The Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce enters March like a lion - with many activities planned. Here's a summary of events:

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5 - BROWN BAG ROUND TABLE

The Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce continues its experiment with a noon meeting from noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, March 5. The brown bag round table (bring your own lunch and ideas), takes place in the small meeting room in the third floor of the town hall.

The meeting’s agenda is open-ended. The first brown bag lunch in February focused on “how to improve Bluffton.” Several constructive ideas came out of the meeting.

The chamber realizes that some members are unable to attend its monthly breakfast meeting. The noon option is an experiment to provide any member to connect with the chamber.

MARCH 14 - BREAKFAST AND WORKSHOP
Don’t miss the Friday, March 14, chamber breakfast. Meeting place: Bluffton town hall, 154 N. Main St.

7 to 7:30 a.m. - free breakfast
7:30 to 8:30 a.m. - program
8:45 to 9:15 a.m. - Free social media workshop

• Kayla Monfort, Healthy Eating Team Leader of Activate Allen County, is the featured speaker. She will explain the Activate Allen County grant and programs offered. She will also explain how chamber members can become involved in this movement that targets areas concerning health and wellness.

• The Bluffton Pedestrian and Bike Pathway Board will make a major funding announcement at the breakfast.

• In recognition of St. Patrick’s Day, Steve Johnson of Ada, will perform briefly on the bagpipe.

• Plans to activate a “non-retail” interest group from chamber members will be announced. The downtown merchants primary focus is on retail activities. The chamber is interested in holding a meeting with members who are not involved in retail sales. Several ideas to promote this membership area will be discussed.

• Back by popular demand! Following the breakfast, at 8:45 a.m., the chamber will offer a free workshop on Facebook, Linked In and Pinterest. Vicky Myers, chamber intern will lead the workshop and will share information on how these three social medias can benefit your business. She is also scheduling free one-on-one social media consultations with chamber members. She can set your business up on any of these three medias.

MARCH 26 CASH MOB
The third Bluffton chamber cash mob of 2014 is Wednesday, March 26, with The Curling Iron as the host business. The monthly cash mobs are now scheduled for the final Wednesday of each month for late afternoon hours.

Both The Dough Hook and The Black Lab experienced exceptional sales during their cash mob event. The chamber will continue to offer a $25 shopping spree as a drawing for each host business.