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Bob Williford

Nominate Someone Today for the 5th Annual ATHENA Award

by Bob Williford
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Mar
19

The Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, Morris Broadband, and Judy Stroud/State Farm Insurance are pleased to announce the 5th annual ATHENA Leadership Award® in Henderson County in memory of Vanessa Y. Mintz. Nominations are now being accepted for the ATHENA Leadership Award®, which will be presented on May 24th, 2012 at the Professional Women’s Luncheon at Kenmure Country Club to an exemplary leader who has achieved excellence in their business or profession, served the community in a meaningful way and, most importantly, actively assisted women to achieve their full leadership potential.

Founded nearly 30 years ago, ATHENA International is a women’s leadership organization that supports, develops and honors women leaders through the programs it administers. ATHENA’s flagship program, the ATHENA Leadership Award® Program, has honored over 6000 women leaders from hundreds of cities and eight countries since its inception in 1982. Vanessa Y. Mintz brought the ATHENA award to Henderson County in 2008 and she embodied the values underlying ATHENA International’s philosophy of incorporating the talent and expertise of women into the leadership of our businesses, our communities and our government. Reflective of a quote attributed to Plato, “What is honored in a country will be cultivated there”, the ATHENA Leadership Award® honors and illuminates the leaders and leadership styles of individuals others would emulate.

The program is facilitated locally by the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce, a licensed ATHENA host organization. Nominations are sought throughout the community and recipients are selected by a diverse group of community leaders based on the criteria above.

ATHENA Leadership Award® Recipients hail from all professional sectors. The award’s rich history, international scope and emphasis on mentorship make this award unique and amongst the most prestigious leadership awards one can receive. Past Henderson County ATHENA Recipients Include:

Joyce A. Roush with Park Ridge Health (2011)
Pat Shepherd with Pat’s School of Dance (2010)
Ragan Ward with Carolina First (2009)
Robin Reed with Bares It All (2008)

ATHENA Leadership Award® Recipients are presented a hand-cast, bronzed and crystal sculpture that symbolizes the strength, courage and wisdom of ATHENA Recipients.

The Henderson County Recipient will be invited to join ATHENA Leadership Award Recipients and other leaders at the annual ATHENA International Women’s Leadership Summit, held each spring in Chicago.

ATHENA International is nationally underwritten by KPMG. Local sponsorship is provided by Morris Broadband and Judy Stroud/State Farm Insurance.

Nominations will be accepted until April 6, 2012 and forms may be obtained by contacting the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce at 828.692.1413 or on the website under “Chamber News and Upcoming Events.”

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Mitsy Jones

Why GE Lighting Systems Supports the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce

by Mitsy Jones
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Nov
8

The following column is from Paul Morse with GE Lighting Systems:
The Henderson County Chamber of Commerce is a 1000+ membership based business organization representing businesses, not just in Henderson County, but all around the Western North Carolina region. I am Paul Morse, GE Lighting Solutions Site Leader, and I represent one of those businesses.
The Henderson County Chamber of Commerce has been a great partner to our local GE Lighting business since the early 1950s. A call was placed to the Chamber, from GE headquarters, requesting local assistance in finding suitable industrial land for a potential new GE plant. The only instructions were to meet with a visiting company representative and to drive him around the county in a search for potential land that could be contained by fencing. The Chamber moved into action and in 1955 our new GE plant opened on Spartanburg Highway. In 1956, the new plant was on the cover of the GE Annual Report, and the facility hosted the GE Annual Shareholders meeting.
This was the beginning of a great GE-Chamber relationship. Over the decades, the Chamber has been a public, positive voice in supporting both our expansions and difficult restructuring actions necessary to maintain our operation’s competitiveness. Today, we are growing and investing in LED lighting technologies and launching exciting new innovative products. As a growing leading technology business, we are proud to say we have been able to recall all of the employees impacted by a former restructuring.
We support the Chamber because it has always been a local advocate and supporter for our business through good times and bad. They are willing to assist our business with navigating water, sewer, power, and other infrastructure issues with the local and state officials.
Thank you to the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce for supporting our local GE Lighting Solutions business and all the other businesses in Henderson County!
The Henderson County Chamber of Commerce strives to be a community resource, an information source and link for our area. For more information on what the Chamber can do for you and your business stop by the office or call 828-692-1413.

