2023 has been an amazing year here in Milford-Miami Township and we are so glad to have been a part of it. Below is a recap of what our Chamber has focused on this year:
Our monthly Morning Mixers, in partnership with 3 other area chambers, drew close to 100 people on average for an opportunity to network and promote their businesses. Our Chamber hosted 3 of these Mixers at area businesses: Nation Milford, Miami Township Civic Center with Midwest BBQ, and CenterBank.
In March, we held our Business Expo at Little Miami Brewing Event Center in partnership with the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance. The event drew over 200 attendees to view the 46 participating businesses. This is a great opportunity to get your business in front of new eyes! The participating exhibitors were overwhelmingly positive about this experience and the potential for new business to come from it.
April had us hosting our annual WHAMM! Awards which are always a great deal of fun. This year we awarded 65 BAM! (Community) Awards and 11 WOW! (Business Powerhouse) Awards. Our Chamber Awards are awarded by the Chamber itself and this year’s recipients are listed below:
- Advocacy Award: Feed Our Flock
- Community Support & Development Award: RDI Corporation
- Economic Impact Award: DER Development Company
- Education Award: Raptor, Inc.
- Ambassador of the Year: Jay Rothenbach
- Chief John Cooper, Sr. Award: Achmed Beighle
- Above & Beyond Individual: Ron Swogger
- Above & Beyond Business: Newborn 2 Teen
- J. Patrick Toomey Small Businessperson Award: Charles Evans
One mission of our Chamber is to provide opportunities for continuing education. Our Topics at Twelve program was new this year and was an opportunity for our City and Township to share relevant information helpful to both local businesses and residents. We also hosted an annual session where you can become more familiar with all of the cost saving benefits available to our member businesses.
This year, we introduced a new education program called “Feed Your Mind” in partnership with 3 other area chambers. Topics covered “Mental Health 101: The Foundations of Mental Health,” “From 8-Tracks to Tik Tok: Bridging the Generational Gap,” “Creative ways to retain your employees & build loyalty in a post-COVID marketplace,” and “Landscaping Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.” Each session was interesting and valuable for local chamber members.
June brought our annual Frontier Days, known as “the start to summer” in our area. In addition to being a fun community festival – one of the largest in the Greater Cincinnati area – this event helps our Chamber raise the funds needed to provide programs and services that benefit both our business community and our community at large. And of course, we couldn’t do an event like this – or any of our events! – without all of our incredible volunteers.
We kicked off the fall with our annual Firehouse Luncheon – always a very popular event! We alternate between Milford and Miami Township Fire Departments, and this year, we were hosted by Chief Kelly and the entire Miami Township Fire Department. Over 60 members were present for this fun event. Delicious food was served from Midwest Best BBQ with sides provided by fire department personnel. Look for 2024’s event in September at the Milford firehouse.
This year, we also held a candidate forum for Milford Village Exempted Schools, which was the only local race that was contested. Two of our candidates were present and answered questions from the League of Women Voters as well as the general public.
October was a big month – first, on October 7, we held our first (now to be annual) Chocolate Walk, which was a great success. 200 tickets were sold within 34 hours, selling us out. 49 businesses participated. Special thanks to COhatch and Cincinnati Distilling for hosting businesses from outside of our downtown area, allowing this event to include businesses from outside the downtown Milford area. We received great feedback, with a few suggestions, from ticket-holders and businesses alike.
In mid-October, we held our first Family-Friendly Scary Movie Series, sponsored by LMBC and Evans Funeral Homes. The families that attended had a great time, and we were very grateful to the City of Milford for the use of their popcorn machine.
Finally, also in October, we were lucky to be treated to a private Behind-the-Scenes tour of the FC Cincinnati Stadium downtown! 63 members and guests registered for this fun event!
This year, we continued our quarterly Open Houses, later changing the name to Quarterly Connections. Thank you to our hosts: February at Sami Sunshine; May at Raptor, Inc.; September at Seven Hills Pet Clinic; and our first “Quarterly Connection” in November at Scene 75.
To kick off the holidays, we hosted our second annual Breakfast with the Grinch! This event was hugely popular, with over 800 tickets selling in less than 8 minutes! Special thanks to Little Miami Brewing Co, without whom we could not hold this event.
During the holidays, we brought MiMi’s 12 Days of Christmas back to town with some great engagement from our community and fun giveaways from our participating businesses, with a fun surprise 13th giveaway from Dale Robertson Jewelry! We also continued our holiday decorating contest and had 14 businesses submit. With 1,001 votes submitted, we had 3 winners: In First Place is McHarper Manor and The Curious Kiln! In Second Place is Villa Sanctuary! In Third Place is Dancin’ On Main!
We held 8 ribbon cuttings in 2023 for new businesses in our community: Stronger Her, Howard Hanna Realty, Resin Rockers, SuperGreen Solutions, Magnify Education, Ani+Mo, Single Needle Tattoo, and Optima Dermatology.
Giving back is extremely important to everyone involved with the Milford Miami Township Chamber. We donate to and provide opportunities to earn higher donations for a variety of our member non-profits every year. In 2024, we were able to give or raise over $8,000 to local non-profits. Plus, we support our local students, granting scholarships valued at $4,500.
Our social media continues to be strong, with Facebook reaching between 45-55,000 people every month. We’re able to use this presence to support our members and ensure our community has a place to learn about what is happening in our area.
We introduced an Ambassador Program to our Chamber this year and were lucky enough to have 14 fantastic Ambassadors join us: Erin Barcroft, Maranda Bowen, Tracy Buckner, Emile Chammas, Chrissy Gedeon, Shirl Page, Bonita Palmer, Brittany Reynolds, Kris Richter, Libby Rose, Jay Rothenbach, Melanie Shea, Bob Turner, and Shelly West. We welcome new Ambassadors, and if you are interested in becoming more involved in our Chamber Community, please reach out to [email protected].
Thank you to all of our Board Members who have served this year, including a few new ones: Ron Swogger (Board President), Charlie Evans (Board VP), Zach Gambill (Board Treasurer), Bonita Palmer (Secretary and Ambassador Liaison), Michael Alford, Missy Barkley, Emile Chammas, Liz Emmons, Quintin Fleig, Rhonda Gaskill, Kayla Grimslid, Brian Hirsch, Josh Holston, Kris Richter, Stacey Sandfoss, and Bob Turner.
We could not do what we do without our Trustees supporting us along the way. Thank you to Castrucci, City of Milford, Park National Bank, RDI Corporation and ShareFax Credit Union.
