The County Chamber is proud to announce another great Value Added Benefit partner – Glacial Energy . Glacial Energy specializes in supplying electricity with discounts as much as 24% below standard utility billing as well as the highest quality service to “A” rated commercial and industrial customers located in 16 deregulated States. Glacial focuses on helping businesses save money on their energy costs and improving their efficiency. There is no load/usage commitment and no long term contracts. Easy enrollment, flexible terms, no interruption, no fee to join, maintain or to exit this exclusive Lorain County Chamber benefit. And you receive the same dependable delivery, maintenance & program benefits you receive now from your local public utility company. Contact George Zajankala at www.glacialsales.com/george.zajankala for more information on how you can save like so many of our Chamber members are already!

Please mark your calendar as Lorain County Chamber President & CEO Frank DeTillio is honored at Leadership Lorain County’s annual Difference Makers Gala. Frank is excited to be honored at the “Seeds of Change” themed event along with Lorain County Commissioner Betty Blair, Larry Bettcher, Chairman & CEO of Bettcher Industries and Victor Landry, Executive Director of El Centro. There are many sponsorship availabilities at this event, so if you are interested in sponsoring, purchasing tables, advertising within the program or purchasing individual tickets, please contact LLC at 440-366-4700. Congratulations to Frank, Betty, Larry and Victor – we always knew you made a difference!
 

The Winter Edition of Pulse – Lorain County’s Magazine is due to hit mailboxes this week . If you are unfamiliar with Pulse, or do not receive the free subscription, be sure to go to www.PulseLorainMag.com and subscribe today. The Winter issue’s cover story is how students from the Lorain County Joint Vocational School transformed a 1903 farmhouse into a sustainably constructed headquarters for NASA CORE, the only educational resource facility of its kind in the country. There is a great article on the beautiful new French Creek YMCA and how Joe Cerny and staff are reaching beyond the bricks and mortar of the building to help all of Lorain County. There is also a profile of Matt Hlavin of Thogus Products and what they are doing to survive and conquer the tough economic conditions. Lastly there is info on where to go chop down a Christmas Tree, a profile of Nemo Grille in Avon and in the spirit of the cold weather, an article about ice carving! Plus, the ballot for the 2011 Best Of Lorain County is included in this issue, so be sure to vote!

With the cold and snowy weather, it’s a great time to Think Spring. And more specifically, think of Opening Day at Progressive Field when the Cleveland Indians host the Chicago White Sox on Friday, April 1 (and no, this is not an April Fool’s joke)! I have a chance to purchase a group of tickets for Opening Day, but I would need a minimum of 25 people to secure the group seats. I am looking in the outfield between the Indians and the visiting team bullpens, where we have been in the past. Ticket costs will be $32 each with no additional service charge or handling fees. If you are interested, please contact me the week of December 13 to sign up for tickets. Again, we need 25 minimum seats and you will need to confirm and pay for the number of seats you need when you order. I am not ordering any additional tickets, so be sure you have what you need. I will place the order on Friday morning, December 17 if we hit the minimum number. Call Tony with your information at 440-328-2554.

Snow is on the ground and the holiday season is officially upon us. 2010 is officially coming to a close and it is hard to believe that another year will be behind us. This past year was filled with such uncertainty, but our County Chamber members as well as our board and staff, took that as a challenge. We had one of our busiest years ever, which included some new networking events, new Value Added Benefits, over 70 new County Chamber members and a lot of ribbon cuttings/ground breakings sprinkled in between the past 12 months.

December is a short month, but we make the most out of it. Our Annual Holiday Reception held again this year at DeLuca’s Place in the Park set a new level for holiday parties. Over 200 County Chamber members and their guests showed up and they stayed. Maybe it was because we had 6 stations of food ranging from shrimp, stir-fry, pasta bar, fruit, cheeses and desserts. Maybe it was the chance to win $1000 worth of jewelry from Levit Jewelers. Or an I-Pod, or a $50 Gift Card? Maybe it was the live band FireSide that provided entertainment. Maybe it was the Cookie Favor you got to take home? Maybe it was the networking and the chance to meet and greet our business leaders in and around our community. My guess it was a combination of all of these things and if you missed this event, you missed a great time. Thanks to all of our sponsors, our attendees and their guests, everyone who purchased raffle tickets and to the staff who work hard to make this event the top notch outing it has become!

Due to the holidays, we are sending this e-Newsletter out a bit earlier than normal so we still have our December Safety Council meeting with the topic of Injury Leave and how it involves Workers’ Compensation, ADA and FMLA. This will be presented by our friends at Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis. Our 100+ Safety Council members will bring in gifts for our annual Not Forgotten Box collection as well. We also have a late month networking event with a Coffee, Tea & Contacts scheduled for December 16 at the new Panera off of Oakpoint Road. This will be a great way to start your morning and to end your year networking.

Lastly, just a gentle reminder to all of our partners and member companies to please try to pay past due invoices from this year and to promptly pay your Holiday Reception invoices. We, like everyone else, are trying to get in the money due in the year in which it was billed, so we can start 2011 with a fresh start. Please contact Kristy in our A/P department if you are unsure if you owe for anything. We appreciate you taking care of this ASAP.

Have a safe and happy holiday season to all of our members. As we look toward 2011, may it be prosperous for us all.

Proper education and following basic safety precautions will help maximize safety when it comes to using a ladder. Ladders are the proper and safe alternative to standing on chairs, shelves or stacked objects when it comes to accessing elevated objects. Every year thousands of workers are injured – and some even killed – as a result of falls from ladders. Don’t be one of them. Follow these ladder safety tips: Wear slip-resistant shoes with heals and heavy soles to prevent foot fatigue. Set your ladder on a firm level ground without any type of slippery condition present at either the base or top support points. Hold on to the rail when you climb, and keep one hand on the rail while you work. Carry tools in a belt or shoulder strap. Hoist materials and tools in a bucket. Don’t lean too far in either direction – move the ladder. Never jump or slide down from a ladder or climb more than one rung/step at a time. When ascending or descending a ladder, always face the ladder and maintain a firm hand hold. Don’t strain to reach a high spot – use a taller ladder. Don’t stand on the top two steps of a stepladder or the top three runs of a straight or extension ladder.