The new year started on a high note for the MCCC with our Annual Legislative Breakfast.  Thank you to all who sponsored and attended this year’s event.  Now that the Legislative Session has begun, the MCCC will keep you updated on the progress.

In looking ahead, we are very excited to partner with Seven Stories Theatre Company, Pierpont CTC, and CreateTank for the upcoming murder mystery dessert theatre “Love Is a Heart Full of Bullet Holes.”  This unique event will be held on February 11^th and tickets MUST be reserved in advance.  Seating is limited, so call the Chamber for more information.

Moving ahead in February, the Chamber welcomes Congressman Nick J. Rahall as the Keynote Speaker for our quarterly “Coffee With Congress” luncheon.  This event will be held on Saturday, February 18^th and we hope you will come out and support it.  Congressman Rahall has been very instrumental in Congress in providing funds to Marion County for numerous transportation projects.

Our membership is growing and we welcome our newest members:

Associated Businesses of East Fairmont

Enersystems, Inc

Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc

Marion County Solid Waste Authority

McBee Family Dentistry

MedExpress Urgent Care,

Miller Law Offices, PLLC

National White Collar Crime Center

The Disability Action Center

The UPS Store

We hope you will join us for our upcoming events and please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.

With the successful dedication of the Alan B. Mollohan Gateway Connector on October 15^th, the Marion County Chamber of Commerce is in planning mode for 2012.  The last quarter of 2011 will be very busy with our new series “Coffee with Congress” and the Women’s Network.  Both are exciting new initiatives that will continue through next year.

The Connector celebration was a true collaboration of many dedicated business leaders and volunteers.  After a day of speakers, ribbon cuttings, performances, artist showcases, music, and a night glow 5K race, the evening ended with a spectacular fireworks display that had all in attendance feeling very proud of what this community has accomplished.   We were honored to be involved and thank all who attended, planned, sponsored, and took part in the festivities of the day.

“Coffee with Congress” was held on October 22^nd with Congressman David B. McKinley as the first Keynote Speaker.  Congressman McKinley discussed current federal legislative issues impacting businesses in the North Central WV region.  He applauded Marion County for their aggressive development in high technology and business development.

A very exciting, new program for the Marion County Chamber is the Women’s Network, which is growing rapidly.  These dynamic women leaders are helping establish this network and we encourage all women who are either chamber members or work for a chamber member to become involved in this stimulating movement.  Our sponsors; Rider Pharmacy & Gifts, Fairmont Clinic, and Wal-Mart are making it possible this first year to plan and initiate this program.

With the holidays not far away, the MCCC goes into planning mode for 2012.  Watch for upcoming special events in the next two months and as always, please don’t hesitate to share your suggestions with us.

Title: Annual Dinner Meeting
Location: Fairmont State University/ Falcon Center
Description: The Marion County Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner is the premiere business event of the year. With record breaking crowds of 500 attendees, the Chamber recognizes businesses while providing a huge connection opportunity. More information will follow.
Start Time: 17:00
Date: 2011-08-10

Title: Cruise In Car Show
Location: Fairmont State University
Description: The 1st Annual MCCC Cruise In is scheduled from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm on June 25th on the campus of Fairmont State University in the Duvall Rosier Field Parking Lot. The event is open to the public and costs $10 per participating car. For more information, call the MCCC at (304) 363-0442.
Start Time: 12:00
Date: 2011-06-25
End Time: 15:00

Marion County residents have a lot to be proud of the past few months.  Gateway Connector continues to look better daily, WV State Office Complex is closer to reality, CJ Maggie’s opens in downtown Fairmont,  our very own winery Heston Farm Winery & Distillery opened, the beginning of Pricket Fort’s summer events, schools preparing to close after another successful year and communities working together on their spring-summer clean ups.

The Marion County Chamber has been busy planning and implementing several new programs for our members and their employees.  We will soon host the kick- off celebration for our very own “Women’s Network.”  With sponsors; Rider Pharmacy, Fairmont Clinic and Wal-Mart, the new program is designed to educate, empower and engage all Chamber women.  The planning committee will meet early June and a celebration kick-off will be held later in the month.  Look for more information to follow.

