Welcome to The Carnation City!
The Alliance Chamber of Commerce, located in Alliance, Ohio, has been a staple in the community for over 90 years, providing leadership to its members, protecting their interests while promoting their businesses.
With a membership totaling over 400, the Chamber's tradition of community leadership continues strong into the 21st century.
"50 YEARS OF CARNATION CELEBRATION"
Hello and welcome to summertime in Alliance - the time of the year when Scarlet Carnations start to appear in business windows, on roadways and of course an abundance of the real thing! Why does this happen? Well, because in August it's the Greater Alliance Carnation Festival!
Most citizens in Alliance and our surrounding areas know about and attend probably at least one of our 30+ events. Events such as Days in the Park, Ice Cream Socials, the Rib Fest, Junior Sports, Hot Air Balloon Lift Off, Pet Show, Pump In, Fashion Show, Historical Tours, Nature Hikes, Butterflies and a Triathlon. The list goes on and on.
This year is our 50th Anniversary and we have a few changes occurring. The Rib Fest, typically the first weekend of the 10 day Festival this year will be occurring a week early (July 30 - Aug 1). We will be having our Rib Fest in conjunction with the "Alliance Fest" committee which is a combination of the Downtown Events Commission, the Farmers Market and a Taste of Alliance. We are glad that we can partner with these other great community groups to offer just one more enhancement to that weekend. This change also allows our community to maybe take more time to participate in or visit events that first weekend that they might not normally.
You can always view our full schedule on our website www.carnationfestival.com as well as download event forms and during the festival, look to see if an event has been cancelled and/or rescheduled due to weather.
What a perfect year for the "Change is Golden" campaign in Alliance. It's the Carnation Festival's Golden Year and without the Greater Alliance area businesses and their donations/sponsorships, the Festival which carries a great tradition throughout our community would not continue to survive. On behalf of the 22 volunteers that make up the Carnation Festival Board of Directors, Thank You for supporting our community. Of course, I would be amiss if I didn't mention if your business hasn't sponsored one of our events and would be interested in doing such, to please contact me.
I'll see you all at one or more of our events in August!
Eddie Williams, 2009 Greater Alliance Carnation Festival President
P.S. Be sure to watch for our Festival Brochures in mid-July at area businesses.You are in for a surprise!
Chamber News & Upcoming Events
Retail Service Division Embarks on Buy Local Campaign
Over the last several months we have been telling you about efforts by the Retail Service Division of the Chamber of Commerce to develop a "buy local" campaign. Last September two Fundamentals of Marketing classes from Mount Union College were asked to design buy local campaigns for the Division to encourage consumers in the Alliance area to spend their retail dollars with local Chamber member retailers rather than out of area retailers and internet outlets. Each class was divided into teams of five to six students and competed to design the best campaign. A winner from each class was chosen by a small group of Retail Division members in December. The winner of each class presented their campaign to the entire Chamber membership at a Business After Hours hosted by the Retail/Service Division and sponsored by Robertson's Heating Supply on January 22, 2009 at Robertson's facility and the attendees of the Business After Hours voted to on a winner from the two teams. The winning team selected that night was The Alliance Coalition of Alliance Retailers or "C.O.A.R.".
The students of C.O.A.R. presented the idea of "Alliance Change". Change is certainly a term we have heard a lot in the last year. Their objective is to increase the gross revenue for Alliance area retailers and to improve the perception of Alliance that the consumers have. Their research showed that 55% of Alliance consumers...read more
BWC Update
How to Save Money on Your Worker's Compensation
With all the changes being made in the Worker's Compensation system in Ohio right now, I'm sure you are looking at ways you can reduce you Worker's compensation premium. Employers will once again be eligible for premium rebates for active participation in the Ohio Safety Council program according to the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC). Businesses can obtain up to a four percent rebate by meeting all eligibility requirements and certain performance benchmarks.
The Eastern Stark County Safety Council is sponsored by the Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce and currently has over 60 members. The Council is open to all companies and individual employers interested in promoting and learning about workplace safety. There is no membership fee and membership in the Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce is not required. The Safety Council meets on a monthly basis providing ...read more
