Chamber Updates, Member News

& Tips for Business You Can Use

Dear Members,

Today might be the fist day of fall but we're looking ahead to the holiday season, specifically the Midcoast Tree Festival! In short, registration is open! But first, a couple of quick notes...

September Chamber After Hours at Union + Co

After taking August off from holding our monthly After Hours, it was great to get back to it at Union + Co last night! They've had a busy few weeks officially opening their new space in the Grant Building on Centre Street. We had a great turnout and it was wonderful to be together again as we move back into fall schedules.

BBRC Workshop Series: How Do I Get There From Here? Resources for Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs

Ask any small business owner and they'll tell you: whether you've been doing it for a short or long period of time, the struggle is very real. In this first workshop in BBRC’s new How Do I Get There From Here? Workshop Series we have experts from Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI) and the Small Business Administration (SBA), joining us to share the most common missteps and solutions they see when they meet with businesses. You’ll also hear from local business leader Allison Hopkins about the tools and programs she utilized through these two organizations to have success in growing her business.  

All are welcome on Wednesday, October 18th from 10:00 to 11:30am at the BBRC office. The format will be presentations from our three guest speakers with lots of time dedicated to Q&A from those in the room. Pre-registration is required and is open on our website. We’ll have more details on specific topics next week, but honestly with the time devoted to Q&A you can bring forward any issue you are having and we will do our best to give you a little direction and guidance. 

Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum Ribbon Cutting

The hurricane couldn't stop the BNAM from celebrating their big renovation and ribbon cutting last Friday! Cory was able to attend and lucky kid Alex got a little time in the cockpit!

OK MTF time...but, let's back up...a little FAQ for those who might not know...

What is the Midcoast Tree Festival (MTF)?

Each November, the BBRC partners with Spectrum Generations and All Saints Parish to put on the MTF. It is a fundraiser for all three organizations with money going to support Meals on Wheels, programs of the Parish, and the BBRC. It is held over two weekends at the St. John's Community Center in Brunswick - Nov. 17-19 (the weekend before Thanksgiving) and 24-26 (Black Friday through Sunday). We saw over 1,500 families come through the doors last year and are so excited to see more this year!

What can visitors expect?

The Community Center is filled with trees decorated with gifts donated by local businesses, each with a value of at least $500, some as much as $5,000! Visitors have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets at 50 cents each - put your raffle ticket into the bucket of the tree of your choice for your chance to win the entire tree's worth of prizes! This year we are expecting to have 55 trees to raffle off, including the Mega tree!

How do you get a tree in the MTF?

Currently we are registering businesses and organizations for trees. We already have 36 trees spoken for so needless to say, they're going quickly! Some things to know:

• The value of the gifts on the tree must be at least $500 - that could mean 100 things worth $5 each or 1 thing worth $500. Truly the options are endless.
• The "tree" is provided by the registrant - while most participants choose an evergreen (per fire code, it must be fake!), we've had palm trees, kegs stacked to resemble a tree (looking at you, Flight Deck!), boxes stacked in a tree-like form - you get the idea! We're totally into creativity if you don't want to do a traditional holiday evergreen.

The deadline for tree registration is Friday, October 13th. The deadline for getting us your list of gifts/items for the tree is Friday, October 20th. Why so early? Because the state requires us to send them this information 10 business days prior to the event and we need time in the office to gather, organize, and present it to them in the proper format.

How do I register?

While the official MTF website is undergoing some maintenance, we ask that you email Cory to secure your spot. We will then be in touch when the website is ready to take your online application.

What if we want to support but don't want to do a tree?

Glad you asked. We've also got event sponsorship opportunities. Check out the sponsor page and contact the committee at midcoasttreefestival@gmail.com for more information.

So, who wants in?! This is a super fun way to kick off the holiday season and we can't wait to have you join us.

Events, News & Notes

September 22, 2023

Join MCHPP for a free open house to learn more about their Community Kitchen, meet their renters, and try some tasty samples. No registration needed.

Public Forums on Assessing Revaluation

Hosted by the Finance Committee

The Town of Brunswick has scheduled the following public forums to discuss property re-valuation. All meetings will begin at 6:30pm and last until about 8:00pm depending upon the requirements of attendees.

Each meeting will begin with a brief presentation on specific topics and will then be open for public comments and questions.

The schedule for meetings in 2024 will be developed later in the fall and include topics as needed. Questions about these meetings may be emailed to Councilor Sande Updegraph, Chair, Finance Committee. SUpdegraph@BrunswickME.org

10 Questions, 10 Minutes, 1,000 Ideas! 

Curtis Memorial Library Seeks Community Input to Guide Strategic Planning for Library’s Future 

BRUNSWICK, Maine -- 2023 has been a busy year for Curtis Memorial Library – celebrating its 140^th serving readers in Brunswick and Harpswell, and expanding its services to reach underserved areas with its new EV Bookmobile.  

