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2006 Economic Outlook
Luncheon Topic
Dr. Bill LaFayette is vice president of economic analysis for the
Columbus Chamber. As the Chamber’s chief economist, he analyzes and
interprets economic and demographic trends for Chamber staff, civic
leaders, and the Greater Columbus community, and helps determine the
implications of those trends for the Chamber’s business advocacy and
workforce development efforts. The Columbus Chamber recently released
their “2006 Economic Forecast” and Dr. LaFayette will be discussing
the forecast as the featured speaker at the Chamber luncheon on
Tuesday, February 21st at the Clintonville Woman’s Club.
The Chamber’s 2006 Forecast was
complied by LaFayette, George Mokrzan, Senior Economist for Huntington
Bankshares, and James Newton, chief economic advisor for Commerce
Bank. While all three agreed that Ohio’s overall economic growth will
be somewhat sluggish, central Ohio should do better than the State as
a whole. The Blue Chip Forecast also predicts strong employment
growth in the healthcare and leisure and personal services sectors of
the local economy.
The luncheon will begin with our
usual networking activities at 11:30 a.m. Reservations can be made
by calling the Chamber office at 262-2790 or email
jnini@clintonvillechamber.com. The cost of lunch is $15.
Ambassadors Will Conduct Membership
Blitz Feb 15.
The Chamber Ambassadors,
co-chaired by Will Markovich of Chase Bank and Judy Robinson of
Shacklee/Airsource Products, will “hit the bricks” on Wednesday,
February 15th for the Chamber’s first one day membership
blitz. The Ambassadors plan to visit over 100 Clintonville area
businesses.
“It’s a personal visit to talk
about their business, to talk about the Chamber, and to ask them their
views on the future of Clintonville,” Markovich told the Chamber
Notes. “We want to convey the message that their involvement in
the Chamber is important to us and to the community.”
The event with start with a
kick-off meeting at the Bear Rock Café at 8:00 a.m. The Ambassador
teams and Chamber Board members will then fan out across the
community. Other Ambassador members are Duffy Horan, Sky Bank, Monica
Miller, J.S. Brown Co., David Armstrong, 5th/3rd
Bank, Jim Taylor, All State Insurance, and Vic Magary, Metro Martial
Arts & Fitness. Lydia McDevitt is the Chamber Vice Chair of
Membership (see page 4).
If you would like to become and
Ambassador or participate in the membership blitz, contact the Chamber
office, 262-2790. The Ambassadors meet the second Wednesday of the
month at 4:00 pm at the Chamber office. Their next meeting will be on
Wednesday, Feb. 8th. Plans for the membership blitz will
be finalized at the meeting.
For more from the Vice Chair of
Membership go to Board of Directors
Business Briefs...
Ruby Named Chase Manager
Amanda Ruby has been named the new branch manager for Chase
Bank at 2801 N. High St. (Giant Eagle) Ruby has been with Chase
for 1 ½ years and goes to Clintonville from the Polaris office. When
she is not offering her customers full service banking, she enjoys
skiing and golf. She has already volunteered to serve on the
Chamber’s golf outing committee for 2006.
Armstrong Moves to 5/3
Torrence
David Armstrong has moved to the 5th/3rd
Bank office at 3580 N. High St. as Branch Manager. He was formerly
the manager of the 5/3 Graceland office. David replaces Josh Baker,
who moved to the Gahanna office.
David is one of the Chamber’s Ambassadors and an active Chamber
member.
Clintonville Subway Rolling
With New Look After Renovation
Paul Cooper of Clintonville Subway has completed a major renovation at
his 3200 N. High St. store. Subway’s expanded dining room now has
seating for 58 patrons, along with a new service area and updated
kitchen.
The dining room is now available for small parties. “We hosted our
first birthday party last week,” Cooper told the Chamber Notes.
Cooper also has plans for additional outside improvements later
this year. He plans to put a new brick front on the building and make
additional improvements to the parking area.
Local
Kiwanis to Begin 2006 Directory Distribution
 Again this year the North
Columbus Kiwanis Club
will be assisting the Chamber with the distribution of our 2006
Clintonville Community Directory. The Kiwanian’s will deliver over
12,000 directories to Clintonville homes and businesses starting
around Feb. 15th.
