We are delighted to host the 34th  annual Women in Business Luncheon which will be held on Tuesday, April 23, 2013, at 12:00 noon.  The event will be held again this year at the Pageland First Baptist Church.

A registration form is available here for your convenience  Registration WIB 2013.  I encourage you to attend or send a representative(s) from your business, or if you have co-workers, family or personal friends who would like to participate in our salute to businesswomen.  The cost of registration is $15 per person.  This fee pays for a catered meal, entertainment, and a small token of appreciation for each attendee.  Registration forms should be received by April 19, 2013.

Again this year, an “Outstanding Woman in Business” will be recognized.  A nomination form is available here for your convenience Nomination Form WIB 2013.  Please complete this form as soon as possible, and mail it back to the Chamber.  All nominations must be postmarked by April 15, 2013.

We look forward to celebrating 34 years of recognizing “Women in Business” who have contributed greatly to our workforce.  If you have gift items that you would like to include for those that attend, please let us know.  I will be glad to pick them up ahead of time.    Thank you for being a chamber member and for supporting all we do!

Click here for a form to print:  Registration WIB 2013 Nomination Form WIB 2013

POWER HOUR SUCCESS

Our Lunch and Learn series on Tuesday, March 26th was another successful event.  Lynn Nicholson and her team from Prudential gave a very informative program on retirement and dealing with Social Security.

It was a very informal event with lots of questions from those attending.  It was also called a Power Hour, because it was all packed into 60 minutes.  A meal was provided by the Chamber of Commerce for any Chamber member present.

We had a good response for the event and really good comments about it afterwards.  We hope to continue this process throughout the year.

If you would like more information about this session, please contact Lynn and the Prudential staff at the office (843.672.7625).

Look for another great Power Hour coming soon!

The Pageland Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring another great event in Pageland, this Saturday, April 13th.  The event is SHRED IT!  If you have old files, financial records or tax documents  that you would like to destroy in a safe manner, this event is for you.

Iron Mountain, a leading provider in storage and management information services will be in town with a safe and secure way to dispose of your files.  With Iron Mountain’s Secure Shredding services, you’ll be able to safely  destroy unnecessary paper-based documents while overcoming your information privacy challenges.

Not only is this Saturday the conclusion of Pageland Pride week, but this is also Records and Information Management month.  We wanted to help our community clean up their old files.  Iron Mountain’s Secure Shredding service is AAA certified by the National Association for Information Destruction.  They have trained specialists and equipment operators.  This will be a complete onsite destruction of paper documents.  Representatives from the Pageland Chamber will also be on hand during this event and you can remain and observe the destruction of your documents.

The mobile unit will be set up at 129 North Pearl Street  - this is across the street from the Chamber of Commerce office – on Saturday morning, April 13th from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm.  The service is FREE to Chamber members and only a small fee of $5.00 per container for others.    This is an 8 gallon container, so it will hold a lot of paper.  The only thing you need to do is to remove large metal clips and notebook type binders.  The shredder can handle other things like paper clips and staples.  We hope you will take advantage of this event and take the worry out of getting rid of your old files and documents.

Anyone from large scale farmers to backyard gardeners is invited to compete in the Mayor’s
Mighty Melon Contest at this year’s Pageland Watermelon Festival. The contest
is sponsored by Pageland Mayor Brian Hough.

“Pageland is the Watermelon Capital of the World and this will give local melon growers a
chance to show why,” said Hough.

The rules are simple. Any melons entered must be grown within 20 miles of Pageland. The
weigh-in will take place during the week leading up to Watermelon Festival
weekend, which is July 19-20 this year.

There will be two divisions: crimson sweet and other melons. Crimson sweet is the most
commonly grown watermelon variety in this area. The average size is about 20
lbs. The division for other melons will allow contestants to select varieties
based on size. The bigger the better! Some melon varieties grow to over 100 lbs.

Contestants will be required to fill out a form at the weigh-in certifying that their melon
is locally grown. The form needs to be signed by two witnesses who saw the
melon growing in the field before it was picked. The winner in each division
will receive a $50 prize.

Plans are underway for the next Watermelon Idol contest in Pageland, South Carolina.  There is a large following of this event and they are ready to get things going for 2013.  We hope to have a talented field of contestants sure to please the crowd.

