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 41st
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 7th Grade to 12th
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!
