The Pike County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting on March 6th for the official grand opening of the second location of Community Self Storage, located at 115 Steele Lane (Off of Rt. 6 by I-84) in Milford, PA. The new facility offers state of the art climate controlled units in various sizes and outdoor parking for boats, vehicles and trailers.

"We are proud to have been serving Pike County's Storage needs for over 22 years," stated Tommy Murante, Owner of Community Self Storage.

For more information contact Community Self Storage at (570)409-6977 or visit their website at www.storagepa.com.

The Pike County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting on March 12th for the official grand opening of Ink Tyme Design Co., located at 201 Water Street in Milford, PA. The new facility offers a clean, friendly atmosphere with state of the art equipment for both body piercing and tattoos. Ink Tyme’s experienced artists can also create custom portraits or designs.

“We decided to open the tattoo shop because we have a real appreciation for the art of tattooing”, said Tom and Donna Parker, the new owners.

For monthly specials or for more information contact Ink Tyme Design Co. at (570) 296-1000 or visit them on Facebook to see samples of their tattoo designs.

The Pike County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting on February 16th for the official grand opening of the Hampton Inn of Matamoras, located at 122 Westfall Town Drive, Matamoras. The grand Mardi Gras themed event incorporated traditional beads, music, food, hotel tours and grand prizes.

The Hampton Inn of Matamoras amenities include a 24 hour fitness center, business center, indoor heated saltwater pool, meeting room/conference facilities and a complimentary hot breakfast with every guest stay. The 98 guest rooms are equipped with microwaves, refrigerators, flat screen HD TV’s and luxurious Cloud Nine bedding.
"Hampton Hotels combine quality, service, comfort and plenty of value-added extras, making Hampton the brand of choice in the marketplace today," said Monique Olivier, general manager for the Hampton Inn of Matamoras. "Providing high quality accommodations and amenities combined with the friendly service of our team members, all backed by the 100% Hampton Satisfaction Guarantee, is why we will be highly competitive in our local market."
Hampton hotels pride themselves on being their guests’ "Friend in Town." Hotel Web sites emphasize local flavor, providing unique content on such topics of interest as area attractions, historical facts, and fun things to see and do around town. Additionally, hotels are infused with local photography and art work, highlighting each property’s area connections.
The Hilton Family of Hotels adheres to founder Conrad Hilton’s philosophy that, "It has been, and continues to be, our responsibility to fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality." The hotel is owned and operated by Westfall Hospitality LLC.
For more information about Hampton Inn of Matamoras, please visit www.matamoras.hamptoninn.com

Names:
From l-r – Joe Tinar, Matt Dorcas, Chamber 2nd Vice President, Mary Ann Butler, Chamber Director, Jake Buchanan, Westfall Supervisor, Monique Olivier, Inn Manager & Chamber Director, Sonny Patel, Danielle Jordan, Chamber Executive Director, Bill Kerstetter, Avani Patel & Jay Modhwadiya.

Leadership Pike recently held an Open House & Reception on February 3rd at the Pike County Chamber of Commerce office in Milford. Approximately ten interested students for the next Leadership Pike class heard the history and content of Leadership Pike from Peter Wulfhorst, Pike County Cooperative Extension, Danielle Jordan, Pike County Chamber of Commerce and William Schaffer, Northampton Community College Pike/Wayne campus. In addition, the interested students learned from Leadership Pike graduates about their experiences participating in the program. The next Leadership Pike class will begin on March 26, 2010 with the applications due by February 26, 2010.

Leadership Pike is a comprehensive leadership development program which offers individuals the potential to sharpen their leadership skills while networking with existing and future Pike County leaders. The program also provides the ability to learn about Pike County’s assets as well the major challenges facing the county. For a comprehensive overview of the program or to download an online application, go to www.pikechamber.com.

The Pike Leadership program is a collaborative effort between the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, Delaware Valley School District, Northampton Community College and the Pike County Cooperative Extension. For more information about the Leadership Pike Open House & Reception, please contact Peter Wulfhorst at the Pike County Cooperative Extension office at 570-296-3400.

Pike County Public Library, the Junior Achievement Program, Dime Bank, CellularOne, the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, and the local business community are partnering to bring an exciting program, JA Be Entrepreneurial, to Pike County for the first time. Though originally designed for high school students, this program will be open to both teens and adults who are interested in learning about how to start a business and other aspects of entrepreneurship. It is never too early or late to start thinking of starting your own business!

Some very successful teenagers around the world should be looked to as an inspiration to begin your own business when you are their age, or to take the skills and knowledge you’ve acquired throughout your life to begin as an adult.

Michael Zuckerberg founded the popular social networking site Facebook with some of his college roommates. Though it originally began as a network for Harvard students, it has now expanded to allow any user over the age of 13, and there are currently more than 350 million active users worldwide.

Michael Dell, the founder of what is now Dell, Inc. began rebuilding computers at the age of 15 and started his own business selling computers at the age of 19.

Tom Anderson co-founded the youth-oriented social network Myspace that combines music and the search to connect with friends online. With its debut in 2003, this network now has more than 22.5 million registered users. Though not a teen when he began the business, he has still managed to become hugely successful from a young age. These are only a few examples of what teens and adults of any age can accomplish with a little bit of hard work and a few good ideas.

Those interested in this free program are encouraged to sign up now by contacting the Milford Branch of PCPL in person or by calling 570-296-8211. The program will run for seven weeks on Wednesday evenings, from March 24th through May 5th, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Library Annex, located at 201 West Harford Street (across from the Post Office.)

From left to right - front row
Jennifer Greco & Ellen Shaffner, Pike County Public Library, Marcia Guberman, Dime Bank, Danielle Jordan, Pike Chamber Executive Director, Back row men from left to right Eric Hamill, Esq., Matt Dorcas, Bold Gold Media, & Erwin Guberman, CellularOne.
Not pictured is Lisa Hall, Small Business Development Center, Katrina Foster, KKPR Marketing, Don Quick, Pike County Press & Port Jervis News, Hillary Needleman & Bob Grimm, Muir House & Rachel Hendricks, Deputy Director of Economic Development.

The Pike County Chamber of Commerce represented local business concerns regarding the possible 570 area code telephone number change in Pike County. The Chamber’s Executive Director, Danielle Jordan, gave a sworn testimonial statement before the Pennsylvania Utility Commission (PUC) panel, which was conducted by Judge Ember S. Jandebeur and held on February 1, in Wilkes-Barre. “Advocacy is an important part of what the Chamber does,” said Jordan. “Our local businesses were heard, loud and clear as a unified voice.”

Previously, in 1998, Pike County was changed from the 717 area code in a geographical area code split and was given the new prefix code of 570. According to the PUC, the 570 area code is projected to run out of numbers in the third quarter of 2011.

“You may think… what is the big deal? It’s just an inconvenience to adjust to a new phone number,” said Jordan. “Now please consider how many marketing materials that businesses advertise their contact information on. From the small item of a business card to expansive marketing campaigns with websites, commercials and billboards… all of this would have to be updated. This area code change would have a tremendous financial impact on our local Pike County business community.”

While the Chamber recognizes that with growth comes challenges, the option of an Overlay area code in addition to the 570 area code would ensure adequate numbering resources and could be the optimal solution. Jordan concluded, “In this current economy, when businesses are so stressed financially, having to spend a large amount of money just to stay status quo is an unfair burden.”