The Connection. Crossroads Golf. Annual Meeting

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1 The Connection CHAMBER NEWSLETTER MARCH APRIL 2017 It s Annual Meeting time... Calendar of Events Mar 7 Chamber board meeting Mar 20 CVB board meeting Mar 28 Annual Meeting Apr 4 Chamber board meeting Apr Chamber office closed Apr Tourism Industry Conf. Annual Meeting Carrington Area Chamber of Commerce Carrington Community Development Corp Convention & Visitors Bureau Job Development Authority Crossroads Golf March 28, 2017 Social 5pm ~ Dinner 6:00pm $15.00 per person Available at City Hall & Chamber office Booth space available - Call the Chamber office. Chamber Board Kerry Anderson Dennis Swanson Katie Florhaug Jeff Welk Nikki Mertz Amie Aesoph Drew Higgins The board meets the first Tuesday of each month. Find out more - Find out more about Chamber and community activities by listening to Here s What s Happening on KDAK radio Mondays at 8:40 am, on KSJB radio on Tuesdays at 1:08 pm and reading the occasional Chamber Chatter articles in the Foster County Independent. An goes out each Monday morning outlining the events of the week in the Central City. Sign up for your free each week by contacting the Chamber office

2 PAGE 2 THE CONNECTION Ambassador Visits Ambassador Carrington Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors held a ribbon cutting for Gussiaas Electric LLP, owner Chris Gussiaas, recently. Gussiaas Electric has been in business since 2015 here in Carrington. Gussiaas is happy to return to the area and is interested in building a shop in the future. He handles all types of electrical work including: commercial, farm and residential along with cable locating and trenching services. Gussiaas Electric LLP is one of our Chamber s newest members. He can be reached at Pictured left to right are: Chris Bichler, Jeff Welk, Denise Schuchard, Kaya Engen, Owner Christopher Gussiaas, Katie Florhaug, Brianne Partlow and Paul Zink. Pictured Left to Right are: Dr. Vern Anderson, Brianne Partlow, barber Jeremy Mehlhoff, Katie Florhaug and Kaya Engen. Chamber Ambassadors held a ribbon cutting at DAKOTA RAZOR to recognize the new location of Jeremy Mehlhoff's barber shop! Now located at 12th Ave and Main St Carrington (inside of Larsen Plumbing, Heating & A/C building). Of note, this is the 15th Anniversary since Jeremy brought Dakota Razor to Carrington! Congrats Jeremy!

3 THE CONNECTION PAGE 3 Employee of the Month Congratulations to PJ Lura of Carrington Medical Center Clinic who has received the Employee of the Month honor for January from our Chamber! Way to go PJ! PJ was nominated because "She is always there to help! She goes above & beyond no matter who you are. Always very pleasant & friendly. She never makes you feel like you are bothering her - she's always very welcoming! Have you received exceptional service or had someone go above and beyond in their job? You can nominate them to receive the Chamber s Employee of the Month award. The nomination form is available at the Chamber office or online on our website Renewing Your Chamber Membership First quarter membership renewals have gone out. We sincerely appreciate your support as our board of directors works diligently to put your dollars to work for our members and community. A focus in 2017 has been workforce challenges along with childcare shortages and rental housing. The Carrington Industry Roundtable discussions have been helpful is identifying those needs and some solutions. On your membership renewal form you will have the opportunity to give financial support to this endeavor. We have begun a marketing campaign known as Consider Carrington. Please take a moment to check out the new FACEBOOK page Consider Carrington! Pasta Days Planning Many events and activities are being planned for our Pasta Days Celebration. Music, food, kids activities, contests and more! Come and be a part of the excitement we meet monthly to finalize details. Contact the Chamber / CVB office today to find out more! chambergal@daktel.com

4 THE CONNECTION PAGE 4 Board Member Profile We have three new board members starting their terms in They are Amie Aesoph of Dakota Growers Pasta Co., Drew Higgins of Leevers Foods and Nikki Mertz of Farm Credit Services. This month we ll highlight Nikki Mertz. Nikki works at Farm Credit Services in appraisal as a qualified evaluator. She has most recently served on the Carrington Convention & Visitors Bureau for 6 years. She is married to Chris Mertz and they have two children Emma and Oliver. They have been active in the Carrington community for 13.5 years. We look forward to working with Nikki in continuing to make Carrington a great place to live, work and play! Chamber office closed Sorry for any inconvenience. The Chamber office will be closed April and also April Welcome Bags for New Residents The Chamber puts together the Welcome bags for new residents in our community. If you have something from your business that you would like to contribute please contact the Chamber office. You are invited to submit coupons, pens, little freebies, business cards, brochures or whatever you would like to promote your business. Don t miss this chance to get the word out about what you have to offer!

