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Every week on 93.5 and AM930 KAFF Country, the Flagstaff Chamber brings you interviews with fascinating business members and newsmakers on the Chamber Business Hour. Listen live on the radio at 11 a.m. Saturdays, or catch previous programs here on our website.

Radio Show – April 21, 2012

Guests: Joe Pozer Jr. (Joy Cone); Holly Gramm and George Averbeck (Arizona Handmade/Fire on the Mountain Studio)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:21 — 19.3MB)

Ribbon Cutting – Benefit Logic, Inc. (Jan. 27, 2012)

Ed Gussio and the team at Benefit Logic Inc. celebrate the health insurance brokerage moving into its own building at 2321 N. Fourth St. Benefit Logic has been a member of the Chamber for 14 years. 928.526.5691 or http://www.benefitlogic.net.

Holiday Lights Parade Winners Announced

Congratulations to Victorious Life Christian Center, Michael McLaughlin Orthodontics, and Coconino Public Works, the recipients of the “best float award” during the Vora Financial Holiday Parade of Lights. This was an unprecedented three-way tie, a tribute to how creative and beautiful these floats were.

Many thanks to Vora Financial for their continued title sponsorship and our radio partners at the KAFF stations.

The Chamber organizes this parade each year to draw thousands of visitors to Flagstaff to benefit our business community.

Winter Maps

The Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce has introduced two new maps to highlight specific traffic routes that serve as alternatives to Humphreys Street in downtown Flagstaff. CLICK HERE to learn about alternative routes, particularly if you have come to Flagstaff to visit the Wing Mountain snow play area or Arizona Snowbowl, both located north of town on Highway 180. With the release of the new driving maps, the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce believes commuting from snow play recreation areas through Flagstaff and beyond can be less stressful.

City Budget

The City of Flagstaff recently held a budget retreat for the fiscal 2012/2013 year. To see a copy of the City Budget Presentation, click here.

Buy•Dine•Stay in Flagstaff

When you shop, think local first and remember to “Buy•Dine•Stay in Flagstaff.”

You should Buy•Dine•Stay in Flagstaff because:

• It Saves and Creates Jobs. Keep your neighbors working – when you support Flagstaff businesses, those businesses keep or hire more employees.
• You Recycle Your Dollar. When you buy in Flagstaff, your money is recycled an estimated seven times. The local business you purchase from spends money at other local companies and their employees purchase good and services here.
• Local Businesses Invest More in Our Community. When you Buy•Dine•Stay in Flagstaff, those stores, service firms, restaurants and hotels fund our city’s charities, schools and community events.
• You’ll Save $$$. Avoid travel costs or shipping charges by buying it in Flagstaff!
• Flagstaff Businesses Value You More. Our local businesses survive by their reputation and repeat business, meaning you get a higher standard of service.
• It Contributes to the Retail Sales Tax Rate. That 1% you pay in city taxes funds everything from police and fire protection to the maintenance of our streets and roads.
• It’s Environmentally Sustainable. Don’t drive to another town or have your items shipped to you – buy from a Flagstaff business and reduce your environmental impact.

To get your copy of the Buy•Dine•Stay in Flagstaff logo, please click here.

United Way of Northern Arizona

United Way of Northern Arizona works to advance the common good by creating lasting changes in community conditions through its partnerships and alliances in three action areas: Education, Income, and Health.

NAU’s 11th Annual, Mountain Campus Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair benefiting United Way of Northern Arizona will be on November 11 and 12 in the du Bois Center Adults $2, Students $1 Children 12 and under are free. Plenty of free parking.

To learn more, click here.



Radio Show – Oct. 14, 2011

Guest: City Councilman Scott Overton.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:32 — 19.1MB)

Evening of Jazz Delights

More than 200 business and organizational leaders flocked to Flagstaff Ranch on Thursday, Oct. 13 to enjoy one of the highlights of Fall calendar – the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce Evening of Jazz. 

Fabulous food (often with a spicy kick) was offered by Brix, Flagstaff Ranch, Karma Sushi Bar and Grill, Sachmo’s, Tinderbox Kitchen, and Wildflower Bread Company. New Orleans-style jazz was provided by the Jack Webb Jazz Band.

In addition to mingling in the gorgeous Flagstaff Ranch clubhouse, there was also a 27-inch HD flat screen television giveaway, courtesy of Suddenlink Communications, and fantastic prizes to bid on during live and silent auctions.

The Kaiser Law Group was the title sponsor for this event, which directly underwrites Chamber programs and initiatives. Supporting sponsors include Loven Contracting, Alliance Bank, Nestle Purina PetCare, Findlay Automotive Group, Northern Arizona Restoration and Unisource Energy Services.

ATHENA Award Nominations Open

The Athena Award

The Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce is looking for outstanding women whose careers, dedication to others and mentoring abilities have made a difference in our community for the 23rd Annual ATHENA Awards®.

The program consists of two honors. The traditional ATHENA Award is presented to a local businesswoman who has achieved excellence in her field, served the community and mentored other women. The Young Professionals honor celebrates an emerging leader in business (typically under the age of 40) who clearly serves as a role model for young women both personally and professionally.

Recently, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was selected as the 2011 National ATHENA Award recipient by ATHENA International. The Flagstaff Chamber has been recognizing local women for more than two decades as part of the ATHENA program. 

