Chamber Honors Litehouse Custom Printing as February's Business of the Month

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce is proud to recognize Litehouse Custom Printing (LCP) as February’s Business of the Month. Mark and Roxy Fuller, owners, started Litehouse Custom Printing in 1987 when Mark was managing Litehouse Foods. The Fullers and Hawkins family had been friends since the 1960’s and started LCP as a partnership until 6 months into the project when it was decided the printing should go solo with Mark at the helm. 

Watch them accept their award, click here.

The business was imprinting items which you could drink from, mugs. Starting with mom and pop and large corporations as customers, the start was slow. Renting warehouse space from Litehouse Foods, Mark would print their jars during the day and come back at night to print mugs for LCP. Steady growth saw them move into the old Jones Warehouse in Kootenai, 1991, and then purchasing the old Sneaky Building in 1995 on Industry Drive, their current location, with 35,000 sq feet

As their custom base continued to grow, some of their top clients included Caterpillar, UPS, Bank of America, and Google to name a few. They peaked in 2007 with 32 employees and 2 million dollars in sales. They have had to scale back production and their team but continue to provide top notch customer service, good quality products and always deliver on time.

‘It’s our pleasure and blessing to be able to give back to the community because all that we have accomplished is through the community,’ explained Mark. ‘Our success came from the community, and we love it here, and it is our pleasure to give back into it.’

Being a part of the community is very important to the Fuller’s and giving is a part of it. They offer non-profit discounts and donate to and/or support Chafe 150, Festival at Sandpoint, Festival of Trees, Holly Eve and Sandpoint Rotary.

Please join the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce in congratulating Litehouse Custom Printing for their success and thanking them for their commitment to our community. For more information, visit their website at www.lcpmugs.com or call them at (208) 263-9745.

In Photo: Mark and Roxy Fuller accept the award from Chamber Ambassador Carol Warren.

Chamber Honors Kim Diercks as February Volunteer of the Month

The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce honored Kim Diercks, Panhandle State Bank HR Generalist, as February’s Volunteer of the Month for her service to our community and many of our non-profit organizations. Her positive attitude and willingness to jump right in has impacted the lives of many individuals in our community. 

Watch Kim accept her award, click here.

Kim has lived in our community for over 10 years and is currently a Board Member for the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, Pend Oreille Arts Council and Kinderhaven, which she is a former President of. She was instrumental and very involved with the formation of Powered by Community, Panhandle State Bank’s non-profit and community oriented education and advocacy efforts.

Please join the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce in congratulating Kim Diercks for being honored as the Volunteer of the Month and thanking her for all of her contributions to our community. Kim’s hard work has done a lot for many organizations in our community. From the Greater Sandpoint Chamber, as well as the whole community, Thank You!

Photo: Kim Diercks accepts the award from Chamber Board Member Amy Whalen.

Simplifying Social Media for Business

Using social media is one way you can take control of your businesses online presence and connect with current and future customers. The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce is ready to help business owners and managers tackle social media with their Social Media Workshop Series sponsored by Holiday Inn Express & Suites. They plan to cover how to use Facebook and LinkedIn for you business, as well as talk about where people are finding your business online, like Yelp, TripAdvisor and Angie’s List.

Social media is extremely helpful for business because it makes it easier for consumers to find your business, increases brand recognition, reaches out to an audience that already ‘Likes’ your brand, creates brand ambassadors, shows you care about your business by being there and being ready to have meaningful conversations with consumers about your brand and their needs and expectations. Peer reviews and recommendations are trusted far more than advertising by consumers. Conversations are happening all over the internet so you should be involved and ready to respond to every positive and negative comment.

The Chamber’s workshops were created to help your social media strategy on every level. These workshops will be 100% interactive where participants will be asked to bring their laptop with various materials ready go on it so specific tasks can be accomplished during the workshops. Also, to help the participants get the most out of the workshops they will be kept to a 12 person maximum so personalized help will be achieved.

Scheduled classes are as followed: Introduction to Facebook For Your Business, Intermediate: Facebook For your Business and LinkedIn for Business Professionals and Your Business. The Intro Facebook classes are going held to be Wednesday, Feb 27, and Thursday, Feb 28, from 8:30AM-11:30AM. The Intermediate Facebook class is scheduled for Wednesday, March 13, from 8:30AM-11:30AM. The LinkedIn class is scheduled for Wednesday, April 10, from 8:30AM-11:30AM. Managing Your Online Reputation is a new class which will take place on Wednesday, May 15, from 8:30AM-11:30AM.

Cost of each workshop is $35 for Chamber Members and $40 for Non-Chamber Members. If one class fills up and you are not able to register, please contact the Chamber and more classes will be held until the community’s needs are satisfied. If you are interested in others like YouTube, Twitter, Foursquare and Pinterest, please contact the Chamber so they know what they should plan for the future. For more information or to register for these workshops, please call the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce at 263-2161 or visit them online at www.sandpointchamber.com.