Congratulations to Fairmont Rotary Club for the wonderful execution of their “Fly the Flag” promotion.  These beautiful flags are flying throughout Marion County neighborhoods.  It was a great idea and gives residents an opportunity to show their patriotism during those special holidays at a VERY low cost.  If you would like more information, just call the Chamber and we’ll be glad to help.

As summer approaches, members can look forward to a special publication that will be available for their use.  A Marion County Market and Economic Guide will be distributed later in June unveiling all new census numbers and important information on Marion and surrounding counties.  With all the new demographic information updated, the Chamber felt it was time to compile an “easy to use” guide for business recruitment and retention.  If you would like a copy, please call the Chamber and we will make sure it gets delivered.

Let’s hope June brings more sunshine than May and our Chamber businesses have a very successful summer.

With daylight savings time upon us, it is time for a Chamber update.  The WV Legislative Session officially ended on Saturday, March 19^th; however, the legislators will stay in Charleston for one more week to work on the budget. 

The Marion County Delegation fought for many issues and worked hard on our behalf.  As a Chamber we asked them to support Fairmont State University with their 4^th and final year of equitable funding, which they did, and to support Pierpont Community & Technical College in their efforts to secure a 3^rd floor for the Advanced Training Center to be built in the I-79 Technology Park.  I am optimistic that the Pierpont request will also be successful.  In addition, we have stayed in touch with our Senators and Delegates to ensure that the new WV State Office Complex proceeds as planned and the current facility is demolished in a timely manner.  They have worked diligently on these requests and we are confident that they will continue through the interim sessions to stay on top of these projects.

With spring approaching, your Chamber is gearing up for a very busy three months.  Plans are underway for the Chamber’s Annual Golf Outing to be held on May 6^th at Green Hills Country Club.  This event brings out many of our members for a fun day.  Also in the planning stages is the first Annual Wine & Jazz Festival to be held in June.  This one day event will offer wine tasting from the numerous wineries throughout the region along with food, fun, and entertainment.  Be on the lookout for more detailed information on this event.

A movement to start a Women’s Network is underway which will offer our members more opportunities to connect and engage with each other.  In the very beginning stages, this new initiative will offer seminars, workshops, and special events for our women members.  A kick-off reception is being planned and members will be notified of the date.

The MCCC Board of Directors and committees are hard at work making sure all members are given the opportunities to be involved and engaged.  If you would like to serve on a committee, please call the chamber and we will make it happen. 

We have copies of the 2011 Membership Directory, which is used as recruitment for new residents and businesses.  Copies can be picked up in the Chamber office or we would be glad to send one to you.  Just call the office at 304 363-0442.

As always, we invite all members to call us with any questions, comments or suggestions on ways we can help your business!

As January 2011 quickly draws to an end, we wanted you to know that the Marion County Chamber has been hard at work finalizing plans for the upcoming year and helping assist members with business related issues.

It’s Legislative Season and for us that means great changes.  Senator Roman Prezioso was recently appointed the Chair of Senate Finance.  A powerful committee in the Senate, Prezioso should have no trouble leading the charge.  His experience and hard work in the Senate paid off as he was selected for this honor. 

The MCCC met with all our local Delegates at the Annual Legislative Breakfast earlier this month. They were presented with the Chamber’s key legislative issues that we feel are important to all Chamber members.  You can find the entire 2011 Legislative Agenda listed under the Advocacy tab above.

The MCCC held a Board of Directors meeting and Work Session on January 21^st at the Fairmont Field Club.  Committee Assignments were made and committees met to establish goals and objectives.  Board meetings will be held bi-monthly for 2011 with the Executive Committee meeting monthly.  MCCC members are encouraged to serve on committees which include:  Governmental Relations, Small Business, Education, Finance, Special Events, and Membership.  All are welcome and we encourage our members to be involved.  Call the office at 304 363-0442 if you would like to serve.

As always, we invite all members to call us with any questions, comments or suggestions on ways we can help your business!

