NEWS BREAK March 2017

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Portage Chamber AnnualAwards CelebrationThe Chamber Awards celebration was heldon Feb. 8 and featured guest speakerWisconsin Lieutenant Governor RebeccaKleefisch and recognized businesses andindividuals for outstanding work andcontributions to the community.

Thank you to all our sponsors, those whoattended the dinner and to those who donateditems for our silent auction. Marianne Hanson, Executive Director isshown below presenting the awards to the winners:

Business Excellence Award(20 or more employees)Rayovac - Pam Eastman

Rising Business Star AwardJack's Tap

Tara Glendenning & Jackie McGowan

Educator Commitment AwardSt. John's Child Development Center

Debbie Drew & Elizabeth Gray

Tourism AwardCascade Mountain - Rob Walz

Susan Weyh Business Excellence Award(less than 20 employees)

New Life Physical Therapy &Sports Medicine

Mary Rose Strickland & Matt Vanderkooi

Community Service AwardAnastasia Kinney

First Impression AwardCulver's Restaurant - Laura & Jeff Liegel

Ambassador of the YearRosie Endres

Costco Mom ShopChamber Member Costco invites you to both the MiddletonCostco and Sun Prairie Costco on Friday, March 3 at 9am for amom shopping hour event. All moms are welcome to shop likea member for FREE! Enjoy a full hour of shopping before they open at 10am, as well as breakfast, giveaways, a photobooth, and more. The first 100 attendees will receive a swag bag. Costco is located at 2850 Hoepker Rd. in Sun Priarie and 2150 Deming Way in Middleton. For moreinformation, call 608-825-4020.

City Map advertising availableThe Portage Area Chamber of Commerce is producing a new city map ofPortage. Last printed in February of 2014, the supply of current maps isdwindling. We are planning to print 10,000 maps which are projected to last forthree years.

The maps are made readily available to public, free of charge, at the Chamberoffice, local hotels and gas stations. When requested, the maps are also sent outto people seeking information about Portage.

Advertising spaces are now available at reasonable prices!Contact the Portage Chamber if you are interested at 608-742-6242.

March Chamber Business LuncheonThe Portage Area Chamber of Commerce is offering anotherway to network with your fellow Chamber members and makethose important connections that can help you in your businessor career. Bring your business cards, brochures, or anythingyou wish to share with other members.

Luncheon InformationSteve Sobiek, Director of Business Development and Planningfor the City of Portage will be our speaker. He will be giving usan update on projects, programs and his work towarddevelopment in the City of Portage.

Time: Lunch at 11:30AM, Presentation at NoonCost: Pay for your lunch at the restaurantDate: Tuesday, March 7Where: Dino's Restaurant, 2900 New Pinery Road PLEASE RSVP. CALL THE CHAMBER AT 608-742-6242!

Welcome New Members

Portage Service Club Association (PSCA)Portage, WI

George Beasley at 608-742-5757Lions, Elks, Rotary, Kiwanis, Optimists, American Legion, Women's Civic League,Portage Chamber of Commerce combine as the PSCA, merging ideas, talent and

resources to complete community projects and enhance the Portage community.

Human Resources Group, Inc.2300 Yellowstone Avenue Portage, WI

Dan Stahl at 608-233-5491We help organizations with the human side of their business, providing customizedHR consulting services and advice to management of companies, organizations

and associations.

Loggerhead Deco, Inc.1640 LaDawn Drive Portage, WISteve Gilbertson at 630-206-3747

Provides small batch organic decorated glass products to the beverage industry.We specialize in decorating bottles and glassware.

VFW Post #1707215 W. Collins St. Portage, WIFred Baewer at 608-742-5350

Service organization helping Veterans. Sponsor of Concerts at the Portage at theVFW Hall, scholarships, fundraising. Hall is open to the public and available for

event rental.

Any Street GrillP.O. Box 35 Portage, WI

Mike Wood at 608-358-8651Mobile food trailer.

Portage Area Community Charitable Trust - Positively Portage121 West Cook Street Portage, WI

Rich Jacobson at 608-566-4336Community trust created for donors to give funds to strengthen

Portage now and into the future.

BonBon and BordeauxAlong with a restock of some favorites, BonBonand Bordeaux is also now selling Carr ValleyCheese and a Black Truffle Butter. New Langmerchandise is also now in! BonBon and Bordeaux is a boutique shop locatedat 201 DeWitt St. specializing in fine wine, uniquegifts, custom gift baskets, and gourmet chocolateand food. For more information, call 608-617-0936.

