By LYNNE CONLAN
Executive Director, Sun City Center Area Chamber of Commerce
Membership in the Sun City Center Area Chamber of Commerce is, of course, my mantra. But once you join and schedule your ribbon-cutting, then what?
Just because you are listed in the membership directory and have a membership plaque posted in your window, the benefits don’t stop there. Have you left a stack of business cards in the chamber lobby that we can pass out to members and nonmembers alike when they inquire about your type of business or service? Another benefit of membership.
Do you send us press releases to include in our weekly email blasts? You should.
But to help get a better return on your investment in your chamber membership, I recommend you take it a step further. My best advice is to sponsor an event. The focus of that event is on you and your business or service. Your name gets out there with advanced chamber email notices. Then you get a group of members attending as your captive audience. They come to learn about you and your business, so take advantage of that sponsorship opportunity. We have numerous opportunities available, but the dates for 2018 are filling up quickly. Let’s figure out which one is the best fit for you.
Our Coffee Connection is the first Tuesday of the month from 8 to 9 a.m. You can hold the coffee at your location or in the chamber events hall. You supply coffee and a little breakfast food, and chamber members provide the captive audience. As of today, we only have four slots left to fill in 2018.
Our monthly Chamber Luncheon is always the third Thursday of the month from 11:30 to 1 p.m. These are held at the chamber in our events hall. You have two options. You can let the chamber provide the lunch for you for a $600 fee. Or for a $300 room-rental fee, you can supply the lunch yourself. It is your lunch, so you can opt to be the featured speaker or you can pick someone else like a nonprofit group of your choice to speak in your place. At this point, only five lunches are left to sponsor this next year.
Business After Hours is the fourth Thursday of the month from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Again, you can hold one of these at your location or in the chamber events hall. Some beverages and snack food make the night complete. These evening events are also filling up fast, so call the chamber as soon as you pick the best date for you.
If you aren’t exactly sure what you need to do to maximize your exposure to your new networking friends, give me a call at the chamber at 813-634-5111. We have a checklist of what you need to do and lots of ideas we can repurpose from other successful events.
I’m looking forward to seeing you soon at your very-own, sponsored-networking event.