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Mitsy Jones

Great article from one of our members explaining why they are a Chamber member

by Mitsy Jones
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Oct
11

Following is a great article from Paul Parker, President of Carolina Information Technology Resource Corporation explaining why he is a member of the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce:

The Henderson County Chamber of Commerce is a 1000+ membership based business organization representing businesses, not just in Henderson County, but all around the Western North Carolina region. I am Paul Parker, President of Carolina Information Technology Resource Corporation and I am one of those businesses.
I originally joined the Henderson County Chamber in late 2005. During my first year of membership, I participated in a few Chamber events, but when it came time to renew my membership, I seriously considered dropping. A good friend of mine, who happened to serve on the Board of Directors for the Chamber, talked me into reconsidering and suggested that I make an attempt to get further involved in the Chamber by becoming an Ambassador. So I did.
The Ambassador Committee works as the customer service arm of the Chamber. We organize networking activities and special events as well as making calls on new members, work the registration table at Business After Hours, attend ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings and a lot more. The Ambassador Committee is the most active committee in the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce and, after 6 years, I am proud to say I am the longest active Ambassador. In fact, for the past two years, I have served as Chairman of the Ambassador Committee. That goes to show how important I feel this committee and its involvement in the Chamber is.
My business is considered a small business, as are 95% of the businesses that are members of the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce. I encourage all small businesses to try to become more active in the Chamber. Take advantage of everything your membership offers. Business After Hours, Business Morning Update, AM Power Hour, Power Networking, Leads Group, Chamber 101 – all these are offered at no charge to Chamber members. If you are uncertain on how to meet people and spread the word about your product or service, consider becoming a Chamber Ambassador. It is a great place to start. You will meet a lot of active members and can make some long lasting business connections. I guarantee it!
Again, I am Paul Parker, President of Carolina Information Technology Resource Corporation, a complete IT solutions provider with a strong emphasis on network and data security, serving Western North Carolina as well as the Upstate. I have offices in Brevard, Hendersonville and Asheville, and I can be reached at 828.651.0074.

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Mitsy Jones

Find Out What’s Going On at the Chamber

by Mitsy Jones
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Jan
16

There are a bunch of great options to keep up with what is going on at the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce. If you are a member, but aren’t receiving our weekly e-newsletter that goes out every Tuesday morning, that means we don’t have your email on file. Give us a call and we will get that fixed for you.
The Chamber also has a Facebook page, a LinkedIn page, a Twitter page (HendersonCoCham) and a flickr page where we post photos from all our events. You might want to check that it out. You might see yourself in one of our pictures!
We also publish a bi-monthly “Chamber Business Report” in the Times-News. It publishes the last Tuesday of every other month. The publication schedule for 2011 is: February 22nd, April 26th, June 28th, August 30th, October 25th, and December 27th.
And, of course, you can always check back here – our website. It is the best and most up-to-date place to go for information. Or, give us a call – 828.692.1413!

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Mitsy Jones

Chamber’s Benefits to the Community

by Mitsy Jones
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Sep
3

      Many people wonder what exactly the Chamber does for our community. We get a lot of calls about events such as the Apple Festival, the Antique Show, the Garden Jubilee, and other events, but those are actually organized by other entities such as the Travel & Tourism Office or Downtown Hendersonville, Inc.
      The Chamber’s main goal is to help you and your business thrive in Henderson County. From networking opportunities and business referrals, to efforts that improve the overall strength of the community, the Chamber strives to be of benefit to the community. Following is an overview of what we do.
• The Chamber answers the community’s “mail” and in today’s society we answer e-mail, website, fax and phone requests as well. The Chamber responds to over 35,000 contacts per year from people wanting information about our community.

