Events were the focus of the Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber of Commerce’s board meeting April 1.

The 27th annual Syracuse Cruise-In will occur May 15. Chamber Executive Director Tammy Cotton stated food vendors will once again be set up in the upper parking along Main Street and both the chamber office and Grace Lutheran Church will have restrooms open to the public.

Cotton noted they hope to have cars parked on both sides of SR 13 this year, too. In addition to the classic cars on display, there will be a band, clowns and more. Chamber Assistant Director Kristi Martin is completing work on a flyer to advertise the event.

Work continues on the chamber’s annual golf outing, which will occur June 17 at Maxwelton Golf Club. Like last year, there will be two tee times, one at 8 a.m. and the other following at 1 p.m. Teams of four can still take advantage of the early bird specials, which runs until May 1. For information, contact the chamber at (574) 457-5637.

The golf outing is one of the chamber’s biggest networking events of the year and offers unique opportunities for businesses to be recognized through various sponsorship opportunities. The golf outing task force, chaired by Chris Cotton, will be searching for sponsors for the event.

Prep work is also continuing for the 2016 Indiana Bicentennial. Martin, who also attends the Kosciusko County Bicentennial group’s meetings, stated the subgroup in Syracuse is talking about several different events for the bicentennial. Another effort is to have the Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay pass through or closer to Syracuse.

In other chamber news:

• Kristy Rumfelt, longtime Syracuse resident and wife of Rustin Rumfelt, owner of Beyond Landscaping, and Kathy Miller of Parker Hannifin were approved as new board members, filling two vacated positions.
• Four new businesses were welcomed into the chamber: Adventure in Health, Dr. Rod Kaufman, Sweeper Remedy and Total Property Care.
• The chamber’s new welcome to Syracuse signs will be going before the board of zoning appeals for approval. It was also noted several nonprofits are onboard with the project.
• The next Lunch N Learn is slated from 11:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. April 22. It will be led by Mutual Bank and address small business loans, both for startups and existing businesses.
• The chamber is working on a program to bring businesses into Wawasee High School to speak to students, in regards to careers and what certain job sectors require.

The next board meeting will be at noon May 6 in the chamber office.