CDA Proudly Supports the Champaign Chamber of Commerce Shop Local Campaign

A message from Champaign Chamber of Commerce President and CEO

Laura Weiss

With consumers shutting their wallets and corporate revenues plunging, the business landscape may start to resemble a graveyard in 2009.” While there are a myriad of reasons for our current economic climate, one factor is certain: consumer confidence is shaken. We know that there isn’t much that we can do to change the national landscape, but we can work together in our community to identify opportunities and solutions to help ease consumer fear. The Champaign County Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Champaign Downtown Association, the Urbana Business Association, and the Mahomet, Rantoul and St. Joseph Chambers of Commerce are excited to announce a united effort to encourage cash flow in our county through our Save Jobs. Shop Local. Spend Now. campaign.

We are very conscious that we have people in our community who are out of work and we by no means intend for this campaign to sound frivolous in suggesting that shopping is the only answer to this current economic situation – and we are certainly not encouraging people to spend unwisely. But we are encouraging our residents to understand the consequences for a community when consumers hold back on their spending or they turn to the Internet as a means for saving money.

We are a community blessed with a diverse mix of business and it’s that mix that makes our economy work. With this campaign, we are urging our residents to spend their dollars locally and are communicating the message that it is all right to invest in yourself, your family, your home and your business. Because when you invest in all these things by making purchases locally, you are investing in public safety and basic services.

When collectively, a community holds back on spending or shops the Internet, our cities have trouble paying for our basic services like road work and improvements, and fire and police protection. When collectively we hold back, we see businesses that have served our community close their doors and we see people – our neighbors, our family, our friends – lose their jobs. This is not a cycle we can break at the national level, but it is a cycle that we can help break in our local community if we all make a concentrated effort to purchase those extra items or services that we have eliminated from our daily lives – and to certainly not buy them online when possible.

We want our business community to be involved, and here are some ways that you can be:

• Identify ways to communicate the Save Jobs. Shop Local. Spend Now. message to your customers and employees;
• Place the Save Jobs. Shop Local. Spend Now. message on your outdoor signs and marquees;
• Purchase the campaign T-shirts for your employees and encourage them to wear the shirts to work and to meetings (T-shirts available through the Chamber);
• Download the Web site decal from www.champaigncounty.org and add it to your Web site;
• Add the message to your signature on e-mail;
• Adopt the campaign title and incorporate it into your own business promotions.
• The campaign slogan is for all businesses to use;
• Send the Chamber your business success story so that we can share positive news about the local economy;
• Call the Chamber and ask for a Save Jobs. Shop Local. Spend Now. door decal (provided by Martin Graphics);
• Review your vendors. Identify the vendors that you use out of market and determine whether you can shift even as little as 5 percent back to the Champaign County market. If you need help finding vendors, contact the Chamber to help you make those connections.

BankChampaign to Host Small Business Seminars

Bank of Champaign will be holding a series of Small Business Seminars targeted towards customers and local businesses. These seminars are meant to help businesses on issues such as capitalizing your new business to identifying opportunities to funding your retirement with your business and even evaluating opportunities for a second business.

Seminars will be scheduled quarterly with the first being, “Where to Find Money for your Business or Start-Up” being held June 4th from 6-8 pm at the South Neil Street location. Bank of Champaign has partnered with BiggSuccess.com, a business education and consulting company, to bring this timely information and small business expertise.

SPACE IS LIMITED, RSVP to Melodie Davie at 217.351.2870 ASAP.

Kessler Optical Now Open on Main Street

Kessler Optical run by Lawrence Kessler and Associates is now open for Business.  Lawrence Kessler previously located on North Prospect has moved his practice to downtown in the historic Lincoln Building located at 44 E. Main Street Suite 100 across from the Pilates Center.

The store will offers same day eye exams and name-brand frames from several European companies. Kessler is a graduate of Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago with a Doctorate of Optometry in 1975. He has been practicing Optometry for 17 years in the Champaign area, specializing in Contact Lenses, Computer Vision Syndrome, Dry Eye Syndrome, and Ocular Nutrition.

For more information contact Lawrence Kessler at doclarry2@aol.com or 217-356-5377.
Visit their website.

