The Chamber Newsletter March 2008

The Chamber Dahlonega - Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce 2008 | MARCH

www.dahlonegacelticmusicfestival.com Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce 13 South Park Street Dahlonega, GA 30533 (706) 864-3711 (800) 231-5543

The Chamber of Commerce announces Dahlonega’s First Annual Celtic Music Festival, March 8th & 9th

SAVE THE DATES April 1 Business After Hours Come celebrate April Fool's Day at Dumond's Patio Grill, hosted by 400Edition. Enjoy networking, food, and drinks. Don't forget to bring $1 for the cash prize drawing! And remember door prizes are always a great way to showcase your business!

April 18-20 The 12th annual Bear on the Square Mountain Festival is an incredible weekend of music and art held in the foothills of the North Georgia mountains. Come enjoy bluegrass and old-time mountain music, crafts, and folkways on the Dahlonega Square and Hancock Park.

INSIDE: Perspective From Your Local Government 4 Mayor Gary McCullough shares his thoughts on Dahlonega...

April 25 Tour de Georgia

Chestatee Regional

THE ROAD TO THE GREAT RACES OF EUROPE BEGINS HERE!

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Hospital generated more than $44.8 million in revenue for the local economy according to a recent report...

The opening stage of the mountain phase of America's premier bicycling event returns to Dahlonega. Enjoy special activities and events at the Stage 5 Finish.

Bear on the Square Festival

The Dahlonega Celtic Music Festival The Dahlonega-Lumpkin g p Countyy Chamber of Commerce presents p the first annual Celtic Music Festival with a full weekend of Celtic Concert p performances at the Historic Hollyy Theatre, along with Celtic workshops and arts & crafts vendors and exhibitors.

Read More | Page 4

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Annual 3 day event featuring Bluegrass Music, Old Time Music, Appalachian Crafts, and many workshops and more!

Entrepreneur Friendly?

Lumpkin County Receives Entrepreneur Friendly Designation...

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Mission Statement Making our community a great place to live, work, visit, and do business.

Board of Directors OFFICERS Jennifer Herring, Chairman BB&T Eddie Wayne, Chair Elect Appalachian Community Bank Eddie Wayne, Treasurer Appalachian Community Bank Cyndi Fraser, Secretary Belle Avance Salon Karl Boegner, Immediate Past Chair of the Board Wolf Mountain Vineyards Gary L. Powers, President & CEO Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce DIRECTORS Don Bacek, Lily Creek Lodge Larry Banister, Banister Funeral Home Max Burns, North Georgia College & State University Kristy Fairbanks, RefrigiWear Tommy Folger, Folger’s Alan George, Chestatee Regional Hospital Alan Grizzle, EXIT Four Seasons Realty Kelso C. (Casey) Horne, Horne and Horne, P.C. Donna Minnich, State Farm Insurance J. Kevin McCraney, Georgia Power Company Tony Owens, The Fudge Factory Ed Willis, The Louver Shop Angelia Wilson, Dahlonega Tasting Room EX OFFICIO DIRECTORS Mayor y Gary y McCullough, City of Dahlonega Commissioner Steve Gooch, Lumpkin County Bruce Abraham, Development Authority Joel Cordle, Downtown Development Authority Stan Kelley, y Lumpkin County Bill Lewis, City of Dahlonega Sheriff Mark McClure, Lumpkin County Dewey Moye, Lumpkin County Schools STAFF Amy y Booker,, Projects & Events Coordinator Mary y Ann Knight, g , Visitors Center Manager Sheila Litherland,, VP Membership Services Stefani Logsdon, g VP Operations

As I See It

By Gary L. Powers As I See It we need a Chamber Newsletter as well as Weekly Broadcast E-mails. In our busy world today we get so much material that we often don’t or can’t take the time to read all the e-mails sent to us every day or every publication. In order to reach out to more members and the general public, we have decided we will try a print newsletter that will go to members and be in placed in offices were people are waiting for an appointment. It will also be launched to the web site for historical purposes and to give our sponsors greater exposure. Your feedback will be critical as we publish this newsletter each month.

Gary Powers,

President and CEO

Each month you will hear from our Chair of the Board, read about upcoming events, board members, ambassadors, and spotlight on business. We will have our political leaders write articles to keep us informed on specific issues affecting business and the community.

