| 12/10/01 PNC Bank, Somerset Hills Hotel, Appliance Master, Inc. Newest Sponsor & Members PNC Bank has become a Bronze Sponsor of SHBN, joining Online Trading Company, Inc. and other local companies to strengthen the Somerset Hills business community. The Somerset Hills Hotel has become a Charter Member, and Appliance Master of Flemington an Associate Member. We will be preparing profiles on each company in a few days, and also posting special offers from these members to other local businesses joining the network. | Part of our philosophy is to build the features and benefits of the network around our members' needs and interests, rather than trying to fit every business into a predefined structure. Consequently you'll see new features added as we grow, and our emphasis will evolve over time to meet the changing needs of members. Initially our goal is to assist each of our member companies to increase sales, reduce costs, or provide new services through participation in the network. |  | In the case of our latest members, this may mean some very different things. In the case of PNC Bank, we are switching our own business accounts, and exploring with the bank the kinds of special services they are interested in offering to other members. With the Somerset Hills Hotel our goal is to describe the business services available through the hotel, and to begin to explore ways in which local companies can supply more of the $2 million in goods and services that the hotel complex buys each year. In the case of Appliance Master (whose web site, at www.appliancemaster.com, we are also responsible for developing), our goal is to assist this well-established company in a number of areas, from ongoing software development, through to possible nationwide expansion into a network of appliance-repair territories. In the Somerset Hills area, Appliance Master is interested in recruiting new repair technicians, setting up service agreements with several local companies, and offering discounts to members. Appliance Master repairs over 80 brands of household appliances and such commercial and industrial appliances as freezers and cooking ranges, and does so more efficiently and economically than the OEMs. Stay posted for more information on each of these companies... |