President's Message
February is a great month to show a little love- to our community! It may still be dark and wintry, but our members have been filling up our
Community Calendar
with tons of great events and activities. The Kodiak Small Business Forum is gearing up for a community wide event February 9
th
and 10th, Cupid Shops The Rock, which you can read more about in this newsletter. Plan ahead that weekend to take in the Kodiak Art Council’s next edition of
Galley Tables
and of course St Mary’s Catholic School’s
Serendipity Auction
.
Native Village of Afognak is holding their annual
Dig Afognak Fundraising Dinner and Live Auction
on February 24
th
at the Elks. The auction includes many authentic Native art pieces as well as delicious desserts. For more information or to purchase tickets call 907 486-6357.
I am also especially looking forward to the Chamber’s annual Coast Guard Appreciation Event, We Applaud You, coming up on February 17
th
. I would like to say thank you in advance to all of the local businesses that have generously donated door prizes, food, and time in order to make this year’s event fantastic. Special thanks also to our event sponsors BP Alaska, Kodiak Area Native Association, and Matson, Inc.
Each year
We Applaud You
is not only a chance for us to honor and say thank you to the Coast Guard personnel helping to keep our community safe, but also an opportunity to show off all that Kodiak has to offer. I hope you will consider joining us that evening. Tickets can be purchased at the Chamber or by phone 907 486 5557.
Lastly, I would like to give a shout out to Lindsay Knight owner of the Kodiak Athletic Club for hosting an awesome Business After Hours last month. Any businesses and organizations interested in joining in the fun and hosting their own Business After Hours should contact the
Chamber
to get on the 2018 calendar.
Looking forward to seeing you all out and about this February
Sincerely
Stacey Simmons
President
Pictured: Fur trimmed gloves donated by Natasha Hayden, just one of the items up for auction at the Dig Afognak Fundraising Dinner.
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Kodiak Chamber of Commerce prepares for 28
th
Annual We Applaud You Dinner
Each February the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce puts together an evening event called,
We Applaud You
. This event invites 100 Coast Guard personnel stationed right here in Kodiak to a night recognizing their individual efforts in making our community a safe place to live, work, and play. Most have been chosen to attend for their behind the scenes work, maintaining helicopters, monitoring radios, or fueling, cleaning and preparing equipment. The evening dinner and ceremony will be a chance to shine a spotlight on their important role in making missions successful.
The evening also will show off the best of everything Kodiak has to offer, with a buffet dinner featuring food from local restaurants, caterers, and the high school culinary program. Seafood donated by local processors will go into many of the dishes. In addition local businesses have donated door prizes, which will give the Coast Guard personnel a preview of what services and items are available in town.
Chief Warrant Officer, Charles Skinner, has been helping to coordinate the event since 2010. “It is a great avenue to introduce the Coast Guard’s outstanding personnel to the town of Kodiak and people who support Kodiak’s Chamber of Commerce. The outstanding support from the community for the event truly makes it one of the best events to attend.” notes Charles.
Coast Guard attendees will be honored through various proclamations and letters of support from local and state government agencies, and through remarks from Captain Jeff Good and Captain Mark Morin. “It is really an opportunity for us as a community to express our appreciation and to welcome the individuals serving at Base Kodiak into our community.” says Trevor Brown, Director of the Chamber.
This year’s event will take place Saturday, February 17th with doors opening at 6pm. Tickets for civilians are available and Chamber Members are especially encouraged to attend. They can be purchased in person at the Chamber office or by phone 907 486 5557. The cost of each ticket is $50 which covers the cost of one meal and the meal of one Coast Guard guest. Ticket sales together with generous sponsorships from BP Alaska, Kodiak Area Native Association, and Matson, Inc. make We Applaud You possible each year.
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New Local Business Group Hosts Cupid Shops the Rock
Kodiak Small Business Forum, a group of local business owners have been meeting bi-weekly since November. The group’s goals are simple but powerful desiring to be a meeting place for communication, collaboration, and commiseration. Meeting attendees include retailers, service businesses, and organizations working to support Kodiak’s business community including Discover Kodiak, KMXT, KVOK, Kodiak Daily Mirror, KANA, and of course the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce.