We will be highlighting the different Chamber Committees and the work they are doing to help your business succeed. We will talk about how the Chamber supports Education, Non-profits, and the Community. Members wanting to promote their business can advertise in the newsletter or have a flyer inserted in the newsletter. We encourage you to offer a Member 2 Member Discount which will be published each month in the newsletter.

Business After Hours will be featured each month and we will thank the drawing sponsors and recognize the monthly businesses who hosted the event. Ribbon Cuttings and New Members will be showcased.

Our Staff and Board are working very hard to provide YOU the member with a return on your investment. We know that times are tough but this is the time when you need the Chamber more than ever. Supporting each other and Buying Local and from members will help strengthen our community.

In my five months here I have come to love Dahlonega, Lumpkin County and the Northeast Georgia Mountains. The people of Georgia are some of the most polite and helpful I have ever encountered. As I See It, this is now HOME. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

Leadership Lumpkin County On February 11th, Leadership Lumpkin County, Class of 2008 attended the 7th Annual Leadership Day held at the Georgia Freight Depot in Atlanta. LC High School, Youth Leadership students accompanied the adults for a day filled with performances by 4-H students, and inspirational speakers. The day was complete with a walk over to the Capital for a brief history lesson and photo.

Class of 2008 began in September with a Welcome Reception at the Cottrell Ranch and will conclude with graduation on April 24th. The Leadership class consists of 8 sessions, designed to further inform and prepare individuals to serve as leaders in our community.

Recruitment for the Class of 2009 will begin this summer.

For more information about the Lumpkin Leadership program contact: Brenda Cronan 706-265-8389 or email to: bcronan@alltel.net The Chamber | Page 1

The Chairman’s Circle The Chairman's Circle has been created to prominently recognize companies whose continual support has been instrumental in the growth of the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce.

Mint Club Members Platinum BB&T Bank Chestatee Regional Hospital Jackson EMC

Gold Appalachian Community Bank

Silver Achasta, A Residential Golf Community All About Storage Mountain State Bank Nicklaus Golf Club at Achasta Northeast Georgia Health System, Inc. The Smith House Timken US Corporation United Community Bank of Lumpkin County Wal-Mart SuperCenter Windstream Communications

Bronze Daniel's Charters Georgia Power Company Habersham EMC North Georgia College & State University Regions Bank

From the Desk of Jennifer Herring I sat down to write my first Letter from the Chair for the first edition of the newsletter and wondered, “What should I speak about?” After a few minutes in review of our finances and in discussion with Gary, it came to me. I need to tell everyone exactly what we are all about.

We are a nonprofit organization that works to promote business and tourism in Dahlonega and Lumpkin County. We are charged with promotion of our beautiful community as well as ensuring we are looking out for the interests for our businesses. We are the marketing department for Dahlonega and Lumpkin County as well as a small business advocate. We work very closely with City, County and State governments, but we are not government funded. The only monies we receive from the City of Dahlonega and Lumpkin County are of the monthly bed taxes.

With these monies, the Convention and Visitors division of the Chamber is able to do things like contract with the Georgia Turner Group for great articles throughout the year in top magazines across the country. We can constantly improve the web site and improve how we track our web visitors. The monies go to ensure we continue to play host to over 2 million visitors to Dahlonega with 280,000 coming through our Welcome Center doors. Our web site received over 11 million visitors to the site from 104 countries. Gary works relentlessly to ensure that the laws and regulations passed by City, County and State governments are equal and fair to all small business owners and attends meetings to ensure your future is protected.

So, you are probably asking yourself, “If all they get is the bed taxes each month, how do they do all that they do?” I will tell you with an operating budget of $400,000 for 2008 and rising every year, it is getting increasingly difficult. The majority of our income comes from Bed Taxes from the City and County as well as your membership support. We have 1 fund-raiser each year, Six Gap Bike Ride, which also fuels our budget. All of the other events we are involved in usually end up putting us in the red for the event.

I know that it seems like every time you turn around, you are being asked for a sponsorship. We are a very unique community. We have always been a tourist town; we will continue to be a tourist town. The struggle we face is what can we do new or different to bring people to town to spend their money. In the past, this burden has been shared by not only the chamber, but other civic groups. Over the last several years, I have seen the role of the Chamber changing. We are being looked to as the organization who can take over events.