Cascade Spring CarnivalSaturday, March 4

Lots to do on this special day! Cascade Mountain will be holding

their Midwest Open Rail Jam along with kids events, bouncy

house, games and contests, lots of vendors in Tent City, and

more!

Cascade Mountain is located at WI0441 Cascade Mountain Rd. Click here for more info!

Mercantile Vintage Shop Hop StopThe Mercantile, 117 W. Cook St., is among the retailers participating in the 4th Annual Vintage Shop

Hop scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 3 & 4. It's themother load of road trips...a self-guided day to any number ofthe 388 participating vintage shops & boutiques throughoutnorthern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

Grab your friends and hit the road to shop! This year the listtallies 388 locally owned vintage business owners who aretaking part.They each roll out the red carpet for you by hostinga fun promotion inside their store.

Check out the event's official facebook page here. For more information about the Mercantile, call608-745-5768.

Spring into Edgewater Home & GardenSpring is on the way! Edgewater Home and Garden, 2957County CX, just received some new plants. Check outtheir facebook page. For more information, call 608-742-6658.

Portage Lumber to host 4th Annual Ladies NightPortage Lumber will be hosting its 4th Annual Ladies Night on Thursday,March 16 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

- FREE gift to the first 80 ladies through the door.- FREE appetizers & drinks.- Grand Prize baskets filled with goodies.- Meet with local vendors to check out/purchase some of their latest & greatest products.- 20% off most items storewide.- Learn some useful and easy DIY skills and tricks for remodeling/renovatingyour home.- Test out Milwaukee power tools and Dremel oscillating tools.- Painting tips, flooring Grab your girlfriends and join in for the evening - you won't want to miss this!This event is FREE! Must RSVP by March 8, 2017. Please RSVP at Portage Lumber, by phone:(608) 742-7186, or by email: info@portagelumber.com.

Lions Annual Radio AuctionThe Portage Lions Club will be hosting their 41st annual radio auctionon Saturday, April 1 beginning at 12:30pm. Proceeds from this annualfundraiser are used to support many Lions service projects on thelocal, state and international levels. Some of the local activities includepre-school vision testing, eye exams, glasses for those in need, andtransportation of eye tissue to and from the Eye Bank in Madison.Other projects include scholarships, annual Easter Egg hunt, the HighSchool athletic fund, The Caring Tree, and many others.

Click here for the list of this year's auction items!

To participate in the Lions Radio Auction: Listen to 1350 AM WPDR starting 12:30pm on April1. Call 745-5864 to find out the latest bids on any item. Make your bid by giving name and phonenumber along with your desired bid. Bidding may also be done from St. Mary's Cafeteria (St. Mary's School - corner of West Conant St. &MacFarlane Rd.) and where all items will be on display. Bids from the auction location will stop at3:30pm thus allowing the radio listeners the final half hour of phone bids.

Winners will be announced from 4pm to 4:30pm. Please pick up winning items between 5pm and6pm from St. Mary's Cafeteria. Cash or check only.

Historical Society seeking managerPortage Historical Society is seeking a Museum Manager forthe Museum at the Portage. The Manager will be a self-starterwho can work well with others and is familiar with the role of theInternet and social media in marketing. This is a part-timeposition (750 hours/year) and the wage is $14/hr.

For a complete job description send email tomuseumattheportage@gmail.com.

Click here for Volunteer form!

http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001QdYhjiaHDwEChaFW-pOuYIecT7_uZblU-xvsqseWtUOgGB90_d7r31vYRtVvznnZFBDU1oVGWS3bYTNcrIer9jzQGDKqsflHFypVFx3pL0NmZ9OdksA3O5fLrHBU7mJYVc3cr27_3Q6JT5XPOoWkEsVuPVLM11jHA4qTs3WgOUX6mNZiBt7E1afof8_sy3t8ayaUhUlIDPOFOibp88_YbBC59nFdmpD0wplid_SOkuc02rfHBxTZWcW8m1WeK4WXZikgoyJWBRHROuub-4v0UqLMCH0N0NEjHoVeVrH4TLaQPjKMdcEgMQUPa2lYC5SObRwO-hUIfC9g7NGyV1JoAr5ARnwvxVGjDwo8HzRplHU=&c=&ch=

Sponsor this event! Click here for a form!

Alliant offering electric vehicle incentiveAny Alliant Energy customer (electric or gas) is eligible fora $10,000* discount on a Nissan Leaf if purchased byMarch 31, 2017. Offer is only valid on 'Retail purchase' for2016 & 2017 LEAFs.

