APRIL 4, 2011

Small town America wants everyone to be a VIP

CAVE CREEK – In the midst of the greatest economic melt down since the Great Depression, what are small business owners doing to combat shrinking sales and consumer apathy?  For one small Arizona Chamber of Commerce the solution may just be treating everyone like a VIP.  "We have been kicking this idea around for almost one year and finally came up with a program that we are very excited about," said Karin Johnson Chamber Board Member.  The Chamber has been looking for ways to raise funds to support the many community events they sponsor along with ways to stimulate traffic for its merchants.  The centerpiece of the VIP Program is a Cave Creek VIP Card that sells for just $20. The VIP Card offers discounts to the holder of between 10 percent and 50 percent on merchandise and services all over Cave Creek for an entire year.

"We are fully aware that our residents commute and travel with a large number of our visitors living in other parts of the United States.  As a result, our VIP Card is honored at over 250,000 merchants nationwide.  We want you to be a VIP in Cave Creek, but now you can also be a VIP in your own hometown" said Johnson.

Ken Bacher, Chamber President. Said, “The Chamber will donate a portion of the revenue for VIP Cards purchased in the name of a community organization. “No gimmicks, just buy a card and we'll send your organization a check."

About Cave Creek

Cave Creek is a town located in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, just north of Phoenix, with an elevation is 2129 feet above sea level.

Cave Creek is about more than magnificent scenery, great bars and restaurants, fine art galleries and all of the eccentric characters that add to the town's appealing eclectic funkiness.

Cave Creek is about hanging on to the Western roots that helped shape it.

Cave Creek is about reaching back a little farther to embrace a culture that thrived locally 1,250 years ago.

Cave Creek is about doing things a bit differently and not being afraid to show it.

Cave Creek is about being an outpost that isn't so far out any more. The past has always been important here.

History does more than define Cave Creek. It breathes life into it daily and is a constant reminder of the privilege it is to be a Cave Creeker. The miners who flocked to the area in search of riches in the early 1870s and the ranchers who came for the plentiful grasses and water a couple of decades later helped shape both the history and the future of Cave Creek.

Please visit our Chamber website at www.cavecreekchamber.org