| The Chamber Connection Newsletter Archive | |
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Welcome to the new Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce monthly newsletter. The newsletter is being developed by our Marketing Committee as requested by our members. It will allow the Chamber to provide updates on events, benefits, achievements and its members. Each issue will feature a section focused on: Business Tips, Social Networking Tips/Info, Chamber Events, Chamber Benefits as well as a feature story on a member and a non-profit organization. The Gloucester County Chamber is dedicated to providing you with the best opportunities and information to assist you in maintaining and growing your business. Read all about our member valued benefits. We have everything from free classes at Gloucester County College to employee hiring assistant programs. Our networking card exchanges have been hosting over 100 guests each month. The schedule is included in the newsletter so we hope you join us next month. Finally, as the Board of Directors continues to search for new ways to make businesses in Gloucester County grow and thrive, we continue to ask for your feedback. This summer we will be sending you a survey to find out what is important to your business/employees and survival and what the chamber can do to continue to bring value to each and every Gloucester County Chamber member. On behalf of the Board of Directors I would like to thank you for your support as this Board continues to strive to make your Chamber the best it can be. Enjoy this first edition of our new venture. Your input is gladly welcomed. Les Vail
3 Basic Tips for Getting Started with Twitter.
Sign up. One of the best ways to learn about twitter is simply to sign up and use it. Signing up for an account at Twitter.com is simple and painless. Having your own account will allow you to post and share updates while allowing you to more easily follow the updates of other people. If you haven’t already, try to secure your own actual name on Twitter and/or the name of your business. When you sign up be sure to add a picture and take some time to customize the look of your Twitter page including filling out your profile information. (You can use Twitter’s support page at http://help.twitter.com/portal to learn more about basic Twitter functions and how to use the interface.) Listen. Use your Twitter account to find and follow people you are interested in. Soon you’ll find that many people share more than just an answer to Twitter’s question “What are you doing?” Many people use Twitter to share what they are thinking, what they recommend, what they have written, what they have questions about and more. If you own or represent a business be sure to use tools like Twitter’s search to listen for mentions of you, or your company’s name. Join the conversation. After signing up and while you are listening, it is time to join the conversation. On Twitter you’ll have 140 characters at a time to share with the world almost anything. In addition to practicing some good old common sense, keep in mind Twitter is a social communication tool. Share with others what you are doing. Share links you’d like them to see(remember to use URL shortners like tinyurl or the trackable bit.ly). Recommend people you think others should follow. Post links to pictures from your environment on twitter using services like twitpic. Seek to be helpful and say things that are valuable to those who might read your twitter stream. Demonstrate you are human by asking and answering questions, participating in Twitter chats, and talking about the interests of others. Whatever you do, do not just sell and promote yourself. Twitter isn’t about broadcasting and pitching. Twitter is about communicating, networking and sharing information socially. Bonus tip: Twitter is much more manageable, useful, fun and easy to use when you use applications. Applications like Twhirl, Seesmic Desktop or Tweetdeck may allow you to better manage multiple Twitter accounts, perform Twitter search, and make it easier to perform simple tasks like retweeting. In addition to helping you keep track of those you follow on Twitter, Seesmic Desktop and Tweetdeck now also allow you to follow the updates of your Facebook friends. Finding and using the right Twitter application or applications can really be a time saver and help you make the most out of Twitter. - Anthony Ruiz, Owner, Samurai Virtual Tours
Meet the American Red Cross of Gloucester County
The American Red Cross has been serving Gloucester County for 92 years. This article will introduce you to the people who work for the Gloucester County chapter and what they do. Let’s start off with Emergency Services. Jim Shew, is the Director Emergency Services, who oversees the Disaster Services division and Services To Armed Forces portion of the Chapter by recruiting and training volunteers in both areas. His area also provides training to the public in prevention, preparedness and responding to and recovering from natural and other disasters. The Red Cross provides relief to disaster victims for their immediate emergency needs; emergency food, clothing and shelter 24 hours a day / 7 days a week / 365 days a year. Volunteers are trained and can respond locally or opt to be deployed to National disasters. Services To Armed Forces provides emergency communication between military personnel and their families during times of personal crisis. When an emergency strikes a military family, the Red Cross helps communicate the message to and from their loved ones in the military. Internationally, our trained volunteers pass messages from war torn areas overseas to family members in the United States. The Red Cross also assists in tracing Holocaust and war victims for family members trying to reunite. Military families are provided with important social services, financial assistance and mental health services by the Red Cross as well. Volunteers are trained to respond 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week, verifying the emergency situation, and dispatching it to military command for them to make an informed decision for leave purposes. Alice Went is the Director of Health, Safety and Community Education. Alice’s marketing tagline is “Health & Safety training SAVES LIVES!!" The Red Cross Health and Safety Services provides excellent certified training to the Gloucester County
