Cooler mornings and the changing colors of leaves tell us summer is coming to a close. What a summer! One of the nastiest hail storms Wilber has ever seen, a week of horribly hot weather, some of the nicest rains we have ever endured during the summer and great weather for the Czech festival. 2014 has been quite a year.
All chamber business members have the chance to advertise their business on the World Wide Web. The website of the chamber, www.wilberchamberofcommerce.com receives many inquiries and questions each month. If a chamber member would like to update your business site, please email-www.wilberchamber@gmail.com to get proper instruction to enhance and update your own business. This is a benefit of being a chamber member and should be taken advantage of. There is no cost for this service. With the assistance of Julie Hensel, chamber board member Steve Ourecky is now chairing this project.
On Tuesday, August 12th, 14 members of the Chamber served the annual “Teacher’s Breakfast” to 56 staff members of Wilber-Clatonia Public Schools at Hotel Wilber. This is a great event as we welcome back and wish the staff a good school year. All staff members received a delicious breakfast, a $2.00 Chamber Buck encouraging them to Shop Wilber and a chance at door prizes.
As summer draws to a close, please remember to attend the “Farmer’s Market” on Thursdays from 4:00 to 6:30 pm on the Hotel garden patio. This event will continue into the fall. Some beautiful summer produce, delicious baked goods and crafts can be purchased at a fair price. There is not a vendor fee to sell your products. It is a fun time of fellowship among vendors and shoppers. Scott Woitalewicz, chamber board member, is the chairman of the event.
Chamber Treasurer, Danni Klasek will again be in charge of the downtown Halloween event on Friday, October 31, 2014 from 4 to 6 p.m. Danni will be visiting with the downtown merchants in October as we prepare to treat our area ghosts and goblins.
Thank you to all the area businesses who have donated funds, to the new Christmas decorations project for downtown Wilber. We haven’t met our financial goal…..Yet! We are grateful to Nancy and Frank Linhart, LaVern Aksamit and John Kastanek for the Czech merchant signs to perk up the downtown area of Wilber-Czech Capital of the USA.
The Wilber Area Chamber of Commerce will host a Christmas Celebration on the first weekend of December. On Saturday the 6th, the chapter hopes to hold a craft show and visit from Santa. On Sunday the 7th, Sue Underwood Placek will host a Czech theater of good music. Watch for more details regarding this long time event. The Christmas committee will meet after the regular meeting of the Chamber on Tuesday, September 30, 2014. New ideas are welcomed as we enhance this holiday event.
The community of Wilber and the surrounding area has been through a tough summer season because of the June and July hail storms. You cannot come to Wilber without hearing the pounding of hammers as businesses and home owners try to repair the damage from the storm. In honor of this “moving forward” spirit, the Chamber of Commerce will host a “Lemons to Lemonade” dance on Friday, November 7, 2014 at the Wilber Sokol Hall. The band SwitchBak will be playing for the event. Just an evening of fun as our community digs its way out of the mess and climbs to the top. It is a pleasure to watch our community take the lemons we were given by Mother Nature and make lemonade out of them. Plan for an evening of good music and some fun on Friday, November 7th at the Wilber Sokol Hall.
At this time, the Wilber Area Chamber of Commerce consists of 62 business members and 17 individual members. A hard working group of people dedicated in their mission to keep the Wilber community strong. It is a pleasure to work with a good team of fine people.