Technology. It’s a word that can be a little intimidating and frightening, depending upon who you talk to. Social media, websites, smart phones and tablets have all taken over our lives. It’s hard to walk the streets or even sit through a meeting anymore without seeing someone pull out their phone to check an email or text a reply to someone. Here at the chamber we are hoping we can help you embrace the world of technology by helping you wade through the water with a brand new iPad.

That’s right, I have an iPad to give away and you could be the winner. Here at the chamber we know our best asset is you, our business and community members, and we are hoping you’ll be able to help us recruit a couple of new members. For every new chamber member that you can get signed up, your name goes into the drawing for a brand new iPad. It is that simple.

Hopefully, our Members see a value in the Chamber. Each and every day we are working to promote this community and the many businesses that call Rhinelander home. Benefits of chamber membership include marketing, advertising and promotion for your business, but that’s not all we do. We help to provide the resources that small businesses need. We offer opportunities for you to network with your fellow business owners and community members, and hopefully make a couple of connections you might not have had before. We host more than a dozen community events that we hope draw people into our great town to check out all that we have to offer. My goal is that you find value in just one of those items and tell someone else about us. That’s it. Do you think the chamber plays an important role in our community? I sure hope so. I hope you’ll help us spread our message by telling just one of your friends why you think their business would benefit from membership in the chamber.

So back to that iPad. There are just two qualifications for you to win it. Number one, you either need to be a member of the Rhinelander Area Chamber of Commerce or work for one. Number two, you need to get one business that is not currently a member of the chamber to sign up. That’s it. For each new member you recruit between now and Jan. 11, you get an entry into the drawing. Sign up six new members, get six entries. We are going to be announcing our winner during our annual dinner in January. I have to give a huge thank you to Wal-Mart, who is generously donating the iPad to the Chamber. And if you win the iPad but aren’t sure how to use it, I’ll teach you, because technology is only helpful if we all know how to use it.

If you aren’t a chamber member and you’re interested in learning about the work that we do, give me a call. I’m always ready and willing to tell you about the many benefits membership can bring you. Most importantly, I want your businesses to succeed and I think we have some tools and resources you can use to help make sure it does.