M A R C H 2 0 1 6

New Members

2

Membership Renewals

3

Annual Golf Event

5

Member News

6

Calendar 7

Congratulations to All! It was a “Royale” Night

On January 22, the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce held its 54th Annual Awards Banquet. The theme for the evening was Casino Royale and the Title Sponsor of the event was Sandy’s Restaurant. KCP&L was a Corporate Sponsor. Other sponsors included: Lunar Bowl and St. Mary’s Medical Center.

During the event, the gavel was passed from the 2015 Chair of the Board, Carol Baker of KCP&L, to the 2016 Chair of the Board, Mark Whitlow of Office Products Alliance. In addition, those listed below were recognized for exceptional work and dedication to the community.

Welcome Trish

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

The Chamber is excited to introduce a new staff member, Trish Totta. Trish comes to us from Grain Valley School District, where she was a Computer Lab Paraprofessional. She has also worked at the Blue Springs YMCA as a Program Assistant and volunteers with St. John LaLande Catholic School in Blue Springs. Trish has a degree in marketing from the university of Central Missouri, and over seven years of experience working with not-for-profits and sales. She is a Blue Springs native, married to a wonderful husband and has three beautiful children. Trish will serve as Director of Membership for the Chamber. Stop by the Chamber Office and introduce yourself to Trish.

Business of the Year: Kennedy’s Custom Jewelers Outstanding Citizen: Bill Cosgrove (Blue Springs Rotary)

Connector of the Year: Pam Bartown (DataPros LLC)

Pictured from left to right: Lara Vermillion (Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce), 2015 Chair of the Board Carol Baker (KCP&L),

Trisha Kennedy (Kennedy’s Custom Jewelers), Bill Cosgrove (Blue Springs Rotary), Pam Bartow (DataPros LLC), & Blue Springs Mayor Carson Ross

P A G E 2

Y O U R C H A M B E R C O N N E C T I O N

OFFICE STAFF

Lara Vermillion President

lvermillion@bluespringschamber.com

Shannon Bray Director of Special Events

sbray@bluespringschamber.com

Pat Larkin Director of Fun

plarkin@bluespringschamber.com

Trish Totta Director of Membership

ttotta@bluespringschamber.com

Sara Vanderpool Director of Communications

svanderpool@bluespringschamber.com

New Members Looks of Shear Elegance Kelly O’Reilly 204 SW 11th Street Blue Springs, MO 64015 (509) 499-8385 kelly.michael.hairdesign@gmail.com Hair Salons Sponsored by Debra Weilbacher (Business Assistance & ABWA Dynamic Connections)

The Chocolate Spa LLC Karen Ingram, LMT 708 NW RD Mize Road, Suite F Blue Springs, MO 64015 (816) 726-4590 Karen.r.ingram101@gmail.com Message Therapy Sponsored by Carmela Roethler (Christine’s Salon)

1030 AM-KCWJ Ken Ball 18920 E Valley View Parkway Independence, MO 64055 (816) 795-6826 www.kcwj.org kenball@kcwj.org Broadcasting Sponsored by Jennifer Rankin (CARSTAR Blue Springs)

The SCORE Association Paulette Crawford 904 NW Delwood Drive Blue Springs, MO 64015 (816) 888-0225 Paulette.crawford@sbcglobal.net Business Consulting

Deer Lake Designs Bill Nevin 1003 W Main Street Blue Springs, MO 64015 (816) 365-7824 www.deerlakedesigns.com deerlakedesigns@gmail.com Furniture

Heritage Companies Tonja Gram 7926 E 171st Street Belton, MO 64012 (816) 322-6350 www.heritagekc.com tgram@heritagekc.com Insurance Sponsored by Jennifer Rankin (CARSTAR Blue Springs)

Aflac Steven Sterthman 4701 NW Creekside Lane Blue Springs, MO 64015 (816) 519-3761 Steven_Sterthman@us.aflac.com Insurance Sponsored by Tonja Gram (Heritage Companies) Connatser Family Insurance-Allstate Matt Connatser 707 N State Route 7 Blue Springs, MO 64014 (816) 224-3038 mattconnatser@allstate.com Insurance

Join the FUN at the 39th ANNUAL

BLUE SPRINGS ST. PATRICK’S

DAY PARADE on Thursday, March

17 at 9am in Downtown Blue

Springs (in front of The Soda

Fountain/Flower Shop).

