The Chamber Beat

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John Williams

I’ve got an interesting update on Maine’s largest Christmas Parade. We are starting the parade in Norway this year. Yes, Norway. We’ll kick it off at the head of Main Street right next to the Advertiser Democrat office.

Next week I’ll have another exciting announcement to make in conjunction with this Christmas tradition involving a group that will be coming back to the parade after being absent for quite a number of years.

You can get all the information about this huge community event by calling the office at 743-2281 where you can pick up a registration for your float and also a registration for entering a tree in our second annual Festival of Trees. Or, simply go on line at www.oxfordhillsmaine.com and you can download a registration.

The next Business Roundtable, sponsored by SCORE and the Chamber, will be held Thursday, October 18, at the Norway Town Office from 7:45 to 9 a.m., and is titled “Identity Theft: How it affects you, your family and your business.”

Identity theft has exploded into a serious national problem. Not only do businesses suffer direct loss due to this crime, but inadequate security and poor business practices may open a company up to liability suits, fines and loss of clientele.

A company must take steps to protect the confidential information of it’s customers. There are steps that a company can take to minimize the risk and so SCORE and the Chamber are pleased to present Regina Krause, a principal at Northeast Risk Management Services, who will lead a discussion about this increasingly invasive problem. Don’t miss it.

You can register online through SCORE or call the SCORE office at 743-0499 or the Chamber office at 743-2281. All of the monthly Business Roundtables are free of charge.

And the Western Maine Economic Development Council is putting on a Tourism workshop called, “Putting it together: How to build Itineraries & Packages” with sponsorship help from then Chamber on Tuesday, October 30, at the Bethel Inn from 9 to 11:30 a.m.

Margaret Hoffman, development project officer with the Maine Office of Tourism will conduct the workshop. You can find out more by logging on at http://wmedc.org and you can register for the workshop by emailing Mia Purcell at mpurcell@community-concepts.org or calling the office at 739-6543.

If you need information on services in the Oxford Hills then look no further then our website which has a comprehensive listing of virtually any product or service you can imagine.

In addition we now have an interactive selection of maps where you can click onto flags that will bring you to businesses and their locations under specific categories like: Accommodations, Restaurants, Retail Outlets and coming soon Real Estate Agencies.

Our Information Center at 4 Western Avenue in Paris is loaded with a bevy of information on all of the members of the Chamber and the products and services that they provide.

As always, the Chamber is on top of business throughout the Oxford Hills-are you a Chamber Member yet? It’s easy, just call us at the office and speak with Jennifer or me and we’ll sign you up. I'll see you next week.