MEMBER SPOTLIGHT 700 Main Street, Sebastian, FL 32958 www.SebastianChamber.com (772) 589-5969 December 2009 Issue

Steve Hanson

Security Consultant Absolute Protection Team

Absolute Protection Team/Absolute Audio & Home Solutions is proud to be a member of the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce. Reliability, Integrity and Inno-vation have made us the Premier Choice of builders all along the Treasure Coast for all of their low voltage needs since 1987. Ab-solute is a second generation, local family-owned and operated Technology Company that employs 25 Treasure Coast Residents. We provide quality sales, installation and service of Electronic Security, Fire, Cam-eras, Whole House Audio, Home Theater, Video, Home Automation and Lighting Con-trol Systems as well as Fully Integrated Systems. Absolute installs systems for new construction-residential, commercial, indus-trial, and high rise structures and existing structures with equipment that is easy to use yet incorporates the latest technology.

Absolute offers both “Standard” and “Custom” packages to satisfy the needs of virtually all customers.

At Absolute, the following attributes have been critical to our success:

• Over 30 yrs. experience, 2nd genera-tion.

• A knowledgeable, experienced staff • Superior product technology, quality in-

stallations, and detailed customer ser-vice.

• Strict adherence to the latest in installa-tion practices and all Building Code and National Electrical Code standards.

• A journeyman staff that cares about the customer and takes pride in the supervi-sion of each installation.

• A caring and knowledgeable customer service staff to promptly respond to cus-tomer needs.

• You can speak to an owner, Roger or Karen Marcil at any time to voice any concerns or questions.

• Customer satisfaction is our number one priority, which is the reason that re-ferrals are our number one source of new customers.

• Affiliated with Authorized Integrators Network– A group of Nationally Highly Respected Integrators.

• Member of the Treasure Coast Builders Association, Better Business Bureau, Chamber of Commerce, and Alarm As-sociation of Florida.

To contact Absolute Protection Team, call 772-770-0111.

Proposed renovations to the Chamber building on Main Street, entitled the:

Pelican Porch

Visitor’s Center

Acorn Mini Storage AC & Non AC Units

Boat & R.V. Storage Gated facility, security cameras, 24 hr access 5’ x 5’ 10’ x 10’ 10’ x 20’ 5’ x 10’ 10’ x 15’ 10’ x 30’ 189 Sebastian Blvd. Sebastian, FL 32958 (Rt. 512 East) 772-589-6939 Find us on the Web at www.acornmini.com

November Networking Events

Susan Coard, Independent Beauty Consultant, Mary Kay Cosmetics, Luncheon Sponsor

Jose Rolon & Joe Coakley, Workforce Solutions of the Treasure Coast, Luncheon Speaker

Breakfast at Friendship Crossroads Thrift Shop

Luncheon at Capt Hiram’s Tiffany Room

Make sure you check out the January issue for

photos from the Installation Dinner at

Marsh Landing Restaurant!!

This one wins for the most unique Christmas Tree. Make sure you stop by & see it at Sembler’s Dock!

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Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce Calendar of Events

December 2009

Dec. 3 Chamber Executive Committee Meeting 8:00 a.m. Chamber Main St. Office Dec. 4 Chamber Monthly Breakfast at About Kayaks 8:00 a.m. 25 Airport Drive West (off Roseland Rd.) 9:00 a.m. Legislative/Government Affairs Committee Chamber Office 5:30 p.m. 21st Annual Light Up Night Businesses in the Sebastian River Area Dec. 5 LoPresti First Saturday Grand Opening Event & Charity Breakfast 9:00 a.m. Benefiting the Food Pantry 210 Airport Drive East, Sebastian 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Positive Change Health Center Open House 6:00 p.m. Annual Sebastian Holiday Parade at Main Street & Indian River Dr. Santa will be delivered to Riverview Park! Dec. 5 & 6 Craft Show presented by the Craft Club of Sebastian 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Riverview Park Dec. 8 Chamber Monthly Luncheon at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort Noon Honoring Volunteers throughout the County Reservations $15, at the Door $20 Dec. 9 Full Board Meeting 8:00 a.m. Chamber Main St. Office Dec. 11 New Board Member Orientation Noon The Pig & Whistle Pub Dec. 12 Art in the Park presented by Sebastian River Art Club 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Riverview Park Dec. 24-25 Chamber Closed for the Holidays! Dec. 31 Chamber Closed From the Chamber Board and Staff to all of our businesses, employees, community

leaders, residents and visitors, have a happy and safe holiday!