P A G E 3

Tuscany Italian Restaurant

2Twenty2 LLC

Rink Ratz Inc.

City Church

Raytown-Lee’s Summit Credit Union

Spring Oak Property

Roses & Such Distribution LLC

Wesley L. Christian, DDS, PC

Hy-Vee Food & Drug Store

Kansas City Zoo

Newmark Grub Zimmer

Carol Journagan

United Methodist Church of the Resurrection

J & S Lawn Irrigation

1st Mid America Credit Union

Benton House

MBM Janitorial Services LLC

Radiant Health Day Spa

Sonic—Coronado Drive

Sonic—North State Route 7

Sonic—South State Route 7

Sonic—Woods Chapel

The Salvation Army

Midwest Auto Services LLC

Sound and Shadow

Adams Dairy Bank

Membership Renewals Bill West Roofing Inc.

Your local roofing company for over 37 years.

816-229-5215

billwestroofing.com

A Successful Operation Connect Thank You!

Many thanks to those who participated in this

year’s Operation Connect. By now, all members should have received the 2016

Membership Directory & Resource Guide. If you have not received your directory, please call the Chamber office at (816) 229-8558 or

stop by the office to pick one up.

P A G E 4

Get Involved w/ genbluesprings What luck! The Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce has a Young Professional Networking group called genbluesprings. This group organizes social events and community service. If you want to get involved, or want one of your team members to get involved, this is a great way to participate!

We encourage you to join us at Chick-fil-A (951 NE Coronado Drive) for our next BYOBreakfast meeting taking place at 8am on March 1. There, you will learn all about our upcoming social event and our upcoming community service project at the Rainbow Center. Hint: Our social event will be full of March Madness entertainment! This event will be held at Brewer’s Sports Bar & Grill and for ALL Chamber members to attend.

This past February the group had a lot of fun at Sandy's Restaurant for their BYOBreakfast meeting. The food was delicious! Speaking of delicious food, the group hosted a happy hour for all Chamber members to attend at Minsky's Pizza. Thank you to all who participated and to Sandy's Restaurant & Minsky's Pizza for hosting genbluesprings. Hope to see you all at the March events!

Legislative Breakfast

Y O U R C H A M B E R C O N N E C T I O N

St. Mary’s Manor 111 Mock Avenue

Blue Springs, MO 64014 (816) 228-5655

Attend to find out what happened during this session and ask questions of your legislators.

Legislative Breakfast sponsored by CPros, Inc. Friday, March 4 at 7:30am Blue Springs Country Club

Cost: $17 per member / $22 per non-member

Reservations can be made online at www.BlueSpringsChamber.com. Payment may be made prior to the breakfast, online and at the door. Cash, check or credit card are accepted. Mark your calendars for future sessions on April 1 and June 3.

The next Governmental Relations Committee meeting will be held on Friday, March 4 beginning at 8:30am (following the Legislative Breakfast) at the Blue Springs Country Club. There is no cost to attend this meeting. Future meetings will be held on April 1 and June 3 at Adams Pointe Conference Center.

Governmental Relations

Blue Springs Fall Fun Festival

The Chamber office has began accepting booth applications for the 2016 Blue Springs Chamber Fall Fun Festival September 16—18.

There are still sponsorship opportunities; contact the Chamber office at (816) 229-8558 for more information.

P A G E 5

Get Your Team Set for the 2016 Golf Tournament

Join the Blue Springs Chamber LEADership Class as they partner with the Blue Springs Community Services League (CSL) to give back to the community!

Ways Your Business Can Participate

1. Let customers add $1 to their purchases to be donated to the Blue Springs CSL.

2. Have members of the LEADership class work a shift at your business and donate the profit to Blue

Springs CSL.

3. Place small flyers with information about Blue Springs CSL and giving opportunities in your

business.

