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Welcome New Members
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Cabins of Laurel Heights
Mary & Dudley Anderson
290 Granny Shepard Dr, Mars Hill
689-3033
Cabin rentals
Tree Craft Log Homes, Inc
Don Fosson
PO Box 34, Mars Hill
689-2240
www.treecraft.net
Manufacturer & builder of log homes
Wake Robin Farm Breads
Gail Lunsford
472 Teague Rd., Marshall
683-2902
Home made breads and baked goods
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Stresing Art Gallery
Lou & Earl Stresing
371 Hamburg Rd, Mars Hill
689-4213
Art Gallery, paintings, sculpture, glass art
Gabriel's Nest Vacation Rental
SueAnn Foster
107 Gardenside Lane, Mars Hill
689-5908
Vacation Rental, year round
Zuma Coffee Shop
Joel Fnedman
10 S. Main St, Marshall
649-1617
Great coffee, baked goods, sandwiches
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Business of the Month
February D.A.M. Enterprises, Doug Mackenzie, Marshall
March Café Nostalgia, Debbie Turner, Mars Hill
April Hot Springs Health Program
Business Help
Counseling for Small Business Owners
From A-B Tech
Personal appointments
Monday-Friday, 8:30am-4:30pm
Call 254-1921, Ext 5850
Dues & Taxes
Chamber dues, as well as taxes, are due April 15th! This is your last notice if you expect to be in the annual Chamber of Commerce Business Directory. We still have nearly 50 members who have not returned their dues notice to Ruth Boylan. After April 15th Ruth will start the final compiling of material for the Business Directory. If the Chamber doesn't have your dues money, it can't include you in the directory and we can't help promote you. The public looks forward to the annual Business Directory and uses it! Many people tell us they use Directory instead of the telephone book for numbers, addresses, and where to find what you sell. But there's good news! Unlike the IRS, the Chamber will grant you a one week extension this year with no penalty! So get that check in the mail now!
E-Commerce
What's the best seller on the Chamber web site -wwww.madisoncounty-nc.com ? Your business is the most popular item. Most of the people who visit the web site click on the Business Directory. Last year we had over 175,500 hits! That's a lot of visitors and a lot of people learning about your business. Hopefully, they are linking to your site and supporting your business. The Chamber's objective in maintaining a web site is to help market Madison County and to promote you and your business. Give us suggestions on how we can better serve you through the web site. Send your suggestions to our web master, Jennifer Hott at 689-9351. or madisonchamber@main.nc.us
Buy Local - Support Madison County
The Madison County Farmers Market re-opened for a new season on April 13th. The Market features locally grown fruits and veggies and locally made products. What a great way to support local farmers and crafters.. and keep the money in the county. The Market is located on Highway 213 across the college tennis courts and is open on Saturday mornings. For more information contact the Gail Lunsford, Market Manager at 683-2902.
Lost? Need A Map?
The Chamber is pleased to announce the upcoming publication of 10,000 folding maps covering every road in Madison County, as well as numerous other special interest areas. The map will be full-color, totally up-to-date, measure 24”x 36” and feature beautifully designed front and back covers. The roads will be indexed and there will be large insets of Hot Springs, Marshall, and Mars Hill. Wow! And there's more! But you're thinking how much is this going to cost me? The Chamber is offering the maps for early sale to its members for $2.50 or half the retail value. Buy 50 maps and you get 1) your business location on the map as a point of interest, 2) an area to stamp your business name on the front cover of your maps, and 3) an ad that runs for three years which is the average life span for this type map. And you can actually find your way around the county! For more information contact the Chamber at 689-9351.
New County Attractions
“Old Farm Plow Day” has created interest about Madison County from all over the country. Country Magazine recently featured an article about old time plowing with mules and horses in Madison County. Over 150 calls have come into the Madison County Visitors Center from across the country and several calls from Canada and as far away as Germany. This is truly “Agro-Tourism” when people will drive for several days to see a draft horse pull a plow through a Madison County field! Come see for yourself - Saturday, April 27th 9:30am till dark on Walnut Creek Road, Marshall. For information or directions contact Jerry Hunter at 649-2170.