For the future of the Chamber and our community, we need to get back to more cooperative efforts between everyone for these events or I fear the events will have to be scaled back to those we know we can at least break even on. So, if you get a call for a sponsorship or to volunteer time, before you say “no”, think again.

Our Future could very well depend on your answer.

The Chamber | Page 2

Announcing Dahlonega’s First Annual Celtic Music Festival The First Annual Dahlonega Celtic Music Festival Offers A Special Weekend of Music, Entertainment and Shopping! direction of Brian Caldwell of Glasgow, Scotland has received rave reviews for their blend of traditional Scottish music, both instrumental and vocal, from the San Diego and Seaside Scottish Highland Games, with their superb blend of vocals, instrumentation, and unique arrangements. Highland Way is one of the most acclaimed on the southern California circuit.

The Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce proudly announces Dahlonega’s first annual Celtic Music Festival! You will not want to miss the exciting concerts, fun and interesting workshops and demonstrations or miss shopping at the Celtic Marketplace.

Highlights of the festival are concerts by the traditional Irish bands Altan, Highland Way, Emerald Rose, Shamrock, John Maschinot and Katie Baughman of the Buddy O’Reilly Band and Celtic Fire, the Atlanta Junior Ceili Band and the Appalachian St. Andrews Pipes and Drums.

Accolades for these top bands, including Ireland’s leading traditional band Altan, are many. Irish Echo says of Altan “They’re poised for greatness and under no circumstance should they be missed in concert”. The Boston Globe says Altan is “The hottest group in the Celtic realm these days”.

Highland Way from San Diego, under the

Our wonderful community of businesses in downtown Dahlonega have sponsored exciting workshops in their place of business ranging from workshops and demonstrations on fly fishing, musical instruments, such as pipes, tin whistle, bodhran drums and Irish fiddle, to Scottish spinning and weaving.

There will be Celtic storytellers, including Heloise Love from the Highland Way band who will read her fun book of Celtic tale with song and art called “The Dragon and the Fir Darrigs”, along with Cayce Terrell and Donna O’Kelley Butler who will enchant audiences with their stories from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany.

Arthur Hinds and Brian Sullivan of Emerald Rose will discuss the “Bardic Spirit” and Brian will share “Rambling Through Ireland: Adventures from the Emerald Isle”. Families will not want to miss the lively energetic family concert by Highland-Way a the Holly on Saturday, where they will entertain children and people of all ages! Don’t miss the Scottish Tartan Museum as they answer questions about Scotland, kilts and tartans.

Use their tartan look-up service and research a erson’s name and see their tartan!

Adding to the fun of the festival will be “tunes” played through The Chamber | Page 3

out the day on Saturday and Sunday by pipers Sam Johnson, Gary White, Roy McKee, Joshua Whitener, Joseph Adams, Joshua Craig and Daniel Bollinger. Don’t miss the Celtic Marketplace and artisan’s selling their special arts and crafts and Irish food items!

For a concert schedule and a detailed list of all workshops on Saturday and Sunday, March 8th and 9th, please check out our web site: www.dahlonegacelticmusicfestival.com Tickets for these amazing concerts can be purchased on-line at: www.hollytheater.com or by calling 706-864-3759.

For questions call the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce at (706) 864-3711, or send email to Amy Booker at: amy@dahlonega.org.

Member Testimonial Sheila I just wanted to acknowledge all the work that you and the other Chamber office professionals did to make this meeting possible and successful. You all do a great job and if I can do anything else to help you - please let me know.

Once again, thanks!

Paul Carmody Mountain Top Lodge at Dahlonega 447 Mountain Top Lodge Road Dahlonega, GA 30533 (706) 864-5257 (800) 526-9754 Fax: (706) 864-8265

Perspective From Your Local Government It has been an honor for me to serve the citizens of Dahlonega since 1989...

15 years as Councilman and 3 years as Mayor. I appreciate the trust and support you have given me during this time.