Please email Asia Jones (City of Blue Springs), a Blue Springs Chamber LEADership 2015-2016 Class Member, at ajones@bluespringsgov.com if you would like to get your business involved.

It’s time to dust off the golf clubs and get ready for the 31st Annual Blue Springs Chamber Golf Tournament sponsored by CPros, Inc. This year’s tournament will be held at the Blue Springs Country Club (1600 NW Circle Drive, Blue Springs) on Friday, May 13. Registration and breakfast is at 8am; shotgun start is at 9am. Make sure you come in time for the delicious breakfast prepared by Hy-Vee Food & Drug Store, our breakfast sponsor. Lunch is provided and sponsored by Zarda Bar-B-Q. There are still some sponsorships left – call Trish at the Chamber office if you would like to be promoted as a sponsor for the tournament. Thank you to our current event sponsors:

Golfer’s Gift: Cosentino’s Price Chopper & St. Mary’s Medical Center

Hole Sponsors: Adams Dairy Landing, Blue Springs Ford, DataPros LLC,

Haldex Corporation, MCC-Blue River, Orbital ATK, & Print Graphics

Towel Sponsors: CPros, Inc., Crossroads Hospice, & St. Mary’s Manor

Putting Contest Sponsor: Blue Springs Dentistry

Beverage Cart Sponsors: AFS Insurance & Express Employment Professionals

Closest to Pin Sponsor: Lunar Bowl

Launcher Sponsor: Metro Golf Event Consultants

Chairmen for the event are Loretta Polzin (AFS Insurance) and Eric Sporing (US Bank). A Launcher has been added and some other surprises. We will need some volunteers on tournament day, let us know if you can help. There is a team registration form in this newsletter. We only have room for 144 golfers so sign up soon. If you have any questions email Trish at ttotta@bluespringschamber.com.

Be A Part of 100 Years of Giving

P A G E 6 Member News Blue Springs Dentistry has added an orthodontics doctor, Dr. Jay Joshi, to the practice. Community Services League will celebrate its 5th Anniversary in their corporate office at 404

North Noland Road in Independence this month. Wes Condron, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of America’s Community Bank, announced

that Twila V. Gregg has become an investor in the Bank, has been elected as President and will serve on the Bank’s Board of Directors.

Cynthia Miller continues with America’s Community Bank as Executive Vice President and will continue to be the Bank’s Chief Lending Officer as well as continuing to serve on the Bank’s Board of Directors.

Community Services League will receive the Excellence in Impact Award at Nonprofit Connect’s 32nd Annual Philanthropy Awards Luncheon in May. �

Y O U R C H A M B E R C O N N E C T I O N

Tuesday, February 2

Innovators Prep Academy

3605 NW Valley View Place

Blue Springs, MO 64015

(816) 220-7737

Ribbon Cuttings

New Member Showcase

Thursday, February 4

Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building

1100 SW Smith Street

Blue Springs, MO 64015

March’s Monthly Luncheon & New Member Showcase, sponsored by The Examiner, will be held on Thursday, March 17, at Adams Pointe Conference Center. At this month’s program learn about trending financial and cyber crimes and what you can do to protect your business. This will be presented by Cynthia P. Pinson, Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kansas City Division Squad 11.

Reminder: A New Member Showcase will be held at this luncheon beginning at 11:15am. This is an opportunity for new members to showcase their business to approximately 100+ Chamber members attending the luncheon. Each new member participating in the showcase will share a 6 foot table space with another new member to display brochures, give away small promotional items and exchange business cards with all those who attend. This opportunity is FREE. If you are a new/newer member and would like to participate in the New Member Showcase, contact TrPat Larkin at plarkin@bluespringschamber.com or call the Chamber office at (816) 229-8558.

