Thu, Aug 7 Affordable Computer Geeks Ribbon-cutting: 9:30 a.m., 415 E. Main St., Suite E Lions Club Football Kickoff: Bartow Civic Center Peace River Country Club Fun Thursday: 5:15 p.m. Fri, Aug 8 Committee of 100: 8:00 a.m., Bartow Municipal Airport Conference Room Sat, Aug 9 Main Street Bartow Antique Fair: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tue, Aug 12 Bartow Political Rally: 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Bartow Civic Center Thu, Aug 14 Digestive Health Physicians of Central Florida - Dr. Ned Panara - Ribbon-cutting: 9:30 a.m., 1350 E. Main St., Suite C-2; Can-Do and Ambassadors: Noon, Chamber Boardroom Fri, Aug 15 Bank of Central Florida; Tindale-Oliver & Assoc., Inc. and Jacob’s Engineering Ribbon-cutting: 4:00 p.m., 515, 545 and 555 N. Broadway Ave. Main Street Bartow Friday Fest: 6:00 p.m., Downtown Bartow Fri, Aug 22 Main Street Bartow Movies on the Lawn Tue, Aug 26 Affordable Computer Geeks and Darb’s Quick Copies / Florida Highland Designs; Joint Ribbon-cutting: 9:30 a.m., 415 E. Main St., Suite E Fri, Sep 5 Leadership Class XIII Orientation Retreat: 9:00 a.m., Bok Tower Gardens Tue, Sep 9 Women’s Care Center Ribbon-cutting: 9:30 a.m., 490 E. Boulevard St. Thu, Sep 11 Can-Do and Ambassadors: Noon, Chamber Boardroom; Citizens Bank Fun Thursday: 5:15 p.m., 1450 N. Broadway Ave. Fri, Sep 12 Committee of 100: 8:00 a.m., Bartow Municipal Airport Conference Room Tue, Sep 16 Executive Committee: 3:30 p.m., Chamber Boardroom; Board of Directors: 4:00 p.m., Chamber Boardroom Remember, the Chamber is "Information Central" for our community. For widespread exposure of your event and to avoid competing schedules, be sure your info is included on the community calendar. Call 863-533-7125 or email the information to info@bartowchamber.com. Please include a contact name and telephone number. |
With Summer winding down, I find myself wondering where the time goes. Fall is right around the corner and things are beginning to get busy at the Chamber. I hope everyone is planning to attend the upcoming Political Rally on Tuesday, August 12 at the Bartow Civic Center. This event is a great opportunity for all of us to meet our candidates for the upcoming election. Each candidate will have an opportunity to address the crowd in addition to having their own campaign tables where you can talk with them one on one. Mosaic is proud to be a presenter of the event along with the Chamber and The Polk County Democrat. It should be a fun evening and food will be available for purchase. Plans are now in progress for the upcoming Chamber Scramble to be held on Friday, October 3, at the Bartow Golf Course. Be sure to look for the sponsorship form in this edition of the newsletter and sign up your team today! This event has been a sell-out for the past few years, so don’t delay. The Scramble is very important to the Chamber as its second largest fundraiser of the year. In addition, it’s always a great day to spend with your fellow Chamber members. Have you seen the list of class members for the Leadership XIII class? If you haven’t, be sure to check it out in this newsletter. What a great group. And, it’s so good to see so many young people who are the community’s leaders of tomorrow, taking part in the Leadership Bartow program. Leadership Bartow is a great way of gaining leadership skills and learning about how the community works. The Leadership XIII class will be represented by 35 class members from 30 different businesses and organizations. Forty-three applied for the class, and we would have liked to accept all the applicants. However, in order to keep the class at a manageable size, 35 is the absolute maximum Congratulations to all of the new class members. Be sure to get your tickets for the upcoming Diversity Luncheon. This event is a joint civic club and community luncheon open to the public and presented by the Bartow Community Relations Committee. This event celebrates the differences among the people of Bartow. This year’s keynote speaker is Otis Brown. Before I go, I would once again like to encourage all of you to shop local whenever you can. Many of our small businesses are having a tough time during this sluggish economy and need our support. Remember, “Shop Bartow, it’s money well spent!” Sincerely, Debbie Burdett President |
 Browning Moving & Storage Mr. Steve Chapman 3725 N. Frontage Rd. Lakeland, FL 33810 (863) 683-6494 COMPUTEREDGGE Mr. Steve Walters 5209 U.S. Hwy. 98, S. Lakeland, FL 33812 (863) 619-2244 Frank Rouse Attorney At Law 680 E. Main St. Bartow, FL 33830 (863) 533-6547 David M. Sinclair 2000 Shoreland Dr. Auburndale, FL 33823 (863) 661-6042 Taylor Nicole’s Hair Studio Ms. Kim Barr 505 N. Jackson Ave. Bartow, FL 33830 (863) 533-2200  15 Years Mosaic 20 Years Bartow Consulting Group, Inc. 30 Years Ardaman & Associates, Inc. Central Florida Truss, Inc. |
|
Peace River Country Club Opens To Public For Lunch The Peace River Country Club, 100 N. Idlewood Avenue, opened its doors to the public for a limited time. The public is invited to eat lunch at the club, paying the member’s cost of $13.48 at the door. The price includes a full luncheon buffet, drink, dessert, tax and gratuity. Soup and salad bar and special order sandwiches are also available at a reduced cost. The special will continue from now until October 31. Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. For more information, please contact Chris or Tara at (863) 533-0966. Gause Academy Receives Governor’s Award Gause Academy received a Governor’s Award for Excellence for its integration of economics into business classes. Gause Academy teacher Melissa Konkol-Bennett led her high school business students in a study of the economic impact of agriculture in Florida. U.S. Congressman Adam Putnam met with the students and talked about the different types of agriculture and discussed tariffs and regulations pertaining to the agriculture industry. Conference Rooms Available Riverside Bank of Bartow has two conference rooms at the bank that businesses may reserve free of charge. Contact Carrie Porterfield for more information at (863) 533-0201, ext. 69600. SEMCO’s Jennifer Sturgis Completes NIGP Program Jennifer Sturgis, Vice President of SEMCO Construction, Inc., recently completed the NIGP Government Contractor Certificate Program. This program, hosted by the National Institute of Government Purchasing, is a five course program specifically for private sector contractors who are seeking greater awareness and understanding of public procurement processes and the government purchasing environment. 
