Brooklyn's Progress
April 2004

Story by Maggie Beaute-Lucien

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce held its first New Member Orientation (NMO) of 2004 on March 2, at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Business Library.  This quarterly event is the best one-stop experience for new and veteran Members to get an overview of the Brooklyn Chamber and to learn how to maximize their membership.

Not only did new Chamber Members have an opportunity to meet Chamber staff, network and make new contacts with other business owners and Members of the Chamber’s Membership Committee, but they also enjoyed delicious pastries and coffee graciously donated by Café Scaramouche.  Mark Kessler, Vice President of Member Services gave the opening address and introduced Maud Andrew-Quintana, Senior Librarian for Small Business at the Business Library, who reviewed the many resources available at their location.  The Brooklyn Chamber staff then provided overviews of the programs and services they manage at the Chamber.

Membership Committee Member Caroyln Meiselbach of Eagle Air Purification Systems provided an entertaining presentation as the “Member Spotlight” at the NMO.  Carolyn advised Members of the importance of taking the time to learn about and make use of the many services and programs available at the Brooklyn Chamber.  After more than two years with the Chamber, Carolyn shared how she is now realizing the ways she can use her membership to help support her business outside of the Business After Hours monthly networking events that she attends regularly, and she is finally taking advantage of her free EZWeb page and other online and offline marketing services.

Immediately following the morning’s presentation, Communications Specialist Khadija Batuta led an EZWeb training session where Members received hands-on assistance in creating their free web page hosted at the Brooklyn Chamber’s website, http://www.ibrooklyn.com/.  During the training session, Khadija reviewed some of the many features of iBrooklyn such as the “Success Story” where Members receive front page promotion for their business on iBrooklyn, the Community Events online calendar where Members can promote their events, the online Membership Directory where Members can look up their fellow Members or search for services and the “Members Only” section of the website that provides links and information to the many other Member benefits available at the Brooklyn Chamber.  Khadija also recommended that Members submit their information to the Brooklyn Chamber’s free online directories including brooklynease.com for retailers, brooklyneats.com for restaurateurs and brooklynmade.net for manufacturers.  Members were encouraged to bookmark the website and to login often to keep abreast of the latest Brooklyn Chamber news and activities.

The next NMO will be held in May.  Keep your eyes peeled for more information and be ready to save the date!  Members interested in sponsoring the breakfast for this event should contact Special Events Manager Maggie Beaute-Lucien at mlucien@brooklynchamber.com or at 718 875-1000 ext. 105.