Mark your calendars now to attend the Chamber's annual Holiday Open House on Thursday, December 16, 2004 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Chamber office, located at 210 W. McDermott. Please RSVP to 972-727-5585.

The next Business Builders will be held on Thursday, December 2, 2004 at 8:00 at the Allen Heritage Center. The topic is "Exiting your Business - Can your business run without you?" There are many reasons why a business owner would no longer run a company. Whether you choose to no longer run your business or are forced to by unforeseen circumstances - are You and Your Business prepared to endure? The cost is $2 for Chamber members and their guests and $5 for prospective members. Reservations are requested.

The Chamber will be publishing the next "Chamber Connections" Direct Mail Newsletter in December. This is a quarterly publication featuring upcoming Chamber events and an updated Member Buy Member participant list. If you are interested in placing an advertising flyer in our publication, please let us know as soon as possible. The cost is $125 and you supply 600 flyers. The Chamber will handle the mailing for you. What a great way to reach 600 new business contacts! Call 972-727-5585 for more information. Don't delay!

If you have recently called or visited the Chamber office, you most likely were greeted by the newest addition to the staff, Josie Zendejas. Many of you know Josie, who used to work with the Chamber and most recently, the Allen Economic Development Corporation. Josie's background and knowledge is a definite asset to the Chamber. In addition, Julie Hynes was recently promoted to Director of Member Services. Julie will now handle your membership questions and special events. Congratulations to both Josie and Julie!

Do you have job openings in your business or do you know someone looking for a job? Then refer to the Chamber's new job bank listing on our website at www.allenchamber.com. You can post a job or review the current listings. Please help us spread the word about this new job bank. The Chamber gets many calls from residents looking for work and this will be a great service to the community.

Did you know the Chamber offers new resident lists? The list of approximately 150-200 new Allen residents is distributed monthly to our subcribers in a variety of formats. We offer the list via fax, email (excel spreadsheet), regular mail or on peel-off labels - the choice is yours. This is a great way to get the word out to new residents of Allen about specials or promotions your company offers. For more information about how to subscribe, contact Carol Rodgers at 972-727-5585.

If you are not taking advantage of all the Chamber has to offer, please give us a try!

There are several events coming up in Allen the weekend of December 3-5, 2004 to get you in the holiday spirit. The City Parks and Recreation Department is hosting the annual tree lighting ceremony on Friday, December 3rd. The annual 5K Rudolph Run is scheduled for Saturday, December 4th. In addition, the Holiday Craft Fair is also scheduled for Saturday, December 4th. The weekend will end with the annual Rotary Club's Holiday Parade on Sunday, December 5th at 2:00. For more information about the tree lighting, craft show or Rudolph run, contact the City's Parks and Recreation department at 214-509-4811 or visit their website at www.allenparks.org. For information about the parade, visit www.asrotary.org.

Did you know that you must hear the name of a business 7 times before you remember it? To get your name remembered, consider advertising on the Chamber's on-hold message. Your advertisement will be placed on a continuous loop message. For $125 a quarter, your business name, address, and phone number will be mentioned, along with a brief (2-3 sentences) advertisement. Hundreds of potential clients will hear your business advertisement when calling the Allen Chamber of Commerce. Interested? Contact the Chamber office at 972-727-5585 to schedule your advertisement.

Richard O. Bush, Ph.D. of Mind Over Matter will be featured on Wednesday, November 24 at 5:00 and 9:00 p.m. on John Hammarley of Fox 4's "For Your Health", discussing hypnosis and weight loss. Congratulations, Dr. Bush!

Hibernia Bank has recently added information on their website (www.hibernia.com) encouraging small business owners to join their local chamber of commerce. In addition, there is a link for Allen. We appreciate your support and encourage other businesses to do the same!

The Allen Chamber of Commerce has teamed up with Inside Collin County Business to offer free advertising for new Chamber members. For every new membership to the Allen Chamber that is sold, Inside Collin County Business will issue a certificate good for advertising in the amount of the new member's investment in the Chamber, up to $1,000. Also, in exchange for selling discounted subscriptions to existing Chamber members, the Chamber will receive a commission and advertising benefits. For more information, contact the Chamber at 972-727-5585 or Jack Bick at Inside Collin County Business at 972-612-2425.

Use the link to access the Chamber calendar and click on event for additional information.