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Belleville Chamber of Commerce, 216 East “A” Street, Belleville, IL 62220

P: (618) 233-2015 F: (618) 233-2077 www.bellevillechamber.org

Chamber News…

July 22, 2008, Volume 3, Issue 23

Join us for a Back to School Business After Hours hosted by the St. Clair County Regional Office of Education and area schools. It will be held at the ROE located at 1000 South Illinois Street in Belleville on Thursday, August 7^th, from 5-7pm. Please RSVP to (618) 233-2015 or ahector@bellevillechamber.org by August 4^th.

RSVP NOW

Upcoming Chamber Events

Friday, July 25

West Belleville Promotional Committee Meeting

8am

Lindenwood University

2600 West Main Street, Belleville

Ribbon Cutting

8:30am

Oregon Trail Roasting Company

201 West Main Street, Belleville

Wednesday, July 30

Groundbreaking

10am

TheBANK of Edwardsville

360 Greenmount Road, Belleville, IL 62221

Deadline is Approaching to Get Discounted Tickets for Belleville Night at Busch Stadium

All Belleville Chamber of Commerce members and their staff, family and friends are invited to the 2008 Belleville Community Night at Busch Stadium. A wonderful way to support the Chamber and enjoy a St. Louis Cardinals game!

Tuesday, August 5^th, 2008

Cardinals vs. Dodgers

Game Time: 7:15pm

Tickets are $16.00 for adults and $9.00 for children (15 & under). There is a limited quantity of tickets, so order early! To order by phone, call 314-345-9500. Order forms are also available on our website, www.bellevillechamber.org.

Help Send our Troops to the Game

We have asked to have 100 tickets set aside for the Airmen to attend the August 5^th baseball game.

Price per ticket is $16.00 and we are asking the Chamber membership to help us pay for these tickets to send the Airmen to the game. We are also planning to provide transportation to and from Scott AFB.

Please mail donation to the Belleville Chamber c/o Cardinal Game Tickets for Enlisted, 216 East “A” Street, Belleville, IL 62220.

Please call us at (618) 233-2015 with any questions.

Don’t Miss Out on the Next Leadership Belleville Class!

Leadership Belleville is a unique executive training program coordinated through the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce to provide a foundation of skills and knowledge to emerging local leaders. In addition to developing leadership skills, the program seeks to foster a commitment to community service and provide opportunities for economic growth for local businesses and organizations.

Each Leadership Belleville class is composed of up to 25 professionals from diverse career, political, social and cultural backgrounds who demonstrate the highest leadership qualities. These classmates create a valuable network of resources -- paying dividends to both alums and their business sponsors. The course begins with a kick-off breakfast at the end of August. Then in September, all participants attend a two-day overnight retreat to focus on team building, leadership and communication skills. The retreat provides the participants with the opportunity to bond and develop significant relationships that will be useful in their professional, civic and personal endeavors.

The nine-month program dedicates one day each month to a specific issue or subject pertaining to the Belleville area, such as history, arts, religion, government, business and industry, education, healthcare, community and aging, economic development, law enforcement and justice, or ethics. Participants will be given the chance to meet and engage a large number of business, community, and political leaders during each session. In May, a graduation dinner is held in the evening for all participants, their spouses or guests, as well as program presenters and facilitators. Participants must meet certain criteria to graduate and join the prestigious Leadership Belleville Alumni Association.

The tuition for the nine-month course is $975 for members of the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce and $1200 for nonmembers.

To insure admittance to the next class, applications for the course should be submitted as early as possible. Deadline to register is August 8^th.

For more information, visit www.leadershipbelleville.org.

Member News…

Sign up for Aug. 11 Golf Scramble to Fund SWIC Scholarships
The Aug. 11 Southwestern Illinois College Foundation Golf Scramble at the St. Clair Country Club in Belleville is more rewarding than ever. Make a hole-in-one and Weir Chevrolet will hand you the keys to a new car.

Register today through Monday, Aug. 4. The fee is $125 per golfer or $500 per foursome, and includes greens fees, cart, lunch, practice balls and prizes. Sign-in begins at 7:30 a.m., the day of the event, with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Sponsorship opportunities are available as well.

Sign up now with the knowledge you will be doing something far more important than just having fun or trying to win a car – you will be supporting local students heading to college, said Rena Thoele, SWIC scholarship coordinator.

Your support through this event can make a big difference in the lives of SWIC students.

“This scholarship is a motivation to say the least and I would like to thank you sincerely, you have made my day,” recent scholarship recipient Bradley Dahl wrote in a letter to the Foundation. “I now have more confidence in my abilities, and I know that I can do anything that any other student can do.”

The Weir auto group in Red Bud is proud to sponsor the hole-in-one car for this event, Sales Manager Brad Roy explained. “We just like to support the local community,” he said.

Thanks to support from local individuals, groups and businesses, the Foundation is able to provide more than 200 scholarships to SWIC students. Annually 26,000 students attend SWIC through campuses in Belleville, Granite City and Red Bud, and more than 20 off-campus sites.

