DOWAGIAC — A local business will be taking Dowagiac residents and business leaders back in time for the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce’s next business after hours event.

Leader Publications will be hosting a business after hours event from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at the Dowagiac Area History Museum, 201 E. Division St., Dowagiac. Business after hours is regularly hosted by chamber members for the purpose of promoting local businesses and networking. At the event, light appetizers, wine and beer will be served.

Leader Publications is a publication company that produces several local publications including, The Dowagiac Daily News, The Niles Daily Star, The Edwardsburg Argus, The Cassopolis Vigilant, Michiana Life, South Bend Life and The Leader.

“Although our home office is located in Niles, we are very much a part of the Dowagiac community and work hard to maintain our presence there,” said Leader Publications’ General Manager Ambrosia Neldon. “We produce newspapers five days a week, but want to be civically engaged and contributing back to the community. We thought hosting an after-hours event would be a fun, new way to engage with Dowagiac businesses.”

Neldon said that partnering with the Greater Dowagiac Chamber of Commerce for the business after hours event was a good fit because the chamber and Leader Publications have a shared goal in promoting Dowagiac businesses.

“While the chamber facilitates networking between businesses, Leader Publications offers a variety of marketing platforms to help businesses get the word out about the great work they are doing,” she said.

Leader Publications is teaming up with the Dowagiac Area History Museum, where the event will be hosted for the business after hours.

“The old saying goes that journalists write the rough drafts of history books. In many ways, the Dowagiac Area History Museum and Leader Publications share the same mission.,” Neldon said. “Leader Publications’ news products, including the Dowagiac Daily News, document current events. The Dowagiac Area History Museum preserves and catalogs that documentation, so that generations to come can look back and recall how Dowagiac was impacted by what is happening right now.”

Museum Director Steve Arseneau said he was looking forward to hosting the event with Leader Publications as it will give the business community a chance to explore the museum and learn more about community history. As the museum has copies of the Dowagiac Daily News dating back to the 1870s, Arseneau said he is hoping to display some at the business after hours.

“It seemed like a natural fit,” he said. “This event is with the business community, and I think it is important for the business community to see what the museum has to offer and what kind of exhibits we have, so they can maybe send their patrons to the museum to learn about Dowagiac’s history.”

Both Neldon and Arseneau said they hope the Dowagiac business community will attend event and learn more about both the business and the museum.

“We look forward to an opportunity to see many of our partners, new business leaders and community members from throughout the region Wednesday,” Neldon said. “We hope you all come out and get a peek into the past of Dowagiac and Cass County by looking at newspapers from throughout the years, enjoy some snacks and drinks and have a great time.”

To attend, RSVP by Nov. 12 by calling (269) 782-8212 or email vphillipson@dowagiac.org.