Oak Harbor Chamber Newsletter

April 2024

Tickets are now available for the Oak Harbor Fireworks Fund Reverse Raffle! You can purchase tickets online by clicking the button below or stop into the Chamber office. We are also looking for donations for our Auction. If you are able to donate, please call or email the office. We appreciate your support to help keep Oak Harbor Fireworks amazing!

The OCIC and Ottawa County Chambers are launching our 2024 Survey for the Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) Program. The BR&E Program is an economic development program that serves existing businesses in a community. In March 2022, we launched our first BR&E survey to kick off the program. Since then, we’ve met with over 50 business owners, providing vital information and resources to assist employers with their expansion and retention needs.

Surveying local employers – new and existing – is part of our on-going economic development plan. In addition to completing the survey, you will automatically be entered into a drawing for $300.00 in Visa gift cards and 2 Experience Ottawa County comp tickets. The drawing will take place after the deadline and will be announced via OCIC’s social media page (the winner will be contacted directly).

We are asking our local businesses to complete this 7-8 minute survey: https://go.osu.edu/OttawaBRE.

All responses are kept confidential. The survey will remain LIVE until May 24, 2024.

To learn more about The Ohio BR&E Program, visit https://comdev.osu.edu/.../business-retention-expansion.

The Oak Harbor Development Group would like to announce their Annual Downtown Flower Program! The goal is to raise money to fund the 33 flowerpots downtown.

For a $50 donation, you can sponsor a downtown flower planter in honor or memory of anyone special in your life, or sponsor as an individual or business. Plaques will display a customized message that will be placed in the planter.

Are you looking for a way to stay up-to-date with the latest social media trends? Do you want to learn how to leverage social media for your business or personal brand? Then mark your calendars for the upcoming one-day social media conference!

This conference, presented by Northern Ohio Area Chambers of Commerce, will bring together experts in the field to share their insights on social media marketing, content creation, and audience engagement. From keynote speeches to interactive workshops, you'll have the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals and gain practical knowledge that you can apply right away.

The Northcoast Social Media Summit will be held on April 18 at Terra State Community College starting at 8:00AM. The summit will bring together experts in the field to share their insights on social media marketing, content creation, and audience engagement. Registration costs $60 for members and $85 for non members. Click the flyer below to register!

The Ottawa County Safety Council and the ASSP Northern Ohio Chapter are proud to host the 1^st TRU Safety Conference held on May 1^st at the Catawba Island Club.

TRU stands for Teach, Review and Understand safety – this includes all aspects of safety. The purpose of this conference is to provide our safety council members, as well as area employees, with valuable information that addresses accident prevention in the workplace and raises awareness among employees for a healthier safety culture. We have a great selection of speakers lined up to discuss health and mental wellness, workplace violence, agricultural safety and more.

Registration is open and will close on April 19. All are welcome to attend this event as safety plays a crucial role in our everyday life.

Statistics show that the "great resignation" is over and job quits have returned to pre-covid levels. Less than 3.5 million workers in the U.S. voluntarily left their positions in 2023, showing that businesses are finding new ways to attract and retain talent. A common challenge for many companies is finding the budget to offer competitive compensation packages that reflect their employees’ value. As a result, many companies are exploring alternate ways of rewarding their employees.