P A G E 7 2016 Board of Directors

Mark Whitlow, Chair of the Board, Office Products Alliance Yvonne Hall, Chair Elect, Blue Ridge Bank & Trust Co. Rebeca Swank, Sec/Treasurer, Foster Dental Care Ron Baker Vice Chair of Business Support & Promotion, Saint Luke’s East Hospital Jon Burke, Vice Chair of Leadership & Community Development, Metropolitan Community College-Blue River Jacqueline Reed, Vice Chair of Member Events & Services, Mid-Continent Public Library Dante Cosentino, Price Chopper Kerry DeHaan, DeHaan Remodeling Inc. Stacey Edwards, Individual Dyan Herdzina, Oswald Roam Rew & Fry LLC Mike Hilker, Blue Springs Ford Sales Trisha Kennedy, Kennedy’s Custom Jewelers Tom Meyer, Meyer Music Kim Nakahodo, City of Blue Springs Glen Nash, Blue Springs Christian Church Carl Scarborough, CJCFPD Dr. Annette Seago, Blue Springs R-IV School District Linda Smith, St. Mary’s Medical Center Eric Sporing, US Bank-North Brien Starner, Blue Springs Economic Development Corporation

March 1 genbluesprings BYOBreakfast Meeting, 8am, Chick-fil-A (951 NE Coronado Drive)

March 2 Executive Committee, 8am, Chamber Office

March 4 Legislative Breakfast sponsored by CPros, Inc., 7:30am, Blue Springs Country Club (1600 Circle Drive), $17 per member/$22 per non-member

March 4 Governmental Relations, 8:30am, Blue Springs Country Club (1600 Circle Drive)

March 8 Buy Blue Springs/Visitors’ Task Force Meeting, 8am, Chamber Office

March 9 Golf Committee Meeting, Noon, Chamber Office

March 9 Lip Sync Battle Tryouts PAC, 5pm, Civic Center (Blue Springs High School, 2000 NW Ashton Drive)

March 10 Board of Directors, 7:45am, Chamber Office

March 12 SCORE: Marketing Matters, 10am-Noon, Chamber Office, Free session and open to the public

March 15 Power Hour: Boost Your Booth—Getting the Most out of Your Tradeshow Booth with Face-to-Face Marketing presented Jeff Meyer (AdTrends Advertising, Inc.), 8:30am, Chamber Office

March 17 Monthly Luncheon & New Member Showcase sponsored by The Examiner — Program: Trending Financial & Cyber Crimes and what You can do to Protect Your Business presented by Cynthia P. Pinson, Special Agent of the FBI KC Division, 11:15am Showcase Begins, 11:30am Registration Begins, 11:45am Buffet Opens, Noon Program Begins, Adams Pointe Conference Center (1400 NE Coronado Drive), $20 per member/$25 per non-member

March 22 Connectors’ Meeting, 8am, Chamber Office

March 24 Blue Springs LEADership Class—Community, all day

March 24 Blue Springs Fall Fun Festival Committee Meeting, Noon, Chamber Office

March 24 Ribbon Cutting, 8:30am, Inklings Books & Coffee Shoppe, LLC (1101 W Main Street), meet by coffee shop entrance

March 25 Chamber Office Closed—Good Friday

March 30 Financial Oversight Committee, 8am, Chamber Office At the time of publication, all meeting dates, times and locations are correct. However, meeting times and dates can sometimes change unexpectedly. Please call the office if you have questions about any meeting or event. Events with meals require 24 hour advance cancellation notice. There is a fee of $5.00 for meal invoicing. If the R-IV School District cancels school, morning meetings of the Chamber are cancelled.

MARCH 2016 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Hy– Vee Food & Drug Store 625 West US Highway 40 Blue Springs, MO 64014

(816) 224-4288

1000 W Main Street Blue Springs, MO 64015 Phone: (816) 229-8558 Fax: (816) 229-1244 www.BlueSpringsChamber.com www.BuyBlueSprings.com www.BlueSpringsFallFestival.com www.DiscoverBlueSprings.com

B L U E S P R I N G S C H A M B E R O F C O M M E R C E M I S S I O N S T A T E M E N T

To promote, develop and facilitate a strong economic environment in which the business community can grow and prosper.

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT NO. 161 BLUE SPRINGS

MISSOURI 64015

2014 Business of the Year

May 19 Adams Pointe Conference Center

11am to 1pm

presented by:

The Chamber’s Monthly Luncheon will be held on Thursday, March 17, at Adams Pointe Conference Center.

