Chamber Chatter - December 2015

BEULAH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

DECEMBER 2015 VOLUME 28, ISSUE 12

CHAMBER CHATTER

2015 Board of Directors

Linda Pouliot, President Jerald Isaak, Vice President

Bill Suter, Director Deb Schafer, Director

Sylvia Zeiszler, Director Marie Mettler, Director

Chastity Dolbec, Director Brent Torgerson, Director

Maverick Thompson, Director Leanne Stiefel, Director Amber Skalsky, Director

Staff Sarah Tunge,

Executive Director Terry Morrison,

Office Technicican Denise Brorby, Office Assistant

Publication First Day of the Month

Deadline Third Thursday of the month For both copy and advertising

Chamber Office 300 Highway 49 S

P.O. Box 730 Beulah, ND 58523

701-873-4585 phone 800-441-2649 toll free

701-873-5361 fax [email protected] www.visitbeulah.com

22nd Annual Chamber Chili BINGO It was a beautiful November evening and the crowds came out to enjoy great chili, amazing BINGO calling and good friends! This year marked the 22nd year of chili bingo for the Chamber. The community enjoyed beef or white chicken chili and played 20+ games of bingo. “We could-n’t host community events like these without the help of local businesses,” according to Sarah Tunge, Chamber Executive Director. “The business community helped us by providing prize donations, monetary donations and of course allowing employees to help at the event itself!” Over 175 people ate chili and about 300 bingo cards were used throughout the night. Prizes ranged from frozen turkeys, gas cards and hair products to $500 worth of Beulah Bucks! Thanks again to all the businesses who helped make this a suc-cessful event—The Beulah Chamber appreciates you all!

Department of Health Public Meeting Success! The turnout for the Department of Health public meeting on November 12th was incredible! There were over 600 brats and hamburgers served and over 750 people in attendance at the meeting itself! This would not have been possible without sup-port from businesses and individuals in Beulah, Hazen and the surrounding areas. The impact on State officials was huge. They left with an understanding of how

important the Lignite energy industry is to not only our region but the state and the nation. The people who provided comments were insightful, provocative and pas-sionate about the need to fight the Clean Power Plan. Thank you for all your hard work and keep an eye out for continued infor-mation on this. The fight isn’t over!

PAGE 2 CHAMBER CHATTER

TUNGE’S TAKE

It’sTheMostWonderfulTimeoftheYear!IhopeyouallmadeitthroughThanksgivingandareontherolltowardsChristmas!Novemberwasacrazymonth.Theoutpouringofsupportshownfortheligniteenergyindustrywasamazing.IcannotbelievehowmanypeopleattendedtheNDDepartmentofHealthmeetingonthe12th.Icantellyouourcommunitymadeasigni icantimpressiononthestateof icialsthatwereinat-tendance.SomanyofyouhelpedwiththeeveningandIappreciateyoursupport!ThefollowingweekwehostedanothersuccessfuleventinChiliBingo.Weservedabout175peopleandsoldover300bingocards!Itwasafunevening illedwithlaughterandvisiting.Thekidswhowerepresentwonsomegreatprizesandhadagreattime!TheBeulahCheerteamsoldoutoftheiryummybakedgoods!ThebingocallingteamofSuter,IsaakandTorgersondidanamazingjobasdidtherun-ners,kitchenhelpersandticketsellers.Ofcoursenoneofitwouldhavebeenpossiblewithouttheset-upcrewandthefantasticsupportfromlocalbusinesses!Thankyouallsomuch.TheChamberandCVBwillbegivingapresentationtotheCityCouncilonMondayDecember7th.Thepresentationrelatestothecurrentbuildingwe’rerenting,remodelingoptionsandwhattheChamberandCVBhavebeendoingforthecommunity.Theboardofdirectorshasbeenlookingatoptionsforup-datingandcreatingamorewelcominginvitingspacefortheof ice.WereallywanttopresentthebestimageofBeulahthatwecan.ThehopeisthattheCityandJDAwillpartnerwithusontheremodelingprojecttomakeimprovementstothecurrentspace.St.Nick’sPickskickedoffonShopSmallSaturdayNovember28th!Wereceivedsomereallygreattotes,postersandotherpromotionalitemsforShopSmallSaturdaythatwentouttobusinesses.Iwouldliketocontinuethismovementandbuildonitforthecomingyear!TheHometownHolidayWalk-AroundissetforTuesdayDecember8thfrom4:30pm-7:00pm.Sofarwehaveover20businessessigneduptoparticipateallovertown.Therewillbesoups,burgers,tacos,sweettreats,doorprizesandevenavendorshow!I’mexcitedforafun- illedevening!Santawillbeintownaswell.He’llbetakingphotoswithchildrenattheBeulahCityHallfrom3:30pm-7:00pm.FollowingtheWalkAroundplantojoinusatJ&MHardwarefortheChamberChristmasSocial.JerryandMonicaIsaakhavegraciouslyagreedtohostusthisyear.Stopinformorefood,drinksandgreatcompany.Iwanttothankeachofyouforallyoursupportoverthepastfewmonths.WehavemadegreatstridesinmovingtheChamberandCVBinanewdirection.Iseegreatthingscomingin2016andwehavesomanyideasandplans,Icannotwaittogetstarted!EveryoneintheChamberof icewishesyoutheMerriestofChristmases!Cheers,Sarah


