November 15, 2006
MASON IN MOTION UPDATE
Mid-Month Supplement to the Monthly “Mason in Motion” Newsletter
Mason Area Chamber of Commerce
148 E. Ash Street, Mason, MI 48854
Phone 517-676-1046 - Fax 517-676-8504
ARCHIVE: OCTOBER M-I-M UPDATE SEPTEMBER M-I-M UPDATE AUGUST M-I-M UPDATE
Mason Holiday Celebration is on November 24 -- Friday, November 24 is the day after Thanksgiving and that afternoon and evening we’ll have our annual Mason “Hometown U.S.A.” Holiday Celebration. Dart Container Corporation is again the presenting sponsor of the events. The popular evening lighted parade and lighting of the community’s Christmas tree are only two of the many events slated. We also encourages you to help with the day’s and evening’s events by volunteering. You can contact us at (517) 676-1046 or at masonchamber@masonchamber.org by e-mail. The lighted parade steps off at 6:45 p.m. and proceeds to downtown Mason. The route is Mason Street to Columbia to State to Maple. The parade then circles the Courthouse by turning left on Jefferson, Ash, Barnes and Maple Street before stopping on in the 100 block of west Maple. Before the parade steps off, the Christmas tree on the Courthouse Square will be lit at 6:30 p.m. by Doug Williams in his role as the Chamber’s 2006 Citizen of the Year. Also downtown near the tree before the parade are a welcome by City of Mason mayor Leon Clark, vocal music, the Mason High School Santa Band, and more. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive with the parade and then meet up with the Mason Area Historical Society members who will take them back over to the Mason Historical Museum on Oak Street to meet children and continue the fun over there. Also, a living nativity will be presented downtown on the Courthouse Square by several area churches following the parade. The day’s activities actually begin much earlier in the afternoon sponsored by the Cobblestone Events Center in the Mason Antiques District. Features include music, singing, storytelling, contests, free refreshments, and family entertainment. Marines will have Toys for Tots collection stations located both there and downtown. The events there begin with a community tree decorating contest at 2:30 p.m., now open to all groups, families, businesses, and organizations in the area. Proceeds from a “drop your dollar” vote for best tree will be going to Angel House. Forms and information on the tree contest, parade and other parts of the event are on the Chamber’s website at www.masonchamber.org or call (517) 676-1046.
Get Ready for the December Mixer Holiday Party -- On Thursday evening December 7th, be sure to come on over to the Ingham County Fairgrounds Community Building. There you’ll enjoy a fun Holiday Party – the Chamber’s biggest mixer event – from 5 to after 8 PM. We expect about 250 people this year. It is a great time to greet all your friends and neighbors in the community and wish them the happiest of holidays. We’ll enjoy the delightful live holiday music from harpist Kelly Yoakam, the wonderful food of the “Taste of Mason” provided by 14 area restaurants and caterers, door prizes, silent auction, and live auction item values. The December “Mason In Motion” Newsletter will list all of the auction items in a detailed catalogue. Just make sure the party is on your calendar today!
First Mason Class Day is on November 18 -- Mason merchants are promoting their first “Class Day” on Saturday, November 18th from 8 a.m. to after 2 p.m. These fun craft and other classes and workshops are offered throughout the day in various locations. The current schedule is online at
http://www.masonchamber.org/class.htm .
2007 Board of Directors Named -- The Chamber Board will have five brand-new members this coming year. The 13-member Board will also retain two members who were serving out the unexpired terms of past board members. The Chamber elected five individuals to three-year terms that begin on January 1, 2007 and end on December 31, 2009. The other two will serve one-year and two-year terms respectively. At their November meeting, the Chamber Board certified the election of Tom Botsford of EAA Chapter 55, Joe Dean of the City of Mason, Lance Delbridge of Mason Public Schools, Neil Kentner of Ingham County Fair, and Phil Preston of Gestamp U.S. HardTech. Also elected to the 2007 MACC Board of Directors for full terms are current board members Kim Gorrell of B-Dry Systems and Robin King of Independent Bank. Separate from the election, the Chamber board also selected Bob Warnke of Mason State Bank to serve the remainder of a resigning Board member’s term through 2007. George Hayhoe of CAPEX Land Company, Jim Harvey of Mason Public Schools, Tom Schroeder of Mason State Bank, Donna Graham of Gestamp U.S. Hard Tech, and Pat Weiler of Dart Container Corporation will be retiring from the Board at the end of this year. Other Chamber board members continuing in 2007 are Dan Schlattman of Daniel J. Schlattman CPA PC, Jeff Oesterle of Oesterle Farms, Mark Howe of Dart Bank, Jamie Robinson of Darrell’s Market & Hardware, and Kathy Smith of ServiceMaster Clean.