Happy Holidays from the Marion County Chamber of Commerce.  We hope all our members, friends, and families enjoyed a peaceful and joyful Christmas and are excited about 2011.  As the MCCC gears up for another successful year, we are excited about what’s to come for Marion County. 

We applaud Congressman Mollohan, Senator Manchin, the Marion County Commission, the City of Fairmont, the WV Department of  Highways along with the Federal Department of Highways on the hard work and dedication displayed in completing the Fairmont Gateway Connector.  Wow……..what a great addition to our community!  The Connector is fully open and we encourage all of you to please take a drive on the new highway into Fairmont and Marion County.  It is truly a state of the art parkway and the exciting part is the future that it holds for all businesses.  Now that it is open, we all must do our job to create new opportunities for our existing and future businesses.  Stay tuned on details for a ribbon cutting and dedication of the new parkway in the coming months.

We hope you have received your invitation to the 2011 Legislative Breakfast.  With some new faces, you will not want to miss this event.  It will be held on Friday, January 7^th in the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center (I-79 Technology Park) and will begin at 8:30 am.  The Legislative Session begins the following week, so this will be the perfect time to talk to our Delegates about important issues facing Marion County businesses in the coming year.   Thanks to nTelos for their sponsorship of the breakfast and to all our table sponsors.  The MCCC is able to keep the cost of this to a minimum because of these dedicated members.  If you have questions, please call us at 304 -363-0442.

The MCCC would like to welcome the new members to the Board of Directors; Jim Haney, Allegheny Energy; Dr. Doreen Larson, Pierpont Community & Technical College; Shirly Roets, createTank; and Chip Vanalsburg, Frontier Communications.   We would also like to thank Guy Baroni, Scott Robertson, Teresa Rundle and Dave Shaw who will be leaving the Board after serving two terms.

As always, we invite all members to call us with any questions, comments or suggestions on ways we can help your business!

Happy 2011.

Congratulations to all who were involved in passing the Marion County School Bond.  Because of a very dedicated Bond Committee, Marion County school personnel, and community support, we will soon have a new middle school for East Fairmont.  This community should be proud of that accomplishment and look forward to future school projects.  This was definitely a win for economic development in Marion County!   Now we can move on to some very exciting events in the next few months.

First, the Marion County Chamber, along with the Fairmont State Alumni Association and the Harrison County Chamber will honor Dr. Doreen Larson on November 17^th.  Dr. Larson is the new President of Pierpont Community and Technical College and a welcome reception will be held, in her honor, at the Research Center in the I-79 Technology Park on the 17^th.  The event will take place from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm and is open to all chamber members and their guests.  Refreshments will be served and Dr. Larson will make brief remarks at 6:00 pm.

The MCCC’s Small Business Expo will also be held on November 17^th at the Middletown Mall.  Billed as a one day, one stop networking event, numerous businesses will be on hand from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm showcasing their products and services.  We invite and hope that all members and their employees to attend and hope they will stop by at some point during the day to support their fellow businesses.  Additionally, we’d like to thank the Middletown Mall for providing the venue for this event.

Please mark your calendars for a very special reception to honor Congressman Alan B. Mollohan scheduled for December 8, 2010.  The Chamber is planning this event to say Thank You to Congressman Mollohan for his 28 years of service to our District.  It will be held in the Research Center at the I-79 Technology Park from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm on that date.  Tickets can be purchased by calling the chamber and are $25.00 for Chamber members and $40.00 for non members.  Any business wanting to sponsor the event can also call the Chamber.  Sponsorships are $500.00 and include a table of eight along with program and signage recognition. 

As we wind down the year, the MCCC will be electing new board members and begin the planning for 2011.  First event will be the Legislative Breakfast on Friday, January 7^th.  More information will follow in the coming weeks.

Title: Welcome Reception
Location: I-79 Technology Park Research Center
Description: Join Marion, Harrison and Morgantown Chambers of Commerce for a reception in honor of Dr. Doreen Larson, President, Pierpont Community & Technical College. For more information call (304) 363-0442.
Start Time: 17:30
Date: 2010-11-17
End Time: 19:30