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JANUARY & FEBRUARY 2017 - Months to Remember
A Message from Chamber President/
CEO Joe Kleinknecht
I have to say, the first two months of the year here at the Chamber have been two of the most grueling months of my 14-year Chamber career.
At the end of December 2016, our 25-year Chamber employee, Judy Dyer decided she was ready to retire on March 1st. This meant a lot of experience was going with her. The saving thing about this is that she will still be filling in at the office from time to time on an as needed basis and we certainly appreciate that.
Luckily, Miranda Jones who had served on our Board of Directors and as the chair of the Chamber Ambassadors had left her position to spend more time at home with her kids. She was helping at the Chamber with our social media and inquired about the new position. The details were worked out and Miranda began her career at the Chamber at the beginning of January.
Since retirement, usually means “retirement party” the next thing on our agenda became the planning of Judy’s retirement party that we set for February 17th. This posed a problem, with trying to keep it a secret from her as she continued to work in the office until the end of February, and yes, we managed to do it!
Months ago, we decided to do a “Hotel Take-Over” at the new Sleep Inn & Suites on SR 598 and the date of March 3rd was set for that to take place, just two weeks after Judy’s retirement party.
Planning, planning and more planning as we also had to prepare for our annual Economic Development Update and Business Forecast Breakfast that was scheduled to take place just four days after the Hotel Takeover. The Forecast Breakfast is the only event that we have during the first quarter of a normal calendar year.
One saving grace that Miranda and I had was that we still had Judy in the office and she knew about the events other than her “retirement party” and she was a big help in making those two happen.
As I look back now, they were all worth the work, but I would NOT want to hold three major events like that in a three week period every year.
To add to all of this, all three of our computers in the office were infected with viruses and we had to have them all cleaned up and new virus protection installed in February.
I say this, to let you know that in the hustle and bustle of the first two months of the year, we sincerely apologize if we failed to meet any of our members needs or failed to get back with you if you may have left a message for us.
The office is beginning to get back to “normal”, if there is such a thing in this day and age, and we want all of you to know that you are the reason we are here and encourage you to stop by or call us with any needs or questions that you might have, and we want to thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Joe Kleinknecht, President/CEO
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Chamber Hotel Takeover
On March 3rd, the “Chamber Hotel Takeover” took place at the new Sleep Inn & Suites on Brandt Rd. in Galion.
This long awaited event had been in the planning stages since we knew the Sleep Inn & Suites was coming to our community.
Over 125 chamber members and their guest gathered for a fun time on Friday evening, with nearly 50 of the 62 rooms being reserved for the evening.
Food for the evening was provided by Ralphie's Eatery, which will be opening soon in Galion, and craft beer was provided by the Eighteen-O-Three Tap Room in Galion.
Door prizes which were provided by: United Bank, H&K Watkins, Eighteen-O-Three Tap Room, the Galion Graders, Sleep Inn & Suites, Innovative Recycling, Galion Center-YMCA, Flower Cart Florist, the Galion-Crestline Chamber, Crossroads Candles and Coopers Mill and were awarded every half hour throughout the evening.
“It’s A Photo Booth” was on hand throughout the evening to take short “boomerang videos” of those in attendance, which were then sent back to their phones for viewing and sharing through social media, email and text messaging.
A great breakfast of, biscuits & gravy, eggs, muffins, bacon, sausage, waffles, fruit and sweet rolls was served for breakfast on Saturday morning.
(pictures: top right: guest enjoying the food catered by Ralphie's, bottom left: guests socializing and having their pictures taken by "It's A PhotoBooth", bottom right: Chris Stone, owner- Eighteen-O-Three Taproom and Miranda Jones, Member Engagement Director-Galion-Crestline Chamber)
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Congressman Jim Jordan Attended a Public Forum Monday, March 13th at the Galion-Crestline Chamber
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The meeting was well attended by civic and business leaders in and about Galion; a total of 30 individuals were present for the 45 minute open discussion.
Students: Connor Moreton, a senior at Galion High School, Erin Ekin, a home school student, (daughter of Brad Ekin, Chamber Board member and President of Elliott Machine) and Thomas Shawk, a senior at Galion High School were also in attendance and posed for a picture with Congressman Jordan.