Blind Pig Brewery Open for Business

The latest installment of the Blind Pig is about to unfold as Chris Knight opens his second Blind Pig location.  However, this isn’t your typical Downtown bar.  Blind Pig BREWERY is the first micro-brewery to open in Champaign since Joe’s Brewery closed on campus over a decade ago.  The Pig’s new location will feature the same intimate setting as its parent on Walnut Street.  However, this one comes with ample outdoor seating in what is sure to evolve into one of Downtown’s finest outdoor beer gardens.

Although the brewery is opening on May 28th, the brew works won’t be quite ready to turn out Blind Pig Beer.  That will simply give you another reason to stop in again.

120 North Neil Street

Hour of Business

3:00 PM -2:00 AM every day

Tour de Champaign This Saturday!

July 11th will be a day you won’t want to miss in Downtown.  Hundreds of bikers from around the Country will descend on Champaign to take part in the first annual Tour de Champaign on the streets of Downtown Champaign.  The day will feature 8 races from all age and skill levels.  Race lengths last from 30 minutes to 70 minutes with some of the most highly skilled bikers flying at speeds around 30 MPH.

The course will be Main/Church Street, to Walnut Street, to University Avenue, to Randolph Street.  Event parking will be located free of charge in the Hill Street Parking Deck.  Areas inside the race course will be great locations to watch the race and eat lunch but will be closed to vehicular traffic during the event.

Following the race at 7PM – Midnight will be the July Streetfest sponsored by the Champaign Park District and City of Champaign.  This street concert will be at the corner of Walnut and Chester Street.  One Night Stand (Country/Rock) and Mister Sister (Classic Rock) will take the stage to cap what is sure to be a great day in Downtown Champaign!

To register for the event visit TrueSport.com

More information on the race.

Promotional flyer

Read more from the News-Gazette (July 2, 2009 Article)

Eat to the Beat this Summer in West Side Park

Are you sick eating your lunch in a break room with no windows while the sun is raining down and the temperatures rise?  Don’t be stuck in that routine anymore, check out “Eat to the Beat” every first Friday of the month this summer.  The Champaign Park District has arranged for musical acts to perform over the lunch time in the brand new West Side Park band stand.  There is no charge to enjoy Champaign’s oldest and most historic parks.

Each show last from 12:00 – 1:00 PM

June 5, 2009 – Ryan Groff (Rock)

July 3, 2009 – Nathaniel Seer (Acoustic)

August 7, 2009 – Tracey & Trisha (Folk)

September 4, 2009 – Kenny Kip (Jazz)

Red Faction Guerrilla Tour Truck to Stop in Downtown Champaign

Fans of the video game franchise, created at Volition, Inc. in Champaign, will be able to play the upcoming installment, meet the team who designed it, and take home Red Faction swag.

Champaign, IL (May 11, 2009) – Fans of THQ’s Red Faction franchise no longer need to wait until the June 2^nd release date to experience life as a Mars colonist in the upcoming video game Red Faction Guerrilla—they can simply visit the RFG tour truck when it makes its stop in downtown Champaign on May 18th.

Red Faction Guerrilla, developed at Volition, Inc. in Champaign, is the third installment in the Red Faction series. The game places the player on Mars in the year 2120, as miner Alec Mason, who joins the rebel Faction in an attempt to avenge his brother’s death. Red Faction Guerrilla is a third-person shooter game featuring innovative open-world destruction capabilities, giving the player the option to move freely about the virtual world with realistic physics.

Outside the Red Faction Guerrilla tour truck, fans of the series will be able to play the upcoming game at one of five available kiosks. Members from the RFG development team will be available to meet fans and answer questions, and freebies will be handed out, including t-shirts, key chains and astronaut ice cream.

The truck has been touring nationwide since March alongside the “Music as a Weapon” tour, making stops in cities such as Phoenix and Minneapolis, and will be making a final stop in Champaign to visit Volition headquarters, where the Red Faction franchise was developed. It will be parked in front of the One Main Building (1 E. Main St., Champaign) on Monday, May 18th and visitors will be welcome from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. that evening.

For any additional information, contact Volition at (217) 355-0320. Red Faction Guerrilla will be released in the US for PlayStation3 and Xbox360 consoles on June 2^nd.

Volition, Inc. is a video game developer located in Champaign, Illinois. They have been owned by THQ since 2000 and have developed several popular titles, including The Punisher as well as the Summoner, Red Faction and Saints Row series.

Contact:

Volition, Inc.
217-355-0320
http://www.volition-inc.com