Members of the Business Community of East Clarington,

We invite you to join the Newcastle & District Chamber of Commerce.   The mandate of the Chamber of Commerce is to support and promote the businesses located in the villages of Clarington east of Bowmanville, and we have been doing this for over 30 years now.  While membership is not specifically limited to businesses in that geographic area, our activities and support focus here.  In turn, by being a member, you are supporting your Community, and regardless of why you have not been a member in the past, we ask that you join now and strengthen the Chamber´s numbers.  The larger our membership is, the more we can do and better serve our community.

Members are listed on the Chamber´s website and receive a monthly e-newsletter.  As part of this, if your member application is randomly picked, you business will be featured as the Business Spotlight of the Month on the website and in the newsletter.  You can also take advantage of the Chambers of Commerce group insurance plan and the Merchant Services discounts.  We also hold Networking meetings once a month at various locations in the community,  giving you a chance to meet with other members and the executive.  You can also use the cost of membership as a business expense (on your tax return).

One of the highlights of our year is always the annual dinner, where 100 or so local business people join together to meet and greet, network, make new friends and renew old acquaintances. We also host the annual Trade Fair in June.  This is an excellent opportunity to promote your business to the community and other business owners. In 2007, we also launched our Networking meetings currently held every other month (usually the fourth Monday, 5.30 to 7.30 at a local establishment) and free to members.

Lastly, therefore, we ask you to consider joining the Board of Directors and/or volunteering some time to help with the various projects we run.  The lifeblood of any organization is its volunteers, and as we run more projects we need more help.  Talk to any of the current Board members, or come on out to a Board meeting – 6.30 p.m. on the first Monday of the month in Council Chambers (upstairs) at the Community Hall (2nd Monday if the 1st is a holiday).

If you do nothing else, please try to attend the Annual Dinner – it´s the one time in the year that all the businesses have a chance to get together and do some networking.

Please take a few minutes now to complete your application and send it in with your membership fee of $85.  We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you at upcoming events.