February 2019 Chamber Newsletter
A Word from the Director
We are just wrapping up our 2019 Membership Renewal campaign and would like to thank all of our members who have sent in their membership dues.  We also extend a special heartfelt thanks to those businesses who generously provided us additional sponsorship dollars to assist with various events and initiatives.

As the Board of Directors and I work this weekend to plan the Chamber's year, we will be basing our budget on the anticipated membership dues we expect to receive.  If you have not yet returned your membership form and dues, please do so as soon as possible.  Some businesses have forewarned us that due to budget cycles, bookkeeping processes, etc., their payment will be delayed.  If this is the case for you (or if you need to delay your membership renewal for any reason), please let us know.  As long as we know the dues are forthcoming, we can include them in our budget planning.  

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to an eventful and productive 2019.

 

Erik Volk
Executive Director
Upcoming Events
Lo ts of events are occurring throughout our region!  Below is a summary of some of these  ev ents but please visit our WEB site for a full listing and further details about any of the events listed below.  If you have any events you would like added to our calendar, please use our "self-serve" option to add them.  From the main page of our WEB site, click Community Calendar>Submit an Event .

  • February 21 - Paint & Sip, Village Eclectics, Bradford, VT
  • February 22 - Movie Night, Fairlee Public Library, Fairlee, VT
  • February 23 - Penny Sale, Horse Meadow Senior Center, North Haverhill, NH
  • February 23 - Mardi Gras Party, Fairlee Town Hall, Fairlee, VT
  • February 23 - Jester Jigs Band, Room 111, Woodsville, NH
  • February 28 - VBSR Networking Events, The Space on Main, Bradford, VT
  • March 2 - Haverhill Rec Penny Sale, Clifford Building, Woodsville, NH
  • March 2- Church Supper, United Methodist Church, North Haverhill, NH
  • March 7 - Chris Comeau & 25 Junction, Peyton Place, Orford, NH
  • March 8 - Annual Paddlers Gathering, Hulbert Outdoor Center, Fairlee, VT
  • March 8 - Almost Maine, Haverhill Coop Middle School, North Haverhill, NH
  • March 9 - Shine Your Light! Show, Bradford Academy, Bradford, VT
  • March 14 - Pi(e) Day Dinner Buffet Fundraiser, Court Street Arts, Haverhill, NH
  • March 14 - AliT at Peyton Place, Peyton Place, Orford, NH
  • Mrach 15-16 - Bob's Date and 10 Ways Auditions, Bradford, VT
  • March 18 - St. Paddy's Day Party, Room 111, Woodsville, NH
  • March 19 - Advance Directives Workshop, Orange East Senior Center, Bradford, VT
  • March 21 - Will Gardner, Peyton Place, Orford,NH
  • March 22 - Teen Night, Clifford Building, Woodsville, NH
  • March 22-23 - Pine Auditions, Old Church Theater, Bradford, VT
  • March 23 - Panther Vale Studium Generale, The Space on Main, Bradford, VT
  • April 6 - MEGA Spring Meltdown Gaming Weekend, Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT
  • April 6- Sessions Americana, Court Street Arts, Haverhill, NH
  • April 11 - The Little Mermaid, Woodsville High School, Woodsville, NH
  • April 18 - The Rough and Tumble, The Space on Main, Bradford,VT
 
Click here to view our full calendar listing! 
2018 Annual Meeting Notes

Our 2018 Annual Meeting on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 was a great success with approximately 100 attendees present who were served a delicious dinner buffet by Court Street Arts in the historic Alumni Hall in Haverhill Corner, NH.  After some fun trivia and a recap of the Chamber's accomplishments in 2019, John Antonucci of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce presented an inspirational presentation on Entrepreneurship and Economic Development.  Attendees were then treated to a showing of the 2018 48 Hour Film Slam's Winning Film " The Friendliest Game" by Team Malone!  The Business of the Year Award was then presented to Copeland Furniture by Nancy Jones.  Copeland was honored for being a continual contributor to our area  communities, a valued and responsive area employer and an environmentally sensitive corporate citizen.  The Citizen of the Year award was then presented to Monique Priestley by Larry Coffin for her endless contributions to, leadership in and energy for so many local and regional organizations and initiatives as well as for her founding of The Space on Main in Bradford, VT. The evening wrapped up with Board Member recognition and the drawing for $200 in "Cohase Cash" to be spent at area businesses.  Richard Roderick of the Wells River Action Program (and also an individual Chamber member) was the lucky winner!  The Antique Rose donated the beautiful centerpieces which attendees were allowed to take home!

The Annual Meeting was sponsored by Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, Odell Insurance and WYKR/Puffer Broadcasting.

To view the 48 Hour Film Slam winning film (and other Film Slam films), click here.
 
