More Photos From the Tourney

Click on the individual photos to make them larger.

Oh, Are They?

Yesterday, the Chamber hosted the annual Hal T. Siler Industry Appreciation Golf Tournament at Carolina Trace Country Club.  Our tournament sponsor this year was Central Carolina Hospital, hence the surgical garb seen in the above photo.

The tournament was a great success thanks to our sponsors, Carolina Trace Country Club, the players, our Chamber Ambassadors and beautiful weather.  (Can I just tell you how happy I am that the tournament was yesterday and not today?!?!)

Special thanks to Doug Doris, Margaret Minuth and the staff at CCH.  They did an outstanding job making this year’s tournament memorable.

To Brad Bourret, Mike Krick, Sara O’Leary and every single Trace staff member who all went out of their way to make every detail count.  (Even Tim…even if he’s an Alabama fan.)

To our other sponsors–Central Carolina Orthopaedic, Payroll Direct, Pinnacle Benefit Resources, Caterpillar, Progress Energy, BB&T, All Digital Printing, Central Electric Membership Corporation, Jones Printing, Capital Bank, Wyeth, Adcock and Associates and Four Oaks Bank–without whom the tournament would not be possible.

To Kelly Klug, Celis O’Quinn and the Ambassadors who volunteered most of their day to see the tournament go off without a hitch.  To the players for coming out and really having a fun time with our tournament.  And to Mother Nature for holding off on the rain just one day!!

Enjoy the pictures (click on each for a larger view)…more to come when I get all the cameras and data cords back!!

It’s Here!!!

LAUNCH!!!

Today is the day and we can hardly believe it!  Bundle up the kids, TiVo the Vice Presidential Debate, put whatever projects you have on hold…do whatever it takes to Be There tonight for the unveiling of the new community brand!!!

Do We Stack Up To The Competition?

Whew! What a week. Part of the Chamber leadership team visited Wilson County, NC on Tuesday while Jennifer and Pat worked on last minute details of the 2^nd Century brand launch.

Our trip to Wilson, which had been scheduled for some time, was an eye-opener. Jennifer Lantz, Wilson’s EDC director, gave us a quick tour of the new addition to their corporate park: Becton Dickinson (pharmaceuticals) is building there…(Lee County was on BD’s short list, but they chose Wilson instead.)

We were interested in what Wilson is doing to attract good industry…because as we all know, the more industry we have here, the more jobs are available for our citizens – retail business prospers – our tax base grows – the percentage of taxes paid by homeowners is smaller…I could go on and on.  We cannot afford to get complacent. Other communities realize that we are in serious competition for new industry, especially now with the economy in turmoil.

What can the Chamber do? We can publicize…highlight…the strengths and weaknesses of our community. We can make sure our leaders (government and business) focus on what makes our community and our businesses better. We can make certain we are competitive.

More about what we found in Wilson later this week…after we get through with the 2^nd century event.

Please come on Thursday at 7 to Depot Park. It’s gonna be big, big-big, really big…biggest thing to ever hit Sanford!

Be There, or Be Square!

We are getting very excited around here for Thursday’s big event!  This is must-see stuff!

Don’t Miss This Event!!!

Our new community brand will be unveiled Thursday night at Depot Park.  The celebration will feature The Band of Oz, thanks to Four Oaks Bank!

Will you be there?

2nd Century Launch Nearing

By now you should know that the Chamber is involved in next week’s 2nd Century launch of a new “look” for our community.

And if you don’t know, it’s time to get with the program!!

We are just about at the one-week mark from our big community gathering at Depot Park, featuring the Band of Oz (special thanks to Four Oaks Bank!).  Here’s the poster for the event…DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT!!  Be there.  Bring your friends, family, co-workers, yard guy and dog groomer.  Basically, round up everyone you can, pile them in your car and join us for a fun-filled evening!

Sunday Column: Why the 2nd Century Project Matters to Business

Chamber Chat

Sunday, September 21, 208

Only eleven days before the unveiling of our new community brand and logo. In case you missed our previous columns about this event, join us at Depot Park on Thursday evening, October 2 at 7:00 PM for a first glimpse at Lee County’s new look. The entire community has been invited to enjoy food and drinks, plus dancing to national recording artists, Band of Oz, sponsored by Four Oaks Banks.

The goal of the 2^nd Century Project was to create a brand identity that would convey our distinctive and vibrant community attributes – the unique characteristics and unmatched quality of life make us the perfect place to live, work and play. Consequently, by using common themes, artwork and other branding techniques, the image we market to others will speak louder than if each business used its own individual message.

Some of you may be asking, “What happens next?” After the unveiling on October 2nd, what will our community do to ensure the new logos and design are used to their fullest potential? What specific steps will we take to promote Broadway, Sanford and Historic Jonesboro? How will this pay off for our business community? Some businesses might even ask, bluntly, “What’s in it for us?” That’s a great question – here’s the answer:

If we have done our research correctly, and we complete the marketing plan, we can expect significant growth in new residents, visitors and shoppers. Our merchants and retail businesses will see increased traffic in their stores; our building trades and construction companies will fill their “pipeline” with new customers; our service businesses will find new clients and money will be deposited in our banks. New jobs will sprout and new businesses will open their doors. These new businesses will pay taxes to support our schools and help spread the burden away from residential taxpayers. Existing businesses will have a wide choice of job applicants because people will choose to move here rather than Wake or Cumberland counties. In short, our community will grow and prosper.

You might ask, “Wouldn’t we grow anyway?” Yes, of course we can expect growth whether or not we aggressively and purposefully advertise our community. But rather than sit back and hope for the best kind of growth to come to us, we should be proactive. Our community deserves a reputation that is fair, honest and powerful. We should assertively remind others (and ourselves) of the “competitive identity” of our region; an identity which comes from the history, the culture, the geography and the society of Lee County.

The result of this marketing plan will be the attraction a diverse population of new businesses; businesses which fill in current gaps in goods and services; businesses which help keep dollars in Lee County, and businesses which will attract non-residents to stop and spend their dollars here. We will entice new residents who will bring their talents, involvement and life savings which will help Lee County’s civic and religious life.

All of this won’t happen without the strong support of our local business community. Frankly, it won’t happen if the Chamber is the only organization involved. This effort must engage everyone. Business leaders must fund this project. Government leaders must align our public polices so that we are “rowing” in the same direction. Everyone – store clerks, lawyers, mechanics, factory workers, teachers, and doctors – all of us must be aware of our community’s desire to promote the best about us. This effort must be successful, and when it is, we will move from being a good community to a great one.