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We would like to express our deepest appreciation to all of our members for their support of the Chamber and, especially, to our Enhanced Investors, some of whom are included below:

Continuous Sponsors   

AFLAC Incorporated; BlueCross BlueShield of Georgia; Columbus Bank and Trust; Columbus Regional Healthcare Systems, Inc.; Georgia Power Company; Sprint; St. Francis Hospital; Synovus Financial Corp.; TSYS; W.C. Bradley Company

Gold Level:

Atmos Energy; Columbus Doctors Hospital; Flournoy Development Company; Carl Gregory Enterprises; Growing Room, Inc.; Bill Heard Chevrolet; Hughston Orthopedic Hospital; Kodak Polychrome Graphics; MeadWestvaco Coated Board, Inc.; PRS Companies; SunTrust Bank; Wachovia

As a not-for-profit organization, the Chamber provides the ideal venue for public-private partnerships to maintain a pro-business region. While we appreciate all of our members, many business leaders recognize the value of investing more than their membership fees in the Chamber’s mission to benefit the region. The Chamber’s Enhanced Investor levels include Continuous, Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Sponsors. 

Our enhanced investors receive Chamber benefits in accordance with the different levels of investments. We would like to have the opportunity to meet with you and discuss the benefits of being an enhanced investor or increasing the sponsor level of your investment. Please contact Tom Scott, Ex. VP, Chamber/Community Development, at 706-327-1566, ext. 45 or tscott@columbusgachamber.com.

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PIE Cookbook on sale for only $15

Do you need a special gift for that "hard to buy for" person? The Partners In Education cookbook is now on sale for a special price of $15.00. Yes, only $15 dollars! The cookbook is sold as a fundraiser for the PIE program with $7.50 going to the school of your choice.

The cookbook has more than 800 great recipes, like Sonoma Turkey Risotto, Squash Souffle and Britleigh's Holiday Punch. There are recipes from all food categories, even a "Rainy-day Fun" section for children.

Call Phyllis Lott at (706) 327-1566 or email at plott@columbusgachamber.com for more information.

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Drugs Don't Work (DDW) Workshop June 28, 9:00-10:00 am Topic: "Reasonable Suspicion-What is It?" by Mark Strunk Location: Chamber, 1200 6th Avenue Cost: $25 members / $40 non-members Reservations: Marie Cordero at mcordero@columbusgachamber.com or 706-327-1566 Closed for Holiday July 4 Chamber will re-open on July 5 Chamber Power Lunch July 14, 12:00-1:30 pm Sponsors: Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Honey Baked Ham Company & Café Location: Columbus State University Elizabeth Bradley Turner Center Program: "Networking within the System" by Mike Neal Media host: Boomer 95.3 Cost: $7 members with reservations by Friday, July 8          $9 members without reservations          $15 non-members Reservations: Crystal Limbaugh at climbaugh@columbusgachamber.com or 706-327-1566 Eye Opener Breakfast July 28, 7:00-8:30 am Location: Columbus Convention and Trade Center Sponsor: Center Pharmacy Program: Columbus Metropolitan Airport Update Cost: $12 members with reservations by Friday, July 22          $15 members without reservations          $30 non-members Reservations: Crystal Limbaugh at climbaugh@columbusgachamber.com or 706-327-1566 Business After Hours Aug. 4, 5:30-7:00 pm Sponsor: Columbus Catfish Location: Golden Park Stadium Media host: B101 Cost: $5 members with reservations by Friday, July 29          $7 members without reservations          $10 non-members Reservations: Crystal Limbaugh at climbaugh@columbusgachamber.com or 706-327-1566 Chamber 2005 Sporting Clay Tournament Aug. 6, 7:30 am-2:00 pm Location: Callaway Gun Club, Hwy. 18, Pine Mountain, GA Description: Registration begins at 7:30 am, First team out at 8:00 am, Last team out at 10:00 am. Awards: Overall High Scorer, High Senior Scorer (55 years and older), High Youth Scorer (18 years and under), High Lady Scorer; Games (additional $5 each): Quick Draw-Grand Prize: H&K shotgun, Long Bird-Grand prize: H&K shotgun, Crazy Card Draw-various prizes awarded. Equipment: Participants are required to bring their own shotgun that is 12 gauge or smaller and use loads of 7.5 or smaller. It is suggested that participants bring a minimum of five boxes of shells for the course. Additional boxes will be needed for the games. Earplugs and safety glasses provided by Safety Sponsor Regent Security. Cost: $150 - 2-person team          $80 - Individual          $5 - Per game Payment must be received by Aug. 1 to be eligible to participate. Entry fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, refreshments and gift. Reservations: Becky Gordon at bgordon@columbusgachamber.com or 706-327-1566

For more listings of Chamber Events please check out the 2005 Chamber Events Calendar (PDF).