For information about the Golf Scramble, contact the SWIC Foundation at 618-235-2700, ext. 5215, or visit www.swicfoundation.com to print a registration form.

Memorial Hospital to Host Weight Loss Program

Memorial’s comprehensive eight-week weight loss program – Healthy Weigh – will begin Thursday, August 28, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in Memorial Hospital’s Auditorium, 4500 Memorial Drive, Belleville.

The Healthy Weigh program includes diet counseling, weekly weigh-ins and behavior modification along with practical tips for shopping and cooking. The program, taught by registered dietitians from Memorial, helps participants design a weight loss program to achieve long-term results. An optional exercise program also is available using either Memorial’s Belleville Health and Sports Center, 1001 South 74^th Street, Belleville or the YMCA of Southwest Illinois.

Cost is $50 for the class only and $90 with the two-month exercise component.

For more information or to register, call Memorial’s Community Relations Department at 257-5649.

SWIC Program is Honored by Cisco Networking Academy
The Southwestern Illinois College Cisco Networking Academy will be honored July 30 with the 2008 national award for relevance by Cisco, which promotes itself as “The Human Network.” A graduate of the program was also honored.

SWIC is one of only two academies nationwide to be honored at the Cisco U.S. Academy Recognition Awards program this year. Cisco identifies relevance as one of the components for a successful Cisco Networking Academy.

The award bestowed on the SWIC academy is defined on the Cisco Web site. “Relevance measures the extent to which education supports the career aspirations of students. In this category, instructors and academies recognize the connection between classroom learning and the skills students will need to succeed in IT and networking careers."

Matt Swinford, SWIC Network Design and Administration program coordinator, explained that the academy takes career aspirations seriously.

“In the past few years, SWIC has made significant improvements in its Network Academy,” he said. “To teach students about careers in the ‘real world’, students take field trips to a variety of businesses that employ Cisco-certified technicians. In addition, guest speakers visit the classroom to discuss future career opportunities, and as part of the academy, the college's Career Activities and Employment Center conducts workshops on resumes, interviews and other related skills.”

Providing hands-on experience through internships is another aspect of the program that helps students in the SWIC Cisco Networking Academy gain employment, Swinford explained.

“A substantial number of these internship locations regularly hire students for entry-level positions upon, or prior to, graduation,” he said.

The SWIC academy is hosting an open house on the Sam Wolf Granite City Campus, 4950 Maryville Road, from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5. Anyone interested in a computer-networking career is invited to tour the labs, talk to instructors and learn more about the educational program as well as career opportunities.

For information, contact Swinford at matt.swinford@swic.edu; call 800-222-5131, ext. 6674; or visit www.swic.edu/cisco.

Learn How to Build Your Sales Funnel at ESPW Workshop

"Kick Start Your Fall Selling Season...Using the Phone to Build Your Sales Funnel" presented by Sam Black, Sam Black Consulting - ESPW - Southwest Illinois Workshop

Date:	05 August 2008
Time:	6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Place:	Art of The Matter Glen Carbon IL
Contact:	Cyndi Brown - Chapter President [email] or call 618-830-7851
Link
Attachment:	cal_1_event_881_08.2008 - Kick Start the Fall - Sam Black.pdf

With the summer coming to an end, now is the time to start building the funnel of leads that will hopefully lead to the best Fall selling season you have ever had.

BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO TO BUILD YOUR SALES FUNNEL? Ask the expert. Sam Black, Sam Black Consulting is an expert on sales and customer service training. She is joining us in August to specifically teach us how the PHONE (YES, we said the “phone) can be your best tool for creating sales out of contacting current or past customers, connecting with people you meet at events and eliminating the barriers to timely follow up and customer service. Let’s work together to make this Fall YOUR BEST EVER!!

Register by 12Noon Monday before Tuesday workshop: $23 Members / $30 Guests**
Register After 12Noon Monday before Tuesday workshop: $30 Members / $30 Guests
**Pre-Registered guests receive a $7 coupon to be used toward the $80 membership fee.
**Fee includes dinner, beverage, workshop materials.

Hungry for Papa John's Pizza?
St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Day at Papa John’s Pizza – JULY 23, 2008
Mention St. Elizabeth’s Hospital when you order a pizza (either at work or at home) on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 and 20% of all sales will benefit the Friends of St. Elizabeth's Hospital Foundation!

Only available at participating Papa John’s restaurants:
Belleville/Swansea
3809 North Belt West
257-1000

Collinsville/Caseyville/Maryville
445 Vandalia
345-4444

O’Fallon
900 Southview Drive
628-7272

Granite City/Mitchell
Madison/Pontoon Beach
3675 Nameoki
877-7272

Belleville News-Democrat to Display Photos at Governor French

The Belleville News-Democrat is presenting an exhibition of news photographs as part of its 150^th anniversary celebration.

Photos including the St. Peter Cathedral fire in 1911, the campaign stop by JFK in 1960 and current images by the newspaper’s photojournalists will be on exhibit beginning Friday, July 18, through Friday, August 8, at the Governor French Academy Arts Center at 223 W. Main St., Belleville, IL. Gallery hours are 9am-3pm Monday through Friday.

