I am trying to think ahead here. Not easy for me. I hate commitment.
The Green Lake 4th of July Fireworks are going to be held out in front of Norton's and the Bay in front of the marina this year. This is supposedly so we can watch them from the park and it will bring in massive amounts of business for the downtown. I will withhold any comment here.
The Chamber is planning on using 2 barges this summer instead of the usual one. They need to raise $7,000. I wouldn't think it would be that hard and the fireworks are incredibly popular. You would think the chamber would focus on this a lot more. The fireworks bring in people from all over. The truth is I don't think $7,000 is such a lot for the fireworks. Wouldn't it be great if we could work up to 15K or 20K? It seems like it would be good for business all around. I am under the impression they have about 1500 dollars so far, but I don't really know.I would actually like to see them raise a lot more and start a continuing yearly fund instead of having to scramble all the time. This seems to be a continuing problem for the chamber. Then they blame their members for not giving them enough money for the fireworks because their yearly dues aren't enough already. And the members get so much for the dues. I really don't know what goes on with that chamber other than they love a good meeting.
Anyway...if anybody feels like donating $$$ for the fireworks they can send checks made out to The Green Lake Fund at the Green Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 337, Green Lake, WI 54491. It would be great for everyone if we could do this together. You would think the Chamber would at least have it on their website. The Chamber doesn't seem to be able to get it together for something like this... If you send a check tell them the chief sent you. Don't quote me but I believe it is tax deductible.
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3 months ago
26 comments:
I wish they still did the fireworks out at the ABA. I thought it was a lot more fun with everyone in the same area. There was better parking and people didn't have to walk as far, especially if they were carrying chairs. I've always loved watching all the boats on the lake, I couldn't even see them from where I had to sit last year.
I say we start a campaign to move the fireworks back to the ABA!
They still have to be paid for.
Why would we want to have fireworks in the ABA and send everyone out of town? Plus, I heard that the ABA doesn't even pitch in for the fireworks - only the Chamber does.
I don't think the Chamber is blaming anyone for not giving them enough money. The real problem is that businesses will pay their dues to take advantage of Chamber services, but when it comes time to volunteering to keep events going, no one will step up to the plate. They same people are involved everytime. You can't say the Chamber isn't doing it's job without blaming the membership too. The Chamber IS the membership. So if this town wants to have a great July 4th celebration, show up at a meeting, email some ideas, volunteer some of your time.
In other words....it takes a village.
I don't know where you get your info ? The retailers of this town are always stepping up to the plate when it comes to volunteering.
There are many other businesses that never lend a hand.
Including the people of this town. They are quick to blame the chamber. But are never seen helping out.
The Chamber deserves a big pat on the back for moving the fireworks downtown, and businesses in town are constantly hit for donations to various charitable organizations. It's up to all of us to support the Chamber and the businesses.
I think the chamber would appreciate any help with the fundraising for the fire works. Just ask them!!!! Actually, they are always looking for new volunteers with new ideas for all events. Instead of putting the chamber down step up to the plate and offer your help.
is it a chamber of commerce or a chamber of entertainment....?
The Chamber isn’t structured to provide support to downtown businesses. The main function of the Chamber is to provide community service in the form of event organization. The premise for organizing these events is that they are “good for downtown business”. The simple fact is that some of them are not. (The flawed assumption is that when people are out on the streets (locals) they must be shopping).
DB
DB, what would you like to see the Chamber or some other group do to support local business? I mean this as a serious question.
Hello my good friend Anonymous, how have you all been?
Good question of yours, received in the spirit it was intended.
Darn, I sure wish they’d outsource event organization. Imagine what would happen if they employed a professional event organizer for the town, part-time of course. Events could be run efficiently and profitably. It would free up the Chamber to do what they’re really here to do, provide support to businesses and promote Commerce in the area. Until that happens it will always be a Chamber of entertainment, as one person has so eloquently put it.
Since one or more posters have made reference to retail, it pains me to point out the obvious, that recently we’ve seen the demise, relocation or general retirement of a high number of our retail businesses. Bliss (the coffee shop), Green Willow (opposite the bank), JJ Cheesecakes, Forget-me-not-Boutique, Karen’s Jewelry, Connections (the short-lived coffee shop), and the Health Cache.
Add to this the businesses that are currently for sale - Mill St Junction, the Ice Cream Parlor, Northshore Sports, the Mercantile store and Mouseables.
Without wanting to sound alarmist, we are witnessing a mass exodus of retailers and it appears not to be over.
If you remove the businesses that are for sale, that leaves us with the candy store, two Galleries, the Knowledge Emporium and WI Gold and Gem - hardly sufficient to class GL as a destination for shopping.