Seeking sponsors for Business Expo

The 2005 Business Expo, presented by the Business Expo Committee of the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce, has been set for Thursday, Oct. 6 from 3:30 to 7 p.m. at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center. Sprint is the Grand Sponsor. This year's theme is "It's in the Bag!"

The Chamber is seeking business sponsors for the event now. This event offers many opportunities to network with a broad range of businesses in the community and to meet hundreds of potential customers. Businesses can increase their customer base at the Business Expo by networking with both the attendees and the other vendors that are participating.

No other event brings together such a broad range of businesses to showcase their products and services. People in attendance at the Business Expo include business leaders, business owners and families. These people want to know about the latest products and services being offered in our area. Small and large business owners alike will find this event to be very beneficial to their business.

In addition to these benefits, sponsors can also compete for the best booth award. An example of a prize for this award is a free booth for next year's event. Also, sponsors benefit by the publicity they automatically receive through the Chamber for their participation in the Business Expo. Depending on the sponsorship level they choose, sponsors will be listed on the Chamber's website and also in at least one issue of the Chamber Express newsletter.

Prices for booths range from $100 for not-for-profit organizations and $300 for businesses all the way up to $5,000 for premium level sponsors. The deadline to  reserve your booth is Sept. 23, but booths are being reserved quickly so get yours while you can. Also, businesses that had a booth in the past are eligible for a 10 percent discount if they register before Aug. 15.

For more information about the 2005 Business Expo, please contact Michael Dunbar at mdunbar@columbusgachamber.com or Margaret LaPierre at mlapierre@columbusgachamber.com or call 706-327-1566.

Currently the following businesses have signed up to participate in the Business Expo:

Southern Business and Development magazine has named Columbus as one of the "Ten Great Downtown Waterfront Districts," Winter, 2005. In the article, Southern Business and Development talks about Columbus' signature 15-mile Riverwalk, the Coca-Cola Space Science Center, the Columbus Convention and Trade Center's $35 million expansion, the one million square foot TSYS Campus and the $30 million Columbus State University fine arts campus.

The article notes that Riverfront development is not slowing down. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed a feasibility study of the River Restoration Project. This project will bring whitewater to a 2.3 mile section of the river. The whitewater will be in the vicinity of Columbus' downtown Riverwalk.

Completing the list of top ten waterfront downtown districts was Montgomery, AL, Little Rock, AR, Nashville, TN, Norfolk, VA, Shreveport, LA, Charleston, SC, St. Petersburg, FL, Baltimore, MD, and Chattanooga, TN. According to Southern Business and Development magazine, these cities "know companies are looking for more than just financial incentives when they consider a location- there is a very real 'beauty factor' that can add to quality of life, as well as the bottom line." For more details, visit http://www.sb-d.com/issues/winter2005/features/TenDowntownWaterfront.asp.

(L-R) Janice Crain with Dream Lawn Grass and Putting Greens and Pat Ingram, an account executive at WTVM-TV9, talked about the waterless grass product and how it can be marketed to businesses and housing developments.

Pat Ingram is an account executive at WTVM-TV 9. She is also a consultant for the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce's Professional Consultants Program. As part of this program, she meets with small business owners to help them develop an effective marketing plan. Ingram loves helping business owners grow their businesses.

She explains to business owners the importance of including publicity, advertising, public relations and excellent customer service into a media plan when starting a small business. She believes you represent your company in everything you do and tells clients "marketing begins from the time you get up in the morning."

Ingram recently received a letter commending her on her efforts with the Professional Consultants Program. Janice Crain, owner of Dream Lawn Grass & Putting Greens, wrote a letter stating, "She [Ingram] met with me and shared information very unselfishly regarding my networking and advertising." The letter went on to sing the praises of Ingram, the Professional Consultants Committee and the Chamber.

