Michigan | that damn redhead

On my way home from a baseball game the other night I hit a deer. I am no stranger to roadkill, as this was (only?) my fourth car-deer collision and in the past I’ve hit all sorts of interesting things — not because I go out of my way to hit them (everyone knows I love all things cute and fuzzy) but because I’m convinced there are a lot of suicidal animals. Once I even ran over something in Mississippi I was convinced was an alien but found out upon examining it and getting a slap upside the head from my Southern-transplant friend Carrie that it was actually an armadillo.

I did a bit of research, and according to the Michigan Traffic Crash Facts website,

Michigan had 61,907 reported motor vehicle-deer crashes during 2007. 1,614 people were injured and 11 people were killed as a result of those collisions. . . Motor vehicle-deer crashes occurred most often in Michigan’s southern, heavily populated counties. . .

Wow. I was suprised to find out that Michigan is #2 behind Pennsylvania as the worst state for car-deer accidents. (I thought we were #1 . . . I’ll have to work on that.)

Aaaaaanyway . . . I’m OK, there was cosmetic damage to my car and a broken blinker, but it’s drivable (thanks for asking). The area that I was in, however, was rather remote and there’s no cell phone service so I couldn’t call and report the deer (who hobbled away, anyway — I was only going 30-35 mph) but for some reason I could text.

Then I thought to myself, “What a great use for Twitter — reporting roadkill!”

Upon poking around the internets the next night, imagine my surprise to find that the Michigan DNR has a Twitter account.

If only I had known.

I totally could have seen myself pulling over, opening up my cell phone, and texting “@MDNR hey I’m on ___ Road somewhere btwn Lansing & Linden & hit a deer. I’m OK, car’s OK, deer hobbled away, might wanna keep your eye out.”

I know that we’re finding all sorts of interesting uses for this service, including police departments and fire departments keeping the public informed, so I don’t see why not.

Now I’m wondering — have you ever found yourself in a situation where you thought, “Boy, I really could use Twitter for this . . .” ? What was it? Please, share with the rest of the class.

Bluejay pic by Kimberly Robyn. . . all the pics I found of deer roadkill were way too gross to include here.

It’s worth bragging about.

I am very involved with my local chamber of commerce as an Ambassador and intertwined with it through Fenton Area Toastmasters, which is spearheaded by the Chamber. I’ve also been involved on a smaller scale with the Grand Blanc Chamber and the Genesee Regional Chamber. (As my father’s daughter, I would have to be.)

I cannot stress the importance of chambers of commerce not just to small businesses, but to the vitality of communities as a whole. The Fenton Chamber is a tight-knit community and many of the members are like family to me. I always knew we were awesome, but this just seals the deal. I’m so proud of us. I love my town.

RECOGNIZED AS OUTSTANDING CHAMBER IN MICHIGAN

LANSING, MI– The Michigan Chamber of Commerce Executives (MCCE) association recognized the Fenton Regional Chamber of Commerce with the 2008 MCCE Outstanding Chamber of Commerce Award—Small Chamber Category at the MCCE Leadership Conference & Annual Meeting held at Crystal Mountain Resort on October 23, 2008.

The Outstanding Chamber of Commerce award is given to one chamber of commerce in each of three membership categories (small, mid-size and large chambers of commerce) and based on a comprehensive application judged by chamber of commerce professionals from six Midwest states including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Applicants must demonstrate quality, innovation, and effectiveness of programming in the areas of leadership and governance, finance, business advocacy and programming/membership development. The highest scoring applications receive the annual award.

The Fenton Regional Chamber of Commerce was recognized for its achievements including its work in meeting the needs of underserved business communities, its success in merging with the Linden-Argentine Chamber of Commerce, a successful membership development strategy that resulted in 23% growth, and its expansion of membership benefits and services to keep business members informed and active in the chamber.

MCCE also presented 2008 Outstanding Chamber of Commerce awards to the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce in the Mid-Size Chamber category and the Rochester Regional Chamber of Commerce in the Large Category.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce Executives is a statewide organization of executives involved in the management of chambers of commerce. Its mission is to promote excellence among chambers of commerce through innovative and industry best practices programming. It represents more than 100 local chambers of commerce in Michigan.

It just so happens that we will be hosting next year’s Michigan Chamber Ambassadors Conference. We were required to make a preview presentation of some sort at this year’s conference, held this past September, and I was elected to be the one to do it. Whereas other chambers did a boring PowerPoint, I decided to go a step beyond that. The video is in the extended entry. My boyfriend, a radio DJ, did the voiceover.

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