Volume 2012, Issue 11

The Chamber Vista A monthly publication of the Sierra Vista Area Chamber November 2012

Volume 2012, Issue #11

“We Mean Business”

4th Annual Mini Expo—Reach new customers this holiday season

The 4th Annual Mini Expo will

take place at the Mall at Sierra

Vista on November 10th from10

a.m. – 4 p.m. This event features

home based businesses and non-profit organizations and there is

still time to sign up and market

your products and services at a

high traffic location.

Vendors will showcase a variety

of good and services, from gift

baskets and lock smiths to carpet

cleaners and clothing and acces-

sories. Come and support our

small businesses community and

get a head start on your holiday

season shopping.

This event is another great exam-

ple of all the shopping and ser-

vices available throughout

Cochise County, helping the

community make the easy choice

of shopping local. If you would

like to participate, please stop by

the Sierra Vista Area Chamber at

21 E. Wilcox or register online at

www.sierravistachamber.org.

This event is open to Chamber

and Non-Chamber members.

An Update From

Executive

Director Amanda

Baillie

2

Member Spotlight

on Tumbleweed

Auction

3

Peacock has a

New Location,

Rendezvous has a

New Name

3

Calendar of

Events

4

Events at a

Glance

5

7 Tips for Dealing

With Criticism of

Your Business on

Social Media

6

Member Page 7

Board of

Directors/

Chamber Staff

8

The Chamber will present the

annual Christmas Parade on De-

cember 1, and there are a number

of changes this year.

Following a request from the City of Sierra Vista, we have

changed the route

to allow Buffalo

Soldier Trail to

remain open so

that traffic may

continue to circu-

late the city.

This means we

will be staging

along 7th Street and Busby

Drive. The parade will then start at 5:30

p.m. at 7th Street and Fry Blvd.,

and will make its way along E.

Fry Blvd., ending at Avenida

Escuela.

This route was chosen because it

offered the best parking and drop

-off and pick-up opportunities at

the beginning and end of the pa-

rade—safety of our participants,

especially children’s groups, is our number one priority.

Organizing a parade of this size

and scale is no easy task, but this

new arrangement will help show-

case those businesses that were

not along the previous route.

It will also provide some great

viewing areas in Veterans’ Me-

morial Park, which the parade

will pass this year, as well as

better lighting along this stretch of Fry Blvd.

There are two things we will not

be changing, however. The entry prices will remain the same as in

previous years, so we encourage

all Chamber members to take this

opportunity to be a part of a great

Sierra Vista tradition, while mar-

keting their businesses to the

thousands of people lining the

route.

Secondly, the parade will remain

as an evening event.

As a business organization, we want to ensure area businesses

are caused minimal disruption by

the street closures on one of the

busiest retail days of the year.

We will not have to close down

Fry Blvd. until around 5 p.m.,

when most businesses are clos-

ing, compared to 10 a.m. if we

held it during the day.

The Chamber will also hold its

Santa Fly-In on the morning of the parade, when we will fly the

big man himself into

the Ace Hardware

parking lot, before

taking him to Buffalo

Corral BBQ in the

West End.

Our goal here, is to

encourage families to

come out before the

parade, visit with Santa and start

their Christmas shopping at area businesses, or have lunch at a

local restaurant.

The theme for this year’s parade

is Celebrate With Music and we

are asking all of our participants

to fill the air with festive tunes as

they travel along the route.

And, in keeping with that theme,

we will have the Sierra Vista

Symphony Orchestra as our

grand marshal.

This is a fun event to be a part of,

so sign up before November 16

to get the early bird entry fee.

Visit

www.sierravistachamber.org

54th Annual Christmas Parade Will Bring Music to the Desert Night

Just a few days to go and it will all be over. Is it me, or

has it felt like the campaign-

ing for this election has been

longer than usual?

While I have no doubt the

business community will be

relieved to see November 7 arrive, it is vitally important

that our members get out and

vote on November 6, if you have not already done so via

an early ballot.

With more than 630 mem-

bers, the Sierra Vista Area Chamber is the largest busi-

ness organization in Cochise

County.

Together, we can make a dif-ference in this election – but

only if you vote. And if you

actively encourage your em-

ployees to do the same, imag-ine what an impact that will

have.

As a reminder, here are the

ballot initiatives and proposi-

tions that the Chamber has cho-

sen to endorse or oppose:

Joint Technical Education Dis-

trict (JTED) – Vote YES

JTED will allow Buena High School to leverage additional

state funds – around $600,000

annually – to improve and ex-pand vocational programs. The

small increase in property tax,

which will average no more than

$10 to $20 per year for most people, is a vital investment in

Sierra Vista’s future workforce.

