Columbus Chamber Blog: Information about economic development, economic and business trends, Columbus workforce, programs, events and the Chamber of Commerce in and around Columbus, OH

Member Spotlight: Brightstar Consulting

Founded on March 7, 2008, Brightstar Consulting is a Limited Liability Company with a small but efficient staff.  The business is registered as a veteran, female, and minority owned entity and was recognized by the Columbus Chamber in 2009 as one of the most referred Chamber Members in the top 150, out of 2,500 in terms of visibility. Our primary mission is to provide quality customer service to clients in both the public and private sectors in the areas of training and professional development.  We also offer Human Resource Consulting services upon request.  Our secondary mission is to train and develop future leaders to meet the needs of local businesses in Columbus, Central Ohio and surrounding areas.  In addition to providing training services to area businesses, Brightstar is proud to introduce the "Total Package".  Prospective candidates for the Total Package experience include future leaders at the High School, College, and University levels.  Services provided include critical skills necessary to ensure a successful interview and upon graduation lay the foundation for a successful career.  Our motto is "Preparing Tomorrow's Leaders for a Bright Future" 

Why We're Chamber Members:

Brightstar has enjoyed Chamber membership since 2009 and has participated in many wonderful events to include Government Day, the annual Clambake event, B2B networking events and more.  We value our Chamber membership because we realize the many benefits, which include networking opportunities, personal and professional exposure, and the ability to meet outstanding professionals and leaders in the community.     

Fun Facts about Brightstar:

Unlike large conglomerates with rigid training modules, the Brightstar experience is fun and flexible.  We can create custom training opportunities to meet the needs of the client.  We have developed custom training packages for many of our clients, and our goal is to exceed our customers' expectations the first time and every time.   

Featured Services:

Brightstar Consulting is currently certified to deliver personal, interactive training modules.  Training opportunities include modules such as Leadership Training, Change Management, Diversity and Inclusion, Conflict Management, Effective Communication Skills and more.  Individualized training modules are available upon request and can be designed and tailored to meet the client’s individual needs.   

www.brightstarcolumbus.com or www.brightstarllc.org 

Member Spotlight: Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland

Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland, an affiliate of Girl Scouts of the USA, serves more than 30,000 girls in South and Central Ohio and provides a wide array of programs, events and services to help girls build courage, confidence and character to help make the world a better place.

Why We’re Chamber Members:

We are Chamber members because we want to reach and connect with other businesses in our community. We partner with many businesses to provide programs for our girls, funding for our organization, volunteer opportunities for employees and other community partnerships.

Fun Facts:

This year, Girl Scouts will celebrate its 100^th anniversary since its founding on March 12, 1912. Celebrations and special activities are planned throughout the year and a complete listing can be found on our website. We serve more than 30,000 girls and 9,000 adult volunteers and members in 30 counties throughout Central and Southern Ohio. Any girl from kindergarten through grade 12 may become a member of Girl Scouts at any time. Our camps are open to all girls, including non-members.

Featured Product or Service:

Our mission is to build girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. Girl Scouts perform countless hours of community service and learn about the world around them through many Girl Scout programs, including an innovative STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum. The Girl Scouts of today is focused on leadership and creating the leaders of tomorrow.

www.gsoh.org

 

Member Spotlight: Glenlaurel

Glenlaurel, a Scottish country inn with the luxurious Hocking Hills cabin rentals, is an adult-only bed and breakfast inn and has been labeled the "premier romantic getaway in the Midwest." Located just one hour southeast of Columbus, Ohio in Hocking Hills, the 140-acre estate offers unpretentious elegance in its lodging and fine dining. The backdrop is a heavily wooded series of walking trails, rock cliffs and waterfalls.

Why We’re Chamber Members

We are looking to expand our brand and make as many people as possible aware of the Glenlaurel experience. The Columbus Chamber helps us do that.

Fun Facts

We are the premier destination for romantic getaways and the perfect spot for wedding anniversaries, honeymoons, holidays, special occasions and corporate meetings.  We also are just completing a new Scottish golf links course, which will be open in Spring 2012.   

Featured Product or Service

We invite you to stay in one of our cottages, crofts or suites and enjoy a gourmet dinner in our Manor House then relax in the hot tub on your private deck overlooking a beautiful wooded scenery.  In addition, Columbus Chamber members receive 50 percent off lodging on any weekday stay Monday through Thursday and 30 percent off lodging on the first night’s stay on a weekend Friday through Sunday. A minimum two night stay and the purchase of a dinner for two package is required for weekend guests. 

www.glenlaurel.com

 

 

Young Professionals Spotlight: Capitol Square Rotary

Each month, the Columbus Chamber spotlights a local young professional or professional organization to showcase what they offer, how to get involved and when to check out their next event. For the month of February, Capitol Square Rotary is featured.

