Fortuna's Holiday events will be bunched together again this year starting with the December 7^th Redwood Village Open House, the Downtown Fortuna Open House and Electric Lighted Parade December 8th, the Christmas Music Festival on Sunday December 10^th and the Christmas Home tour on Wednesday the 13^th.

The merchant's of Redwood Village plan to bring back a horse drawn carriage, carolers, live nativity, refreshments & giveaways for their open house Thursday night. Call Linda Wigginton at Linda's Hallmark or Syd Myers at Fortuna Hardware for more information.

With the departure of both Edie Gray and Steve Parlatto, new Chamber volunteers will take the helm of the Electric Lighted Parade. Lisa Whitchurch of Whitchurch Engineering and Christine Sackey of the Humboldt Beacon will run the parade. Call the Chamber office at 725-3959 to help.

Downtown Fortuna's Open House festivities are in the final planning stage and interested business owners should come to the Downtown Meeting November 9 at Hot Brew, 8 a.m. to add ideas. This should be a bigger year for the parade/open house evening with the new theater in operation and new businesses open and taking part. Planned for the evening are Santa and Mrs. Claus giving out candy, the Scotia Band playing through Downtown and refreshments and specials in businesses.

The Sunday after all these festivities is the 22^nd Annual Christmas Music Festival at River Lodge. The free concert will start at noon and features Eel River Valley music groups. Ushers and other volunteers are needed for the day. To help, call the FBID office or the Chamber office at 725-3959. Wreaths decorated and donated by service and community groups will be on sale during the concert. This is the events only form of fundraising so please support them.

Quick Quiz:

The five closest answers to this (surprising?) Fortuna Business Question will receive a copy of "Secrets of Small Business Success" (a great small business guide by Kent Burnes):

"How many licensed businesses are there in Fortuna?"

Phone or email your answer to the FBID office (numbers on back)

The answer will be in the next FBID newsletter, or check the FBIDOnline web site at www.FortunaBusiness.com in two weeks.

Fortuna Gift Certificates: Appearing in a cash register near you

The Fortuna Gift Certificate has circulated over $40,000 since it's inception in April of 1998! That is money that has stayed in Fortuna cash registers thanks to the commitment of local employers and individuals.

Most of the private party sales happen in November and December. Add to that the holiday bonuses, safety awards and promotional giveaways by merchant and service groups in December and January, and the next three months account for over 2/3 of the total annual Fortuna GC sales.

What all this means is October and November are the time to give yourself and employees a refresher on how to accept the Fortuna Gift Certificate. Don't miss these sales!
The certificates can be purchased at Humboldt Bank Fortuna, and work just like a travelers check when a customer brings one to your business

Here are the four simple steps to taking a Fortuna Gift Certificate:
-When accepting the certificate, check the "Recipient" line to ID unless you know the customer;
-Give change back as necessary;
-Thank the customer for shopping Fortuna;
-Stamp the back and include with your regular deposit, no matter where your business banks.

You get full face value on the ten or twenty dollar certificates.

Business interested in purchasing Fortuna Gift Certificates can either contact the FBID office or go to Humboldt Bank Fortuna to make a purchase. Giving the certificates let your employees know that you are committed to spending your money locally.

Thank you for working with your employees and customers to keep the Fortuna Gift Certificate program successful and keep money circulating in our economy. FBID Office 725-9261 www.fortunabusiness.com

Chapman Named New Chamber Exec.

Cliff Chapman has been chosen as the new Chamber of Commerce Executive Director. Chapman brings his considerable experience with California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and as a Fortuna City Council member to the helm of the group. Here's the text of Cliff's opening message in the most recent Chamber Newsletter:

First, let me introduce myself, I am Cliff Chapman Sr. your new Fortuna Chamber of Commerce Executive Director. My wife Lee and I have been residents of Fortuna for sixteen years having moved here from Klamath, CA. I retired from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection in 1993 and at that time I was in charge of fire protection operations for CDF’s north coast region (Santa Cruz County to the Oregon border).

Over the last seven years I have tried to stay active in the community by doing volunteer work, serving on the Fortuna city council and serving on the boards of Fortuna Rotary, American Cancer Society and Fortuna Chamber. I am a past president of the Chamber (98/99) and served as Executive Secretary for the Chamber for several months while Edie Gray (former Executive Director) provided home care for her terminally ill husband Al.

OK, so why do you want to be Executive Director? That was one of the first questions posed to me at the interview for this job. Why??? Because I think Fortuna is a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family; I think Fortuna’s business community is thriving; I think that city services, staff and leadership are outstanding; I think we have an excellent quality of life here, and, to answer the question, as the Executive Director, I think I can help the Chamber chart the direction the business community needs to take to help ensure our quality of life, improve our business climate and to help insure the economic health of the area as we continue to grow into an even more thriving city - Cliff

Welcome Cliff!

"Fortuna Night" Promotes Holidays at KEET Auction Auction

For the third year in a row, the businesses of Fortuna will be hosting a night at the KEET Holiday Auction, Wednesday, December 6. While this is a great service to the public television station, Fortuna and Fortuna businesses are the real winners. During the five hour show, volunteers have a chance to talk about the Fortuna businesses that donate items to the auction and the four holiday events that follow the auction night.

Fortuna Night is made possible by businesses that donate items to the auction. FBID would like to thank all the businesses that contribute year after year for KEET and the promotion Fortuna receives.

We also can't do it without volunteers that come on the air to promote Fortuna events and businesses. To be one of the 12 volunteers that help auction or write bids during the auction night, call Dave at the FBID office

725-9261.

Reach FBID:
PO Box 1000
610 Main St.,
Fortuna, CA
Ph: (707)725-9261
Fax: (707)725-0806
Email: fbid1@excite.com

www.FortunaBusiness.com