Watch for the bright yellow WOW bags, which were provided by WOW
Internet and Cable. Also be sure to check your delivery bag for
additional fliers and coupons
Clintonville Incorporated to Host Community Forum Series
Clintonville Incorporated, in cooperation with the Council for
Public Deliberation, will host a series of three deliberative forums
to encourage discussion between residents and interested individuals
about three important issues: 1) The Urban Commercial Overlay (Feb16
7:00 pm), 2) Parking: Finding a Common Ground for Business, Residents
and Customers (March 23, 7:00 pm) and 3)Licensed Beverage Options
(April 20, 7:00 pm).
These three deliberative forums are funded by a grant from the
Columbus Foundation. The forums have been designed using the model of
the National Issues Forums process developed by the Kettering
Foundation. The forums will present three stated
perspectives/approaches to the issue as a method of focusing the
discussion and encouraging a constructive exchange of ideas about the
issues. The objective of the forums is to encourage community members
to engage in a conversation about their individual views of the issues
and to consider the variety of differing views which are held in the
community.
The first forum on Feb. 16th at 7:00 pm regarding the UCO
will be held in the multipurpose room of the Whetstone Library. The
forums are open to all Clintonville residents. Chamber members are
encouraged to attend to provide a business perspective to the
discussion.
Annual
Recognition Dinner and Silent Auction
A
Community Event! Gala Evening Set for March 18th
.
It’s
the perfect item to complete any Buckeye fan’s sports memorabilia
collection.
The
Ohio State Football Encyclopedia, authored by Jack Park and
autographed by two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin. It
could be yours, if you have the winning bid at the Chamber's Silent
Auction on March 18th. This is just one of over 100 items
that
will be
up for bid. Items currently received by Auction Chairperson Jenny
Smith of Coldwell Banker King Thompson and her committee
include; a week’s stay at a Myrtle Beach South Carolina Beach House, A
weekend at a Lake Erie lakefront condo, an autographed poster of
Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer Johnny Bench, a variety of gift baskets
and gift cards, household appliances, and auto detailing, golf
outings, and other items from Clintonville Area businesses.
Chamber members received the invitations to this year’s Recognition
Dinner and Silent Auction last week and reservations have already
started to come in. The dinner will be held at the University Plaza
Hotel, 3110 Olentangy River Road on Saturday, March 18th.
It will start with the Auction and Social Hour at 6:00 p.m. Again this
year, entertainment will be provided by Paul Love and his combo during
the auction. Dinner will begin at 7:00 pm. Following dinner, there
will be a brief period for patrons to submit their final bids.
At 8:20
we will begin our formal program of honoring Clintonville business and
community leaders.
“With the addition of the Booster’s Community Volunteer of the
Year award in 2004, our Annual Recognition Dinner has truly become a
community event,” said Scott Smith, 2006 Dinner Chair. “We hope to
make this year’s event even more special by recognizing past chamber
leadership for all of their service. In addition we will be
presenting our traditional “Business Person of the Year” and
“Business of the Year” awards,” Smith added.
Selection for the awards are made from nominations received from the
community. “It is the people, both business people and residents that
make Clintonville such a great community,” said Shari Carroll, Chair
of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. “These awards are our way of
saying ‘thank you for your service’ to people of have made a
difference in our community over the past year. We want to thank them
for their leadership, their contributions and for helping to make
Clintonville a better place.”
The
Chamber would also like to thank our 2006 Dinner Sponsors. The
Booster, the law firm of Moots, Carter & Hogan,
CompManagement providers of the Chamber’s third party Worker’s
Compensation plan,, and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, provider of
the Chamber’s group health plan. Dinner reservations should be sent
to the Chamber office, 4219 N. High Street, Columbus, OH 43214. The
dinner reservation form can also be downloaded from the Chamber web
site. Just go to the Chamber Events page. Dinner tickets are
$45 each, and those companies or groups that purchase an entire table
of eight (8) will also have a sign on the table with the company or
group name. It will be an evening to Celebrate Clintonville!
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February 2006