The event is planned for up to four weeks of competition.  We will begin on Thursday, May 30th and then continue each Thursday following, until a winner is declared.  There will be two divisions this year with a winner in each division – Division 1 – ages 10 – 17 and Division 2 – ages 18 & up.  The winners will perform during the Pageland Watermelon Festival in July.

People’s Choice awards will also be back by popular demand.  Plans are underway for that competition to take place through Facebook and possibly durng the actual event for those who don’t have a Facebook page.  More information will come on those ideas.

Mark your calendars and get ready for another exciting season of Watermelon Idol.  Thursdays, May 30th; June 6th; June 13th; June 20th.  6:30 pm at the Gazebo in Pageland, SC.

You can download a registration form here:  2013 Watermelon Idol Registration Form

We will be hosting another great Lunch and Learn event on Tuesday, March 26th at Beth’s Country Kitchen.  The event will start promptly at 12:30!   We have a good program lined up for you and we know Beth will have wonderful food.  This event is open to the public, and we will pick up the tab for one meal per Chamber Member business (another great member advantage).  Other guest will pay $8.00 per person for their meal.

Our guest speaker will have important informaton about Social Security.  This will be an informative packed brief dialouge and you will also be able to network with other business representatives.  This will be a Power Hour!

Planning the Event Calendar for the year takes top priority this time of year.  We take the feed back from our members and the community and we also reflect on things that were good and things that didn’t work out as well.  We meet to brainstorm ideas both new and those that have had success.  A list is made and spread out over the coming months.  Board members decide who will chair events so that they can begin the process of seeing their event through from beginning to end.

These planning meetings take place in the first couple of months of each new year.  Our Annual meeting takes place in January and new board members attend their first board meeting in February.   The specifics of the events are not always available right away.  We have our annual events, quarterly events and special events.

Our February calendar holds yet another planning session.  This one is for the 2013 Pageland Watermelon Festival.  The kick off meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 19th at 5:15 (or as soon as anyone can arrive).  It will be held in the conference room at First Palmetto Bank.  If you can volunteer any time or if you have suggestions, please plan to attend this meeting.

We also have a tentative date for the next Lunch and Learn session – Tuesday, March 26th.  We will let you know more details about this event as the plans progress.  Please keep check on this website for announcements of the next events to take place.

Our annual Christmas Parade of Lights will be held Saturday, December 8th at 6pm.

WE NEED YOU!  Please make plans to participate in our parade.  Anyone interested in having an entry should download this form:  2012 Registration Form or you can pick up a form at the Pageland Town Hall, Freeman’s Video or the Chamber office.

The Pageland Community Center parking lot will be available all day on Saturday for you to decorate your entry safely.  Line up will begin at 5:30 at Pageland Elementary School.  The parade will start promptly at 6 pm and will proceed down McGregor Street to the Chesco Center.

Show your community spirit and be a part of our Christmas celebration!

The business is located at 216 South Van L. Mungo Blvd in Pageland.  Lynn Nicholson, Gail Scurry, Robert Nicholson and Heather Nicholson are on hand to help with all your needs.   For questions, or to make an appointment, call 843-672-7625 or visit the office.

There was certainly a chill in the air and that would put anyone in the holiday spirit!  Several businesses were counting on being able to stir up some holiday cheer.   Together, they agreed on the date and set their plans into motion.

November 1st may seem a little early to you for starting the holiday season.  But is it really?  Have you been thinking about your decorations for Thanksgiving and Christmas?  Have you
already begun to make your shopping list for Santa?  How many times do you browse around before you buy?

These are the questions our business owners ponder about their customers.  They know that they need to catch you early and offer a great product or service and a good deal.  When  they group together to bring people out on the same date, they can get a jump on the season sales.

One business owner said, “We don’t want to worry about our sales so much tonight, we are really looking for the customer that likes to browse.  They may pick up a few things, but they will see the potential in other items and return to the store later for more purchases.”  Another said, “It’s about getting people to come in a see what we have to offer right here at home!”

We hope you had time to visit these locations on Thursday November 1st, but if not – they certainly will be there for you throughout the season.  Help support our local businesses – the backbone of our community.