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As the holidays approach, we gather together with our families and loved ones to celebrate the season, honor our traditions and beliefs, and exchange gifts as a token of our love and appreciation for others. At the Chamber, we have been actively working to promote the "buy local" mentality and stress the importance of supporting our area retailers and service businesses which are so vital to the future of our villages and towns. Although this message is important all year long, we believe this reminder is essential during the holiday season. Please join us in continuing to spread this important message as you speak to others about holiday purchases!
We wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season and once again want to stress how thankful we are for our member businesses and their support of the Chamber and their communities.
With gratitude,
Erik Volk
Executive Director
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Please visit our WEB page at www.cohase.org for more details on any of these events and a listing of other events in our area.
December 31 - 2017 Membership Dues Deadline
December 31 - Cohase Young Professionals New Years Eve Celebration. Haverhill Corner, NH
January 19 - Cybersecurity/Digital Marketing Workshop, Bradford, VT
January 23 - Cohase Chamber Annual Meeting, Fairlee, VT
February 4 - Haverhill Community & Business Showcase, Woodsville, NH
March 25 - Session Americana, Haverhill Corner, NH
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Annual Meeting on Monday, January 23
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We are finalizing our selections of Citizen of the Year and Business of the Year very soon. Once that selection is made, we will be sending out our official Annual Meeting invitations.
However, as we know schedules fill quickly, we want to notify you in advance! Please mark your calendar for what is always a fun and memorable event.
Attendees who pay their dues by December 31st will also be automatically entered into a drawing for a $200 Chamber gift certificate to be spent at any of our member locations. If you have not received a dues renewal form, please let us know!
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Cybersecurity/Digital Marketing Workshop Scheduled
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The Chamber is pleased to announce that we will be holding a Digital Marketing Trends/Cybersecurity workshop on
Thursday, January 19 at River Bend Career and Technical Center in Bradford Vermont.
The cost is $5 for Chamber members and $10 for non-members. The workshop will be presented by Kim Dixon, owner of Insights, LLC and Thomas Dukeshire, Solutions Manager for Vermont Connections.
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Member Moment With Merry Meadow Farm
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T
his month we are pleased to speak with Steven Williams, owner of Merry Meadow Farm. For over 30 years Merry Meadow has provided residents suffering from mental illness with a supportive, caring place to call home while providing in-house clinical, medical, and vocational support. Today, Merry Meadow offers four licensed facilities offering an assortment of care options ranging from short term support to long term care. Merry Meadow Farm’s main office and facility is located at 2122 Lower Plain in Bradford, Vermont. Visit their WEB site at http://www.merrymeadowfarm.com for more information or call the Business Office at (802) 222-9393.
How did Merry Meadow start?
My mother Betty Williams was a social worker at Dartmouth Hitchcock for many years and decided to move to Bradford to start something new. She started a Bed & Breakfast (at Merry Meadow) but kept in touch with the social work field. She always had a connection with Orange County Mental Health and we would have some of their clients come down to work on the farm and join us for meals. We also hosted a summer camp for kids and up until fairly recently had horses and an equestrian riding and 4-H program. The day that it all really changed was when a psychiatrist my mother worked with moved to New York City and started a practice down there. The psychiatrist asked my mother if she could host a client who could use a month in Vermont to get away from it all. It started slowly and grew steadily. In 1982, we had to get licensed and today we have four licensed facilities in two different states. Even though we have grown, we still model the family atmosphere that my parents started with. We are at a point now where we don’t want to get any bigger. I know everyone by name but if we got much bigger, we would start to lose touch.
What happened to the horses? Do you offer the equestrian program any longer?
As we grew, the camp was very viable and the equestrian program was quite good. The equestrian program got bigger and bigger and the community care home also got bigger and bigger. Insurance coverage got difficult and we decided it was time to end the riding program. We stopped the program but kept the horses around for a bit. We’re now kind of excited about the barns which are empty since we no longer have the horses. Without the horses, we can use the barns for all sorts of other activities for our residents.
What are your biggest challenges?
Insurance is a big challenge. In the early days, insurance would pay for care and now they won’t. It’s a difficult issue. It is rare for insurance to cover residential care. In addition, most insurance plans have a $10,000 lifetime maximum for mental health and cover only 26 therapy visits a year. There are also a lot of regulations we have to follow which can be challenging. Staffing weekend and night shifts is also always a challenge. We do offer good pay, benefits and a lot of support throughout the program for our employees and it is a great place to work.
What is your staff like?