Proposition 116 (Property Tax

Exemption) – Vote YES

This will allow the state to raise

the tax exemption rate on equip-

ment and machinery used in trade or business from the first

$50,000 to approximately $2.4

million. This will ease the tax burden on businesses, encourag-

ing them to invest and create

new jobs.

Proposition 119 (State Trust

Lands) – Vote YES

This will allow the state to ex-

change state trust land for other

public owned lands to help protect military bases from encroaching

development. It will also help mili-

tary installations to expand if nec-

essary and develop vital missions.

Proposition 204 (Quality Educa-

tion and Jobs Initiative) – Vote

NO

While the Chamber supports edu-

cation, it does not believe a perma-

nent one cent sales tax is the an-

swer. Increasing the sales tax to the second highest in the nation will

deter businesses from investing in

Arizona and will hurt the business community if customers choose

lower or no sales tax options like

the Internet. Raising taxes, and limiting future legislative budget

decisions, will not help economic

development.

Chamber Update by Executive Director Amanda Baillie

“With more than 630

members, the Sierra

Vista Area Chamber is

the largest business

organization in

Cochise County.”

Page 2 The Chamber Vista

Sierra Vista Area Chamber will Publish New Community Guide & Member Directory

The Sierra Vista

Area Chamber of

Commerce is

pleased to an-

nounce that sales for its upcoming

community guide

and membership

directory are now

underway. The

guides are on target

to print next spring, and will be distributed

in and around the Chamber service area.

The forthcoming Sierra Vista community

guide and membership directory will act as

an exceptional Chamber membership re-

cruitment tool, ideal community reference

guide and informational relocation publi-

cation. This customized publication will feature a refreshing writing style, coupled

with eye-popping design and colorful pic-

tures - grasping the distinct character of the

community. The publication will also in-

clude a complete Chamber membership

directory and comprehensive buyer's guide

(categorical listing).

Advertising in the Sierra Vista community guide and membership directory has unri-

valed advantages. The multi-platform ad-

vertising bundle goes beyond the tradi-

tional print publication to include: a com-

munity website and downloadable New-

View eBook®, which converts the publica-

tion's editorial, pictures and design ele-

ments into a digital format; on-the-go

wireless access via various web-enabled

devices; and the searchable vpMobile.us®

Business Directory Portal, featuring the

Chamber's entire membership directory, available wirelessly, 24/7. Since 1996, the

Village Profile® website has seen over

250,000,000 hits from Internet locales

around the world and from all manners of

users, and the vpmobile.us site totaled

more than 8.4 million hits from 2011-2012. This considerable traffic will prove

beneficial to the entire Sierra Vista Area

Chamber of Commerce community. The

Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce

site has registered 209,367 hits.

In addition, a user-friendly Smartphone

app is available, accessible via the iPhone.

This is an extension of Village Profile's

enhanced connectivity, customized specifi-

cally for the Chamber.

For publication and advertising informa-

tion or to reserve ad space now, contact the

Sierra Vista Area Chamber of Commerce

or Sales Representative Alynne Lustig at

520-458-6940.

Page 3 Volume 2012, Issue 11

Member Spotlight on Tumbleweed Auction by Executive Director Amanda Baillie

There are people that just sweep you

along with their enthusiasm when they

talk about their passion in life, and

Kathy Crawford is one of them.

As the owner of Tumbleweed Auc-

tion, Kathy travels across our vast

county helping its residents to sell their

belongings. She loves her job and she

loves helping others.

From estate sales and senior downsizes

to charity and online auctions, Kathy’s

main goal is to get her clients the best

price possible, and to make it enjoy-

able for the buyers.

“The National Auctioneers Association

conducted a survey to find out why

people go to auctions,” said Kathy.

“The number one reason is for fun.

Finding a bargain was four or five on

the list.

“Attending an auction is entertaining,

and if you keep your hands down, it’s

cheap entertainment.”

Since starting Tumbleweed Auction in

January 2000, Kathy has seen her busi-

ness grow. She employs one full-time

staff member and around 14 part-

timers to help manage and run the ap-

proximate 50 auctions she conducts

every year.

One week she may be in Sierra Vista,

and the next in Elfrida, selling every-

thing from antique stoves to classic

cars. Just about the only thing she

won’t sell is animals.

Her 15-year career began in New Jer-

sey, where she worked with several

mentors to learn her trade.

Back east, the majority of sales were

carried out at auction houses, but that

process was not well suited to the Ari-

zona crowds.