A Very Successful QuickBooks Workshop!
We were very pleased to start off the new year with two QuickBooks workshops presented by Community Capital of Vermont held at The Space on Main in Bradford, Vermont on Thursday, January 24, 2019. Both sessions were completely full and we have a waiting list for those interested in attending a future session.  If you missed these workshops but are still interested and are not already on the waiting list, please let us know.  This valuable workshop was free for Chamber members and $20/session for non-members.  The morning session was an Introduction to QuickBooks and covered the Chart of Accounts; Creating Customers, Invoices and Receiving Payments; Creating Vendors, Entering Bills, Making Payments and Printing Checks; and the Check Register.  The afternoon session was devoted to Reconciliation, Taxes and Reporting.  Community Capital of Vermont provided laptops for all students as well as a comprehensive Student Manual for all attendees. Students came from all over the Cohase region and beyond.  The event was sponsored by Odell Insurance and Community Capital of Vermont. To learn more about what  Community Capital of Vermont does and the resources they offer, please click here.
Member News
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  • The Wells River Wellness Hall in Wells River, Vermont held their Grand Opening on February 1, 2019.  The Hall currently houses Rising Spirit Yoga, Kelsey Root Health Coaching & Reiki, Indulge in You Massage, Newbury Family Counseling Services and Allison Andrews LiCSW.   To learn more about this new community space, please click here.

  • Did you know that Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank offers a group travel program called Guaranty Tours?  Upcoming tours include Ohio Amish Country, Canadian Rockies & Wild West Adventures , Lighthouses & Lobsters and more.  To learn more about their travel program, contact Erica Perkins at (603) 747-2735 or email tours@theguarantybank.  Click here for more information and downloadable brochures and forms!

  • Colatina Exit in Bradford, Vermont recently announced that their Upstairs Dining Room and Bar will now be open at 12 PM on Saturday and Sunday!  Join them on the weekend and check out their brunch specials!  Click here to see more about their new menus and hours.

  • The Bank of New Hampshire was recently featured in an article in the Laconia Daily Sun featuring an interview with President & CEO Paul J. Falvey and highlighted the dramatic growth the bank has experienced in recent years.  Click here to read the article. 
  • Wells River Savings Bank has announced that due to declining participation, a change in focus from the March of Dimes organization from local walks to digital contributions, and limited local March of Dimes resources, they have decided to discontinue the local March of Dimes Walk they have sponsored since 1992.  However, the bank has not lost their focus on helping families with childhood diseases and will now be putting their efforts into supporting the Jazzy's Children Fund and putting on a local event to raise funds for them. For more information on Jazzy's Children Fund, please click here.
  • The Old Church Theater in Bradford, VT would like to encourage community folks to take part in one of their upcoming productions.  If you are looking for a creative outlet, come participate!  Auditions for Bob's Date and 10 Ways To Survive the Zombie Apocalypse are happening on March 15 & 16.  Even if you are not interested in acting, help is always needed with set design, costumes, publicity and so many other areas!  For more information about upcoming shows, auditions and volunteer opportunities, click here.
  • A recent article in the Valley News covered the increase in smaller venues for live performances including Court Street Arts in Haverhill Corner, NH.  Click  here to read the article.
  • An assortment of Vermont legislators and community leaders including Senate President Tim Ashe who joined people from all over Vermont at The Space on Main in Bradford on February 20th to discuss Rural Economic Development and Innovation. Many topics were discussed including coworking, makerspaces, entrepreneurship, village center development, housing, broadband and much more. Click here to see what other exciting events are upcoming at The Space!
  • Community Bank NA was recently named by Forbes magazine as the third in the nation for financial performance in a study analyzing 10 key metrics. Click here to see the Forbes rankings.
Business News of Interest

New Hampshire
  • The New Hampshire Senate Finance Committee recently held hearings on two bills that could allow Chambers of Commerce and other groups to offer Association Health Plans to their members which is currently prohibited by state law.  Read more about this issue which could have a large effect on small NH employers by clicking here.
  • The House Labor Committee recently heard testimony, which was overwhelmingly in favor of raising the state's minimum wage and it looks like such a change will likely occur. Currently, the state's minimum wage remains at the Federal minimum wage of $7.25/hr.  For more information about this testimony and issue, click here.
  • New Hampshire's North Country is projected to have the lowest job growth rate in the state at just .9% Projections through 2026 were recently released by the Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau.  The fastest growing areas are projected to be the Manchester and Seacoast regions.  To see the full report, click here.

Vermont
  • The Vermont Department of Taxes is warning employers and employees that beginning in 2019, employees may wish to pay more attention to the newly updated W-4VT form.  Because Vermont has deviated from the federal calculation for withholding, relying on existing withholding amounts may not be sufficient.  For more information click here.
  • Could blimps be in Vermont's future for rural cell coverage?  That was one of two proposals received by the Department of Public Service in response to an August request for "creative solutions" to the lack of cell coverage issue in rural areas.  Check out VT Digger's article on the topic by clicking here.
  • A recent Vermont Small Business Survey shows that business owners' attitudes towards the Vermont economy have become increasingly more ambivalent over the last four years while the optimism in the US as a whole has improved.  To see a summary of the survey results, click here.
  • The State of Vermont has formed a new rural broadband partnership with Microsoft to improve access to computer science education and boost access to broadband service in rural areas. To read more about this partnership, click here.