Chamber members finalizing plans for 67th Annual Meeting!

Chamber members are busy finalizing plans for the 67th Annual Chamber Meeting on Thursday, February 5, 2015 at The Newnan Centre, 1515 Lower Fayetteville Road in Newnan. At a recent committee meeting at Meat 'N Greet in Newnan are, from left, Phil Aaron, Gina Weathersby, Ginger Jackson Queener, John Boothby, Marcia Smith, Candace Boothby and Brad Down. Have you made your reservations? The registration deadline is tomorrow, January 29, and since this is one of The Chamber's biggest events of the year, you will not want to miss out!

Business and community leaders, economic development partners, and elected officials will attend this event, which is presented by Georgia Power Company. The annual celebration serves as an opportunity to honor Chamber members who have made significant contributions to enhance our community. The theme for this year's event will be "The Meaning of the Evening," and our special guest will be motivational speaker and humorist Jimmy Cusano, whom many of us got to know when he led our successful "It's Raining Members" membership campaign last summer.

There will be Cocktails from 5:15–6:15 p.m., and the Dinner Program will be from 6–8 p.m. Register now through ChamberMaster by clicking here.

Annual Meeting registration deadline is Thursday!

Have you made your reservations for our 67th Annual Chamber Meeting on Thursday, February 5, 2015 at The Newnan Centre, 1515 Lower Fayetteville Road in Newnan? The registration deadline is this Thursday, January 29, and since this is one of our biggest events of the year, you will not want to miss out!

Business and community leaders, economic development partners, and elected officials will attend this event, which is presented by Georgia Power Company. The annual celebration serves as an opportunity to honor Chamber members who have made significant contributions to enhance our community. The theme for this year's event will be "The Meaning of the Evening," and our special guest will be motivational speaker and humorist Jimmy Cusano, whom many of us got to know when he led our successful "It's Raining Members" membership campaign last summer.

There will be Cocktails from 5:15–6:15 p.m., and the Dinner Program will be from 6–8 p.m. Register now through ChamberMaster by clicking here.

Our first 2015 BAH event is tomorrow at Dolce!

It's almost time! We'll be celebrating our first Business-After-Hours networking event of the year tomorrow night by "rockin' in the New Year" at Dolce Hotels and Resorts in Peachtree City!

Come celebrate with us and have fun networking with your fellow Chamber members. You'll enjoy great food, drink, connections and hospitality! You'll have a great time catching up with everyone and planning for a terrific year.

BAH is tomorrow, January 22, 2015 from 5:30–7 p.m. at 201 Aberdeen Parkway, Peachtree City. Click here for directions! Click here to RSVP.  For more information, e-mail julia@newnancowetachamber.org or call 770.253.2270. We look forward to seeing you there!

Have you registered for the Annual Meeting on Feb. 5? Deadline is Jan. 29!

Have you made your reservations for our 67th Annual Chamber Meeting on Thursday, February 5, 2015 at The Newnan Centre, 1515 Lower Fayetteville Road in Newnan? The registration deadline is Jan. 29, and this is one of our biggest events of the year, one you won't want to miss!

Business and community leaders, economic development partners, and elected officials will attend this event, which is presented by Georgia Power Company. The annual celebration serves as an opportunity to honor Chamber members who have made significant contributions to enhance our community. The theme for this year's event will be "The Meaning of the Evening," and our special guest will be motivational speaker and humorist Jimmy Cusano, whom many of us got to know when he led our successful "It's Raining Members" membership campaign last summer.

There will be Cocktails from 5:15–6:15 p.m., and the Dinner Program will be from 6–8 p.m. Register now through ChamberMaster by clicking here.

Our first BAH of 2015 is at Dolce Hotels and Resorts!

Our first Business-After-Hours networking event of the year is set for Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015, from 5:30-7 p.m. at Dolce Hotels and Resorts in Peachtree City! We'll be rockin' in the new year by networking with Chamber friends and enjoying great food, drink, connections and hospitality. It's going to be a great year!

Dolce is located at 201 Aberdeen Parkway in Peachtree City, and you can find directions by clicking here.