“I started holding auctions at the VFW,

but they were not too successful,” re-

calls Kathy. “Then I was persuaded by

this lady to do one in her garage and

that was so successful. Now I hold

most of them on site.”

Typically, Kathy will hold auctions for

people looking to liquidate estates, for

seniors wanting to downsize their

homes or for those who find them-

selves ex-

periencing

life changes

beyond their

control.

“Each one is

different and

each one has

a different

story,” she said.

Her business now also includes online

auctions for those sales which don’t

always suit an on-site event.

Upcoming auctions can be found on

the website www.tumbleweedauction.com,

through the Sierra Vista Herald or

other localized advertising mediums.

To find out more, contact Kathy at 458

-9333.

Would you like your business to be fea-

tured in the Member Spotlight? Join us

at our next Business at Twilight for your

chance to win this free benefit!

Peacock has a New Location, Rendezvous has a New Name courtesy of Sierra Vista Herald

The Peacock Restaurant and Ren-

dezvous Nightclub expand to be-

come the perfect place to eat, drink,

and play.

The Peacock restaurant, serving

traditional Vietnamese cuisine, has

been a thriving small business in

Sierra Vista for the past 18 years.

For the past six years, Rendezvous

Nightclub has been the place to go

for a night of drinks and dancing.

Recently the Peacock has moved

into the Rendezvous building (40 S.

Avenida Escuela) allowing each

business to expand and grow. The

Peacock will be open seven days a

week, capitalizing on a newer

building, commercial kitchen, ex-

panded bar, large outdoor patio, and

more dining room seating. Rendez-

vous’ name will change to the

ZBar, incorporating their signature

“Z” into the new logo.

They will continue to use the large

dance floor on Friday and Saturday

nights after 10 p.m. ZBar now has a

new and improved game room with

a jukebox, pool tables, dartboards,

foosball table, and a 22-foot tourna-

ment shuffleboard. Together they

will also offer a happy hour with

discounted food and drinks along

with a late night menu.

The Peacock Restaurant is open for

lunch or dinner seven days a week.

The ZBar is open every night with

dancing on the weekends.

Business at Twilight

Hosted by:

Southwest Gas

Outdoor Living with Natural Gas

November 8th

5:00 pm

202 E. Wilcox Dr.

Join us and others around the fire under the

Arizona sky, while we network and enjoy food from

the Social Register. While there, play some net-

working games and enter the raffle for a chance to

win great prizes including custom made wine racks

and gift cards.

Looking to volunteer your time to

your community?

We are currently looking for volunteers to be parade

marshals in the 54th Annual Christmas Parade!

Enjoy access to the hospitality room, experience the

parade from an unforgettable first hand vantage point

and support the more than half a century old

community event.

For more information please contact

Diane at 520-458-6940.

Volunteers will be needed from

2 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. on December 1st.

Schedule of Events

Nov. 7th - Bring a Veteran to Lunch,

Thunder Mountain Activity

Center, 11:30 a.m.

Nov. 7th - Ambassador Meeting, Z Bar,

40 Avenida Escuela, 5:30 p.m.

Nov. 8th - Business at Twilight

(OUTDOOR), Southwest Gas,

202 E. Wilcox Dr., 5:00 p.m.

Nov. 10th - Mini Expo, Mall at Sierra

Vista, 10 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Nov. 14 - Leadership, Health Day, Sierra

Vista Area Chamber, 7:30 a.m.

Nov. 16th - Deadline to register to

participate in the Christmas

Parade.

Nov. 21st - Chamber Closed at noon

Nov. 22nd - 23rd - Chamber Closed for the

Holiday.

Nov. 30th - Chamber101, Sierra Vista

Chamber, 21 E. Wilcox Drive,

11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Page 4 Newsletter Title

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

4 5 6 Election

Day 7 MAC/

Ambassador 8 BAT 9 10

MINI

11 12 13 14 Leadership

15 16 Parade

Deadline 17

18 19 20 21

22 CLOSED

Thanksgiving

23 CLOSED

24

25 26 27 28 29 30 Cham-

ber101

November 2012

Page 5 Volume 2012, Issue 11

Events at A Glance

For upcoming events please visit us at www.sierravistachamber.org/events

Clockwise from Top Left: Martha McSally speak-

ing with the Legislative and Military Affairs Com-

mittee; Jackie Moore and Jenifer Thornton partici-

pating in a True Color’s skit; The Peacock celebrat-

ing their new location; County and City Leaders

speaking to the Leadership Sierra Vista group on

Government day; Leadership Sierra Vista 2012

class finishing up Government day; Michele

McCollum speaking to attendees at the Prestige

Halloween Business at Twilight; John Hargraves

posing with his Star of Fame at Prestige’s Business

at Twilight; Anita Farrow’s costume for Prestige’s

Business at Twilight; Congressional District #2

forum

Page 6 The Chamber Vista

7 Tips for Dealing With Criticism of Your Business on Social Media courtesy of SBA.gov

Not sure how to handle negative com-

ments or criticism of your business on social media? Is the open nature of so-cial media actually stopping you from

jumping on board?

