News

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming Holiday Business After Hours on December 1st at A Matter of Taste @ Tapawingo. The event runs from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM and is sure to be a wonderful kick-off to the holiday season. Admission will be a monetary donation to Care & Share and Good Samaritan Food Pantry’s. Food will be provided and a cash bar will be available. This Business After Hours is proudly sponsored by EJ.

The list of events for our Annual Holiday Community Night, December 4th, is shaping up nicely. Make plans to stop in at the Community Center from 5:30 – 7:30 PM to taste and judge the fabulous soups prepared by local restaurants (all proceeds to Care & Share). The East Jordan Co-Op Nursery School will be holding a bake sale as well. At 6:00 PM the Lighted Parade will make it’s way down Main Street bringing the Jolly Old Elf and Mrs. Claus to greet and hear wishes from the children at 126 Main Street (Old Chello’s Building). Santa will be handing out handmade stockings sponsored by the EJ Lioness & Lions Clubs. Cookies and Hot Cocoa will also be provided from the East Jordan Lioness Club & the Senior Center. The East Jordan Girl Scouts will be there to do face painting. Directly following the parade, join us at the lighting of the Community Christmas Tree, across from Memorial Park, to sing Christmas Carols. The Jordan River Arts Council will be having a “Make & Take Craft” for kids at the Arts Council Building. Don’t forget to drop off your entry forms for the Business Basket Raffle and buy your tickets for the Freedom Festival Family Fun Raffle at the Community Center. Many downtown businesses will be holding Holiday Open Houses and having special promotions. It’s a great time to check off some items from your gift list. After a night of holiday family fun downtown, be sure to take a drive through the Tourist Park to view the over 30, one-of-a-kind lighted displays made by local clubs, churches, businesses, families and individuals at the East Jordan Lions Club Lighted Christmas Village. It’s a holiday display you will want to experience over and over from December 4 through January 4.

The Christmas fun doesn’t stop there – mark your calendars for December 6th to experience the Atwood Christmas Celebration. Store specials, refreshments, samplings, Santa and more round out this fun Saturday Family event. The Ellsworth Wooden Shoe Festival will be held Wednesday, December 10 at the Banks Township Hall in Ellsworth. Caroling, Tree Lighting, Kids Games, Refreshments and more all beginning at 6:00 PM to make December a non-stop, fun filled month.

Thank you to everyone who attended the East Jordan State of the Community on Tuesday, November 11, 2014.

Special thank you to our presenters:  Matt Stevenson – East Jordan Public Schools Superintendent, Mayor Russ Peck, Tom Erhart – Northern Lakes Economic Alliance Entrepreneurship Director, Tom Teske – East Jordan Downtown Development Authority Chairman. Thank you Tom Erhart for coordinating the FAB Lab to be available for tours prior to the Sate of the Community. Special thank you to Harvest Barn Pastors Kimon and Bridget Criner and members of their church for allowing us to hold the event at Harvest Barn and for all of their help in setting up for the record number of attendees. Thank you Charlevoix State Bank for sponsoring our dessert and to East Jordan Public Schools for catering the luncheon. A lot of exciting projects, people and events are making East Jordan a great place to live, visit and do business in. I hope you are able to get up to the Community Auditorium today or tomorrow to participate in the ongoing Master Plan process.

Save the Date…Our Holiday Business After Hours – Monday, Dec 1, 2014 – 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM at A Matter of Taste at Tapawingo. Proudly Sponsored by EJ. All cash donations at the door will be donated to the Care & Share Food Pantry and the Good Samaritan. Kickoff the holiday season with your Chamber members!!

With the election of 2014 over, we now head into the month of November and the busy holiday season that runs until the end of the year. Congratulations to all of the newly elected local, state and national leaders. We look forward to working with all of you, as we all continue to move our state and country forward.

One final reminder to get your reservations in today for the East Jordan State of the Community Forum scheduled for Tuesday, November 11, 2014 at the Harvest Barn Church. We are receiving many first-time attendee reservations and are hoping to break attendance records this year! We are so excited to have the FAB Lab as a part of this year’s event. The lab will be ready for tours at 11:00 AM and will be leaving at 12:30 PM. Call the Chamber at 536-7351 or info@ejchamber.org to reserve your spot.

The East Jordan Holiday Community Night is now less than one month away!! Thursday, December 4 will soon be here. WOW! The Chamber Office is finalizing the schedule of activities for the annual holiday event. Along with the traditional Tree Lighting, Caroling, Visit with Santa Claus, Soup Cook-off, Business Open Houses, Make and Take Craft at the Jordan River Arts Council, we are bringing back the Holiday Basket Give-Away. Businesses are invited to donate on item or gift certificate to the basket which will be given away on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7:30 PM at the Community Center. To be eligible to win the basket, customers must be given entry forms to put into the box at the center that evening. These businesses who donate an item to the basket will be given official entry forms from the Chamber Office to give their customers who make a purchase on Dec. 1,2,3 and up to 7:00 PM on Thursday Night Dec. 4. It is the customer’s responsibility to turn their entry forms into the box at the Community Center. This is a great way to encourage shopping in our community businesses and to get more people into town on Community Night.  To be a part of this holiday promotion drop off your product or gift certificate at the Chamber Office or call the office to make arrangements for pick-up. In addition….participating “Basket Businesses” will be given an opportunity to have a space for a table/display downtown on Community Night to sell gift certificates, product, etc. If interested, please contact the Chamber. This is an ideal way for our out-of-town member businesses to be a part of Community Night Festivities and to make some additional revenue for your business!! (Push those gift certificates!)

Thank you to the following businesses who are already a part of this promo –

Charlevoix State Bank
E.J. Shoppe
East Jordan Area Chamber of Commerce