Dahlonega has grown a lot but I think the Mayor and Council are working hard to keep the charm and history preserved in our downtown area. The Historical Commission, Downtown Merchants Association, the Better Hometown and Main Street programs and Downtown Development Authority as well as the Chamber of Commerce, and all the volunteers are to be commended for their support, hard work and commitment for being good stewards of our history, a history that is cherished by all of us. We are adding to our history as time goes on. The “Arts” are bringing people to Gary McCullough our area in large numbers as the influence of the Holly Theatre and our local artists are attracting attention not only statewide but nationally as well. Dahlonega has been rated as one of the top Mayor 10 places to retire in the USA by several national media outlets. The wineries surrounding us are bringing a great deal of attention to our area. The Smith House is expanding. Achasta is growing and putting a lot of money into our local economy. They are using local contractors as much as possible. Our two largest industries Mohawk and Timken are expanding. NGCSU is expanding, so you can see we have a lot of work to do to keep our infrastructure ahead of the curve. The Downtown Development Authority is completing a “Master Plan” of our downtown area. We will have one more public meeting on March 25 at City Hall at 7:00 PM. You are welcome to come and see what is happening. The streets around the square are no longer state highways. They now belong to the city from the traffic light at Highway 60 to the traffic light in town, and from the traffic light at the cemetery to the square. We will be getting big trucks off the square and are planning additional improvements, such as removing all the state highway directional signs, some raised pedestrian crosswalks, and directional signs for the merchants on the square. All of these improvements are in the planning stage now.

You can see we have a lot going on at this time. I am excited about what is happening and about the future of Dahlonega. I look forward to being involved and with the help of the Council, staff and all of the great people of our community we will remain a great place to work, live and raise our families.

Membership Matters As Vice-President of Membership Services I would like to explain some new and exciting changes in our benefits program. One of the first changes you will notice is a change in our dues structure.

We believe these changes will bring more value to your membership, by adding two categories and a web site link at NO additional charge. We just ask that you reciprocate our link, www.dahlonega. org, to your web site. We have also added along with your yearly window decal a beautiful wooden plaque which displays your business name and renewal month and year. The plaques will either be delivered by the Ambassadors or picked up at our monthly Business After Hours on your renewal month.

more items to be displayed in the announcement. We will continue to edit the calendar of Chamber affiliated and sponsored meetings and events.

In the upcoming newsletters we will include additional pages, which can feature a Restaurant Guide, Lodging Guide, Arts and Entertainment Guide, Winery Guide, Non-Profit and Educational information, and more.

Thanks for your valued investment, support and for “Making our community a great place to live, work, visit and do business.”

Sheila Lawson Litherland E-mail: sheila@dahlonega.org

Our Member to Member weekly announcement is also going through some changes. In order to be more userfriendly we will put a short two sentence teaser about your announcement and a link to your web site, which will allow The Chamber | Page 4

Chestatee Regional Hospital Generates $44.8 Million to Dahlonega’s Economy Atlanta, Georgia January 18, 2008 In 2005, Chestatee Regional Hospital in Dahlonega, Georgia generated more than $44.8 million in revenue for the local economy according to a recent report by the Georgia Hospital Association, the state’s largest hospital trade association.

The report also found that during the same time, Chestatee Regional Hospital provided approximately $1.3 million in uncompensated care while sustaining

more than 375 full-time jobs throughout Dahlonega and the rest of the state.

The report revealed that Chestatee Regional Hospital had direct expenditures of more than $18.2 million in 2005. When combined with the economic multiplier developed by the United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis, the total economic impact of

those expenditures was more than $44.8 million. This output multiplier considers the “ripple” effect of direct hospital expenditures on other sectors of the economy, such as medical supplies, durable medial equipment and pharmaceuticals.

Economic multipliers are used to model the resulting impact of a change in one industry on the “circular flow” of spending within an economy as a whole.

Chestatee Urgent Care offers care and treatment for conditions that require immediate attention, but don’t pose a serious life threat.

Our nurse practitioners can diagnose and treat most common illnesses, without a costly visit to the emergency room.

No Appointment Necessary!

OPEN Fridays: 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Weekends: Noon - 9 p.m.

• Blood pressure checks and TB tests • Urinary tract infections • Respiratory, Hearing and Vision Tests

134 Ansley Drive, Dahlonega, Georgia 30533 | 706-867-4356 The Chamber | Page 5

751684A

Chestatee Urgent Care is close to Chestatee Regional Hospital, which affords our medical team access to a full array of healthcare specialists and resources.