MACC Distributes Fourth E-mail Bulletin – This “Mason in Motion Update” bulletin is being sent to those who have e-mail addresses registered with the Mason Area Chamber of Commerce as Chamber members, associates of Chamber members, and Chamber stakeholders. To be removed from this list, do NOT reply to this e-mail. Instead, please send a new e-mail with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line to masonchamber@masonchamber.org.
Committee Meetings -- The Economic Development Committee will meet on Thursday, November 16th at 8 AM and the Membership Services Committee will meet on that same Thursday morning right after them at 9:30 AM. The MACC Raffle & Party Committee will then meet immediately after Membership Services at about 10 AM. The Holiday Celebration (Tree Lighting, Parade, etc.) Committee will have their last meeting at 6 PM on that same Thursday, November 16th in the Chamber office. The Hometown USA Committee will have a meeting on Tuesday, November 21st at 11 AM in the Chamber office. The MACC Awards Committee will meet on Wednesday November 22nd at 9:30 AM in the Chamber office to make their recommendations to the Executive Committee from nominations received.
Businesses Invited to Have Museum Display – Randy Gladstone of the Mason Area Historical Society tells us they have six “wall cases” at the Museum that are 22” x 36” in size. They would like to display materials from the history of current businesses that have been in the Mason area 50+ years, regardless of changing ownership. Contact Randy at 676-9090 or info@masonmuseum.com. The first six businesses get the exposure!
Chris Colligan Family Fundraiser on December 3 -- Many within our community knew Chris Colligan, especially through his recent work for the City of Mason. He died September 23rd of this year when he was assisting a stranded motorist and was hit by a drunk driver. You are invited to participate in a fundraiser for the Colligan family. The event is scheduled for Sunday, December 3, 2006 from 11:00 AM until 8:00 PM. The event is being held at the Mason Bowling Center located at 801 North Cedar Street, south of the intersection of US-127 and Cedar Street in Mason. The Bowl-A-Thon starts at 11:00 AM. There will also be bumper bowling for the little ones. Anyone can participate with the Bowl-A-Thon. The Chamber office has copies of the form to use and bring with you. There are to be raffles and auctions through the day. This event has been organized by Chris Colligan’s City of Mason friends and colleagues to assist his family: Joan Colligan and four daughters Lexi (12), Nikki (10), Natalie (5) and Lizzi (4). Santa will be at this event for a few hours to have photo's taken with the young ones. There will be a small fee charged which will be donated towards the Colligan fund. There will be six to eight bands playing through the day in the "City Limits" restaurant, connected to the bowling alley. You will be able to hear a variety of music and eat lunch or dinner. A percentage of the meals and drink that you purchase goes toward the Colligan fund. If you would like to make a direct contribution, that is most welcome. If you would like to participate by donating raffle items or silent auction items, that would also be welcome. You can purchase items that can be used for the raffle, provide gift cards for auction and gifts, or if you have tickets to sporting events or theater tickets, they make for great silent auction items. Most importantly, just show up Sunday, December 3rd and participate in some of the activities, relax and have some fun. Consider this event as a great opportunity for sharing in a positive setting to enrich all our lives in Mason while we help out those within our community. Call City Hall at 676-9155 for more details.
Office and Other Reminders – GET YOUR NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2007 CHAMBER AWARDS IN TO US IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS! The Chamber office will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 23rd and 24th for Thanksgiving, although staff will be working that Friday on the Holiday Celebration. The Executive Committee meeting for December will be on Wednesday, December 6th at 9:30 AM and the Board of Directors meeting for December will be on Friday, December 8th at 7:30 AM.
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