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FSL Grant Program Offered by the City of Sebastian

The City is offering grant funds to busi-nesses within the Community Redevelop-ment Area (CRA) for Façade, Sign and Landscaping (FSL) Improvements. The purpose of the FSL Grant Program is to provide funding to encourage improve-ments to any existing building (residential or commercial) and to encourage private investment to improve the appearance and functionality of buildings in the Sebastian Community Redevelopment Area. The program provides up to $ 15,000 to match private funds to pay for the design and completion of façade improvements with the Sebastian CRA. The program is funded through the CRA budget, and pro-gram funding is available on a first-come first-serve basis, and the funding of any application is contingent upon available program funding. The FSL program is available to busi-nesses and/or building owners that are lo-cated within the CRA district of the City of Sebastian (map attached). Program Infor-mation packets are available at City Hall in the Growth Management Department and on the City’s website http://www.cityofsebastian.org . Program Infor-mation packets are also available through the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce. The packet contains informa-tion regarding the criteria, the grant selec-tion process and the grant application. The deadline is June 1, 2008. Property owners within the CRA area who are interested in the program are welcome to make an appointment with Rebecca Grohall, Growth Management Director, (772) 388-8228 or rgro-hall@cityofsebastian.org to discuss the application and selection process. Appli-cations are also available at the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce office.

New Members 10/14/09– 11/10/09

Shady Rest MHP/RV Park James Williams 13225 US Hwy 1 Sebastian, FL 32958 772-589-5646 Fax 772-581-8150 www.shadyrestmhprvpark.com jmmer15@aol.com RV Resort

Blue Turtle News Mario Critelli P.O. Box 780295 Sebastian, FL 32978 772-538-9070 Fax 772-581-0483 www.blueturtlenews.com blueturtleads@bellsouth.net Advertising

Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc. John Orcutt 1575 Indian River Blvd, Suite C-130 Vero Beach, FL 32960 772-299-4967 866-432-3440 Fax 772-299-4984 www.stifel.com orcuttj@stifel.com Financial Services

Minuteman Press Steve and Kameel 494 5th Street S.W. Vero Beach, FL 32962 772-567-4645 Fax 772-567-4609 www.verobeach.minutemanpress.com copying@minutemanpress.com Printing

Many thanks to our renewing partners!

DID YOU KNOW???

THE CHAMBER RESPONDS TO AN AVERAGE OF 60 INQUIRIES A MONTH FROM PEOPLE INTERESTED IN VISITING OR RELOCATING TO OUR AREA. THOSE LEADS COULD BE YOURS FOR ONLY $100 A YEAR! FOR MORE INFO, CALL NICOLE @ 772-589-5969!

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Membership News and Notes

US Airways is returning to Melbourne International Airport after a 12 year hiatus with three daily flights to Charlotte, N.C., starting Feb. 11, 2010. “The new flights will have a significant eco-nomic impact on the Space and Treasure Coasts. Conservative estimates are that more than 50,000 visitors will fly US Airways to the area annually, which could pump more that $38 mil-lion a year into the local economy just on entertainment, food and retail. The return of US Air-ways is not just exciting for the airport, but also for the region's economic vitality,” said Airport Executive Director Richard Ennis, CFPO. It also provides residents with direct service to Char-lotte and access to 550 locations worldwide. Tickets for the new route are now on sale at www.usairways.com.

Positive Change Health Center is celebrating 18 years in business, and holding an open house on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can enjoy chair massage, healthy food, health lec-ture, tour the center and meet our therapists! Coupons for savings on services and gift certificates will be available and you can stop by and congratulate Jan and Michael on their success story!

Two new art exhibits at the Indian River County Courthouse and the County Administration building feature a wide variety of 2 and 3 dimensional art by local artists including Victoria Geller, and Richard Gillmor. For information about the public art exhibitions, visit the Cultural Council of Indian River county at www.cultural-council.org or send an email to ircpubli-cart@yahoo.com.