So we’re faced with the prospect of having a very minimal retail presence at best, which in my opinion is a real catastrophe for the town. As retail diminishes further, there becomes less reason for people to visit the downtown area, not just locals but tourists too. This has a ripple effect on other non-retail businesses such as our taverns, restaurants and motels. I know they are seeing it unfold already.
It is a downward spiral into the shit-can that is hard to halt. And furthermore, once you arrive at the bottom, with the clinkers, it’s almost impossible to recover. Alas, it isn’t as some people think; a cyclical phenomenon where everything will suddenly reappear as it once was. If I hear someone else cheerily say, “Oh, it will all turn around”, I swear I will maim them badly.
Any prospective retail business owner reconnoitering the town as a possible location can see the situation clearly. Empty streets, empty stores and for-sale signs everywhere. How is that going to attract new businesses to town?
So my answer to your question is that we first need to do something to retain the few businesses that we still have, since without those it will be virtually impossible to attract new retail businesses. The new ideas that we implement to support our existing businesses will be the foundations for attracting new retailers to the downtown. We reverse the downward spiral and avoid the can
To preserve the businesses that we have, local residents need to step up, and the Green Lake Chamber of Commerce needs to wake up.
I was raised in a small community whose retail area was decimated by the emergence of a Wal-Mart just a few miles out of town. Over a period of around five years, the entire retail area was sucked in from the edges, leaving a gaping void where once was located a number of thriving retail stores. After they closed, and the city turned the land into condo’s and parking lots, the locals complained perpetually about missing their favorite little stores, where they could buy hand-made candies, or locally made jewelry or whatever. These were the same locals whose business was transferred to Wal-Mart when it opened, effectively signing the death warrants of stores they claimed to have been so smitten with. Those void of foresight miss nothing until after it’s gone.
The solution is in the power of positive action. We get to choose where we spend our money and where we spend it determines the future shape of the retail community. If you take your money from Green Lake and spend it in Ripon to save a buck, then Ripon will prosper at the expense of Green Lake. So, locals decide.
If the downtown received more local support then there is a chance that we might retain some of the retailers that are there now. But it’s still tenuous at best without a more solid foundation, the type that requires initiatives from the Chamber of Commerce and the City of Green Lake.
So far I’ve only heard of two such initiatives, the ‘WI Main Street Revitalization Program’, spearheaded by the Mayor, and the commissioning into service of the Treacy Marketing Group by the Chamber.
From what I understand, the Main Street program has had a couple of false starts, at least one major set-back, and even if it were to come to fruition there’s a likely 7-10 year investment in effort before any real benefits emerge. That’s fine and kudos to Mayor Parise for initiating the project, but the risk is that we’ll have nothing left in the downtown area to ‘revitalize’ in 7-10 years.
As far as the Treacy Marketing group are concerned, I read in the local press that the Chamber has invested a significant percentage of its annual budget with this Chicago based company. (The rumor-mill suggests that around $100,000 may have been spent to date, with similar committed for future spending?)
Apparently, Treacy/Chamber have been working together to promote the area for 18 months or so.
It’s easy to be critical of someone else’s effort, but we’re talking about livelihoods here, and frankly I think the money could have been put to much better use.
For now I won’t expand on those comments unless specifically asked to do so, since it might be construed as mean-spirited and I’m sure I’ve pissed enough people off for one day as it is.
One other suggestion I can offer is something that will cost nothing and has the capacity to achieve much. Anytime that any one of us crosses paths with a member of the Chamber board or City council, politely say to them “please, what are you doing within your respective organization to try to halt the downward trend that retail and other businesses are seeing in Green Lake?”
As a retired person I do have a vested interest in seeing Green Lake prosper. I want the value of my lake home to continue to rise, as it has consistently over the years. What am I prepared to sacrifice to contribute to the town to help abate this downward trend? Anything and everything that I possibly can. I’ve made my opinions know to the people that matter, and offered my services in a variety of capacities.
I’m sure my words are quite irksome to many, but sometimes it takes an aggressive stance to force change, and though I don’t condone jingoism per se, it can sometimes be effective.
As I sit typing this from the comfort of my lake home, I really believe there is a bright future for Green Lake, despite everything.
DB
Just to clarify, the Chamber has spent less than $50K on the new marketing program.
D.B. You really should get factual information instead of crap from the rumor mill before you spew it to anyone. There are alot of good things happening in this City. When I take a drive or look around, I see the positives not a dying city. It is people like you who continually preach rumor and negativity instead of taking the time to get the facts that is hurting our city. Be proud of where you live and try to contribute in a positive manner. If you really want to talk to council members or chamber board members, I am sure they would welcome you to any meeting. From what I can see, they are all working in a positive way to make changes. You might want to try that too.
I stand corrected, it's a thriving retail community, and business is fine.
$$$Buries his head in the sand with the rest of them$$$
Well if you didn't hide behind an anonymous tag, it would be much easier to address you appropriately, but now you can be 'Chicken'.
