The deadline for members being listed in the North Webster-Tippecanoe Township Chamber of Commerce Community Guide is fast approaching. Dues must be in Friday for inclusion in the guide, the most widely read North Webster promotional piece. Membership applications for 2015 can be downloaded at www.northwebster.com.

President Sue Ward, Sue’s Creations, announced the annual awards dinner will be held Monday, March 2, at the North Webster Community Center. Social time is 5:30 p.m.; dinner at 6 p.m. with speaker and awards following. Chamber member The Cake Lady will cater the event. All members and employees are invited. Invitations will soon be sent out.

Chairmen are David Colquitt, Eastlund Funeral Home, and Brenda Peterson, Lake City Bank. Members who wish to donate items for the silent auction at the dinner should contact one of the chairmen or call the chamber at (574) 834-7076 and leave a message about what they will donate.

Awards will be presented for Person of the Year, Small Business of the Year and Large Business of the Year. The nomination deadline was at Monday’s meeting at the North Webster American Legion Post 253.

A meet and greet session was part of the meeting for the first time. Those in attendance talked with each other and gave reports on what they had learned about other members and their businesses. This proved successful and will be continued at other general meetings.

February’s Business of the Month is Sue’s Creations Flowers and Gifts. The sign was delivered after the meeting.

Ben Ashpole, Updenity, is ready to get the chamber’s monthly newsletter started. It will be available online. He explained, “We have almost 800 people signed up to receive it! We have acquired the volunteers and technology to put together our first issue, so we seek your news to include in our first newsletter. The plan is to send out one email to subscribers with news, accomplishments, stories, and requests from you, the membership. Please email Ben Ashpole at [email protected] with questions, article content, and ad requests by Thursday noon for the first issue.”

The community guide committee Karilyn Metcalf, Dixie Sternwheeler; Stacey Cox, Pletcher Insurance; and Helen Leinbach, North Webster Community Public Library; said the guide will be out in mid-May with some calendar items already being provided to the committee or email the chamber, [email protected]. The year runs from May 2015 through May 2016.

Ward noted, “We have distributed more guides this year than ever and are almost out of the 2014-2015 ones. There is a stand of them at NewMarket. If any member has some of the guides they aren’t needing please drop them off at the stand.”

The guide will be published by The Papers Inc., a chamber member, and Account Executive Susan Littlefield will soon be soliciting for ads. Non-profit organizations that take a one-half page ad get a free 200 word article in the guide. She can be reached for advertising sales at (574) 457-3666.