We have great staff! We have absolutely wonderful people. They are very committed and many have been here a long time. Some have been here for 20 years and the average is probably around 12 years. We do have a lot of movement in house and opportunity for staff to assume new responsibilities. We also encourage staff to integrate their hobbies and interests into the program and support them in starting groups and activities around those interests. Currently, we have 56 staff members which includes part time people.
What are some misconceptions about your clients and how supportive is the community of your efforts?
A lot of the clients are gifted in specific things that need to be drawn out and enhanced. To have a program in place for self-help is important. There is an underlying stigma regarding mental health everywhere. Everyone has run into some form of challenge and some are to a greater degree than others. We have the ability to help people with their challenges, giving them a respite from the challenges of the modern day world. Vermont has been good to us and our clients and the Town of Bradford has been fantastic.
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Another Successful Economic Summit!
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Over 30 elected officials and community leaders from our region gathered at River Bend Career & Technical Center on Monday, December 5 to discuss economic successes and challenges in our region. A wonderful dinner was prepared and served by Chef Jeffrey and his students and many topics of interest were discussed including business openings/closures, infrastructure projects, economic challenges and how to better connect our educational institutions and businesses for mutual benefit.
The event was sponsored by Wells River Chevrolet, the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission and Housewright Construction.
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Four Seasons Sothebys' Business After Hours
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Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank
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Business After Hours Are Back!
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Although it had been a number of years since we held a Business After Hours event, we were lucky enough to host
two Business After Hours events this year.
Our first was on September 21 and was hosted by Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank in Woodsville. The second was hosted by Four Seasons Sothebys International Realty in Fairlee.
Both events had great attendance with over 40 attendees at each event with delicious food, prizes and lots of great conversation.
Thanks to both of our members for hosting such fun events!
If your business would like to host a Business After Hours in 2017, just shoot us an email at cohasechamber@gmail.com and let us know!
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Q
. I just received my dues renewal notice and will be sending in my membership dues soon. However, I was wondering, how do our Chamber dues compare to other Chambers? Are our dues about average with Chambers of our size?
A. Thanks for your support and for sending in your dues! Your membership helps make all of our efforts possible. As far as how we compare to other Chambers, our dues amounts fall well below the national average. We try to keep our costs down as we know that many of our members also work hard to keep their expenses down.
It is difficult for us to do a direct comparison as different Chambers have different membership structures. Some are based on the business size of the member, some are based on gross revenue and some are based on specific benefit levels.
If we look at our 2016 memberships, the average of all membership dues paid is approximately $131.00 per year. The median payment is approximately $110.00 per year.
According to the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and a national survey they conducted several years back, the average dues amount for Chamber membership nationwide is around $276.
For comparison sake, if we look at the Littleton, New Hampshire Area Chamber of Commerce, their average base membership dues amount is about $271.00 but there are additional charges based on number of employees and other factors. If we look to the south at the Hartford, Vermont area Chamber of Commerce, the average base membership amount is around $130 but they also have additional charges based on number of employees, etc.
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- We are very sad to hear the news of the upcoming closure of Hubert's Family Outfitters in Woodsville. Their absence will leave a huge hole in the Woodsville community and they will be missed. However, on a positive note, we welcome the opening of the Robert Lawrence Salon and Spa to downtown Woodsville in the space previously occupied by Everything But the Cook, which is now housed in the same location as An Affair to Remember.
- ARC Mechanical Contractors in Bradford is happy to welcome Keith Charron as a new employee. Keith is a Vermont Journeyman plumber. His hobbies include hunting, fishing and hiking.
- Aldrich General Store in North Haverhill wants to remind everyone about their monthly Meat Packages. Stock up on an assortment of meats at an unbelievable price! Check out their packages at their WEB site at www.aldrichgeneralstore.com and click on the Meat Packages tab or stop by the store!
- Merchant's Bank wishes to remind folks about their Health Savings Account calculators which can help you calculate the value of your HSA over time. Check out the calculators at http://bit.ly/2g34TEE
- The Newbury Health Clinic is pleased to announce a new 6-week medical weight management program using hypnotherapy and mindfulness. The class will run from January 3 through February 27. The cost is $150 which will include materials. Please call (802) 866-3000 for more information.
- 4 Corners Farm in South Newbury has announced that their farm stand is officially closed for the season. However, they want to remind folks that raw milk will still be for sale every day at the cow barn!
- Stagecoach Transportation Services wants to remind everyone about their ride planning tool available at http://stagecoach-rides.org/ . Just type in your Start Location, Departure Time and Destination and find out just how easy it is to get around the area using Stagecoach's services!
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