And click here to RSVP through ChamberMaster. For more information, e-mail julia@newnancowetachamber.org or call 770-253-2270.

We're proud to be a 5-Star Chamber!

In recent years you may have seen the phrase "5-Star Chamber" used to describe our Newnan-Coweta Chamber. Have you ever wondered what this means? Well, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. awards accreditation to local chambers of commerce if they are found to have sound policies, effective organizational procedures and a positive impact on their community.

The only program of its kind in the country, U.S. Chamber Accreditation recognizes excellence in chamber planning and performance. To achieve Accreditation, a chamber must demonstrate quality programs, clear organizational procedures, and effective communications by meeting minimum standards in its operations and programs, including areas of governance, government affairs and technology. This extensive self-review can take six to nine months to complete.

Local and regional chambers are rated Accredited or Accredited with 3 Stars, 4 Stars or 5 Stars. The final determination is made by the Accrediting board, a committee of U.S. Chamber board members and chamber CEOs from across the country. And of course we are thrilled that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce chose us for its highest designation, 5-Star Accreditation, which makes our chamber part of the 1 percent of chambers nationwide to receive this honor. It's a reflection of the hard work of all of our members and staff, and we hope you're proud to belong to a 5-Star Chamber!

Cultivating a gratitude habit

At The Chamber's final Women of Prosperity Luncheon for 2014 in December, all the women in attendance received an attractive red gratitude journal from Nick and Gwen Garrison of LifePlan Financial Advisors, Inc., sponsor of the luncheon. “Gratitude” has become something of a buzzword in recent years, and experts say that cultivating a habit of gratitude is good for our personal life as well as for business!

According to a Nov. 23 article on Success.com, it helps to remember to be grateful when bad things don’t happen. According to the article, "At the University of Virginia, the University of Western Ontario and other places, psychologists asked people to imagine that something in their lives (either bad or good) had turned out worse.” Those who imagined themselves in a worse predicament experienced better moods afterward. And a 2008 study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that small doses of positivity “improved life satisfaction and reduced depressive symptoms over time.”

To read the Success.com article, click here. And if you'd like to read another Success magazine article with some specific ways to make time for gratitude in your business, click here.

Like to travel? Then join our 2015 Germany trip!

It's time to start thinking about travel plans for the year, and if you've ever wanted to travel to Austria and Germany, you'll want to attend our January 27 informational meeting about the Chamber's trip there next fall! The Newnan-Coweta Chamber, in partnership with the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (GACCE), has announced plans for A Taste of Tyrol-Innsbruck, Austria, featuring Oktoberfest, set for September 30 to October 8, 2015. The informational meeting about the trip will be held at the Chamber offices on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 at 4 p.m.

Our home for the seven nights will be Innsbruck, Austria. Innsbruck, the capital of the Tyrol, is located in the Alpine region of Austria, in the valley of the river Inn, at 1,000 feet above sea level. It is surrounded by mountain ranges and numerous peaks which reach an altitude of approximately 8,000 feet above sea level. The city has 140,000 inhabitants and hosts one of the oldest universities in Europe. Innsbruck is an excellent vacation destination and is best known for its rich cultural heritage and great location, as it is only a stone’s throw from Italy and Germany. Innsbruck has been the host for Olympic Winter Games twice, in 1964 and 1976. In the town, some 160 restaurants, cafes and bars, most of them in walking distance to the old town, offer traditional Tyrolean and Austrian specialties as well as international dishes.

For $2,999 per person, this trip includes:

• Roundtrip airfare from Atlanta
• Seven nights in Innsbruck, Austria, at a first-class hotel
• Seven (7) buffet breakfasts and four (4) dinners
• Sightseeing with admissions including a local guide. Tours to Munich & Oktoberfest, Neuschwanstein Castle and a half-day tour of Innsbruck. Optional additional tours also available.
• Modern air-conditioned motor coaches for all transfers & tours
• Professional drivers and host/guides
• Baggage handling for one piece of luggage outside the secure area at the arrival airport

Final payment is due June 30, 2015. Reservations are first-come, first-served, so sign up early to reserve a space. For more information, email info@newnancowetachamber.org or call 770.253.2270. For an itinerary, click here.