Chamber Chat
One of our most recent projects here at the office was assembling and delivering our traditional batch of welcome bags for first-year teachers starting at our four Atlanta Area ISDs: Atlanta, Bloomburg, McLeod and Queen City.
After sending out a request to our Membership Body for donations we could use to create Welcome Goody Bags for these newbies, the swag and gift items started rolling in. Many of our Business Members took the time to gather and bring by tools and treats that a teacher might use or enjoy. The support from our Membership for the teaching profession always impresses us, and this might have been the best year yet! Sure, giving a bunch of items to teachers with your logo on them is great advertising, but the support for the profession is genuine.
Among Atlanta, Queen City, Bloomburg and McLeod, there are 25 brand-new teachers this year. We were able to assemble bags for each of the first-year teachers and even send some extra bags to be given away as door prizes to veteran teachers!
With the uncertainty revolving around COVID-19, what a time to enter the teaching profession. Our hope is that each recipient of the Welcome Bags feels the support of their communities and is inspired and encouraged to face the year with optimism and fulfill their calling! More than ever, students need good teachers to guide, teach and love them.
All of us in our early thirties, this is the strangest back to school season our Chamber Team has ever experienced. The things we would normally be looking forward to like pep rallies, bonfires, packed stands, marching bands, cute first day pictures with friends and teachers huddled together with smiles showing (instead of under a mask) and other traditional Fall Happenings are all a bit different this year.
As community event planners, our team has been feeling every hill, drop and jerk of the 2020 emotional rollercoaster. Next up for us is the Annual Moonlight Madness Sale on the Sunday night of Labor Day Weekend. September 6th is this year’s date, and the event is still on with some exciting new additions.
Moonlight Madness is a night for shopping, with many of our Downtown shops and restaurants opening for the event and even offering open house-type goodies and special deals. Many of our Downtown Merchants have said that Moonlight Madness is historically one of their biggest sales events of the year! We will be kicking off the night with a Fashion Show to highlight looks and accessories from our Chamber Member boutiques, and we hope this will get people in the mood to shop small!
Another segment of the event is school spirit. In years past, Moonlight Madness had a huge turnout from the schools who would compete in a spirit competition. We have been trying to reignite that part of the event for the last few years, but requiring the entire cheer squad, band or football team to show up for a holiday weekend event seems to be too much to ask of our school sponsors. We think we may have found a solution that will allow for a fun interschool competition while still social distancing: Moonlight Minute to Win It! Details are still being worked out for this year, but stay tuned, because hopefully at least one ISD will take home some prize money for their Senior Class Fund!
Live music, various vendors and other additions to the event keep Downtown really alive during Moonlight Madness. We are asking everyone to support the event, but of course to be mindful of hand washing, masking, distancing and other safety suggestions to do our part in making sure schools are able to stay open and students, teachers and parents can all safely enjoy the season.