in both the community and workplace venues in the areas of Emergency Response, CPR/AED
(Automated External Defibrillation -AED) for the Professional Rescuer/Healthcare Provider;
Community CPR and First Aid; Lifeguard Training; Water Safety (swimming lessons); Oxygen
Administration; Blood born Pathogens: Preventing Disease Transmission; Babysitter Training and
Pet First Aid. This chapter has certified well of over 8,000 people so far in this fiscal year. Alice
has hundreds of instructors – volunteers and those who teach at our Authorized Provider locations and American Red Cross-paid instructors. Jeanne Levonchuck is the Director of Volunteer and Blood Services Coordinator. Blood drives are held all over the county all the time. Each month the Red Cross receives a Scoop sheet that consists of area drives. Jeanne, along with several area captains, puts together a list of volunteers who help in getting the drive started. The volunteers maintain the reception area, refreshments and blood drivers. Blood services provides blood to area hospitals and blood banks. Red Cross also does clinic drives in which volunteers will pick up and drive individuals in need to dialysis treatments and doctor appointments on a regular basis. As Director of Volunteers it is Jeanne’s job to go out and meet the public. She educates everyone on the services the Red Cross provides and the need for volunteers. Her goal is to build a large resource of people willing to donate their time towards helping others. As Director, she provides new volunteer training so that everyone will know what to do and what is expected. The Red Cross wants to make sure that each person is well prepared so they will get the most out of the philanthropic experience. Finally, Laura Steinmetz is the Executive Director of the Chapter. She is responsible for everything that happens in and out of the Red Cross building. As many Executives Directors do in all organizations, she wears many hats in order to guarantee a smooth operation at the Red Cross Chapter House. She is responsible for her staff and volunteers. She also has a Board of Directors she has to respond to. She is the marketing person, the PR person, and the Fundraising person (besides it's relationship as a United Way Agency for over fifty years, the chapter operates soley on donations). She works tirelessly at building relationships with businesses and individuals all in the name of the American Red Cross. And in many cases she has gotten new friends out of these relationships. She is the unsung hero of Gloucester County’s Red Cross Chapter. And besides all of the above, Laura also donates her spare time (what little there is) in helping other charities. She is a board member of the Gloucester County Chamber, a Rotarian, and sits on the Board of the People for People Foundation of Gloucester County. Last Word – All through this article you may have noticed that the word volunteer has been underlined. Volunteers are the life’s blood of the American Red Cross. They are dedicated people who give their time to help their neighbors prepare for, prevent and cope with all kinds of emergencies. Our volunteers are made up of people of all ages and backgrounds. The one thing they have in common is their desire to help. Each of the Directors has said to me that they could not do what they do without the help of VOLUNTEERS. So, if anyone out there reading this article has every had the thought of doing something to help your community, but wasn’t sure where to go or how to get started… think of the Red Cross. You will receive great training, make new friends, and have the experience of your lifetime by donating some of you spare time to helping others. Visit the American Red Cross Gloucester County Chapter on the web at www.Red Crossgloucesterco.org. - Susan Freiberg, Proforma ABF Direct
The Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce will hold their 4th Annual Delaware Valley ICS Regional Chili Cook-Off, Concert and Festival on Saturday, June 13, 2009. This year’s event will be held at the new Gloucester County Dream Park, 400 Route 130 in Logan Township. The event starts at 11:00am and concludes at 5:30pm. Tickets are $10 per car load in advance and $20 at the gate on the day of the event. Free parking is available to all spectators. There will be three beer service areas, a variety of food and novelty vendors, carnival games and rides, a petting zoo, pony rides, paintball target shooting, a classic car show and entertainment throughout the day by The Juliano Brothers and Don’t Call Me Francis. There will also be Wing Eating, Text Messaging and Guitar Hero Contests. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s event will be donated to the following charities: People for People Foundation of Gloucester County, American Red Cross – Gloucester County Chapter, Boys & Girls Club of Gloucester County, Gloucester County Special Services Education Foundation/Autism and Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity. More information about the Chili Cook-Off as well as the names of the sponsors of the event can be found on the website at www.delvalchilicookoff.com. |
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