October 29, 2012

The American Red Cross needs blood, and the drive continues tomorrow Tuesday October 30 at the Christensen Center. From 12.30-6.30. No appointments necessary. Please bring your Red Cross donor card or a photo ID. 

The Emmet County Historical Society is hosting its annual meeting on November 2 with the theme 'Stories of Emmet County.' The evening includes dinner ($10) and a talk about Jesse James' visit and other early Emmet County history. Please click here for details.

The transition from Pamida to Shopko is underway! The store was closed last week but parts of the store are now being open in phases until Shopko fully opens on November 19! The grand opening is November 29 - be sure to head to Shopko in the coming weeks as the new store unfolds!

Our annual TUBACHRISTMAS event is part of the November 29 festivities. If you or someone you know plays the tuba and would like to be part of our event please share this information. Online registration is here.

Woody's Pizza's Annual Charity Night is November 3 from 7-11pm. They are still looking for donated items, so please contact Becca Bates at 712-209-3619. Money raised will help pay expenses for selected individuals in Emmet County with a degenerative disease. Please click HERE for more information.

Be sure to keep adding your events to Estherville's online community calendar! Any community member can submit an event, so be sure to check out the events calendar here. Bookmark this and be an active contributor so people in and out of town can find out what's happening in the Estherville area.

Estherville Blood Drive
10/30/2012

Estherville Trick or Treat Night
10/30/2012

Trunk or Treat
10/31/2012

Youth Dance by the UMYF
11/02/2012

48th Annual Meeting: Stories of Emmet County
11/02/2012

Woody's Charities Annual Auction
11/03/2012

United Methodist Church Bazaar
11/06/2012

Jazz Fest Concert
11/07/2012

Holiday Parade of Lights & Chocolate Walk
11/15/2012

Winter Nights, Holiday Lights and TUBACHRISTMAS
11/29/2012

For the full events calendar, please click HERE.

We urge all Chamber businesses to share this biweekly update with colleagues. With only one main contact for our member communication it may not always go to the person who can read it so if you have anyone who wants to sign up please click this link to register for news!

Don't forget to register for our annual Parade of Lights! We'd love to see many businesses and organizations get creative with lights and enter a float in the parade, which is 7pm on Thursday November 15. You can register online, so please click HERE to register. Forms are also available in the Chamber office. We can't wait to see all the great parade entries this year!

Register now for our 2012 holiday events! Thursday November 15 is our annual Parade of Lights and Chocolate Walk and Thursday November 29 is the new Winter Nights, Holiday Lights event (replacing Snow Globes) from 5-7pm! We'd love our businesses to take part in both events!

The evening of the 15th is our traditional Chocolate Walk from 4-7pm followed by the Parade of Lights down Central and tree lighting in Library Square by Santa Claus! This is a great time to have your open houses so shoppers can get a great start on their holiday shopping.

The November 29th event is slightly different than in previous years - we are not doing Snow Globes this year but instead will have a window decorating contest with the community voting for their favorite businesses. This is the first night for Santa House, and we'll have wagon rides, carolers and our TUBACHRISTMAS players throughout the town so it will be a very festive evening! 

The participation cost is just $25 for both nights, or $15 for one. We'd love to have the town in total holiday mode during both these events so please register today HERE.

Be sure not to miss next month's Business After 5 event at Holiday Express! The company has been in business since 1969 and employs 115 people! Holiday Express has 43 company drivers and 24 owner operators and has been named the Hormel "Spirit of Excellence" award winner 15 consecutive years! They've accumulated 50 million accident free miles and are definitely a key employer in the Estherville Area.

The team at Holiday Express is excited to host Business After 5 next month and will show everyone how their satelite communication with the trucks work during the evening. Click HERE for the BA5 invitation - see you there!

Part of the new estherville.org website is a great benefit for members - a free website! The 'traffic catcher site' is a great way to make sure your business gets found online as often as possible. To get your site up and running, please LOGIN to www.estherville.org and click REQUEST OPTIMIZATION. A few businesses have already done this - check out their sites: Houseman Oil, First Presbyterian Church and Estherville Aviation. If you need your login info click the 'forgot password' on the login page and choose your own password. If you have any issues please call us. These sites are free, easy to set up (our website company helps you!) and are a great online tool for potential business for you!

The Estherville Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking expressions of interest for its Board of Directors. The Board is comprised of 9 positions, each serving a three-year term. The Board meets on a monthly basis. Any Chamber member in good standing is eligible for election to the board of directors. There are no limits on the number of terms a board member can serve.

Please complete this form to express your interest in becoming a Chamber board member. An election will take place in the December board meeting.

Our Ambassadors have been out and about again, this month visiting new Emmet County Conservation naturalist Jenna Pollock and new stylist Tessa Bernholtz at Cutting Edge salon.  

Save the date! Our Annual Banquet will be held on Thursday January 17. We are already busy planning a great evening so we'll be in touch in the coming weeks with more detail!