Receiving criticism is never easy; it can also damage your business reputation.

However, feedback and criticism in an open and social forum also gives your business an opportunity to deflect nega-

tivity and even earn you respect – if you

handle it right.

Here are some steps you can take to manage criticism of your business, products, or even staff on social media

and online review sites.

1. Get Listening

The first thing is making sure you hear what is being said about you by moni-toring the social media sites where you

have a presence. Check your Facebook page regularly, monitor your Twitter mentions and set up Google Alerts so you can track when your business is

being mentioned online. You may also want to check your Yelp, Google+ Lo-cal, Trip Advisor and other listings for customer comments. Don’t forget in-

dustry, product or even local commu-nity forums. For example, does your neighborhood or home owner’s associa-tion have an online forum? Folks may

be reviewing local businesses there.

2. Should You Respond?

You may feel tempted to respond quickly to a negative comment or even

delete it. But negative reviews aren’t always worth a response. Some posters may be negative just to get attention, or their comments are just so over the top

and rude that responding to them will only draw attention to an issue that clearly is a one-off or that no one else is aware of. Sometimes it’s just best to

ignore these posts.

3. Don’t Let Negative Comments Lin-

ger

Social media doesn’t wait for anyone.

Fans have come to expect a timely re-sponse from brands they follow. By chiming in early you can quickly stop others from jumping in on the topic

while demonstrating that you value

opinion and feedback.

Even if you don’t have an immediate answer, tell the commentator that you hear them, acknowledge their com-

plaint, and promise to investigate fur-

ther. “I’m sorry to hear this…” is a

great softener and shows you care.

4. Always Acknowledge, Never Deny

Accept that the customer is always right and acknowledge it and investigate to get to the root cause of their feedback or criticism. Where did your business go

wrong? Was it a simple misunderstand-ing or do you need to make changes internally? Avoiding feedback or criti-

cism may come back to bite you.

5. How to Apologize

If you find that your business has been in the wrong or you’ve let your custom-ers down, apologize sincerely. Ac-

knowledge that you’ve investigated the complaint. State clearly that you regret the poor service that the customer has received (i.e. you know what a pain it is

when things don’t go as expected), cite it as a lesson learned and let everyone know you will take steps to ensure it

doesn’t happen again.

Above all, avoid formal language. Take

off your sales and marketing hat and be

human. End your posts with your name,

so the complainant knows who they’re dealing with. Be conversational: “I’m so sorry you had this experience. Let me look into it right away and get back to

you – Todd,” instead of: “Your comment has been acknowledged. We will look into this matter further.” You might even own up to the fact that you’ve

been experiencing some hiccups in one particular area – whether it’s a new product line, or shipping times – and that you want to hear more if consumers

have further issues.

Consider offering to make things right. Ask the customer to email you so that you can either reimburse them or per-haps offer a discount on future pur-

chases. Be sure to follow through on this, look out for the email and respond

promptly.

6. Take the Conversation Offline If you need more information or genu-

inely feel that this conversation would be better served offline, ask the com-plainant to contact you directly via

email or phone. Make this the exception rather than the rule – and only do it after you’ve publicly acknowledged or apolo-gized for any issues and restated your

commitment to customer service. The goal here isn’t putting out the fire out by taking it offline but offering an open invite to continue the dialogue further

and address the complainants’ specific

concerns. It’s a strategy that works.

7. The Bottom Line When your business reputation is on the

line, demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction – and backing it up with action – is a must. Ironically, one unhappy customer converted back

into a loyal fan of your business can be far more influential in the word-of-mouth driven world of social media than one happy customer ever can be!

So go ahead, embrace comments nega-tive or otherwise – you might just win

some more fans!

