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Bend Chamber
Weekly
November 14, 2008
By Courtney Linville, Communications Coordinator
This Week's
Highlights
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Bend
named as “Kid-Friendly” place
Bend was recently named as one of the best places to
raise kids in 2009 by Business Week magazine.
The magazine had several criteria for communities
across the country. Towns were selected by having at
least 50,000 residents and median incomes between
$40,000 and $100,000. From there the list was
narrowed down by number of schools, school
performances, crime rates, air quality, family
income, museums, parks, and much more.
While there were many towns that met the criteria,
above all Business Week tried to focus on areas that
were affordable for families.
Bend is listed as a community with a median income of
$62,868 and a population of 69,349. Here’s the
information provided about Bend. “The mountain town,
on the eastern edge of the Cascade Range on the
Deschutes River, is a popular destination for
adventure tourists. Popular outdoor sports here
include hiking, camping, rafting, fishing, skiing,
and rock climbing.”
Runners up for Oregon include Hillsboro and
Springfield. Other Northwest towns included as
“kid-friendly” places were Billings, Montana; Boise,
Idaho; Bellevue, Washington; and Casper, Wyoming.
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Public Memorial
service for Councilor Bill Friedman
A public memorial service will be held for City
Councilor Bill Friedman at Farewell Bend Park on
Saturday, November 15 at 1 p.m. Friedman died at St.
Charles Medical Center in Bend on November 9. He was
72 years old.
In accordance to Bill's wishes, an open microphone will
be available to guests. Guests are also encouraged
to bring food and beverages to share with others if
they wish.
Farewell Bend Park is on the east side of the Deschutes
River, adjacent to the Bill Healy Memorial Bridge.
Parking is available on the west side of the river
and guests can either walk across the old logging
road or use the shuttle service which will be
provided.
Please note: The memorial will be held outdoors so
dress accordingly. Seating will be limited. Those
needing special accommodations are asked to contact
Patty Stell at 388-5517.
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Last chance to jump in the
Directory!
Today is the deadline to reserve your space for the
2009 Buyers Guide and Business Directory. If you
want exceptional branding exposure to the community,
this is the place to be! The Directory is the
premier business Who’s Who for Bend. It is hand
delivered to the area businesses by the Ambassador
Council and mailed to all our home based businesses
and individual members.
The Directory is also included in all the relocation
packets we send out to people looking to move to the
area as well as distributed to key locations
throughout Central Oregon to gain maximum exposure
for our members. There are a few advertising spaces
left as of this publication and today is the
deadline to reserve your space so do not delay. If
you have been riding the fence, now is the time to
jump and remember…we have a fabulous graphic artist
in our office to help expedite the creation of your
ad if you don’t have something already prepared.
Call Ann at 382-3221 for more information.
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Sponsorship Opportunities
Still Available for the Holiday Party of the year!
The Chamber is doing things a bit differently this
year to help its member businesses with more
exposure opportunities. If your business is food
related, please contact Gayle for information on how
you can showcase your product to what we anticipate
to be a sold out house of 685 people at this year’s
event.
The Chamber is looking for several different
restaurants/caterers to be involved, but space is
not unlimited so call ASAP. We are also still
looking for a facility sponsor to help defray the
cost of the facility. This can be one business or
several working together.
Again, this is a great exposure opportunity for your
business. You will also be listed in the January
Business Journal on the big layout covering the
party as well as exposure at the event itself, on
our Web site, etc. For further details, call Ann at
382-3221. |
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Ever thought of being a
Title Sponsor for a Chamber event?
2009 may be your golden opportunity! Historically
our title sponsorship rolls are filled for years on
end, thus excluding others from the chance to step
up to that opportunity. With the changing economic
climate, that may not be the case this year. If
something has piqued your interest in the past, call
Ann at 382-3221 to discuss what is available and to
get on a waiting list for the event(s) you would
like to have opportunity to look at just in case the
existing title sponsor makes a change.
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In the news
New mortgage aid program launched: Federal
officials and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced a
new mortgage aid program to help homeowners. The
plan, unveiled earlier this week, would allow
borrowers to have reduced interest rates or longer
loan terms to help make payments affordable. To
qualify, borrowers would need to be at least three
months behind on their mortgage, and owe 90 percent
or more on their homes. Investors are not included
in this package. However, MSNBC reports this plan
only applies to loans that are owned or guaranteed
by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two mortgage
giants only have around 20 percent of the delinquent
loans within the U.S. Some officials feel the plan
should be offered on a wider scale. This new plan
should take effect on December 15.
Governor unveils new transportation plan: On
Monday, Governor Ted Kulongoski revealed a more than
$1 billion transportation plan. The plan would cover
new roads, bridges, and railroads. “Investing in
transportation in tough times sets us up for success
in good times,” Kulongoski said at a press
conference. The initial plan includes a 2-cent gas
tax increase, car title and registration fees would
at least double, and the tobacco tax would increase
by 2.5 cents. On top of that, the governor plans to
borrow $600 million and use at least $16 million in
lottery funds for projects dealing with mass
transit, railroads, and ports. Kulongoski pointed
out in the first five years, his plan should create
at lease 2,100 jobs per year. The governor is also
looking at a pilot program that would charge drivers
for the amount of miles they actually drive versus
the gas they buy.
Economy changes business travel: Many
corporations and businesses have been keeping a
close eye on travel expenditures over the past year.
Forbes recently reported many corporations and
businesses are now looking at cutting back on
travel, renegotiating contracts with hotels, and
looking at other cost cutting measures. According to
the International Air Transport Association, first
and business-class air travel from July 2007 to July
2008 has declined by one percent. Hotel numbers are
also reported to be down anywhere from five to seven
percent in the last year. Forbes stated many
companies are starting to look towards other areas
like web conferencing to replace the need for
travel. |
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Upcoming
Chamber Events
November 18 – Professional Development Series
Luncheon - Poor Time Management: A Ticking Time Bomb.
The results of poor time management include despair,
failure, chronic stress, low productivity, fatigue,
slow advancement in the workplace, anxiety, and
illness. Healthy and successful people tend to be
good time managers. Our presenter, Doug Booster, has
21 years of teaching experience at the college
level, and holds a Masters degree in Health
Education. In 1998, Booster founded ProHealthNet,
Inc., a company specializing in employee-based
wellness programs. During this presentation,
practical time management techniques will be
discussed that will help you become an effective
time manager in both your personal life and on the
job. Please RSVP for this event by noon on November
17 at
www.bendchamber.org. If you have any trouble
signing up please call 382-3221.
November 21 – Town Hall Luncheon – Drawing the line,
an update on the UGB. The expansion of Urban
Growth Boundary takes a look at current and future
services, ramifications to the transit system, and
identifies future neighborhoods, schools, industrial
parks, and commercial centers. The City of Bend is
getting closer to a final solution for the Urban
Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion. What will the final
map look like and how will our community be
affected? Will there be more land available for
employment other than Juniper Ridge? Join fellow
Chamber members and local officials at the Community
Affairs Council Town Hall luncheon as they talk
about the UGB expansion plan. Register online at
www.bendchamber.org.
 December
4 – Bend Chamber’s Holiday Party
The Bend Chamber is getting in the holiday mood
and has opened up registration for its Member
Holiday Party. This event sponsored by the Bend
Radio Group is the biggest party of the year and
fills up quickly! Due to increasing costs, this will
be the first year a small nominal fee of $5 is
charged to attendees. Don’t wait, make sure you sign
up online today, space is limited and
preregistration is necessary. To register go to
www.bendchamber.org/holiday.
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