The Sebastian Area Historical Museum announces new hours for visitors. The Museum, located at 1235 Main St., Sebastian, is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reference library is by appointment. Please call 581-1380 for more information.

Friends of the North Indian River County Library are holding an ongoing Used Book Sale in the library during regular library hours. Currently the Friends are over supplied with books and have priced many at two for a dollar. The North Indian River county Library is located at 1001 Sebas-tian Blvd., three miles west of US 1 in Sebastian.

The Environmental Learning Center offers a variety of canoe excursions led by volunteer guides. This is a very special way to experience the outdoors, to get close to the water and to explore some off the beaten path canoe trails. The costs for excursions, including canoe and gear, is $15 for adults and $7 for children. For date and times, go to www.DiscoverELC.org, and for reserva-tions and additional information, call 589-5050.

Santa Photos at Indian River Federal Credit Union are scheduled for Dec. 18th in the Sebastian office. He will appear from 4-6 p.m. Free for all Indian River Federal Credit Union members. You will receive the photo on a CD, making it easy and inexpensive to share with friends and family!

The US Marine Reserve Corps Toys for Tots campaign will be collection donations of new, un-wrapped toys this holiday season at Indian River Federal Credit Union, in Sebastian at 11638 US Hwy 1. Items may be dropped off during regular business hours. For more info go to www.toysfortots.org or www.irfcu.com.

VERO FASHION OUTLETS ENCOURAGES EVERYONE TO

PRACTICE SAFE SHOPPING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON With the onset of the holiday shopping season, Vero Fashion Outlets shoppers are encouraged to follow some basic precautions to help ensure a safe and enjoyable shopping experience. Using some common sense and these safety tips to help protect their valuables and themselves, we all can have a truly happy holiday season.

• Park in an area that is well-lit. • Keep your keys in your hand when leaving your car. • Put any packages you have in the trunk or under the seat. • Check all car doors and the trunk to make sure they are locked and closed. • Keep valuables and money in your pocket or a small pouch worn around your waist. • Keep your purse closed and secure. If you lay it down, keep one hand on it. • Do not show large sums of money when paying for items with cash. Be discreet. • Keep your receipts separate from the item you purchase. If something should happen where you lose a purchase or

need to return it, you will always have the receipt. • Do not load yourself down with several bags of purchases. You are vulnerable to having your bags taken when you are

loaded down. Make a trip to your car and lock them in the trunk. • Have your keys ready when leaving the center when returning to your car. • Look under and inside your car when approaching it. You can always walk away and return to the center if you see

anything unusual. • Lock your doors promptly after you get inside. • When shopping after dark, take a friend or a family member. Spending time with friends and family during the holi-

days will always be remembered. • Be alert to where you park and the people around you. • If you notice anything unusual, suspicious, or questionable, report it immediately to Center Security or an employee of

any store. The holidays should be filled with good and happy remembrances, even when doing your gift shopping. Vero Fashion Out-lets asks you to try and follow the above precautions. From all of us at Vero Fashion Outlets, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season.

Entry Form Light Up Night

Business Name______________________________________________________________ __ Address_____________________________________________________________________ __ Contact Person________________________________________________________________ _ Phone____________________e-mail_______________________________________________ _ We would like to enter the Decorations Contest in the following category (categories): Best Traditional Decorations Outdoors _____ Best Traditional Decorations Indoors _____ Best Christmas Fantasy Outdoors _____ Best Christmas Fantasy Indoors _____ _____We will not be entering the decorations contest, but will be open for Light Up Night Special Activities: (include any information about sales, prizes, drawings, refreshments) Please be specific so the community will know why to stop by! _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please mail (or drop off) your entry form and $30 promotional fee to: 700 Main Street, Sebastian, FL 32958

Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce

Board of Directors, 2009

Officers President – Debbi Vickers, Scripps Treasure Coast

Newspapers

Vice President – Theresa Tolle, Bay Street Pharmacy & Home Healthcare

Treasurer – Rick Wisner, Wisner Controls

Secretary – Patti Jamar, RE/MAX Riverside

Past President – Margie Duffell, Wells Fargo Home

Mortgage

Elected Directors

Sandi Gehrke, Riverside Bank

Emily Holliman, Sebastian River Medical Center

Sherri Sproch, Sherri’s Floral Shoppe, Inc.