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NEW CHAMBER MEMBERS
Layland Electronics, Todd Layland, 130 Harding Way E., Galion, Ohio 44833, 419-219-9141
RentWear Inc., Del Smith, 7944 Whipple Ave. NW, North Canton, Ohio 44720, 330-494-5776
Galion Community Foundation, Cathy Moneysmith, 135 Harding Way W., Galion, Ohio 44833, 419-468-6300
Indoff Business Essentials, Jeff Booher, 121 W. Warren St., Bucyrus, Ohio 44820, 419-562-8631
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The 2017 Galion Community Guides are Available
at
the Chamber Office.
Stop By to Get Your Copy Today!
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Storage Report – 03/30/2017
Thursday’s storage report cited a withdrawal of 43 Bcf, which was in line with market estimates on what is thought to be the last projected storage withdrawal of the season. As a comparison, last year’s withdrawal for the same week was 19 Bcf, and the 5-year average reduction is 27 Bcf.
Working gas in storage was 2,049 Bcf as of Friday, March 24th, 2017, per EIA estimates. Inventory was reported at 423 Bcf (-17.1%) less than last year at this same time, and 250 Bcf (+13.9%) above the 5-year average of 1,799 Bcf.
Natural Gas Trends:
May NYMEX:
On Wednesday, May became the prompt closing its first day at $3.231 Dth, up 5.4 cents on the day. Trading closed Thursday at $3.191/Dth, down .04 cents on the day.
Seasonal Strips:
The current summer strip (MAY17-OCT17) settled Thursday’s trading at $2.870/Dth, down 34.8 cents from a week ago. This coming year's winter strip (NOV17-MAR18) settled Thursday at $3.477/Dth up 3.5 cents from last week.
12 Month Strip:
Settled Thursday at $3.336/Dth, up 19.7 cents from 30 days ago. As a comparison, the strip was trading at $2.508/Dth, last year.
Summary:
April NYMEX settled on Wednesday March 29th at $2.175 Dth, up almost 8 cents on the day and an eight-week high. This is the sixth consecutive month that the last day of trading for the prompt month rallied.
May’s NYMEX makes its debut as prompt month at $3.231 Dth despite fears of oversupply in the market, as warmer weather is expected over the next month cutting demand. Production remains 2-3% below last year levels at this same time. Average production in March was 70.5 Bcf/day, compared to EIA estimated projections of 73.7 Bcf/d. With May 2017 now the NYMEX prompt month, it will be interesting to see if pricing can break through the $3.00/Dth floor. The market has been range bound between the $3 - $3.15/Dth mark for all of March.
Although the recent cold spell tightened storage reserves, the warming trend should quickly refill storage. With only another week or two of “withdrawals” remaining, we should likely see ending storage levels at 2 Tcf.
As we have mentioned for the past year, the impact of pipeline projects moving gas out of the Marcellus and Utica region will reduce the NYMEX basis costs in the Midwest (Chicago) markets, but will provide an uplift to basis costs here in Ohio.
Copyright © 2017 Alternative Energy Source, All rights reserved.
AES-energ.com
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A: 8225 Farnsworth Rd A-10, Waterville OH 43566
P: (866) 646-7322
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F: (866) 865-8740
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EM:
[email protected]
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Third Friday In Galion is coming soon to Uptowne Galion! We look forward to your participation for our 2017 summer events.
We encourage our Uptowne Galion retailers & restaurants to plan to stay open late, offer sales and specials. Designated spaces for vendors located on the square will be block off, but no streets will be closed.
Business owners may set up in front of their businesses. Vendor space will also be available in the two north quadrants of the square for $15 per month or $50 for all four months. As a business owner, you do not need to pay for a vendor space if you set up in front of your business. If you would like to consider making a donation to Third Friday In Galion that would be greatly appreciated as it is totally being funded by sponsorships and vendor fees.
Event Dates:
Friday, May 19th – End of the School Year Celebration
Friday, June 16th – Safety Services Appreciate Night
Friday, July 21st – Summer Baseball Celebration
Friday, August 18th – Back to School Bash – Stuff the Bus
Contact Miranda Jones via email,
[email protected]
or call the Chamber office, 419-468-7737 for more information about TFIG - Third Friday In Galion, or if you are interested in becoming an event sponsor or vendor.
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The Benefits of Blue View Vision are Clear
Eye doctors are often the first to discover signs of chronic health conditions during an eye exam. That's why it's important for your employees to have access to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s industry-leading vision plan.
Blue View Vision
SM is included in all Anthem small group health plans and includes benefits for both children and adults.