Blue Springs Chamber and CPros, Inc. present the 31st Annual Golf Tournament

Friday, May 13, 2016

Register Now: Company Name: _______________________________________ Players: 1.__________________________________________Email____________________________ 2. _________________________________________Email____________________________ 3. _________________________________________Email____________________________ 4. _________________________________________Email____________________________ Bonus Package: _______ Contact Name: ___________________________ Phone number: ______________________ Signature: ________________________________________________________________ Interested in sponsoring or donating? Contact Trish Totta at ttotta@bluespringschamber.com. Mail payment to 1000 W. Main Blue Springs, MO 64015 or call 816-229-8558 with credit card number.

LET’S PAR-TEE! JOIN THE BLUE SPRINGS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND AREA BUSINESSES AS WE

CELEBRATE OUR 31st ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

Breakfast Sponsored by:

Lunch will be provided by:

Individual Player: $150

Team of Four: $550 Team Bonus Package: $100

Entry Fee includes: breakfast, lunch, gift, awards, prizes, 18 holes with cart and beverages.

The Team Bonus Package includes: 8 mulligans, 4 putting contest entries, 1 pick-a-hole & 1 survivor ball.

Blue Springs Country Club

Registration and Breakfast 8am, Shot Gun Start 9am

Join the Blue Springs Rotary in an evening full of fun!Saturday, April 30, 2016 • 6 p.m.Adams Pointe Conference Center

If Paying by Credit Card

MasterCard Visa Discover

Name of Cardholder

Billing Address

Credit Card Account Number

Expiration Date (Month and Year) CVV (3 digits on back)

Amount of Charge

Signature

Raffle tickets limited to the first 375 entries

Evening will include dinner for you and your guest, soft drinks, beer and fun! Help the Blue Springs Rotary Club Support:

• Alex’s Lemonade Stand• Blue Springs Robocats• Community Services League

• Dental For Kids• Hillcrest Transitional Housing• Hope House• Rainbow Center

• School of Economics• Special Olympics• St. Mary’s Manor• YMCA

Lunar BowlAttn: Garry Cobb2001 NW Hwy 7Blue Springs, MO 64015

For questions, please contact Melodie Chrisman816-229-0033chrismanm@cslcares.org

Name _________________________________________

Address _______________________________________

City __________________________________________

State __________________ Zip ____________________

Phone ________________________________________ Home Work

E-mail ________________________________________

Rotarian Contact _______________________________

____Ticket(s) at $120 each

____Ticket(s) Upgraded to Second Chance at $150 each

Submit payment and entry form to:

Winner will receive a $25,000 credit toward a new car from

Blue Springs Rotary Car Raffle

25th Annual

Printing provided by St. Mary’s Medical Center • Photography by Gary Showalter

Secure your Booth Space Todaywww.ejcexpo.com

Silverstein EyeCenters ArenaThursday, April 21st1:00-6:00pm

Six Chambers. Over one hundred exhibitors. Overa thousand attendees.

OneVenue

Presented by SCORE Counselor and Speaker, Paulette Crawford, who is both a degreed accountant and a retired small business owner. She owned and operated a marketing, graphic design and printing firm for 17 years and has extensive experience in marketing, finance and operations. SCORE has been committed to providing resources and expertise for the success of emerging and existing small businesses for over fifty years at no charge. It is also a national organization and is a resource partner of the Small Business Administration.

Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce TEL: 816.229.8558 1000 W Main, Blue Springs, MO 64015 BlueSpringsChamber.com

Small businesses often do NOT have big advertising budgets but

yet they need to bring in more business. So learn some inexpensive ways to "reach out" into the community to build

awareness of your good or service, create valuable connections and increase the much needed sales.

Attend one or both of these FREE sessions. You do not have to be a member of the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce to attend. Both sessions will be held at the Blue Springs Chamber Office (1000 W Main Street, Blue Springs, MO 64015). There is no cost to attend. (Please let us know you will be attending, if possible, by calling 816.229.8558 or emailing plarkin@bluespringschamber.com.)

Marketing Matters!!

Saturday, March 12 10am—Noon

Tuesday, April 5 6-7:30pm

OR

Thinking of Start ing Business?

A lready the Owner of a Business?