Welcome to Madison County!
Construction on the I-26 Welcome Center in Madison County will begin this Spring! Stan Hyatt of North Carolina DOT reports that construction of the 5,500 square feet building will begin soon. It will probably take a year to complete the building and the other facilities on the 20-acre rest area site. McCarroll Construction is the contractor for the Welcome Center which will open when the interstate opens in the summer of 2003.
New Home for H.S.H.P.
The Hot Springs Health Program has a new $3.6 million facility, the Mashburn Medical Center, just off the by pass in Marshall. John Graeter, Executive Director says, “the new facility will greatly benefit the community by being able to provide a variety of improved services for Madison County”. The new facility replaces the old Marshall-Walnut clinic and has space for the administrative staff previously located in Mars Hill. The facility employs 60 people including the medical staff, hospice, and home care professional. Graeter noted that there is space for new services, physical therapy, and mobile units now in Marshall. The Hot Springs Health Program also has medical clinics in Mars Hill, Laurel, and Hot Springs.
Annual Chamber Scholarship Award
The annual Chamber Scholarship will be awarded later this spring by the Education Committee. Anyone interested in being considered for the $500 scholarship award should contact Debbie Capps at 689-2667 or pick up an application at A-B Tech in Marshall.
Scholarship Fund
Two years ago Chamber members donated over $5,000 to establish the Chamber Scholarship Program to help a deserving Madison County resident to continue their education. While we were able to establish the Endowment Fund we were not able to reach our goal of $10,000 which would provide the necessary funding to award $500 annually from just the interest. The Fund is managed by the North Carolina Community Foundation. The Education Committee is again appealing to all our members to make a contribution to bring the fund balance up to $10,000. “I urge everyone to write a check to the fund and send it to the Chamber now. You'll be glad you did and so will many future college students in this county”, says Debbie Capps, Chair of the Education Committee..
Scholars Recognition
The annual Scholars Banquet will be held May 14 at the Pittman Dining Hall at Mars Hill College. Each year the event grows with the recognition of more Madison High School youth as North Carolina Scholars. Last year we had 50 students recognized. There were over 200 students, parents, teachers, and Chamber attending last year. The program which will begin at 8:30am will feature an address by a prominent WNC educator. “I hope all Chamber members will make an effort to attend this ceremony. The Chamber is proud of our scholars and this is an ideal way for us to express our appreciation to them”, says Chamber President Larry Peek. To make a reservation contact Debbie Capps at 689-2667.
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Customer Service
“To keep customers happy, put yourself in the other person's shoes!”
- by Pat Groce
…..10 Easy Things to do to improve your business ….
1. Every customer gets a hello and a goodbye! It's common courtesy. People love it when someone says hello. Goodbye requires a little more caring and passion. If you say goodbye to customers as they leave, they're more likely to come back.
2. Establish a friendly first-name basis! A name is the sweetest sound to anyone's ear. If you say “thank you” with it, that's all the better.
3. Listen, listen, listen! That is one of the secrets to success. Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly, so you truly have to listen.
4. Communicate clearly! It's the back half of listen. You have to communicate so you don't have any windows of miscommunications open.
5. Be neat, clean, and fit! Everyone likes an environment conducive to business. It reflects on you and your business.
6. Be prompt and professional! Tardiness is a lack of discipline. Don't disrespect anyone's time. It's hard to seize the day if someone's messing with it.
7. Be positive! Life has a way of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you go at something as if you can't fail, most times you won't.
8. Extend compliments! When you feel better about yourself and the world, you're more apt to give an encouraging word to someone.
9. Have Fun! Most people don't, so it's a commandment. It's easy to be caught up in the drudgery of work. Try to make it fun. It's contagious.
10. Do it now! If you wait until tomorrow to use what you learned today, you're two steps late.
By Pat Groce: national known author and motivation specialist. “exceed expectations, give a little extra, and always surprise the customer”.
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