When and why was Capitol Square Rotary founded?
Cap Square Rotarians are a group of dynamic young-ish professionals who live and/or work in Downtown Columbus. We were founded about nine years ago by a group of young business and professional leaders. Our founders and current members believe in humanitarian service, high ethical standards and working to bring good will and peace throughout our local and international community. We also believe in fostering friendships, networking and having a great time! 

Rotary International is a worldwide organization with more than 1.2 million members in 32,000 clubs in 200 countries. The principles that guide all Rotarians are called the 4-Way test:

Of the things we think, say and do:
1. Is it the TRUTH? 
2. Is it fair to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS and
4. Is it BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Why become a member?
Like all Rotary clubs, Cap Square Rotary stands for service above self. Our service efforts are both local and international. At least once a month there’s an opportunity to serve our local community and we work on international service projects as well.

Not only do Cap Square Rotarians believe in serving our community, we whole heartedly believe in having fun while we’re doing it. Our 7:30 a.m. morning meetings have been known to involve alcohol -- thanks to speakers from Middle West Spirits and Anheuser Busch. Also, we've created snow in the middle of the summer, tasted flavor-tripping berries when the Executive Director of COSI paid us a visit and carved our best imitations of a butter cow when the Ohio State Fair staff stopped by.

Our local community projects are usually family-friendly so you can bring your kids along so they can learn about community service at an early age.

What are some successes or cool facts about Cap Square Rotary?
In just nine years, our club has travelled to Honduras and Kenya – twice. We’ve traveled to the Village of El Macote in Honduras to help build schools, medical facilities and system to bring clean water to the village. In 2005 we traveled to a village just outside of Nairobi in Kenya to break ground in an empty field that was to become the Rafiki AIDS Orphanage and in March 2012 we’re headed back to hold a concert to benefit a music education program for the kids at Rafiki.
 
Locally, we helped out at organizations such as Faith Mission, Ronald McDonald House, the Columbus Marathon, the Independents' Day Festival and the Boys and Girls Club.

Does Cap Square Rotary sound like something you’d be interested in? Check out our calendar, and join us at a meeting.

Tell me about your upcoming events.
We’re a pretty active Rotary Club and our meeting schedule is designed to fit the busy lives of young professionals. The first and third Tuesdays of every month are a 7:30 a.m. morning meeting at the Athletic Club. The second Tuesday is a happy hour, and the fourth week is reserved for a service project. If it happens to be one of those months with five weeks, we have a third meeting at 7:30 a.m. 

Our annual fundraiser Music in the Round (MITR) is coming up on Saturday, February 25 at Via Vecchia Winery. MITR is a one-of-a-kind fundraiser in Columbus. It features the best songwriting talent Central Ohio has to offer. The 2012 Music in the Round stars Marti Dodson, Mike Perkins, Angela Perley and Mark Hunter. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.musicintheround.com.

View a calendar of our upcoming meeting, event and service project schedule on our website at www.capsquarerotary.org.

How do I become a member?
If you’re just learning about Cap Square Rotary for the first time, then check out our website and fill out the contact form, post on our Facebook wall or stop by on Tuesday. We’d love to show you what Rotary is all about.

Where can I go to learn more about Cap Square Rotary?
You can learn more about Cap Square Rotary by visiting our website or by stopping by a Tuesday meeting. 

To learn about more than 60 other local YP and professional organizations, view the Columbus Chamber's directory of YP and professional organizations and check out a list of upcoming YP events here.

Member Spotlight: Quality Supply Chain Co-op, Inc.

Quality Supply Chain Co-op, Inc. is the exclusive supply chain manager for all Wendy’s restaurants in North America and controls $3 billion in spending. QSCC is the second-largest co-op in the food service industry and the sixth-largest co-op in North America.  

About Our Company:
QSCC is part of the extended family of Wendy’s®, and we are an independent, non-profit cooperative solely focused on Wendy’s. Together, these two characteristics define who we are and what we stand for as a company. Our goal is to become a “best-in-class” co-op supporting a “best-in-class” brand.

Why We’re Chamber Members
We joined the Columbus Chamber of Commerce because, even though our member-owners are from all over the U.S., we want to be a part of the Columbus business community and give back to our community. We also appreciate participating in the Columbus Region Logistics Council. The Logistics Council provides local legislative updates, access to educational programs and opportunities for networking, benchmarking and sharing best practices. As Chamber members, we welcome opportunities for human resources benchmarking and group purchasing. These services are very beneficial for us as a small business.