5 PAGE 5 THE CONNECTION Board meeting minutes CHAMBER BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 14, :00 NOON PIZZA RANCH ATTENDING: Kerry Anderson, Jeff Welk, Katie Florhaug, Amie Aesoph, Dennis Swanson, and Laurie Dietz. ABSENT: Drew Higgins, Nikki Mertz. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Kerry Anderson. Katie moved to approve the minutes of the January 10, 2017 meeting, seconded by Dennis. Motion carried. Financial report was presented. Dennis moved to approve the financial report, seconded by Katie. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS Committee reports: Ambassadors Recently held a ribbon cutting at Dakota Razor (new location) and also Gussiaas Electric. Pageant Cancelled for this year and nothing new to report. Birding Drives Dakota Festival planning is going well. Festival will be held June The new birding booklets are in. Healthy Communities Minutes of the last meeting were shared. The upcoming meeting is February 27. Welcome Wagon Getting 2-3 more bags ready to deliver. Carrington Endowment Applications for funding will be received through March 15. One app has come in already. Membership Update First quarter renewals have gone out, some are returned already. CDC JDA CVB: CDC Has not met since November 22. CVB - minutes were shared. They are working on ideas for the Pasta Celebration in July JDA- No report but Dennis did share some committee information. - Carrington Garden Club: Dennis updated the board on the recent happenings with the Garden Club. Upcoming Garden Club Social event on March 6 everyone is welcome to attend. Retail & Promotion Committee (Scratch Off Christmas Promotion): We received 6 completed surveys back and all indicated they would participate again. Noted that we need to improve the promotion of the 2nd Chance Drawings etc. - Building signage: The sign has been installed and it looks great along with the new lettering on the door. - Pasta Days Celebration: DGPC would like to hold a fun evening and meal in the park during the week of the celebration most likely Wednesday. The Color Splash Fun Run is being organized for Thursday, July 13. A Golf Tourney at Crossroads will be held on Saturday. CVB is working on a street dance for July 14. Another community planning meeting is scheduled for Feb 16 at 6:30 pm at the Chieftain. -Carrington Industry Roundtable Discussions: The last meeting was held Thursday, December 15 at noon at the Chieftain. A strategic planning session was held on February 1 at the CREC from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm. Amie reported on this. Our next roundtable discussion in scheduled for Thursday, Feb 16 at noon at the CREC. Lunch will be provided by Casey s. Childcare Appreciation evening is scheduled for Feb 21 for local childcare providers to an evening where we offer food, door prizes etc to show them appreciation. Also Verla Jung from Childcare Resource and Referral will be there with information for them and hopefully others who are interested in starting up local childcare. -Christmas Cash Program: Total redeemed this season: $78, Electronic Sign: Dennis reported that he has been in touch with Indigo Signs and there will be a sign demonstration at the Hedahls parking lot on Wednesday, Feb 15 at noon. Any board members are welcome to come by and check it out. Still looking for grants and funding sources. -Scholarship Program: This scholarship is geared toward students that are employed by Chamber member businesses. As of today, we have received one application. -Annual Meeting of Chamber, CDC, CVB, JDA: The date will be Tuesday, March 28 with a social at 5 pm and meal served at 6 pm with reports following. This year we will be at Crossroads Golf with Woodward Farm catering the meal. Discussion on details (speakers, food, prizes etc). NEW BUSINESS -Lead Local, Customer Service, & Grant Writing Workshops etc: Discussion on holding any workshops this spring. It was decided to host Lead Local every other year (so 2018), CVB is considering holding the Welcome To Our Town training again. Discussed having a grant writing workshop hosted by the Center for Rural Health (no fee for workshop). Dates were discussed. APPROVAL OF BILLS: Katie moved to approve and pay all bills presented. Seconded by Amie. Motion carried. NEXT MEETING DATE: March 7 at Bordulac Bar & Grill. Meeting adjourned.

