Faribault Business Leaders make Trek to St. Paul
March 12, 2010 by Todd
A contingent of Faribault Chamber Members and about 20 members of 2010 Faribault’s Future Leadership class visited the State Capitol on Wednesday, March 10 joining more than 500 business leaders in St. Paul as part of the annual Minnesota Business Day at the Capitol, the largest business lobbying day in Minnesota.
The group met with both state Rep. Patti Fritz and Sen. Mike Parry during the visit as well as other business leaders from around the state. There was also a tour of the capitol and time to watch the legislators at work.
“I think it’s an exciting opportunity for the Chamber as the business advocate within our community to have an opportunity to meet face-to-face with our local representatives. To give them our position on what’s important to business today so they can act for the local constituents,” said Todd Markman, president of Reliance Bank, immediate past chair of the Chamber and current board member.
“I really do believe our legislators want to see and hear from us,” said Markman.
Click on the photos to enlarge and see more photos from the trip!
Workforce Committee hosts Career Fest
March 10, 2010 by Todd
The Faribault Area Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development Committee hosted a Career Fest on March 9 at South Central College in Faribault. Career Fest sessions covered nearly 54 different careers, with more than 80 local business volunteers and about 380 high school juniors attending.
Students also participated in a Game Show on career trends in the region, produced by iSeek, which is a branch of DEED supporting career transitions for adults and career explorations for youth.
Click on the photos to see larger version
Business Expo set for April 29 – Download Brochure
March 1, 2010 by Todd
The Faribault Area Business Expo is returning to the Faribault Ice Arena on Thursday, April 29 from 2pm to 7pm. Register your Business by March 31 to get the location you want and save $75. Once again we are proud to offer the non-profit Community Organization area sponsored by the Faribault Foundation. If you are a non-profit organization interested in being in the Expo at a reduced price, contact Todd at the Chamber office.
Expo Brochure Contract 2010 .pdf
Expo Brochure Map 2010 .pdf
Chamber Welcomes Membership Sales Associate
February 18, 2010 by Todd
The Chamber office welcomed Mitch Anderson today as a part-time Membership Sales Associate. Mitch will assist the Chamber with Membership activities while he continues to build his customer base as a Financial Advisor with Johnson Advisors. Welcome Mitch!
Chamber Provides Customer Service Seminar
February 16, 2010 by Todd
Meeting of the Minds - Customer Service Seminar
On Tuesday, February 16 as part of its ‘Meeting of the Minds” Seminar series, the Chamber provided a program on Customer Service. This is a topic that Chamber Members said they wanted to get more information about during the PIE member input discussions last Fall. The title of the presentation was, “Recipe for Retention” How do you keep and grow your #1 asset - Your Customers!
A special Thank You goes to Jen Hauzer, Employment Consultant/Speaker from the Workforce Center for making the presentation. It was a lively discussion with great comments from those who attended.
Meeting of the Minds brings members together around a topic, with a member expert to lead the discussion. The next Meeting of the Minds is Business Gives, “How to say Yes and When to say No” on March 16. Find more details on the Chamber calendar.
“The Coffee Shop” Opens
February 16, 2010 by Todd
Congratulations to owners Jodie Chappuis and Beth Mathewson along with all the staff on opening “The Coffee Shop” in downtown Faribault. The new shop is located in the spot that was previously held by “Javalive!”
The space is renovated and looks great! Stop in for some coffee and check out their menu that consists of sandwiches, soups, muffins and a whole bunch of other goodies.
Photos from the Chamber Gala
It was a wonderful night of celebrating Chamber Membership and passing the gavel from 2009 Board Chair Todd Markman of Reliance Bank to 2010 Board Chair Troy Zabinski of Met-Con Companies. After the dinner and program, magician Jerry Frasier entertained the audience with some amazing tricks – including floating Chamber Board member Dr. Lisa Humfeld of Humfeld Family Chiropractic.
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS OR GO TO “THE CHAMBER” TAB ABOVE AND CLICK ON CHAMBER PHOTOS
Toastmasters
February 1, 2010 by Kymn
Toastmasters International is a professional development club, focused on boosting confidence and improvement in your speaking skills. Whether you are presenting information to small groups in your club or organization, making sales presentations or preparing to speak to large crowds, Toastmasters has a well designed program to help you. The meetings are fun too!
Being a successful Toastmaster will allow you to:
- easily lead teams and conduct proficient meetings
- comfortably give and receive constructive evaluation
- speak easily and concisely on impromptu topics
- prepare for giving reports, presentations or speeches in your work or home life
- build leadership skills through participation that will increase your management potential.
You are welcome to come and observe a meeting and join the group anytime.
Toastmasters meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 12:15 – 1:15 at the Chamber office.
Faribault’s Future
February 1, 2010 by Kymn
The purpose of Faribault’s Future is to identify emerging leaders, to develop and broaden their knowledge of the community and inspire them to become leaders within Faribault. The class meets monthly from September to June and each session features presentations by acknowledged community leaders and experts in specific fields, as well as group discussions, hands on experience and team building activities.
In 2009 Faribault’s Future entered into an agreement with South Central College which for the first time allows participants to earn college credit. Brian Knutson came on as the program facilitator. This is an exciting new step for the program.
The program has two pillars, Leadership Development and Community Awareness.
The Executive Team is responsible for establishing the overall curriculum for the program and contracting for the delivery of the leadership elements of the program.
Officers of the 2010 Faribault’s Future Committee
- Chair: Dan Hedge – Pantheon Computer Systems
- Treasurer: Mitch Anderson – Johnson Advisors
- Program Chair: Liz Holtorf – Faribault Daily News
- Marketing Chair: Lisa Evert – State Bank of Faribault
If you would like to be part of the 2010-11 class or have one of your employees join the class, contact the Chamber for a application.
Y-Pro
February 1, 2010 by The Chamber
Y-Pro Club Can Help You Build Your Career!
The goal of Y-pro is to build relationships and opportunities, provide educational and professional development, build awareness of local issues, contribute to the community and keep young professionals living and working in the area.
Target group: Young Professionals age 21-39
The Y-Pro Club group flourished in their inaugural year with successful events that included networking, informational seminars, fun outings and making business to business connections.
Monthly Lunches
• Monday Feb. 15 @ Signature Bar & Grill
• Friday March 19 @ Godfather’s Pizza
Tentative 2010 Events
- Thursday Feb 25
- Thursday June 3
- Thursday Sept 9
- Thursday Dec 2