URGENT CARE

makes us very proud,” said Alan E. George, CEO of Chestatee Regional Hospital. “We thank Lumpkin County’s unwavering support through the years and will continue to work hard to ensure that the citizens of this community have access to health care services that are second to none in quality and affordability.”

While Chestatee Regional Hospital remains a major component of the area’s economic engine, the hospital leadership, like the rest of the Georgia’s hospital community, is concerned about a wide array of economic challenges that have made it increasingly difficult to meet the community’s health care needs including continued cuts in Medicare and Medicaid payments and a fast- growing uninsured population. Presently, more than a third of all hospitals in Georgia are operating with negative margins.

Chestatee Urgent Care charges a Áat fee of $30.00 per visit.

Services include: • Treatment of minor illnesses and injuries • Cold, Áu, ear infection, fevers, rashes and strep testing • School and work physicals • Stitches and suture removal

“This new report shows Chestatee Regional Hospital has an enormous, positive impact on our local economy which

“We’re extremely concerned with the current operating environment for hospitals,” said George. “We’ve made a commitment to every

Chestatee Regional | Continued... citizen of this community to be on call for them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. But our ability to do so is being compromised when, in many cases, we’re being paid less than what it actually costs to treat a patient.”

According to George, state lawmakers must work to protect the state’s health care system with the same fervor that they do other initiatives like education and public utilities.

“Our local health care system is indispensable,” says George. “It is the primary guardian of health in our community and is the key building block for everything else in our community including education and economic vitality. It is our hope that our elected lawmakers will do what is necessary to protect our local health care system and to preserve access to health care for every resident of Lumpkin County.

Business After Hours January 2008 On a beautiful evening in January, Pura Vida USA hosted 150 chamber members to an outstanding night of networking and promotions, with the added bonus of great food and fun in the beautiful surroundings of the North Georgia Mountains. Jennifer Herring, Chamber Board Chair and AVP/BSO III at BB&T, welcomed everyone, thanked our generous hosts, and introduced our new members: Mountain Geek Computers 3by400 Jennifer also made several announcements including information on the Dahlonega Celtic Music Festival March 8th & 9th, Annual Banquet March 1st at Montaluce Vineyards and Estates, Tour De Georgia April 25, and the February BAH Hosted by The Artist Palate Café and Paul Thomas Chocolates. With the help of our Ambassadors she gave away a dozen door prizes. Thanks again to our Host: Pura Vida, USA 400 Blueberry Hill • Dahlonega, GA 30533 (706) 865-7678 • (866) 345-4900 www.puravida.com

February 2008 With Fat Tuesday looming in the air and animated masks and costumes afloat, the February Business after Hours was off to a colorful start. Jennifer Herring, Chamber Board Chair and AVP/BSO III at BB&T, welcomed everyone, thanked our generous hosts, The Artist Palate Café and Paul Thomas Chocolates, and introduced our new members.

Etowah River Pottery Brooks Point Apartments Haventouch Enterprises Inc Tugaloo Home Health Lee’s Home Interiors Rich Printing, Inc KDA Communications Dahlonega Lutheran Mission Church The Common Thread Appalachian Skate Klub Jennifer also made several announcements including information on the Dahlonega Celtic Music Festival March 8th & 9th, Annual Banquet March 1st at Montaluce Vineyards and Estates, Tour De Georgia April 25, and with the help of our Ambassadors she gave away fifteen exceptional door prizes. Thanks again to our Host the Artist Palate Café and Paul Thomas Chocolates. Our next BAH will be hosted by 400 Edition and 3by400 April 1st at Dumond’s Patio Grill.

The Chamber | Page 6

Appalachian Skate Klub The Appalachian Skate Klub is an organization that is dedicated to bringing skaters and the community together by helping to communicate the needs of the community to skaters and the needs of skaters to the community. Our mission is simple: we are fundraising for the skateboard project at the Yahoola Creek Park by involving the skating youth of this community, and their supporters, in a campaign run by the skating youth for the skating youth, in an effort to give kids a place to practice their sport safely.

To find out more about A.S.K. Contact:

Greg Moore (770) 617-7955 The Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center would like to express our heart filled thanks to Greg Moore and the Appalachian Skate Klub for the improvements on the Chamber building, public rest rooms, and walkways. This has been the most incredible GIFT the Chamber has received. We encourage our businesses to support this Non-Profit and what they are trying to do to build a Skate Park at the Yahoola Creek Park.

