One of the themes for the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber in 2023 is making this our year of reengagement. Earlier this year, I devoted an entire column to the importance of reengaging in our communities.
In fact, that was the theme of my speech at our BBRC Annual Awards Night last Friday. We’ll be profiling the award winners in future columns throughout this year, but for this column, I want to focus on the list that was on every table so attendees could take it home with them. It highlighted 11 ways to engage — I’ve added a few more below.
Take a look, and if you have any questions, please contact our chamber office at 725-8797 or email me at cory@midcoastmaine.com.
• Chamber After Hours, 5-7 p.m. March 22: Join us at the Chamber After Hours on March 22 at Flight Deck Brewing in Brunswick (co-sponsored by Spark Cycling Studio). This open house mixer is our monthly networking night. You don’t need to be a member to attend the first time, and it’s a great way to meet 60-85 attendees monthly. Register on the BBRC website at midcoastmaine.com.
• Weekly e-newsletter: Sign up for the BBRC News & Notes E-Newsletter (39% open rate) by emailing brittany@midcoastmaine.com to stay up to date on happenings in the area. It’s a Constant Contact e-newsletter with seven to 12 updates weekly and typically goes out on Fridays.
• 12 @ 12 hosting in 2023: Members, sign up to host a 12 @ 12 Networking Lunch — no hosting fee, just provide lunch for 12 people. It’s a great way to learn about 11 other people and get them in your space. Looking for an April 19 host now; email Cory.
• 12 @ 12 attendee: Members, sign up to attend a 12 @ 12 — they’re typically the third Wednesday of each month from noon to 1:30 p.m. The best way to sign up is to register once the host is announced in the e-newsletter.
• Free tourism promotion for 12 businesses: Our Maine’s Midcoast & Islands tourism council (of which I’m the president) is looking to highlight a dozen different tourism-related businesses in our region at no cost to the business. The pictures and video shoot should take less than 20 minutes on-site at your business, and the promotion will go out through the social media channels of the council which includes 38,000 Facebook followers, 17,000 Instagram followers, 87,000 monthly newsletter contacts (30% open rate) and a website with over 3,000 unique visitors per month. Email cory@midcoastmaine.com if you’d be interested in being part of this pilot program.
• Cardio Connections, April 15: WILL Power (our Women In Local Leadership group) is in the process of organizing several events in 2023, including a monthly group fitness and networking event called Cardio Connections. The first one will be at Wilcox Wellness & Fitness at 10 a.m. April 15. We will then move to Wild Oats for networking from 11 a.m. to noon. Find WILL Power on Facebook or contact the office if interested.
• WILL Power happy hour, plus speed networking, spring/summer 2023: WILL Power is also coordinating a happy hour event for this spring — look for a registration in the coming weeks in the e-newsletter. Additionally, they’re working out the details of a speed networking night, too!
• Hacker’s Ball, May 12: The BBRC golf tournament is a fun, relaxing day at Brunswick Golf Club on May 12. It’s called the Hacker’s Ball because it’s for bad golfers, though some good golfers insist on showing up every year, too. Details are on the BBRC website.
• Hiring high schoolers? Send an email to careers@midcoastmaine.com and it auto-forwards to the Extended Learning Opportunity coordinators at Mt. Ararat, Brunswick and Morse High Schools. Students in our area have found employment through this very simple connection. Please be sure that your job posting is exactly the way you want it when sending, because it will be presented as received.
• MTF 2023: Do you love the Midcoast Tree Festival? There are always ways to get your business involved in this six-day event in November. Save the dates of Nov. 17-19 and Nov. 24-26. Look for an announcement in July for early registration and sponsorship packages.
• Chamber ambassadors: Member of our ambassador’s team are greeters at our events and do business visitations. Are you looking for a way to meet local businesses while supporting our chamber? Email Cory for more information at cory@midcoastmaine.com.
• Paid internship program and career bus tours with students, spring 2023: Just about to launch, these are a part of our ChamberWorks 2030 workforce program in partnership with Morse High School, Brunswick High School and Mt. Ararat High School, along with several other regional trade associations and local partners. This collaborative will be producing lots of workforce programs for you to engage with over the next 18-24 months.
• Chamber trail walks (second or third Friday, beginning in May): This is an easy networking event where we select a different local walking trail each month and invite members to join us at the trailhead at 3 p.m. on a Friday. It’s a great way to start the weekend — look for exact dates to be announced in the e-newsletter or on the BBRC Facebook page. We may start this in April.
• Workforce workshops (continuing in May/June): Along with our ChamberWorks 2030 programs, we’ll also be hosting several best practice workshops/discussions for our businesses to interact, share ideas and hear from experts. We’re looking for a May/June date for our next one.
• Chamber Guide top 10 polls (next week!): We’re in the final stages of producing our 2023 Chamber Guide, which will go to print in April and distributed by Memorial Day. The week of March 20-25 we will have three poll questions on our BBRC Facebook page. We want your input! Questions have not been announced yet but are essentially based on the what you feel are the can’t-miss activities in our region.
Cory King is executive director of the Bath-Brunswick Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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