6 CHAMBER NEWSLETTER PAGE 6 Board meeting minutes CHAMBER BOARD MEETING MARCH 7, :00 NOON CHIEFTAIN ATTENDING: Kerry Anderson, Jeff Welk, Nikki Mertz, Katie Florhaug, Amie Aesoph, Dennis Swanson, and Laurie Dietz. AB- SENT: Drew Higgins. The meeting place was changed due to the weather. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Kerry Anderson. Jeff moved to approve the minutes of the February 14, 2017 meeting, seconded by Amie. Motion carried. Financial report was presented. Nikki moved to approve the financial report, seconded by Dennis. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS Committee reports: Ambassadors Laurie reported she has been in touch with several businesses for visits and will be scheduling some shortly. Pageant Cancelled for this year and nothing new to report. Birding Drives Dakota Registrations are coming in. Festival will be held June Lots of phone inquiries. Healthy Communities Minutes of the last meeting were shared. The upcoming meeting is March 21. Welcome Wagon Recently got 4 welcome bags out. Carrington Endowment Applications for funding will be received through March 15. Membership Update Renewals are coming in. Discussion on the non-members list. CDC JDA CVB: CDC Met on February 23. Board is receptive to funding for Consider Carrington. Also pledged money towards electronic sign for our community. CVB - minutes were shared. They are working on ideas for the Pasta Celebration in July JDA- Dennis shared some information. The JDA board would like representatives from the various boards to visit about dollars for the Consider Carrington Initiative. We ll be setting up a meeting very soon. -Carrington Garden Club: Dennis updated the board on the social held this week. Roundabout plans continue, the NDDOT is taking bids for the plants from vendors. Planting will take place in June. Flowers in the baskets will be planted soon. The Garden Club is very active and a busy group and several awards were given out at the social. Retail & Promotion Committee No meeting. - Pasta Days Celebration: Planning is coming along. Next meeting is March 14 at 6:30 pm at the Pizza Ranch. A working itinerary was shared with the board. Still need a few more chairs for some events but it s coming together. Discussion on mac & cheese competition. -Carrington Industry Roundtable Discussions: The last meeting was held Thursday, February 16 at noon at the CREC. Had some new faces at the table. A representative from KVLY TV shared information on a media campaign and ideas. This was well received. A meeting of the representatives from the board of the Chamber, CDC, CVB and JDA will be set up very soon to discuss funding and more. Thus far, $ has been received in support of the program from businesses renewing their Chamber membership. The childcare appreciation event went well. Discussion on support or incentives for current and new providers was discussed. Electronic Sign: Dennis reported that he is working with Jess Earle (county Emergency Manager) on a possible grant, also getting more bids on signs etc. This would be a great asset for our whole community. -Scholarship Program: This scholarship is geared toward students that are employed by Chamber member businesses. As of today, we have received one application. Deadline is April 1. -Annual Meeting of Chamber, CDC, CVB, JDA: The date will be Tuesday, March 28 with a social at 5 pm and meal served at 6 pm with reports following. This year we will be at Crossroads Golf with Woodward Farm catering the meal. Discussion on details (speakers, food, prizes etc). - Customer Service & Grant Writing Workshops etc: Discussion on holding workshops this spring ex: Welcome To Our Town training. Looking for a date and CVB will host. A grant writing workshop hosted by the Center for Rural Health (no fee for workshop) will be held on Thursday, April 27. CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