- Adult plans include coverage for routine eye exams. Standalone vision material plans are also available and include coverage for eyewear.
- Pediatric benefits include full Essential Health Benefit coverage for routine eye exams and eyewear.
- Access to one of the largest vision care networks in the industry. Choice of more than 33,000 eye doctors at over 26,000 locations.
- Our national network includes a wide selection of independent eye doctors, as well as online and regional retailers, or members can visit Glasses.com, ContactsDirect, 1-800 CONTACTS, LensCrafters®, Pearle Vision®, Sears Optical®, Target Optical® and JC Penney® Optical stores.
- Discounts available from network providers.
- Clinical and administrative integration with medical plans including one ID card and one account team.
You can learn more by watching our
short Blue View Vision video
. Ask your Anthem Sales representative for more information.
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COMMUNITY CREATIONS CHOOSES GALION FOR MONTAGE "PEN 7 INK" ART PRINT
In April, chamber member Community Creations Incorporated will begin a campaign to create a hometown montage print of the Galion area. The montage, a “Pen and Ink” art print, will features historical sites and businesses in the area.
The Galion-Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce has met with the representative from Community Creations and we believe that this print will provide a unique and visual representation of Galion for years to come. Similar campaigns were just completed in Bucyrus (see picture) and Tiffin, and this would be the first ever project of this kind to be completed in Galion.
A representative from Community Creations will be contacting Galion business owners to participate in this exclusive print of Galion. This is a great opportunity for local businesses to be a part of Galion’s past, present and future.
If you would like to see an example print of this “Pen and Ink” art, please stop by the Galion-Crestline Area Chamber of Commerce. As the local distribution point, we will have the Galion prints available at the office once the campaign is completed.
Space on the print is limited. If you would like your business to be a part of this project, please contact Joe Genco at Community Creations 614-327-6201.
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BE AWARE WHERE YOU ARE SPENDING YOUR ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP DOLLARS
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Galion City Schools: Recognized by the Ohio School Board School Board Association as being an “Outstanding School” based on the Ohio Department of Education’s designation as a “2015 All-A-School.
Galion Goodwill Store: Expanding their facility at 753 Carter Dr. to include an additional 1,000 sq. ft. of floor space.
Long Insurance Agency: Owner, Dennis Long was recognized during the recent Ohio School Boards Association’s Central Region Spring Conference for 10 years of dedicated service as a Board Member for Galion City Schools.
Hottenroth, Garverick, Tilson & Garverick Law Firm: Partner Stephen Tilson has been appointed to the First Federal Bank of Ohio Board of Directors.
Galion Kiwanis Club: Recently recognized their “Past Presidents” at their weekly meeting.
Dostal & Kirk Insurance: Recently acquired Scharer Insurance Agency in Marion, Ohio.
Do you have an anniversary, new associate or employee, sign, or business update? Contact Joe or Miranda at the Chamber Office, 419-468-7737 or email [email protected] so we can add your business to the Member Spotlight in our next Newsletter.
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U.S. Chamber Recognizes 321 Members of Congress for
Pro-Business Votes
Spirit of Enterprise Award Honors Strong Record of Support for Business Community
WASHINGTON, D.C.
— The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today honored 266 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 55 members of the U.S. Senate with its annual Spirit of Enterprise Award, given in recognition of their support for pro-growth policies in the second session of the 114th Congress.
“Businesses of all shapes and sizes need sound, commonsense policy in place in order to get off the ground, grow, and succeed,” said Thomas J. Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “The Spirit of Enterprise Award recognizes those members of Congress who have done what’s right for our friends, family, and neighbors running businesses across the country. We applaud these legislators for their commitment to free enterprise and economic growth.”
The Chamber’s prestigious Spirit of Enterprise Award is given annually to members of Congress based on their votes on critical business legislation as outlined in the Chamber’s
annual scorecard
,
How They Voted
. Members who supported the Chamber’s position on at least 70 percent of those votes qualify to receive the award.
During the second session of the 114th Congress, the Chamber scored members on 8 Senate votes and 14 House votes related to access to capital for small businesses, ensuring our workforce has the skills necessary for the jobs of tomorrow, and helping American manufacturers compete in a global economy. In addition, votes in support of building the U.S. water infrastructure system, protecting intellectual property, and updating energy policy also factored into scoring.
This is the 29th year that the U.S. Chamber has formally honored the accomplishments of this select group of members of Congress.
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