Appalachian p Skate Klub

A.S.K. Task Force A

The A.S.K. Task Force ce is made up of o professionals as s well we ell as a youth members of A.S.K. voluntee volunteers.

Our services include de: •Paintting •Sheetrock Repair Repa •Yard W Work •Moving •House ouse Cle Cleaning •Odd d Jobs you don’t want w tto do

O JOB TOO BIG OR SMA

Our services are FREE.

Your donation nation of an any size is appreciated! ciated!

770-617-7955 750604b

The Chamber | Page 7

Member Renewals

SAVE THE DATES

JANUARY 2008 Achasta, A Residential Golf Community America’s Home Place, Inc Appalachian Heritage Properties Appalachian Outfitters River Outpost Banister Funeral Home Blue Mountain Builders, Inc. Brooks Point Apartments Byrd’s Mini Storage #3 Chestatee Ford Chick-fil-A Crown Mountain Women’s Health Dahlonega Healing Arts Days Inn Georgia Power Company Hummingbird Lane Art Gallery Naturally Georgia LLC Neighborhood Healthcare Center Norman Adams Insurance Agency

Northeast Georgia Health System, Inc. Paradise Cabins Resort & Spa Picket Fence RefrigiWear, Inc. R-Ranch in the Mountains Sheffield & Co. Marketing/Advertising State Farm Insurance The Frog Hollow Company The Fudge Factory The Rehabilitation Institute of Dahlonega The Smith House The Wagon Wheel Restaurant Village Toys Weekend Gold Miners Club West Carpet Sales Jewell West Willow Trace Apartments Windstream Communications

Welcome New Members NOVEMBER 2008

JANUARY 2008

Golden Classics Gabee’s Cajun Kitchen Cohen, Neal Psy D Watts Chiropractic of Dahlonega JMJ Trucking Company, LLC Gold City Classifieds & TrayBrook Designs Joni Bell Services Gold Rush Gallery Studio Twenty-One Makeovers

Etowah River Pottery Brooks Point Apartments Haventouch Enterprises Inc Tugaloo Home Health Lee’s Home Interiors Rich Printing, Inc KDA Communications Dahlonega Lutheran Mission Church The Common Thread Appalachian Skate Klub

DECEMBER 2008 Mountain Geek Computers 3by400

Ribbon Cuttings Gabee's Cajun Kitchen On January 30th, Friends,Chamber staff, and Ambassadors’ enjoyed a delicious fun filled evening, compliments of owner and Chef Charles Mikel.

Located on the North side of the square upstairs, above Bleu Art Gallery.

Gabee’s offers a variety of Cajun cuisine and seafood. Starting February 8th, Gabee’s will be offering full breakfast served from 9:00am till closing.

For more information, call (706) 864-4417.

The Chamber | Page 8

March 1 Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet at Montaluce, 7:30 pm March 8 - 9 Dahlonega Celtic Music Festival, 1st Annual March 13 Executive Committee, 12:00 pm March 18 Economic Development, 8:00 am March 19 Women In Lumpkin p Leadership p Breakfast at Stewart Center for Continuing Education, 8:00 am March 20 Board Meeting, 12:00 pm March 25 Ambassadors Meeting, 12:00 pm April p 1 Business After Hours at Dumond’s Patio Grill, 5:30-7:30 pm April 10 Executive Committee, 12:00 pm April p 10-12 Vintage g Chevrolet Club National Meet, 6th Annual April p 15 Economic Development, 8:00 am April p 16 Women In Lumpkin p Leadership p Breakfast at Stewart Center for Continuing Education, 8:00 am April p 17 Board Meeting, 12:00 pm April p 18-20 Bear on the Square Festival, 12th Annual April p 25 Tour de Georgia Stage 5 Finish April p 29 Ambassadors Meeting, 12:00 pm

Bear on the Square April 18-20, 2008 On an early spring morning in 1996, merchants on the square in Historic Dahlonega, Georgia were visited by an unlikely "tourist". A baby bear had managed to climb a sycamore tree on a busy corner of the square and refused to come down. After a prolonged effort, the bear was eventually rescued safely. But not before creating quite a stir in the community.