7 CHAMBER NEWSLETTER PAGE 7 Board meeting minutes continued... NEW BUSINESS -Spring City Wide Yard Sales: Will be held on May 20. Laurie has received some inquiries already. -Fundraising for Fireworks: Discussion on ideas for fundraising. It was decided to go ahead with a Burger & Brat Stand at Leevers. Laurie will check on available dates. -Chamber Golf Day: Set for June 13. Will work on details in the coming weeks. -Office Interior Update: Laurie commented that perhaps the flooring could be updated at the very least. Discussion on flooring options. Kerry and Laurie will get some ideas together. APPROVAL OF BILLS: Dennis moved to approve and pay all bills presented. Seconded by Jeff. Motion carried. NEXT MEETING DATE: April 4 at Bordulac Bar & Grill. Meeting adjourned. North Dakota Travel Industry Conference The annual ND Travel Industry Conference will be held April This year the conference will be held in Bismarck. Our Carrington CVB will sponsor a booth highlighting the PASTA DAYS CELEBRATION. The conference is open to those who are working in the tourism industry or would like to learn more about it. There are several keynote speakers throughout the three days along with the Governor s Awards Luncheon. During April 17-19, the Chamber office will be closed. Please contact Chairman Kerry Anderson at Central City Lumber for any emergent needs. Potholes & Prairie Birding Festival June 14-18, 2017 Looking for volunteers!

8 CHAMBER NEWSLETTER PAGE 8 Carrington City Wide Yard Sales Our Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring two City Wide Yard Sales again this year. The Spring Sale will be held on Saturday, May 20 from 8 am to 4 pm. It s just $5 to list your site with us. We will promote the sites via FACEBOOK, the Foster County Independent, on our website as well as copies of the listings at Casey s General Store and Cenex C-store. Sign up deadline is May 10 before noon. The Fall Sale will be held on Sept 16. Consider Carrington Initiative What s it all about? It s about employment opportunities, a great and growing community, affordable housing, childcare, community assets, moving forward and more! Come to the Annual Meeting on March 28 at Crossroads Golf to hear about it or stop by the Chamber office! Carrington Garden Club The Carrington Garden Club had a very busy first year. Some of the highlights include: A Pot Party (planting flowerpots), organizing the spectacular hanging flower baskets around Carrington, a Fair Booth, had an entry in the Independence Day parade, came up with a beautiful and creative landscape plan for our new roundabout, have initiated a FACEBOOK page, had an entry in the Christmas Light Parade and more! The Carrington Garden Club meets on the first Monday of each month. If anyone would like more information, please contact the Chamber office at or co-chairs Dennis Swanson and Lori Cook. They welcome new members!

9 CHAMBER NEWSLETTER PAGE 9 Joint Annual Meeting Plans are underway for the Annual Meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, Convention & Visitors Bureau, Community Development Corporation and the Job Development Authority. This event will be held on Tuesday, March 28 at Crossroads Golf. There will be booth space available if anyone would like to display or showcase something from their business or organization. Join us for a social at 5 pm and the meeting will kick off with the meal at 6 pm and reports to follow. Tickets are available at the Chamber office and also City Hall. Trivia Time How many years has Birding Drives Dakota held an Annual Potholes & Prairie Birding Festival? A. 11 B. 15 C. 20 Winner and answer for the last question: Kevin Peterson correctly chose 18 as the number of participating businesses in our Scratch & WIN promotion! Be the FIRST person to the Chamber office with the correct trivia answer and you could WIN a free small pizza courtesy of the Carrington Pizza Ranch! chambergal@daktel.com Like us on Facebook keep up with what s happening with the Carrington Area Chamber of Commerce and also our Carrington Convention & Visitors Bureau! NEW: Consider Carrington! CHECK IT OUT TODAY! Carrington Cash Puzzled over what to buy for that birthday, anniversary or thank you gift? How about CARRINGTON CASH? Available at the Chamber office it s great for gift giving for that hard to buy for person! We have two denominations fives and twenties.

10 Carrington Area Chamber of Commerce 871 Main Street Carrington, ND Phone: Like Us! Looking ahead - Here are some dates to jot down on your calendar: April 21 Crossroads Golf Annual Night Out Dueling Pianos April 29 CMC Auxiliary s Tablescapes event May 20 Spring City Wide Yard Sales June 11 LegenDAIRY II (open house at VanBedaf Dairy) June Potholes & Prairie Birding Festival June 13 Annual Chamber Golf Day June Foster County Fair July 4 Parade & Fireworks July Pasta Days (celebrating 25 yrs since groundbreaking at DGPC)