The News-Democrat has been serving southwestern Illinois since January 16, 1858, and this year is celebrating its 150^th anniversary with a series of special sections on local history, a book of 150 pages from the newspaper’s archives entitled “150 years, 150 Headlines” and this photo exhibit from the newspaper’s archives. The newspaper serves more than 50,000 readers daily and another 4000,000 unique monthly visitors to its website, bnd.com.

logo Heartlinks Children’s Grief Center Needs Your Help

Join the “Cookie Wrapper and Drink Pouch Brigade” … Save all of your cookie wrappers and/or drink pouches. Then, at a time of your choosing, stop-by, or mail the empty wrappers and pouches to Family Hospice, at 5110 West Main Street, Belleville, IL 62226. TerraCycle, Inc will donate $.02 to Heartlinks for every wrapper or pouch they receive. Since this is an ongoing program, you may decide when to send in your wrappers and pouches.

Heartlinks is a children’s grief center located at Family Hospice in Belleville. Heartlinks currently runs an ongoing grief program for kids who have experienced a loss and helps them to copy with their feelings in a positive light. This program has been serving communities in Southern Illinois for 11 years and depends on the compassion and generosity of businesses and individuals to continue to serving those in need.

Please call (618) 277-1800 if you have any questions concerning this program.

Shrine Hosts Grief and Healing Workshops

The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is offering two Healing Days of Reflection, designed to help you find glimpses of God during difficult times.

On Sunday, July 27, 12:30-4pm, Ms. Rainey Fahey will lead a healing talk, entitled Redrawing the Circle of Life: Learning to Live without a Loved One’s Physical Presence. This day of reflection is a spiritually-based journey of “remembering.” It is designed for those who find themselves at any stage of grief from any type of loss. All are invited to join us for a blessed, sacrd, holy, and uplifting afternoon. Cost: $20. Registration requested.

On Saturday, August 2, 9:30am-4pm, Fr. Harry Byrne, O.P., will lead us in how to become aware of sacred moments when God enters into our lives and enables us to enrich and bring greater meaning to the pilgrimage that we call our life of faith. Cost: $30 (lunch included). Registration requested.

For additional information or to register, please contact the Shrine Pastoral Department at 618-397-6700, ext 6272, or 314-241-3400, ext 6272. Visit us online at www.snows.org/healing.

Upcoming Member Events

Thursday, July 24

BBQ

3-7pm

Turkey Hill Grange

South Greenmount & Hwy 15, Belleville, IL 62220 Takeout or eat-in. Pulled Pork, Pork Steaks, drinks and desserts.

Stems & Steins

5-10pm

Ravissant Winery

5950 Town Hall Road, Belleville

(618) 233-9463

www.ravissantwinery.com

Come out to Ravissant after work and enjoy delicious wines, $1.00 Bud Select bottles, along with snacks and live music from 5:30-8:30pm. NO ADMISSION CHARGE. Event is co-sponsored by Illinois Distributing. Contact us at 618-233-WINE for more info.

ESPW 2nd Annual Rockin' Road Rally - JOINT CHAPTER EVENT

5-9pm

Fitz's (Delmar Loop), St. Louis, MO

618-830-7851

www.espw.org

We all know the benefits of working in teams - how two heads are better than one, and let’s not forget "cooperation makes it happen" - if it works on Sesame Street, why not on Delmar? Learn for yourself at the upcoming Rockin’ Road Rally. Join some empowered, enlightened, intelligent women who are coming together to help each other build their businesses, triumph over adversity, expand their horizons, and bridge the distance between good enough and great! ESPW will help you do this – but as a friendly reminder, it’s good to remember what it’s like to have a pillow fight - play hide and seek (no peeking) or "race ya to the door." All work and no play....Well, you get what we are saying!!!
So get started inviting everyone you know to join us...pull together with gals from across the bridges, across the cubicle and across the street - fuse friendships and break out those saddle shoes…because we are going to do some Rockin’ and Rollin’! Register before 12noon Tuesday before Thursday Workshop: $23 Members / $30 Guests** Register after 12noon Tuesday before Thursday Workshop: $30 Members / $30 Guests. ***GUESTS: If you register before the deadline and pay the $30 fee, you will receive a $7 coupon that can be used towards your membership fee of $80 if you choose to join the evening of the event. Ask about this at the Guest Welcome Table.

“Impact of Postnatal Parental Drug Abuse”

6-8pm

PSOP of Southwestern Illinois College

201 North Church Street, Belleville

(Corner of East B and North Church Streets)

Erin Telford from Moving Families Forward, a program of Children's Research Triangle of Chicago will speak about the impact of postnatal parental drug abuse on children and on how the Moving Families Forward Program will address that impact. Also, John Pruett from Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities (TASC) will speak about the Recovery Coach program and drug treatment for adolescents.
This session is free of charge. Refreshments will be provided at 5:30, and the program will run from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. A Certificate of Attendance will be given to each participant. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by contacting tglenncasa@sbcglobal.net or by calling Terry at (618) 234-4278. The program is part of St. Clair County Court Appointed Special Advocates' Speaker Series.