The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce is always a busy place and the past year truly reflected our mission to promote Lakewood businesses in a positive light to the community. From networking opportunities and public forums to special promotional events: here are some of the highlights. We brought back the Lakewood Home Show after a 15 year hiatus.

The second weekend of March, 100 local home improvement and other related businesses came together at Lakewood High School to promote themselves to the community. The 5th Annual Taste of Lakewood once again SOLD OUT. The "Taste" highlights our restaurants and the wide spectrum of great food available in Lakewood. The event was held at the beautiful Clifton Club, on June 10th.

It was an election year in Lakewood and the Chamber of Commerce hosted two political forums for the community. The first was a political happy hour at the Winking Lizard. The Mayoral candidates answered questions related to economic development and business. The second was our annual Election Luncheon and was an opportunity to hear from the Mayoral, City Council and School Board candidates on business related issues.

Did you see the all the windows painted for Halloween as you drove down the west end of Detroit this year? This year's West End Halloween Window Painting Contest doubled in size from the previous year! The contest is hosted by the Chamber and the Beck Center and invites school-aged children in Lakewood to paint a store front window along the west end of Detroit in a public art contest. Windows spread from the bridge down to the library. We hope someday the kids will paint all the way down Detroit Avenue to the border of Cleveland, and then paint right back up Madison Avenue to the border of Rocky River!

Light Up Lakewood was a great community event and the Chamber of Commerce contributed by hosting an essay contest for the fourth graders in Lakewood. We asked them to answer the question, "Why I Love Lakewood". Their essays were so positive and their community pride was so sincere, it was contagious. Congratulations to Jared Pustai the winning writer who helped flip the switch to light up downtown Lakewood in the lighting ceremony!

Things won't slow down in 2008 as we look to move forward...literally! The Lakewood Chamber of Commerce will be moving to a new location in spring of 2008. The Chamber purchased the building at 16017 Detroit Avenue and is in the process of renovating the space into our new offices. Here are some other things we look forward to in the new year.

We look forward to working with Mayor Fitzgerald and his staff as advocates for business and economic development. The Lakewood Home Show will be at Harding Middle School on March 8 and 9. Come out and see over 100 local companies addressing all your home improvement needs. It's also a great opportunity to check out one of Lakewood's beautiful new middle schools.

The Taste of Lakewood will be June 1 at the Clifton Club and we are looking forward to another sell out crowd, great food and fun.We have more events in the planning stages and will continue to provide the services and benefits that the business community has come to expect. For more information on the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, check out the website at www.lakewoodchamber.org or call us at 216-226-2900.Have a happy and prosperous new year.