Dinner Invitation

Lorraine and I would like to invite everyone to an open house at our restaurant on  Monday,May 10 at 5 pm....we will be serving a complimentary buffet and drinks will be available.. cash bar...The purpose is to re-establish an advertising co-op of local businesses. Please consider the value and importance this group offers for all of our businesses. Some volunteers from the SCORE program will be here to speak BRIEFLY about supporting us. They are specifically bringing in a gentleman that has experience in helping form groups exactly like ours. They were instrumental in helping form the Inverness Old  Town Assoc. which now has over 150 business members. I must say I had very little interest in bothering with these folks until I met them and heard what they have to offer at NO COST to us. How many of you have people lined up at your doors to help you. I can't even get paid employees to help me! They simply want to help us organize and promote  a very special place and they have experience doing this, without any agenda or personality conflicts. There are no 16 week classes required to attend. They will make some suggestions and be on their way. If we have future questions they are always available. They are retirees with the time and knowledge and DESIRE to do legwork that we don't have time to do.            Some of us recently spent a great deal of time trying to convince the Homosassa Rotary to hold their annual chili cook-off in Old Homosassa which has potential to draw many. The same Rotary who asks us all to support them financially all year, and whose members own businesses that  trade with many of us decided to go to the mall parking lot  in Crystal River with their event rather than here on the side of the Homosassa River. This is NOT a petty issue. With a united voice the members of the Old Homosassa Village Association who shared an opinion on this matter decided to send a letter to the Rotary, and rightfully so,  letting them know that later  on this year when they again need donations they can pass by our businesses and go back up to C.R. for help. I will not mention other names but myself and some others have terminated our relationship with a particular businessman who played a key role in this decision and we will transfer our accounts to a member of our organization. As we identify other businesses involved in the rotary we will consider further boycotts. That is simply how capitalism works.          Old Homosassa has been ignored and passed over because we are out-of sight-  and out- of -mind. PLEASE, please, please, consider attending or sending a rep. on your behalf. This group was first organized with this purpose in mind and as we began to explore other potential purposes we got off track a bit and some felt the group may not fit their individual needs. We now have stream-lined the functions of the group and much can be done with e-mails. Together we can accomplish much with a very small amount of time and energy required from any one individual. Mostly we need to be able to "piggy-back" and look real tall when we need to. This meeting should not require more than an hour of your time and you have to eat somewhere. Thank you all in advance for your consideration.       Sincerely     Mitch and Lorraine      On behalf of THE OLD HOMOSASSA VILLAGE ASSOCIATION