Don Wright, Don Wright Realty

Appointed Directors

Ben Bishop, Squid Lips Overwater Grill

Mickey Capp, Capp Custom Builders

Daisy Knowles, Sebastian River Medical Center

Chuck Mechling, Collier Club

Chris Pinson, Rotary Club of Sebastian

Ex-Officio Wesley Davis, Indian River County Commissioner

Susan Adams, Mayor, City of Fellsmere Richard Gillmor, Mayor, City of Sebastian

Jason Nunemaker, City Manager, City of Fellsmere Beth L. Mitchell—Executive Director

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December 2009 Beth L. Mitchell, Executive Director

Just in time for the holidays, the pace is picking up here at the Chamber. The “birds” are back, in fact yes-terday when I pulled into our parking lot we had three cars from Wisconsin, New Jersey and Maine filled with visitors looking for information. A good sign for sure!

We want to congratulate Jan O’Han and Michael Gallerano for their eighteen years in business with Posi-tive Change Health Center. My intro to their business was via a gift certificate from Fran Adams, which I received after working four days at the Frog Leg Festival about fifteen years ago. I discovered then what a wonderfully peaceful atmosphere they had created on the beautiful grounds of Positive Change, and the massage helped too!

LoPresti Speed Merchants is raising the bar in Sebastian with their “First Saturday” events out at the Sebastian Airport. This month is the grand opening celebration of their new hanger, and the schedule, in-cluding hot air balloons, skydivers, breakfast and guest speakers should create some buzz out at the airport. If you want to try something new and different come out and enjoy!

Our office has been calling all of our businesses to bring in business cards and promotional material. If you drive by the Chamber building at night, you will see a very impressive wall of business cards. If you haven’t sent yours in lately, please do, or give us a call and we will come and get them. The wall is the first thing a visitor sees when they come in, and sometimes they stand in front of it for awhile, just looking at the businesses, services and products that are offered by Chamber members.

Here’s a heads up, Nicole has recently placed an ad with a travel magazine in Canada that has a total distri-bution of 116,500 and a total readership of over 262,000 with an average household income of $143,000 a year. In the beginning of the month, we will be entertaining two Canadian travel writers who will be stay-ing here in Sebastian for two days. The Sebastian River Area was chosen as one of the twelve Florida com-munities that will be spotlighted in an article expected to run February 2010. They story angle focuses on water based activities and state parks so they will be cruising the Indian River Lagoon, experiencing an airboat tour of Blue Cypress Lake and much more. Free editorial is an awesome thing! Kristen and Mike Beck are in the planning stages of the first Treasure Coast International Kayak & Canoe Rally scheduled for the end of April 2010. We’re looking for a few good men and women to help out with this inaugural event. We hope to attract international, national and locals kayakers to come enjoy the beau-tiful waters of the Sebastian River Area, and we received a grant from TDC to market this event. The next meeting for this group is Thurs., Dec. 3rd at 6:30 p.m. at Sandrift Motel.

Our end of the year festivities include a favorite lunch, and this year we’re going to Disney! If you are a non profit, and have an awesome volunteer to honor, our lunch program is a perfect way to do it! I’m al-ways impressed with the people that give back to their community in unselfish ways, with no recognition, and the honorees always have their personal reasons for volunteering that are enlightening and inspiring. And Disney is beautiful at Christmas!

If you are considering becoming more active with the business community, then take a look at the insert in this newsletter! The Chamber Board has a number of committees and open slots for you to bring your tal-ents, and energy to the table. By becoming involved, you can promote your own business to new contacts, and interact with other business owners, while helping support the Chamber’s mission and goals.

Looking forward to 2010, we want to wish everybody a very Merry Holiday season and a very Happy New Year!

Have a profitable month!

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Please Call to Schedule a Blood Drive at Your Place of Employment or Event

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The Chamber Currents Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce 700 Main Street Sebastian, Florida 32958

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