News

Our Chamber Office is a flurry of activity this week as we are putting the finishing touches on our Community Night plans. Hope to see you tomorrow night (Thursday-December 4th) at East Jordan’s Community Night. The Soup Cook-off with six soups, The Lighted Parade has a record number of entries (still accepting more!) the Carolers are ready to sing around the Community Tree Lighting. Our Citizen of the Year, Debbie Carey will officially light the community tree at 6:15 PM. Jordan River Arts Council will be holding “Make and Take Craft” and the Members Art for Sale, Businesses will be hosting open houses and refreshments and of course – Santa Claus will be on hand to hear all the children’s wishes. Plan on spending the evening downtown with family and friends to kick off the holiday season!

Atwood will be celebrating Christmas in Atwood on Saturday, December 6 with the businesses hosting special sales, open houses, refreshments. Santa Claus will be at Work N Play Shop from 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM.

The Ellsworth Wooden Shoe Holiday Festival is all set for Wednesday, December 10 starting at 6:00 PM at Banks Township Hall. A wonderful evening of caroling, tree lighting, kids games, refreshments and Twister Joe – Balloon Artist is planned.

Celebrate the Holiday Season Across the Breezeway!

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

Election Day is less than a week away – Tuesday, November 4, 2014. Please be sure to educate yourself on the candidates and ballot proposals prior to exercising your right to vote on Election Day 2014. There are several local, county and state proposals that need to be read up on by voters. Be sure to check out the Northwest MI Chamber Alliance Virtual Candidate Format http://nmichiganbusiness.com/2014/10/21/2014-virtual-candidate-forum.. East Jordan State of the Community is only thirteen days away. Please be sure to get your reservations into the Chamber Office for the Tuesday, November 11, noon to 1:30 PM forum at the Harvest Barn Church. Speakers include Tom Cannon – East Jordan Acting City Administrator and Parks/Recreation Director, Tom Teske – Downtown Development Authority Chairman, Matt Stevenson – East Jordan Public Schools Superintendent, Tom Erhart – Northern Lakes Economic Alliance Entrepreneurship Director and Mary H. Faculak – East Jordan Area Chamber of Commerce. Lunch will be served and the cost is $15 per person for East Jordan Area Chamber Members, $20 per person for Not-Yet-Members. RSVP to the Chamber by November 5th at 231-536-7351 or info@ejchamber.org.

Beginning Tuesday, November 11 thru Thursday, November 13, East Jordan Community members are strongly encouraged to participate in this three-day community planning event at the Community Auditorium (EJHS). SEE ATTACHED ARTICLE

Pumpkin Pie Contest Winners:

1st Place – Joan Cooper

2nd Place – Shannon Crawford

3rd Place – Laurene Kooyer

Scarecrows Across the Breezeway Winners:

Business Division –

1st Place – Penzien’s Funeral Home – East Jordan

2nd Place – The Front Porch Café – Ellsworth

3rd Place – The Insurance Shop – East Jordan

Non-Profit / Residential Division –

1st Place – Brownie Troop #4312

2nd Place – High School Girl Scouts

3rd Place – David Schweer Residence

Looks like our fall season is coming closer to peaking in the next few days- get out and enjoy these last few days of beautiful Northern Michigan colors.

Another spectacular Breezeway Color Tour weekend last Saturday. Thank you to Donna Heeres and Marilyn (Heeres) Venkeart for helping at Royal Farms to pass out the “goodie bags”. We were busy the entire morning despite the rain. One more weekend left of this great promotion!

We are so excited about the 5th Annual Pumpkin Festival & Leaf Peeker Craft Show- only 10 days away – Saturday, October 18th in downtown East Jordan. A huge thank you to all the sponsors of the event. Be sure to get your pumpkin pie recipes out and get those pies baked and ready for entry into the Pumpkin Pie Contest. If the kids don’t have their Halloween costumes ready be sure to get them together this weekend so they are prepared for the early Trick-or-Treat held at downtown businesses during Pumpkin Festival from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. Look for signs in participating business windows.

Thank you to all of the businesses, groups and individuals who are creating Scarecrows Across the Breezeway! This is our biggest year for Scarecrows. Be sure to get out and see them all, there are some great photo opportunities with some of the Scarecrows. Great Fall Spirit! Click here to download a list of scarecrow locations.

SAVE THE DATE – We will be having a Ribbon Cutting for the new website on Wednesday, October 15th from 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM at the EJ Visitor Center  (211 Main Street) allowing us to show everyone the new website on the big screens. Please join us to learn more about the website and get information on how you can update your membership listing. I hope to see everyone this Thursday, October 9th from 5:00 – 7:00 PM for our Fall Business After Hours. It’s sure to be a great time as we gather at the Jordan Valley Barn (4542 S. M-66, East Jordan) for networking, hors d’ oeuvres prepared by A Matter of Taste, Cash Bar, Drawings, music and more. This great event is proudly sponsored by Bay Winds Federal Credit Union.

Weekend two of the C-48 Breezeway Fall Color Tour Cruises is coming up this Saturday, October 4. Last weekend’s cruise saw a record turn-out of people picking up their “goodie bags” of coupons, maps, “trip-tip sheets” and other tokens to cruise the scenic rural route from Atwood to Ellsworth to East Jordan and onto Boyne Falls. Thank you to Lynn Spearing of Ellsworth and the Breezeway Task Force for assisting me at Royal Farms last Saturday.

5th Annual Pumpkin Festival, October 18th welcomes “The Sleeping Gypsies” to the Memorial Park Bandshell from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. ” The Sleeping Gypsies” are a musical outfit consisting of four young men from Northern Michigan who deliver a rollicking yet classy live performance. They assault unsuspecting listeners with an infectious blend of rock, swing, soul and blues that is both interesting and accessible, recalling classic acts such as T. Rex, Van Morrison, Talking Heads and the Rolling Stones. While also showing similarities to contemporary artists like the Black Keys, Allen Stone and Mayer Hawthorne. Employing a wide variety of sounds and styles, the Gypsies create a show that is never dull. This band has performed at the Charlevoix Venetian Festival’s Aquapalooza Party, various summer concert venues and most recently at Short’s  Brewing Company. Be sure to bring and tell your family and friends about this free concert and Pumpkin Festival. “The Sleeping Gypsies” performance is proudly sponsored by E.J. Plastics, Inc.

It’s Homecoming Week in East Jordan! Time to don your red and black and support the East Jordan Red Devils and celebrate the week long schedule of activities. Friday is packed with a full-day of events including an all school assembly and high school assembly. From 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM the Sports Boosters Chicken Barbecue will be held at Boswell Stadium. 5:00 PM Homecoming parade, game time is 7:00 PM against Suttons Bay.