*The $10,000 incentive cannot be combined with any other Nissan special incentives(lease, APR or rebates). A $7,500 tax credit may also apply to qualified buyers. See theattached flyer for more details.

Ribbon Cuttings

A ribbon cutting was held at Portage Culver's to celebrate the completion of an extensive reimageproject, giving guests a warmer, more inviting atmosphere and an improved dining experience. ThePortage restaurant reimaging is part of a broader modernization plan for dozens of older Culver'srestaurants, replacing standard, cafeteria-style seating with configurations that enhance privacy,while adding a fresh update of the exterior.

The Culver's of Portage first opened March 4, 1994. Culver's invites everyone to visit and enjoy thenew reimage for their next dining experience.

Building Facade ImprovementsA matching loans funds program exists for the purpose of upgrading and improving the exterior front,side and rear facades of existing privately owned businesses. The loan program will facilitatecompletions of many smaller scale exterior improvement projects.

Funding for this program was made possible through the City of Portage and Portage Area Chamberof Commerce's participation in the America's Best Communities competition, sponsored by FrontierCommunications.

Read the guidelines of the facade grant program. View the grant application.

Chamber March meetings & events7 Business Luncheon at Dino's Restaurant 11:30 lunch; noonspeaker22 Ribbon Cutting at 51 Auto Sales 10am 28 Tickets on sale for Portage Wine Walk

Looking for a Hot Deal? See our list! Check out our Hot Deals webpage for deals our Chamber members areoffering. Have a Hot Deal of your own you want others to know about? Postyour deals on our webpage and join the Hot Deal brigade! There is nocharge for posting a Hot Deal, so post away! If you have questions, call theChamber office at 608-742-6242 to get started.

Click here to see the specials that are currently running!

Give Portage Green Gift CertificatesPortage Green Gift Certificates make an excellent gift. Used just like cash, the certificates can bepurchased from the Portage Chamber in $5, $10 and $25 increments. Recipients of the Portage Greenmay redeem them at these participating Chamber member businesses. By buying Portage Green GiftCertificates, you are helping to boost local business by keeping thousands of dollars right here inPortage. For more information, call the Chamber at 608-742-6242.

Got News?What is your business up to? Pass along information and corresponding photos tographics@portagewi.com and let us help spread the word about the great things your business ororganization is doing. The deadline is the 20th of each month.

March Community Events

Spread the word about your events by posting them on our website!

2-31 Words/Images at Portage Center for the Arts3 Hope House Support Group at Portage Public Library3 Mom Shop at Costco3 Elementary & Middle School Art Show at Portage Center for the Arts Drury Gallery4 Cascade Mountain Spring Carnival5 Bingo at the VFW7 Chamber Business March Luncheon at Dino's Restaurant9 Smart Cookie Sale at Divine Savior Healthcare10-12 Live Radio Show by Portage Area Community Theatre16 Ladies Night at Portage Lumber16 Social Night at VFW 17 Hope House Support Group at Portage Public Library17-19 Live Radio Show by Portage Area Community Theatre17 The Best of St. Patrick's Day at Our House Senior Living17 Bingo at Our House Senior Living18 Girls Scouts Birthday Event at Historic Indian Agency House19 Bingo at VFW22 Paint Your Pet event for Columbia County Humane Society at The Ball Room23-25 Threaded Streams - Fiber Arts Trail event23 The Harmonica Hour at Portage Center for the Arts23 Handbuilt Pottery Class at The Mercantile25 Pet Photos at Tractor Supply25 VFW Fundraiser - Cabin Fever Frenzy25 Free Saturday Theatre Workshops at Portage Center for the Arts25 Performing Arts Concert Series - Graminy at Portage Center for the Arts26 Spring Bridal Show at The Ball Room27 Portage Sharing Supper at Wayne Bartels Middle School

For more information about these and other events, go to www.portagewi.com.

Organizing an event or having a sale?Submit your event or sale to us and have it appear on the Chamber website calendar of events.Youmay enter your event by clicking here. Please note: Your submission will take a while to appear as theChamber office first reviews the submissions before approving them to appear on the web calendar. Formore information, please call our office 608-742-6242.

The Portage Area Chamber of Commerce is providing leadership for building a healthy economy and a high quality of life in the Portage Area.

NEWS BREAK is a monthly publication of the Portage Area Chamber of Commerce. Please contact theChamber if you have news about your business that you would like to include in the next issue.

Our deadline is the 20th of the month. Email your news to graphics@portagewi.com.

www.portagewi.com