Crain recently opened her first small business, Dream Lawn Grass & Putting Greens. It is a new concept for the area and she wanted some guidance on how to market this new product. Thanks to Ingram's involvement with the Professional Consultants Committee, she found the guidance she needed. Ingram told Crain about organizations that could help her grow her business and she helped her decide what kind of media plan would best suit her business.

Crain said "Pat took a real interest in my business and its success." Ingram stressed how mutually beneficial joining committees at the Chamber can be-volunteers help the Chamber while also gaining opportunities to promote their businesses. Ingram shared stories with Crain of other small businesses she has assisted. Through these accounts, Crain learned that she was not alone with the stress of starting a new business.

The Professional Consultants Program has been a valuable resource for small business members of the Chamber for several years. Whether someone need answers to specific problems or just wants to bounce an idea off someone who has experience in a particular field, a free one-hour consultation can mean a lot to the owner of a small business.

Click on this link for a list of available consultants. For more information or to make an appointment, contact the Chamber's Small Business Department at 706-327-1566, ext. 28 or fax to 706-327-7512 or e-mail mcordero@columbusgachamber.com.

Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is not a promise for the future-it is here today. As a matter of fact, it has been here for quite a number of years implemented in area businesses. In the first quarter of 2004 the sale of VoIP telephone systems surpassed the sale of legacy PBX and key telephone systems. Industry reports project that VoIP telephone stations will grow from 1.9 million in 2001 to 52 million by 2007.

The initial adoption of IP technology to carry voice came with the creation of business telephone systems that used IP technology to leverage the Ethernet data networks in offices. The existence of LANs that could transmit 100+ Mbps of data lured the telephone (PBX and key system manufacturers) system manufacturers into the data world. Telephone systems that did not need a separate wiring network would save businesses money and make the new systems very attractive from an ROI point of view.

Also, the growing dissatisfaction of business customers with slow, expensive, and cumbersome additions, moves, and changes to telephone systems meant the additional expense of hiring equipment technicians. The path chosen by nearly all the manufacturers was to change the traditional "voice" communication into a "data" communication. In other words, the manufacturers developed systems that captured the speech of the phone users, digitized it, encapsulated it into data packets, and then routed it over the existing LAN network of a customer as if it were a data application. The results were impressive and made business customers delighted with the new technology.

One wiring network instead of two (one for voice and one for the LAN) permitted moves, adds, and configuration changes to be accomplished from a web browser. Physically moving a phone became as simple as unplugging it from one LAN connection and plugging it in to another.

VoIP saves money! One network means fewer technical experts needed. No need for very specialized "telephone system specific" technicians to make changes. And if a business nees to rearrange their office space, just unplug the phones and move them!

Today, VoIP technology has moved out from the business premises implementation and is now available as a Managed or Hosted IP Service. The advantages of moving the VoIP technology from the businesses telephone closet to a managed IP services provider are just as big as the first early advantages.

No more phone lines needed. That's right. You never have to figure out if you need 14 or 15 or 25 or 1,000 phone lines to service your office telephone system. With a Manage IP Voice service, there are no phone lines. Every call to and from every phone is acted upon - no more busy signals (unless you choose to have them).

Your customers will always reach you. This is accomplished because the managed VOIP service will route every incoming call to the exact phone number you want it to go. If any telephone desk set is not operational, e.g., not connected to network or not powered up, the managed service will automatically route the incoming call to a different number (such as your cell phone, another office, your home phone, or to voice mail). This keeps your business running no matter what happens at your physical business location.

No annual maintenance agreements or software license upgrades. With a Managed service you are not constantly upgrading your phone system to the latest software version, the Managed IP system provider maintains their central office equipment, and you receive all the benefits. And you are not constantly having your technicians training on the newest software version in order to execute administration and configuration functions.

The EC/IT (Electronic Commerce / Information Technology) Committee members have been submitting monthly technology articles as part of their mission to assist other chamber members with technology topics, particularly small businesses. If you are interested in being involved in this committee, please contact Michael Dunbar at mdunbar@columbusgachamber.com or 706-327-1566.