Page 7 Volume 2012, Issue 11

Thank You to These Members for Renewing Their Commitment to The Business Community:

A Special Welcome to Our New Members! Echoing Hope Ranch – 520-508-2087

HanLing Acupuncture Healing Center, Inc. -

520 – 878-8116

Morning Star Café – 520-366-5666

Sierra Cash Register Systems, LLC – 520-678-0482

Sierra Vista Sunrise Rotary

Systems Integration – 520 - 458 - 8830

Transportation Express – 520-459-7778

Tyler's Yard Tree & Landscaping Services

520- 234-5369

Castle & Cooke Mort-

gage

Center for Academic

Success

Comfort Keepers

Dove Security

Economic Development

Foundation

EKS Group, LLC

Garden Place Suites

Good Neighbor Alliance

Goodwill Industries of

Southern Arizona

HP-AZ.net

Isaacson Homes

Kindred Nursing and

Rehabilitation

Kiwanis Club of Sierra

Vista

La Casita Mexican

Restaurant

Long Realty – Katherine

Zellerbach

ManTech Telecommuni-

cations and Information

Systems

Mr. Fix It of Sierra Vista

MVP Awards

Oasis Apartments

Real Estate Press of

Cochise County

Romisco Sign Systems,

LLC

Southwest Desert Images

The Social Register

Verizon Wireless

Wal-Mart Stores

Wells Fargo,

Safeway Location

Wilson Electric

Executive Club Members

A+ Texture

American Family Insurance American Systems Arizona Water Company Best Buy

BrightStar CACI, Inc. Campstone Transfer, Inc. Castle & Cooke Arizona, Inc.

Castle & Cooke Mortgage, LLC CGI CerendipiTees Cherry Creek Radio

City of Sierra Vista Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, Inc. Cox Communications

Data Systems & Technology, Inc. Dental Village Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriot Farmers Insurance - Ginny Francis

Garden Terrace Assisted Living Home General Dynamics Information

Technology Horizon Moving Systems of Sierra

Vista, Inc.

Huachuca Mountain Insurance Agency

KKYZ Radio Landmark Café Lawley Automotive Center Lawler's Team Ford

Life Care Center Long Realty Co. Longhorn Restaurant Mall at Sierra Vista

ManTech Telecommunications & Information Systems

Mobile Marketing Blueprint Mr. Fix It of Sierra Vista, LLC

National Bank of Arizona Navy Federal Credit Union Netmedix IT Solutions

New Frontier Animal Medical Center Northrop Grumman Corporation Patio Pools & Spas Pioneer Title Agency

Pueblo del Sol Country Club Restless Wings Photography Rosemont Copper Company Salient Federal Solutions

Sentrillion

Sierra Vista Ace Hardware

Sierra Vista Herald Bisbee Daily Review

Sierra Vista Regional Health Center Southeastern Arizona Contractors

Association Southwest Gas Corporation Southwestern Eye Center Stachel & Associates, P.C.

STG Inc. Stilwell’s Learning Center, LLC Suburban Extended Stay Hotels Sulpher Springs Valley Electric Coop.

Sun Canyon Inn The Boeing Company TDY Housing

TMS - Ty Media Services TownePlace Suites by Marriott University of Phoenix -

Sierra Vista Campus

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Wayland Baptist University Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Windemere Hotel & Conference Center

21 E. Wilcox Dr.

Sierra Vista, AZ. 85635

The Chamber Vista is a publication of the Sierra Vista Area Chamber 21 E. Wilcox Drive, Sierra Vista, AZ 85635 (520) 458-6940, Fax: (520) 452-0878

www.sierravistachamber.org Mission Statement The Sierra Vista Area Chamber promotes business and provides leadership for the improvement of the community. 2012-13 Board of Directors Executive Officers Chairwoman - Dee Dee Hoeft, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Past Chairman - Frank Gonzalez, Lawley Automotive Chair Elect - Jean Giuffrida, Long Realty Treasurer - Michael Benson, TDY Housing Secretary - Rick Shelley - Horizon Moving Systems of Sierra Vista Board Members Elsie MacMillan - Sierra Toyota Ken Cecil - Mall at Sierra Vista Phil Vega - Sierra Vista Herald / Bisbee Daily Review Pamela Anderson - Landmark Café Jack Blair - Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative Anita Farrow - National Bank of Arizona Joe Stroud - Edwards Financial, Inc. Nancy Nash - Stuff ‘N Baskets Nathan Williams - Nathan Williams, Law Office

Sierra Vista Area Chamber PRESORTED

STANDARD

US POSTAGE PAID

HEREFORD, AZ

PERMIT NO. 29

CURRENT RESIDENT OR

Chamber Staff Executive Director - Amanda Baillie, abaillie@sierravistachamber.org Membership & Marketing Director- John Hargraves III, jhagraves@sierravistachamber.org Communications Director - David Elkins, delkins@sierravistachamber.org Office Manager - Toni Rogers, officem@sierravistachamber.org Events Coordinator - Diane Erwin, derwin@sierravistachamber.org