Dahlonega residents Nick and Glenda Pender, both respected musical and environmental activists, joined forces with a group of local merchants and used the incident as inspiration to create the annual event known as The Bear on the Square Mountain Festival. 12 years later, "Bear on the Square" has become an annual rite of spring in the North Georgia Mountains as it kicks off the festival season every spring in April.

day morning Gospel Jam, a street dance, a live auction, children's activities, a heritage center demonstrating mountain traditions, and of course, food, complete the offerings, making Bear on the Square the perfect outing for the whole family.

Bear on the Square Seeks Donations for Live Country Auction.

The Bear on the Square Mountain Festival committee is in the process of gathering donations from the local business community for the Friday night Live Country Auction at the 2008 festival.

(706) 864-0374 or (706) 265-9459, or by emailing her at dpruitt@alltel.net.

The Festival, whose purpose is to celebrate, preserve, and promote the tradition of bluegrass and old-time mountain music, crafts, and folkways, is held every third weekend in April on and around Dahlonega's quaint Historic Town Square and in Hancock Park, adjacent to the square. The park is the focal point for concerts and other festival activities. Dozens of vendors descend each year upon the town to market wares that are hand made and are representative of the Southern Appalachian Mountain Region. They are accompanied by a multitude of both amateur and professional acoustic musicians who gather from miles around for impromptu jam sessions that create the soundtrack to the old time atmosphere.

The annual Bear on the Square Mountain Festival auction, a major fund-raiser Please remember that the auction comfor the festival each year, is a highlight of mittee needs a description of the donatBear on the Square, which is a significant ed item, its approximate retail value, your revenue-producing event for the Dahl- name and the name of your business. onega community and our local merchants. The auction is open to the public and offers a fun, casual event on the opening day of the festival. All donations are fully tax deductible, since A gated Active Adult 55+ Community Bear on the Square Luxury Condominium Flats is a registered From $274,900 501(c) 3 not-for706-864-6698 profit cultural arts organization.

Headlining the stage performances are old-time music legends Norman and Nancy Blake and the dynamic Carolina Chocolate Drops with their exciting, authentic string band music. Jamming goes on day and night around the square while other local, regional, and national musicians take the stage all day Saturday and Sunday. A juried artist's marketplace features traditional mountain art and crafts. Extensive music workshops, a Sun-

Drop-off point for donations will again be at Cranberry Corners, or you can call Melanie Pruitt, auction chairperson, to arrange for pick up of your donation. You can reach Melanie by calling

Great Mountain Views Spacious Clubhouse Swimming Pool Hiking Trails

www.SummitofDahlonega.com

Lumpkin County Receives Entrepreneur Friendly Designation On Tuesday, February 26th, representatives from the Georgia Department of Economic Development's Small Business & Innovation Division came to Dahlonega to designate Lumpkin County as an "Entrepreneur Friendly" county. This designation is the result of a seven-step process that helps Dahlonega and Lumpkin County create an environment that recognizes entrepreneurs and small business strategies that can be worked into the community’s economic development strategies.

The Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce began leading the community through the designation process in May 2007, starting with the creation of the Economic Development committee. As a result of going through the process, the committee, with the assistance of NGCSU student intern Chloe Krueger, created a "How to Start a Business in Lumpkin County" booklet that is now available at the Chamber of Commerce.

The last steps of the designation process included interviewing thirty-eight local businesses and compiling the results in order to determine the needs of the small-business community. The committee, joined by students in the NGCSU Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team, set out in late January and early February to complete the interviews. Through the interviews, the committee discovered that one of the biggest needs in the small-business community is development in their marketing and sales efforts and technological skills. Armed with this information, the Chamber will begin working with state and federal resource providers in order to host educational sessions and workshops that will add value to your Chamber membership.

More information about the Entrepreneur Friendly Designation can be found at www.georgia.org.

Stefani Logsdon Vice President of Operations

Turnbull Associates Property Management Small Business Consultant

Greg Moore Office (404) 406-3949 Owner Fax (706) 867-4815 The Chamber | Page 10

Dahlonega - Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce

Site of the First US Gold Rush.

13 South Park Street, Dahlonega, GA 30533 Tel: 706-864-3711 Toll Free: (800) 231-5543 www.dahlonega.org