in honor of the business relationships with Mayor Jordan.

The companies included the following: DC Gas, DeKalb Regional Medical Center, Lambert, Inc., The Constantine Group, Vulcan Materials Company, First Federal Bank, Wills Valley Electric, Inc. MDA Professional Group, Turner Beverage, Days Inn/Hampton Inn; Fort Payne Improvement Authority, and DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris.

Congratulations Mayor Jordan and thank you for your commitment to improve the City of Fort Payne.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

USPS Training

September 21, 2011
Carol Beddingfield
Executive Director

Chamber Chatter

All businesses, large and small, are constantly looking for ways to save money.

On Tuesday, September 27th, the Post Masters of Fort Payne and Centre will present a program on cost savings for businesses. Every Door Direct Mail seminar will be held at the Chamber Office at 11:00 AM.

Direct Mail continues to be one of the most effective ways to reach customers. With this new service, it will be easier and more cost effective for businesses to promote their products to an even larger target.

You can target areas that you to saturate with a mailing. The routes can be chosen by neighborhood, zip code, or city.

Every mailbox along the chosen routes will be delivered by the USPS Letter Carrier with the day’s mail. The cost is as little as 14.2 cents per piece for the postage.

There are 4 easy steps to the process: 1) Apply for a permit through the Post Office; 2) Define who you want to reach; 3) Create your mailpieces; and 4) The Post Office will take it from there.

You will definitely want to attend the seminar for one on one counseling about the new mail service. Mary Jo Crabtree, Fort Payne Post Master and Pricilla Cantrell, Centre Post Master, will be available to answer all questions to get you started.

On September 29th, the Chamber and the Greater Jackson County Chamber of Commerce will host a joint meeting to update everyone on workforce training. The event will be held at Northeast Alabama Community College from 1:30 -3:30PM.

Information will be provided by Mary Scott Hunter, District 8 Representative on the Alabama Board of Education. The public is invited to attend.

Call the Chamber at 256-845-2741 for more information on these events.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Boom Days

September 14, 2011
Carol Beddingfield
Executive Director

Chamber Chatter
The 2011 Boom Days Heritage Celebration officially began last week. The Joe Underwood Gospel Concert continues to amaze me with such great local talent.

If you missed the first event, put your smile and your dancing shoes on because we are just beginning. This year’s musical line-up even surpasses 2010. Cyril Neville, a member of the Neville Brothers, will be the headliner on Saturday, September 17th at the DeKalb Theatre at 8:30 PM.

Live entertainment begins at 10 AM on the City Park Stage and on the Downtown Stage. Gospel, bluegrass, country, contemporary, and rock and roll will be enjoyed on both stages.

Bring the family at 8AM and enjoy the Kiwanis pancakes sponsored by Alaga Syrup. The food vendors have increased with many specialties from snacks to sandwiches.

The DC Gas Barbecue competition will begin at 10 AM in the Alabama Park. Live entertainment will also be available in this park.
A new event, The Wine Tasting, will be held from 1:30-4 PM. For the cost of $10, you can sample wine and fabulous hors d’oeuvres from local vendors.

Gees Bend Quilters will be in the City Park. Stop by to hear them sing favorite gospel hymns while quilting.

The street vendors bring an array of items for you to purchase. Jewelry pieces are a huge hit with the women. However, men could shop early for the holidays.

Downtown merchants have joined in the celebration. Many stores will stay open late and offer great sales.

Frank Roden, fly fishing guide, will teach techniques for the young and old. Look for him next to the children’s activities.

Stop by the Chamber Office or the Times Journal booth to pick up a complete schedule of the festival’s events and locations.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament

September 7, 2011
Carol Beddingfield
Executive Director

Chamber Chatter

The Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce will host the annual Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament on September 15th at DeSoto Golf Course.

This event began as a way to express our appreciation to one of Alabama’s most dedicated mayors, Mayor Bill Jordan.

You only have to look around our town to see the Mayor’s commitment to enhancing the lives of the citizens. The improvements to the city parks have provided enjoyment to all ages.

The renovation of the Fort Payne Coal and Iron building will provide future generations the chance to visually experience our history.

Revitalization of the downtown area remains a high priority for the Mayor. Many businesses have chosen to locate downtown due to the commitment.

Mayor Jordan has listened to the needs of the businesses as well as the building owners to create pro-business guidelines.

The funds generated by the tournament will be used by the Chamber for the renovation of our Boom days building as well as for providing training for small businesses.

Diversification of our industry base has helped to offset the loss of the hosiery industry. Mayor Jordan has been very active in the recruitment of the companies.

In 2001, Fort Payne was selected as one of “The Best Small Southern Towns” in the book by Sweitzer and Fields. Jack Shultz’s 2004 book,
“Boom Town USA – The 7 ½ Keys to Big Success in Small Towns, recognized Fort Payne with the designation of “Golden Eagle”.

It is truly an honor for the Chamber to host the Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament. We want to say thank you for his leadership and courage in moving Fort Payne forward.

Call the Chamber at 256-845-2741 to join others in a day of golf, fun and laughter as we show our appreciation to Mayor Bill Jordan.