September 21, 2006

By Diane Chiddister

A new marketing campaign, a spruced-up Web site and a renewed relationship with Antioch College are some of the ways that the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce is stepping up its efforts to promote downtown businesses, and those efforts seem to be paying off.

“We’re working hard to make Yellow Springs a destination, a place to sleep, to eat and to relax,” said Priscilla Moore of Mr. Fub’s Party during a recent interview with several Chamber representatives.

The new Chamber initiatives, which have increased in the past six months, signal a rebirth of the organization, which in the recent past focused mainly on Street Fair, several said. For many years, the Chamber seemed moribund, according to Moore, but a change in leadership a year and a half ago sparked new energy and ideas.

“There’s a feeling of rejuvenation, a feeling that downtown is the heart of the community and that people are doing their part,” Moore said.

A growing Chamber membership reflects the renewed Chamber activity, according to Chamber Coordinator Adrienne Chesire, who said the organization now has 265 voting and nonvoting members, with 167 from Yellow Springs and Clifton. That number is an increase over previous years’ totals, Chesire said, and from two to seven new members join each month. Also new is increased committee activity among members, and the Chamber boasts active committees for Street Fair, marketing, Web site and leadership and development.

Chamber of Commerce Board President Karen Wintrow credits Chesire, Webmaster Michael Cannon and a strong board of directors with helping to boost the organization’s activity. Board members include Wintrow, interior designer Phyllis Schmidt, Jeff Singleton of Friends Care Community, Ellen Hoover, Sherryl Kostic of “would you, could you” In A Frame,” Jacki Mayer of WYSO Public Radio and Greg Carlson of The Antioch Company.

Currently, the Chamber is in the midst of a new marketing campaign, “Catch Springs Fever,” which uses both print and radio media to promote downtown businesses, according to Chesire. The campaign, which began in the spring and runs through December, features an ad for a different Yellow Springs business each week on the back page of the Dayton City Paper. And during the period between Blues Fest and Art Stroll in October, three businesses per week are featured on WYSO, she said.

Internet aficionados can log onto Catchspringsfever.com to find the Chamber’s recently revamped Web site, designed by Cannon. The site will include an interactive downtown map, which is currently in progress, in which people may click on the door of a local business to find out information about that business, said Cannon, who hopes to create personal Web pages for each Chamber business. He is also working on a listserve to help members communicate with each other on the Web site.

“The Web site is dynamic, and is constantly changing,” said Cannon, who said that the site received 21,000 hits in a recent week.

Also new this fall is a campaign to connect Antioch College students with downtown businesses, according to Wintrow, who said each new Antioch student received a Ha Ha Pizza box full of downtown goodies.

The new efforts seem to be paying off, according to Mary Alice Wilson of Dark Star Books, who said that foot traffic in her store has been mainly up since the spring, and even when foot traffic slows down, sales remain up.

Increased marketing seems also to have impacted the Yellow Springs Street Fair, and even stormy weather didn’t keep at least 10,000 people from attending the event in June, according to Chesire, who said that the Chamber has received many inquiries about the upcoming October Street Fair.

The downtown businesses have also benefitted from last spring’s Buy Local Campaign, according to Moore, who believes that villagers paid attention to the campaign’s message.

“I’ve seen changes,” she said. “Saturday morning downtown has become a social focus again.”

A healthy downtown can positively affect the village in many ways, including impacting the current Village financial deficit. While the Village doesn’t directly benefit from increased downtown business revenues, new businesses are more likely to locate here if the downtown is vibrant, according to Wintrow, a member of the Yellow Springs Village Council.

Renewed energy can also be seen in downtown physical changes, several said. Chamber members pointed to the reconstructed front facade at the Yellow Springs Community Credit Union, the new arbor gate at 100 Corry Street, the spruced-up patio at Corner Cone and the lush garden outside Gregory’s Studio of Wonder on Dayton Street as examples of business owners who are working hard to make their business look good.

Several businesses have also added functional improvements, including improved accessibility for physically handicapped customers, Wintrow said, citing changes at Town Drug and the Yellow Springs Senior Center.

New Chamber efforts also include a renewal of Business After Hours, a once-a-month gathering for Chamber members to socialize with each other. On Thursday, Sept. 21, the Chamber will sponsor a miniature golf outing at Udders and Putters at Young’s Jersey Dairy at 5 p.m. And last spring, the Chamber hosted a new series of seminars on business marketing techniques.

All in all, the Chamber reps said, the Yellow Springs Chamber of Commerce is on an upswing.

“The chamber has become more professional, more proactive and more successful,” Moore said. “I can only see it get better and better.”

Contact: dchiddister@ysnews.com