“As we begin our strategic planning and look ahead to how Curtis can best serve our community in the next five years, we are asking all library users, as well as those who are not, to take just 10 minutes to answer a few questions that will help us continue to offer the materials, services and spaces the community wants and needs,” shared Curtis Library’s Executive Director Elisabeth Doucett. On any given day, it’s not unusual for Curtis Memorial Library to welcome nearly 1,000 visitors of all ages and interests. Whether picking up a book, attending a program, meeting up with other parents/caregivers while children play in the Children’s Library, getting Tech Support from a librarian, borrowing (instead of buying) a tool or piece of gardening equipment or musical instrument from the Library of Things, or using the library as a work-away space . . . feedback from the community is critical. 

“When we last asked the community for input, we received over 1,500 responses!” said Doucett. “We look forward to hearing from you again to help make Curtis a library that reflects and responds to the needs of those it serves.” 

Those interested in the survey can visit www.curtislibrary.com/TenQuestions, or stop in the library to scan a QR code, fill out a paper copy, or have a librarian assist with one of our computers. We look forward to reporting on and including many of these ideas in our strategic planning process.  

Now You're Cooking's New Kitchen!

Cory and Anthony were in Bath last week and had a chance to check out Now You're Cooking's newly renovated kitchen. The absolutely beautiful space is used for everything from monthly wine tastings to bread and pasta making classes, to kids' cooking classes.

Habitat for Humanity/7 Rivers ReStore is Open!

You may have noticed a new storefront in the former CVS in the Bath Shopping Center - it's the new ReStore! The space is full of gently used furniture for sale to the public. They are always accepting donations and looking for volunteers to help with sales, displays, and accepting donations. Proceeds from the ReStore support affordable housing programs while also preventing tons of waste ending up in landfills each year.

Our next Chamber After Hours is hosted by Reform Physical Therapy at their Topsham location. Registration is now open!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Brunswick Landing Neighborhood News

We’re thrilled to announce launch of Brunswick Landing Neighborhood News, a new publication of the BBRC focusing on Brunswick Landing events and business updates, news from MRRA, and infrastructure information. It is intended to both highlight things happening on Brunswick Landing, and to share information that is highly-impactful to Brunswick Landing businesses.

Please note that this is a separate newsletter from the weekly Chamber newsletter. If you would like to be included, you must sign up using this link.

Anyone is welcome to sign up however submissions will be limited to BL businesses and BL news with very few exceptions. Feel free to submit anything you think may be relevant but we will be the final arbiters of what is included. That said, your submission could very well end up in our regular Chamber newsletter. 

After Hours, 12 @ 12, & Cornerstone Info

Chamber After Hours hosts get the chance to show off their space to 60-80 attendees and educated them on their organization. While we are fully booked for the remainder of 2023, we're always happy to secure hosts for 2024. More information and application can be found below.

2023 Cornerstone Memberships Are Still Open!

Help Sponsor All the BBRC Does in 2023

The Cornerstone Membership Program is a tiered program of support that includes 12 months of annual dues*. Cornerstone Members are recognized supporters of all chamber events/activities in a year including: The BBRC Awards Dinner, Hacker's Ball, Midcoast Tree Festival, all Chamber After Hours and more. Cornerstone members also receive a tiered marketing package for the year.

Cornerstone Member $5000

The top tier makes you our Cornerstone Member for your industry, includes 12 months of your dues, and gets you primary recognition at chamber programs and activities. There is exclusivity as only six members can be at this level, and five are spoken for at this moment. 1 remaining.

Chamber Partner $2,000

The second level, called our Chamber Partner level, gets you 12 months of your dues, secondary recognition at chambers programs and activities and is open to all.

Chamber Supporter $1000

This tertiary level of support is ideal for smaller members as this includes $400 towards your annual dues payment along with recognition at chamber events and some marketing too.

The BBRC News & Notes are generously sponsored by

Our 2023 Cornerstone Banking Member: 

The BBRC News & Notes are generously sponsored by

Our 2023 Cornerstone Commercial Real Estate Member: 

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Our 2023 Cornerstone Residential Real Estate Member: 

The BBRC News & Notes are generously sponsored by

Our 2023 Cornerstone Healthcare Member: 

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Our 2023 Cornerstone Automotive Sales Member: 

Darling's Brunswick Ford