FEBRUARY MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Our monthly membership meeting will be held on Thursday February 2nd at 8am at the Mt Airy Fire Hall (corner of Watersville Rd and Main St, park at the rear/lower level and enter through the back doors).
Items on the agenda will include reports from several committees working on new ideas, upcoming business card exchanges, the Business Fair and much more.
The Executive Committee has recently begun work on drawing up some guidelines and procedures for the day-to-day running of the Chamber. President Carol Cahall of The Main Event will speak to this at the meeting. All members are encouraged to get involved in this process!

NEW MEMBER ORIENTATION
Immediately following the 8am Chamber meeting, a new member orientation will be held in the back area of the meeting room.
The Ambassador Committee will provide donuts and juice. Although this is billed as a New Member Orientation, this meeting is open to all members of the Chamber, and will be an opportunity to meet our officers and committee chairs and learn about their roles within the Chamber. We plan to begin our meeting at 9:15am. [Ambassador Committee Chair Ellie Bonde, Blossom & Basket Boutique].

BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGE MONDAY FEBRUARY 6TH
Our next Business Card Exchange will be held February 6th at the Vintage Coffee House from 4-7pm. Michelle, owner of the Vintage Coffee House, will be hosting this event. Ken Matthews of Freedom Carpet Cleaning and Howard LeRoux with Mount Airy Dent Repair and Touch Up will be co-hosting.
We will also need a few Chamber members to provide door prizes. If you have a small gift or something that would promote your business please feel free to bring them as a door prize. I hope to see a great turnout on our first Business Card Exchange of the year. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Social Committee Chairs Ray Miller of the RE/MAX Realty Group at 301-370-3046 or Leslie Brenneman with Costco at 301-644-1484. [Ray Miller]

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS
The first workshop for the Mt. Airy professional development series, "Business Uses of Power Point," is scheduled to be held Tuesday, February 7, 2006, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at Carroll Community College, Room T321, with instructor Alissa Harrington.
There is no charge for Chamber members, $10 for the general public.
The series of seminars is being organized by Marlene Titus of Carroll Community College, chair of our Professional Development Committee. For more information, or to help sponsor a seminar, contact Marlene at 1-888-221-9748 or mtitus@carrollcc.edu

MEMBERSHIP REPORT
Our total for January is 201 members  198 renewals and three associate members (Carroll County Public Library  Mt. Airy Branch, Mt. Airy State Police, and Mt. Airy Volunteer Fire Company), and seven removals from membership.
Renewals are still coming in every day  but for those who have not yet rejoined for 2006: please be aware that Chamber members will receive first access and best discounts for the 2007 Mount Airy Phone Book.
To help save postage money and precious volunteer resources, please renew your membership today! [Membership Chair and Member Emeritus Audrey Stapf].

NEW MEMBERS
We are pleased to welcome the following new members for January:
Skyview Gymnastics, Diane and Rob Floyd, 301-829-7998.
Concetta's Italian Grocer, Judy Turner, 301-829-7571.

BUSINESS FAIR 2006
The 2006 event is scheduled to be held 29th April, 2006 at the Fireman's Activity Grounds on Twin Arch Rd.
Over 30 businesses have signed up so far with tables inside and spaces outside still available.
Costco has donated a Stainless Steel Grill as a grand door prize  and sponsorship opportunities also still exist, so please consider supporting this great event!
For more information, please contact Archie Rogers of Rogers Engraving + Stamps at (301) 663-4311.
We are always looking for volunteers to help with setting up and running the 2006 Business Fair. It's a great way to get involved and meet other Chamber members!

GALA REPORT
What a wonderful success we had at the First Annual Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce Gala Dinner Dance. A hearty THANK YOU to all who attended and to those who worked to make this a fabulous evening! [Gala Committee Chair Paula Wilhelm of Lorien Assisted Living]
Photos of the Gala event can be seen at www.mtairybusiness.com/gala2006.htm

BUSINESS CARD EXCHANGE TUESDAY MARCH 28TH
Plan now to attend our March Business Card Exchange, to be held from 4 to 7pm on Tuesday, March 28th hosted by the Stauffer Funeral Home, Mount Airy.
This event will be co-hosted by the Blossom and Basket Boutique and Knittin Chicks (who are in the process of joining the Chamber), and will feature a large number of tables, allowing individual businesses to set up a small display throughout the afternoon. There will be no cost to display your company's information at this event.
To reserve table space, e-mail Ellie Bonde at blossomandbasket@aol.com. Dalia Schulman has recently retired from the catering business so we are already anticipating the tasty refreshments she has promised to provide! [Ellie Bonde]

GET INVOLVED - JOIN A COMMITTEE!
If you would like to become more involved in Chamber activities, we welcome you to join one of our committees. The list of committees can be seen at www.mtairybusiness.com/leadership.htm
Alternatively, please contact Chamber President Carol Cahall of The Main Event at 30-829-4444, or any of the committee chairs.

E-MAIL LIST
All Chamber members are added to the Yahoo Groups list  mtairybusiness  but anyone wishing to receive just special announcements can contact Keir Knight of Plain English Writing & Design at (301) 829-1982 or klknight @pipeline.com
Use of the Yahoo list is open to all Chamber members. We ask that messages follow the Chamber's mission - "to promote and support local businesses"  general announcements, events and advertising opportunities are all legitimate uses. Direct advertising of an individual business is not.

INFO TO SHARE?
If you have information you would like to share with other Chamber members  either through the monthly newsletter, the Chamber website, or Yahoo e-mail list  please contact Advertising & Marketing Committee Chair Keir Knight of Plain English Writing & Design at (301) 829-1982 or klknight@pipeline.com