The next Committee of 100 meeting is set for Friday morning, August 8, 2008, at the Bartow Municipal Airport in the Terminal conference room. Guest speaker is Brad Swanson with the Florida Chamber of Commerce. Meeting time in August is 8:00 a.m. If you are interested in becoming a member of this prestigious group, contact Committee of 100 Chairman Brian Hinton at (863) 533-4196. MEMBERS A-C-T Environmental & Infrastructure Allen & Company of Florida, Inc. Ardaman & Associates, Inc. Artcraft Printers Badcock Home Furniture & more Bank of Central Florida Bartow Community Healthcare Foundation, Inc. Bartow Ford Company Bartow Regional Medical Center Boswell & Dunlap, LLP Brown & Brown Insurance of Florida Colonial Bank CF Industries, Inc. Citizens Bank & Trust City of Bartow Clear Springs Community National Bank Community Southern Bank Congressman Adam Putnam Davis Bros. Florida Transport Service, Inc. Gibson & Wirt, Inc. Hatton Insurance Agency, Inc. Highland Homes Madrid Engineering Group, Inc. Michael Holley Pontiac-Buick-GMC Moduss, Inc. Mosaic Murphy Motors PalletOne, Inc. Peace River Center Pickett & Associates, Inc. Pickett Engineering, Inc. Polk Community College Polk Works Renditions Riverside Bank SEMCO Construction Smith Bros. Oil Company, Inc. State Farm Insurance - Bill Costello Mr. & Mrs. Jean Terry The Polk County Democrat Till Office Equipment University of South Florida Lakeland Bartow Farmer’s Market Every Saturday Downtown The Historic Bartow Downtown Farmer’s Market is every Saturday from 8am to 2pm on the north side of the Historic Polk County Museum on Central Avenue. Vendors who are interested in participating in the Farmer’s Market may call Main Street Bartow at 863-519-0508. Got Changes! Let us know of any changes you or your company might have so the Chamber can make proper referrals and give information to your potential customers! E-mail info to jeff@bartowchamber.com. Your fellow Chamber members want to hear about you! |
Local candidates from all over the county will be on hand to speak, answer questions and meet the public at the event.
The rally will offer voters an opportunity to participate in a straw vote with the results announced at the conclusion of the evening.
International Baccalaureate student Angela Lewis for the second year in a row wins the “People’s Choice Award,” in the “Our History Comes To Life” photo contest sponsored by the Bartow Marketing Partnership. Fred Johnson of Fred’s Southern Kitchen, presents Miss Lewis with her award. She also received a check for $100.
The Greater Bartow Chamber of Commerce celebrated a ribbon-cutting for Good Measure Coffee House & Café at its new location at 135 E. Main Street. Owners Bobby and Alisa Wallace cut the ceremonial ribbon on Tuesday, July 8, 2008. Assisting in the celebrations were (left to right) Chamber Ambassadors Gail Smith, Sherry Wheelock and Pam Mitchell; CRA Director Jim Duane; Gail Murray; Bobby Wallace, Sheila Broom; Alisa Wallace; the Wallace’s children, Parker and Barrett; Good Measure staff member Kelly Grice; Chamber Ambassador Linda Culpepper; Chamber President Debbie Burdett, Mosaic; and Chamber Ambassador Ruth Trainor.
At right, Bobby and Alisa Wallace receive a “First Clear Dollar of Profit” plaque from Debbie Burdett. For more information about Good Measure Coffee House & Café, please call (863) 519-4612.
So, all this time you thought Elvis was pumping gas in Fort Meade.
As most of you recall, Elvis actually played at the Polk Theatre in 1956, and later played the Lakeland Center many times in the 70s. (Was that you who threw your unmentionables on the stage?)
Fred’s Southern Kitchen celebrated a ribbon-cutting on July 3, 2008. Members of the Greater Bartow Chamber of Commerce, staff and customers were on hand to watch Fred Johnson cut the ribbon on the new location at 1380 N. Broadway Ave. “Bartow is like coming home,” Johnson said. Winners of the “Our History Comes To Life,” photo contest were announced at the event, and Johnson presented the Chamber Foundation a check for $3,700 to be distributed to the Church Service Center and Women’s Care Center. The money was raised during the “soft” opening of the restaurant.
On July 3, the sixth annual Bartow Community Barbecue was held to benefit the Young Patriots Foundation. Congress Adam Putnam hosted the event.
© 1998-2008 Greater Bartow Chamber of Commerce