Mason Chamber of Commerce Mixer - - Good Morning Mason! - - August 28, 2014 - - by Chuck Krafft

GOOD MORNING, MASON!! 

August 28, 2014 

By Chuck Krafft 

I had never attended a Mason Area Chamber of Commerce “Good Morning, Mason” Mixer before.  My employer, T.A. Forsberg, Inc. was one of the sponsors and was making a presentation, so I attended! 

Doug Klein, the Mason Chamber Director,  who was appropriately clad to promote Mason’s Sesquicentennial in a Suit and Tie from 1865, was there to greet the guests. 

We had coffee, and donuts and other treats provided by Best Sellers and Darryl’s Vault and Deli while we mixed and socialized before the meeting.   

The meeting format is quite efficient with the day’s sponsor being allowed to do a five minute presentation and other community leaders provided two minutes.  A Sergeant at Arms with a Ray Gun vigorously enforces the time limits!!  Of course, this provides a humorous and friendly, but efficient reminder to stay on schedule. 

Jon Grocki from Dart Bank served as Emcee.  The meeting started with all the attendees introducing themselves and naming their companies.  Individuals attending their first meeting were warmly greeted with applause. 

Then, Brent Forsberg and David Spencer from T.A. Forsberg, Inc. made a presentation promoting their Food Innovation District at Fountain Pointe in Alaiedon Township.  This is located south of Jolly Road and North of I-96 between Hulett and Hagadorn Roads.

Brent said that he decided to focus on Agriculture because it is the second largest industry in the state and more stable than most industries.  (People can delay car and durable goods purchases during bad times, but still need to eat every day.)  He saw a need because while our local farms produce a lot of crops, meat and dairy products, these products are frequently shipped elsewhere for processing and packaging.  T.A. Forsberg, Inc. is partnering with the Product Center at Michigan State University to provide a community where this processing can happen locally and bring jobs to our area. 

The Forsbergs own 35 Acres next to land where Michigan State will be building a facility in the next eighteen months to educate students in packaging and processing these products.  Having businesses located nearby to take advantage of this training is truly a natural fit.  It is also a great fit for Alaiedon Township, which has a lot of farming activity. 

The Forsbergs have land for sale or rent for these facilities.  They will work with a lot of local agencies to provide investment capital so these new businesses can grow, prosper and provide jobs in our local communities.

Doug Klein, the Chamber Director, spoke and promoted the Chamber’s newsletters as well as a Mason Area “Buy Local” program.  He also announced a 40 Unit Annual Parade that will happen in Mason over Thanksgiving weekend.

Sandy Dargatz, the Ingham County Fair Director, reported that this year’s fair was quite successful.  Attendance was up and they made enough money to purchase a hog at an auction to donate to the Mason Area Food Bank.  She also provided information about helping to support the Fair through the Fair Foundation.

John Stressman, the Mason Police Chief, reported that the Police Department has all its allocated positions filled.  This will improve the local policing.  One specific improvement is that they will be able to have enough officers to have some of them patrolling on bicycles.  Mr. Stressman also commented on a program that promotes individuals bringing in unused prescription drugs so that they can be properly destroyed instead of being misused or possibly contributing to pollution problems.

Marlon Brown, from the Mason City Council, reported on the Mason 150 News.  This group is getting flyers and other promotional material ready for the Sesquicentennial Celebration.  He mentioned some advertising opportunities for business people if they were interested. 

Mark Cosgrove from the Lansing Community College Aviation Program told us of the College’s program to provide the 1900 hours that students need to prepare for licenses to work on mechanical and electrical systems in airplanes.  He told us that students are so in-demand that many of them actually already have jobs lined up before they graduate. 

Doug Klein reported on preparations for the 41^st Annual Mason Down Home Days Celebration.  There will be many activities as well as the MACC Annual Raffle.  The lucky winner could win up to $15,000!! 

It was then time for new members to introduce themselves and their businesses.

Benjamin Schartow told us about Building 21.  Building 21 is an after-school teen center.  They provide tutoring as well as activities for students from 7^th Grade to 12^th Grade.  The goal is to provide young people with a passion and a purpose to push their lives toward a positive adulthood.  He mentioned that they had recently rebuilt the only indoor skate park in the area.  They are doing a banner promotion to raise funds to pay for it. 

Susan Waite reported that she and her husband, Tim Waite, opened a Beltone Hearing Center in Mason in May.  Beltone has been in business for 75 years.  They help diagnose hearing problems and service every type of hearing aid.

The food bank reported the donation of the frozen pork from the Ingham County Fair as well as 853 pounds of food from Dart as well as some turkeys from City Limits.  The Historical Society and someone promoting the local Roller Derby were also mentioned. 

This was an excellent meeting.  While the schedule was carefully adhered to, everyone had adequate time to inform the Mason business community of what was going on.

If you are a business person in the Area who does not belong to the Chamber, you should really attend one of these meetings to learn how the Mason Chamber of Commerce can help you and your business!