Nominations for both awards are now being accepted. Deadline to submit a nomination form is Friday, December 9. 2011. Finalists will be profiled in Business Matters and awards will be presented during the Chamber’s Annual Meeting on January 20, 2012.

You can download the nomination packets below.

Radio Show – October 1, 2011

Guests: Adam Cornette (Flagstaff Bicycle Revolution/Cafe Revolution); Rhonda Tanner (Warner’s Nursery); Ashton Powell (Out of Africa Wildlife Park).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:11 — 19.3MB)

Gosar Confers with Chamber Board

U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar made a special visit to the Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors to discuss a variety of federal-level topics. Among the items the Congressman discussed were the prospect of a balanced budget amendment being proposed in Congress this fall and “Operation Fast and Furious,” a controversial part of an ATF program to allow straw purchase of weapons with the hope of building a bigger case against Mexican criminal organizations. He also answered questions posed by the board on a wide variety of topics, such as the of the FAA, the future of Medicare, and commercial and homeowner lending.

Radio Show – August 13, 2011

Guests: Misty Warner Anderson (Warner’s Nursery & Landscaping); Bryce Wright (AZ Bikes);  Bruce Mehlman (Mahlman, Vogel, Castagnetti); and Scott Bloehorn (Greenmodel).

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:10 — 20.3MB)

Final Draft of the New City Zoning Code Now On Line

Over the past few weeks (City) staff has worked to incorporate all of the Planning and Zoning Commission’s recommendations and the amendments approved by the City Council into a Final Draft of the new Zoning Code. This work is now complete, and the Final Draft is available for review on the Zoning Code webpage – www.flagstaff.az.gov/zoningupdate. The draft is organized by chapter to make it easier to review and download.

Please note though that the final editing of this draft has not been completed, and work on correcting formatting, page numbering, grammar, etc. is ongoing. An independent editor will be reviewing the document to ensure that in its final form all clerical errors have been corrected, and this work will be completed by the end of August. This version of the draft has been released so that interested residents would have an opportunity to review the content of the Final Draft despite some editing issues well in advance of the City Council’s meetings in September and October when it is anticipated that the final Zoning Code will be adopted.

The proposed schedule for adoption of the new Zoning Code is as follows (note this schedule may be subject to change):

 August 4^th      Release of Zoning Code Final Draft (some editing ongoing)

  September 2^nd      Publication of final Zoning Code

September 20^th     City Council adoption of a resolution declaring the final Zoning Code as a public record

October 4^th    First reading of the ordinance to adopt the new Zoning Code

October 18^th    Second reading of the adopting ordinance/adoption of the new Zoning Code.

November 21^st     Effective date

 To those of you who represent community or business organizations, please forward this on to your members so that they can also be informed of this opportunity to review the City of Flagstaff’s new Zoning Code.

 If you have any questions on the new Zoning Code or require any additional information, please contact Roger Eastman at the phone numbers or e-mail address provided below.

Roger E. Eastman, AICP

Zoning Code Administrator

Planning and Development Services Section

City of Flagstaff

211 West Aspen Avenue

Flagstaff, AZ 86001

P 928-213-2640

C 928-853-5187

F 928-779-7684

reastman@FlagstaffAz.gov

YES! Week Encourages Young Entrepreneurs

The Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology (NACET) would like to thank the many sponsors, business executives and participants who made the first ever Young Entrepreneurial Scholars (YES!) Week possible.

“YES! Week” exposed nine creative and innovative high school students from Flagstaff public and charter schools to the world of entrepreneurship. During the week, the students broke into teams and created three businesses from scratch. They designed logos, recorded both video and audio commercials and presented detailed business plans to a panel of judges in an end-of-week competition.

Throughout the five days they were inspired by presentations from some of Flagstaff’s entrepreneurial elite: Sean Tierney (Scratch Audio), Phil Keesee (Northern Arizona Signs); John Keegan (Slednecks Outwear); Michael Manson and Rick Rampton (Motor Excellence); Craig Watkins (Red OTS and Red 115 Aveda Salons); Jim Hunter (Small Business Development Center/JB Hunter Corporation); Kristen Keyes (Keyes Communications); Elizabeth Driebe (TGen North); Ross Taylor (Southwest Windpower); John VanLandingham (Old Town Shops); Bonnie Stevens (Ecological Restoration Group); Rand Jenkins (The Green Room) and Melissa Meno (WearEarth). The entire week was facilitated by Trish Rensink and Jamey Hasapis of the BelleWether Group.

In addition to the staffs of the Chamber and NACET, YES! Week also received supporting sponsorship from the following: Big Foot Barbeque; Brookside Chocolate Company and Ice Cream Shop; the Economic Collaborative of Northern Arizona; Fratelli’s Pizza; Northern Arizona University; Salsa Brava and Tinderbox Kitchen.

Lastly, a big thank you to our first class of students, who were inspiring and of whom we are expecting great things: Marco Bifano, Kristian Candelaria, Anthony Horn and Ben Ksiazek (Coconino High School); Davis Hoyt, Stephanie Hoyt, and Brook Wiley (Northland Preparatory Academy); and Ahmed Marian and Lindsey Smith (Flagstaff High School).

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