|
Let's start the column this month with some great kudos: thankyou thankyou thankyou to the Chamber members who purchased tickets (and tents!) for our annual Crab Feast. We were blessed August 8 with a solid attendance and stunning weather. This is our signature fund raiser, whose support is crucial to Chamber operations. We all need to thank the mighty and majestic Mike McKay (CEO of CRDN & LaVale Dryclean) for taking time out of his business schedule to chair (AGAIN) the annual Crab Feast!
His Crab Corps "brotherhood" did an outstanding job. It was quite, quite late when I last saw him loading supplies and cleaning out kettles. Mike leads by example. So does Steve Nelson, Town Planner Publisher, whose "Crabby Parking Staff" directed a large number of party barges into a highly choreographed parking dance, with (to my knowledge) no fender benders. Also, leading by example, were the Chamber President (Barb Buehl), Past Chair (Liz Skidmore), executive committee members (Steve Nelson and Stu Czapski), and the hard-working Chamber staff members, (Peg McKenzie and Amy Jacobs). In addition, our very active board members solidly supported the event with ticket purchases/sales, and parking & clean-up details. We thank the Chamber members and Chamber leaders. And the members thank those of you who support this each year. School is back in session. Drive safely and watch out for the little ones. Please be sure to allow time for school buses to pick up and discharge our future each day. Frustrated as we may get, being in a hurry and following a school bus, we just need to remember that if we were really in a hurry, we would have left earlier! Speaking of our future, keep your eyes and ears open for the meetings and activities of our energetic Education Committee, led by Jim "Snake" Robertson. At their August 14 meeting, Education Committee members and attendees heard Harry Smith, Principal, Washington Middle School, discuss the integration of the construction trades into the technical education programs for middle schools. This is representative of the diverse membership and broad educational focus of our committee. Businesses, school administrators, instructors, labor leaders, high school personnel, college personnel, retired school board members, etc. all put their heads and hands together to adequately prepare our students for life's opportunities and challenges. And, obviously, the stronger the business-to-education bonds, the stronger and more vibrant will be our broad community. We look forward to hearing more about this pilot program, with the goal of preparing 9th graders for technical education. Bottom line: many of the best paying jobs, and many of the most prominent Chamber members have grown out of a solid technical education. Many of those prominent members, by the way, provided their sage counsel to us at the Past Presidents'/Past Chairman's Council luncheon on August 21. Thank you! We also thank the members (new and not-so-new) who attended the Member Orientation August 26. Attendees always compliment us on how much fun they have, how much they learn, and how much value they now gain from Chamber membership. Plan on attending the next one! Mark your calendars: Wed, Sept. 17, After Hours, hosted by Ed's Canal Pub. Reserve Now! Wed. Oct. 15, Annual Recognition Dinner, Rocky Gap Lodge & Golf Resort. Come congratulate and celebrate with honorees Susquehanna Bank, Mel's Business Systems, and John & Kathy Burkey!
Keep in touch. See you soon. We are here to serve you, the members. Esse quam videri
Daryl |