• The Chamber is an instrumental partner in our community’s workforce development efforts. These include acting as liaison between the business community and educational institutions as well as coordinating services for displaced workers during major downsizing or plant closure situations.

• The Chamber consistently encourages citizens to “Shop and Dine Henderson County” in an effort to support local businesses (which provide local jobs) and to keep sales tax dollars in Henderson County. The Chamber along with Henderson County and other non-profit groups has a history of joining forces to develop specific campaigns to reinforce these efforts.

• The Chamber provides numerous programs and activities designed to assist small business owners and operators. Through seminars, networking opportunities, knowledge sharing and other activities the Chamber supports existing and new small businesses as they work to survive and thrive in an ever changing business environment.

• The Chamber makes available Affinity Programs to its members that offer beneficial prices for telecommunications services, office supplies, package delivery, Employee Assistance Programs and more.

• The Chamber’s website provides information to potential newcomers and visitors to
Henderson County. The website also acts as a gateway to other community sites – including Travel & Tourism and the Henderson County Partnership for Economic Development.

• The Chamber has long believed that building a strong business community includes building a strong community. Our efforts to improve business conditions in Henderson County have proven successful in the past and will continue to have a positive impact on all of Henderson County.

• The Chamber works with the Henderson County Public School System and Blue Ridge Community College to ensure that the workforce, and citizens entering the workforce, have the skills (or opportunities to gain the skills) to meet the employment needs in Henderson County. This partnership is designed to improve the skill sets of students graduating or otherwise leaving the K-12 system and entering the workforce, improve training/educational opportunities for the current workforce and un/underemployed that improve opportunities for advancement, support school administrators, teachers, students and parents who are involved in the educational process and determine higher educational needs in Henderson County and support increasing higher ed capacity.

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Mitsy Jones

All Types of Information is Available at the Chamber

by Mitsy Jones
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Jul
29

Did you know that the Chamber is loaded with information for newcomers and residents? We carry brochures on most of our members and a lot of local publications. But did you know that the Chamber publishes several informative publications ourselves?
We have an Industrial Directory listing information on the 130+ industries in Henderson County. Cost is $10 for members, $15 for non-members.
We offer a Demographics Book that gives all kinds of statistics from age ranges to income levels to economic indicators. The Demographics book is $4 for members, $5 for non-members.
We also publish a Newcomer’s Handbook loaded with information on the history of our area, education, employment, healthcare, real estate and more. This publication is offered at no charge.
We just updated our “10 Steps to Success: A Small Business Guide to Henderson County”. It has information on what steps you need to take to start your own business. It is also offered at no charge.
And finally, this year, the Chamber published our first magazine. 4,000 copies of the first edition of Leading Edge printed in February. It includes articles highlighting local business success stories, quality of life features, full color photography and more. It is distributed to Chamber members, newcomers, visitors, advertisers and is used as a recruiting tool for business and industry. It is offered at no charge.
So stop by our office today – 204 Kanuga Road – for any information you may need about Henderson County.
P.S. We are also “phone book” central. So come see us if you need a new phone book.

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Bob Williford

Southern Hospitality

by Bob Williford
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May
20

A local resident came to our office today to participate in the Shop & Dine Henderson County Campaign promotion and recounted to some of our staff her recent trip to Chicago. She told us that the most memorable aspect of her visit was the courtesy shown to her and her husband by everyone they interacted with in Chicago – the cab drivers, hotel workers, restaurant workers, etc. They were so pleased they plan to go back soon!
Hospitality in nothing new to our own community. Henderson County’s Tourism/Service Industry has always displayed our brand of “Southern Hospitality” to guests who visit our community, but if major urban areas like Chicago are stepping up their game, maybe we should too.
Be sure to thank those who patronize your business, both visitors and local residents. Word-of-mouth advertising is important to every business and a happy customer could steer others your way.

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