The Pinellas Park/Gateway Chamber of Commerce welcomed FIFTY new members this year, and we're hoping to double that gain in 2012.

How? By continuing to provide our members with interesting program speakers at our breakfast meetings!

Breakfast meetings are free to Chamber members and guests, and we meet on the third Wednesday of most months.

Ken Burke, Clerk of the Circuit Court, will talk about the relevance of public records to our businesses at our January 18 meeting. That's at 7:30 am on Wed., Jan. 18, at the Pinellas Park Senior Citizens' Center. 7625 - 59th St., N.

OH! And our Ambassadors Committee meets just before that, at 7:15 am.

On Sat., Jan. 21, 6:30 pm, we're holding our Annual Installation Banquet at the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center, 4951 - 78th Ave., N.

Our new Prez, Jon Farris, will be joined by Officers Hope Peterson, Elliott Steele, Nancy Hodges, Tim Caddell, Housh Ghovaee, Terry England, Ethel Mudd, and Immediate Past President Paul Ziegler.

Join us to welcome our officer and Board for 2012, and to applaud award-winning businesses and individuals.

TALLAHASSEE, HERE WE COME! 

Our Chamber is heading north to hobnob with our elected officials in Tallahassee.

We'll make our own travel and accommodations arrangements (call the office if you want some help with logistics), and meet the evening of Tuesday, January 31, for dinner with a couple of our legislators and others in-the-know. Wednesday morning, February 1, it's breakfast and then on to the state House and Senate chambers, and scheduled meetings with representatives and state senators.

More details as they're available, especially at that Breakfast meeting on Jan. 18!

Looking for some great networking and a chance to make new contacts? Join us on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month for Connections@ParkStation. We meet in Room 101 at 8:45 a.m., and we enjoy an hour (plus 15 minutes) of making great connections. Bring your business cards and flyers! Our next meeting is set for Friday, Jan. 13, and our Featured Networker is Nick Mazeika.

We all want our businesses to succeed, and the Chamber is dedicated to helping them do just that. We have a great series of classes, our Success in Business Series, that provides you with two full hours of information geared to one specific topic. On January 26, we're talking about The Art & Scienc of Sales  with member Nick Mazeika. And get this: the class and a light lunch cost only $19.95 ($24.95 if you're not a Chamber member). The class runs from 11:30 a.m. till 1:30 p.m.

Thinking it's time to take Social Media by storm? We have a class for that, too. Our first class is on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and you'll learn how LinkedIn and Twitter, and blogs, can give your business a serious boost. These are hands-on classes, so if you don't have a LinkedIn or Twitter account (both are free), call the office and we'll get you set up. This class starts at 11:00 a.m. and runs till 3:00 pm here at Park Station. Cost is $39.95.

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!

It's time to start thinking about Country in the Park, our city's celebration of all things country!

Our Chamber Trade Show is a big part of the day's events, and you can reserve YOUR table NOW. We've kept prices stable, just $125 for members ($300 for non-members), and you'll get your message in front of the 10,000 visitors who stream into Pinellas Park to enjoy the day's offerings. Call the office at 727-544-4777 for information.

MORE? Yes!

The Chamber is fielding a team in the Relay for Life to help raise funds for cancer research and patient care. We need you to be on our team, to help us sell ribbons on our Tree of Hope/Tree of Life, and to generate revenues the day of the event. It's scheduled for April 13 and 14 at England Brothers Park.

TIME FOR YOU, too!

If your business is celebrating an anniversary, staging a ribbon cutting, or hosting an event for the community, you can announce it on our calendar. Log in with your username and password at http://pinellasparkchamber.com, and post your event. We check every day, so once we see your listing, we'll make it public.

UPCOMING MEMBER EVENTS: 

Old Fashioned Story Swap. FREE. Sunday, Jan. 8, 3:00 pm at Park Station, 5851 Park Blvd. Tales tall or small, for kids or grown-ups (but all should be family-friendly). Tellers and listeners--all are welcome. Info: 727-647-8057.

Housewarming Party at Weight Watchers, 7322 US Hwy 19 N., Pinellas Park. FREE. Saturday, Jan. 14, 9 am - 5 pm. Special one-day-only offer, prizes refreshments, recipes, and MORE!

BAHA Horse Show. FREE. Sunday, Jan. 18, 8 am - 4 pm at the Equestrian Center at Helen S. Howarth Park, 6331 - 94th Ave., N., Pinellas Park. Open show, Juvenile, Adults, Special Olympics.

Grand Re-Opening at Bayside Terrace. FREE. Thursday, Jan. 26, 4 - 6 pm at 9381 US Hwy 19 N., Pinellas Park. Refreshments, live DJ. See what's new at this independent/assisted living community, which has a memory support unit.

CAMS Local Talent Open Mic. $3. Friday, Jan. 27, 7-10 pm at the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center, 4951 - 78th Ave., N. Cabaret seating.

Pinellas Folk Festival. $5 donation (suggested), Saturday, Jan. 28, 10 am -4 pm. Heritage Village, 11909 - 125th St., N., Largo. (Chamber member Billie Noakes tells stories on the Log Cabin Stage at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm.)

Remember, too, that you can send your press releases to office@pinellasparkchamber.com and we'll post those on our website, too.

OK. That seems like plenty of information for you to think about. If you'd like to submit a blog for the Chamber's website, please send it to office@pinellasparkchamber.com.