So, Chicken, exactly what are the great things going on in this city?
DB is working in a positive manner, as perceived. And just so you can inform yourself, Chicken, meeting suck and are not progessive in this community, the real stuff happens in someone's living room, or a bar. Oh, and Chicken, rumors assumptions are great for a blog. Feel free to site your chicken sources.
Thanks, DB, for your long and thoughtful response to my serious question. No time right now, but back at you tomorrow.
My wife, before her surgery, would often point out that I had the uncanny ability to use three words where two might suffice. For that I apologize, I suspect it may have hidden the true message that I was trying to relay, which is -
I love Green Lake, I've made it my home after moving around the country (through business) for many years.
The people of Green Lake are wonderful.
I believe in the downtown area, but I also believe it needs some changes, and the vehicle for change in this instance can only be a collaboration between the City, the Chamber and the residents of the area.
With some positive changes I believe we can correct the present downward trend and start to build toward becoming a destination for tourists and shoppers, as we once were. I am positive of this, and I have full conviction in my statements made above. (Incidentally, the only comment to have originated from the rumor-mill was the '$100,000' estimate on the Chamber/Treacy Marketing issue, which I heard from what I understood to be a reliable source. But the figure is immaterial, and I did indicate in my previous post that I would welcome anyone chiming-in who may know the actual amount that has been spent. Since I am not a Chamber member I do not have access to those details. All of my other comments were not 'rumor' but were merely my opinion).
Anyway, I've re-read my comments and they were positive. I was asked to and I have made some suggestions as to how things might be improved, and I stand behind them.
Furthermore, I would certainly volunteer my time into any enterprise that I felt might help to move this town in a positive direction. Unfortunately, beyond my undoubted abilities for pissing people off, I am as my Father would often say, 'quite useless'.
Lastly, to all the 'Chickens', I would venture to suggest that the last thing we need right now is for people to go around pretending that everything is fine. It's OK to acknowledge that the place has some issues, it's the first step towards implementing the necessary change.
Sincerely
DB
Nicely put DB.
BTW there is a July 4th committee meeting on April 13th at 11:00am at the Chamber Office...
Towns are like a manufacturer.....They will continue to put out the same product(s) until a re-tooling takes place.....if you change the people in the mfg. line who are doing the work, the end result will be similar because the process hasn't changed. The same idea from a different person is still the same idea. New ideas + New ideals + New enthusiasm = New Products.
Unfortunately, we have all learned through experience, ideas are only as good as the money behind them.....And when the two come together, you have IPOD.
Lost In Lac Verde
With all due respect, the money is there. It is hardly a small sum that the Chamber has at its disposal, and when you consider what resources are available to the City, well it really negates the point I believe you are making with your factory analogy.
This isn’t an issue about lack of money or resources, and it isn’t about having a poor standard of worker on the factory floor. It’s about management, or in this case, mismanagement.
We need stronger leadership and better direction, which will lead to more effective appropriation of available funds per my point about the Chamber and its commitment to an out of State marketing firm.
But I’m encouraged by the feedback I’ve seen on this subject, including yours, highlighting the obvious care and concern that people have for this town.
Hopefully, thanks in no small part to the magnificent Chief Highknocker, we can finally make our voices heard!
Long live the Chief!
DB
Or would you prefer hail to the Chief, Chief?
I take offense with the "Chamber of Entertainment" crack. We've got the best damn "Chamber of Events" in GL, Marq. and Waushara Counties. This Chamber is able to squander more resources on events than all the other Chambers combined. I bet if you did the math for expenses and donated man hours they probably generate $1 of tourism for every $3 invested. Not bad for an organization that doesn't know what it's doing. Wouldn't it be easier, cheaper and more efficient to just write a subsidy check. A $1 subsidy would go a lot farther than a $1 sale.
I don't have an opinion (yet) on the marketing program. I just don't know how they can promote "great" shopping. Sounds a little like false advertising. (guess i did have an opinion).
Mayor's Main Street Program - give me a break. Why hasn't the City leverage the County's money that was invested in the Tri-Co Econ. Dev.. They hired a real pro. why not use him.
Go Bears!
Yeah the chamber sucks....now what were we saying?
Oh...who is in charge at the Chamber and why arent they held acountable?
Sap.
Bill Munsey is the Chamber President. He runs the Bayview Motel.
The Chamber has stagnant leadership, and the city has a fake interest in downtown business. You have to realize that this isn't ever going to be a shopping destination, but instead needs to be an area providing services to the lake folks. The Chamber is promoting the area as a 'simple life' kind of place. That's what it is.
Yeah, I looked at some blurb listing the chamber execs, property developers, bankers, realtors. What a farce....why would people support that organization who do nothing but hold party's every few weeks in the season. Business owners should be ashamed for not taking them to task over there non performance, no wonder this place is in the crap that its in
SAP
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