Recently, Kodiak Small Business Forum has become a formalized sub-committee of the Board of the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce. This will allow for more staff support of the Forum’s activities and for a formalized relationship, between the Forum and the Chamber.
Chris Lynch, the founder of the Kodiak Small Business Forum, notes that it is especially important for local businesses to “use all available resources possible to help your business grow. That includes each other.” In this spirit of collaboration, the Forum is forging ahead with its first community-wide event. Banking on the success of Uptown Shop the Rock, an event organized by now Forum members, Alex Turner and Sarah Culbertson, they are organizing
Cupid Shops the Rock
, an event providing Valentine’s Day shopping and entertainment.
Unlike the original event, Cupid Shops the Rock will expand to include both uptown and downtown shopping districts as well as outlier businesses in Bells Flats. Businesses and restaurants will be offering special deals and discounts, throughout the two-day event taking place February 9
th
and 10
th
. For couples wanting a night out, Berean Baptist Church Youth Group will be offering
babysitting services
for a small donation benefiting 30 hour Famine and the Kodiak Food Bank.
Customers can pick up a stamp card at any of the participating locations that night, and will receive one stamp for each location they walk into, including shops, offices, and restaurants. When your stamp card is filled up, it can be turned in to be entered in a prize drawing. The group hopes this will encourage customers to visit many locations. “Many people don’t shop local because they don’t know what our stores offer. Most things they want to buy they can find right here in our local shops. This is a chance for them to go into a store they have never been in before and see what we have to offer.” says Chris.
View the map below for more details on participating locations. Additional info can be found on Kodiak Shop the Rock’s
Facebook
and
Instagram
pages.
Kodiak Small Business Forum meets bi-weekly or as needed at the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce. Businesses interested in attending meetings should contact Chris Lynch or request to join Kodiak Small Business Forum on Facebook to receive meeting schedule, agendas, and updates.
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Benefits Spotlight: kodiakchamber.org
The Kodiak Chamber of Commerce maintains a well trafficked website publishing content about our main programs and of course our members! Aside from our
Member Directory
,
there are a few ways for Members to tap into some extra exposure, by utilizing three additional pages of our site:
1. Community Calendar:
Have an event coming up? You can submit the details by
email
to get it listed on our
Community Calendar page
.
This page is also a good place to check when planning an event, so you have an idea of what is happening around town on which days. It can help you to pick a day when people aren’t busy at other events, and knowing what fellow Chamber Members have planned may give you ideas for opportunities to collaborate!
2. Hot Deals:
Recently added to our site is our
Hot Deals page
.
This is an opportunity to advertise sales, specials, and promotions that are running over the course of many days. Again, simply
email
the details and how long you would like the deal to be posted, and Chamber staff will get it up on the web.
3. Job Openings:
Many people check in with the local Chamber of Commerce about employment options when looking for work or when considering moving to a new town. While we strongly suggest listing job openings with the Kodiak Job Center, Members with open positions can also be post them on the Chamber’s
Employment Opportunities page
to attract additional applicants. Send full job descriptions and dates of the application period by
email
and staff will start helping you find great applicants.
Have questions about you Membership Benefits? Click
here
for a flyer explaining how to get the most from your membership by letting you Chamber work for you!
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President
Stacey Simmons
Past President
Rick Kniaziowski
Vice President
Julie Bonney
Secretary/Treasurer
Jeff Sanford
Board Members
Susan Johnson · Ellen Simeonoff · Tyler Kornelis ·
Aaron Walton · Brian Lickfield · Lindsay Knight
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City of Kodiak Representative
Mike Tvenge
Kodiak Island Borough Representative
Michael Powers
USCG Base Representative
Capt. Jeffery Good
USCG Air Station Representative
Capt. Mark Morin
KEA Representative
Darron Scott
Discover Kodiak Representative
Aimee Williams
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