In 1924 Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. was created to serve a handful of small farm communities in. Since then the company has grown into a large regional energy supplier. During those years of growth, the name has changed a few times, a number of smaller companies have been acquired and work has been done to progress side-by-side with those we serve.

Today, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. is a division of MDU Resources Group, Inc., a diversified natural resources company based in Bismarck, N.D. that provides retail natural gas and/or electric service to parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. There is a service area of more than 168,000 square miles (5.5 percent of the continental United States) serving about 384,000 customers.

Over the years, Montana-Dakota has adopted the slogan "In the Community to Serve," and they believe in those words. Thier success as a company is rooted in the growth and prosperity of the communities they are in. MDU is a company committed to helping meet tomorrow's challenges and opportunities by

providing affordable and relia-ble energy services.

For more information about MDU Re- sources, visit the company’s

website at www.mdu.com.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

The Beulah City Christmas Tree has arrived!

Thank you so much to the City of Beulah Public Works, Roughrider Electric Cooperative, MDU

and West River Telecommunications for their as-sistance in setting the tree up.

We have a beautiful Christmas tree this year! Make sure to take a drive or a stroll down Main Street to

ooh and ahh over it!

http://www.mdu.com/



Small-business Savvy: Avoid Being the Best-kept Secret You are finishing a sale when your customer comments on how great your place is and how he wishes he had known about it before. Is your business the “best-kept secret?” While that question should make you smile, it also should raise a concern. Reaching your full potential will not hap-pen if people don’t know your business exists. Do you wonder if your marketing plan is working? Or have you even put a marketing plan together? You want the name of your business and what it does on the mind of your entire target audience and more. You want them to have a positive view of your reputation and the service you offer. However, building a customer base doesn’t just happen. It takes a great deal of work. In this example, you could have asked the customer how he learned of your business. You also might ask more about his experience and what would have made it even better. Finally, tell the customer you are trying to build your audience and ask for his help by: * Telling his friends * Letting you use him as a reference * Completing online reviews. This means knowing which sites - Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google Places, etc. - list re-views for your business. If you don’t have any reviews, now is the time to change that. Those are some steps you can take with that customer. Now think about how you can work some of these same re-quests into your conversation with every customer you see today, tomorrow and next week. Keep track of the answers you get. Compile them. Then look at these comments to update your marketing plan. What efforts are working? Where are you getting a return for your investment? Continued on Page 6

How America Is Saving Money: Spending less on new clothes: 53% Cutting down on out-of-home entertainment: 48% Saving on gas and electricity: 50% Switching to cheaper grocery brands: 46% Cutting down on take-out meals: 46%

Source: Nielsen


CONT. from page 5 Marketing is not a “one and done” effort. You need to get your name in front of someone three to four times before he or she will remember it. And getting people to come in your door may take five to seven exposures. Furthermore, customers don’t remember. More than 50 percent of cus-tomers will forget your business within 30 days if you stop marketing. None of this look at marketing addresses what media to use, whether it’s traditional or online/social. You need both, but the level and type of each need to be customer-driven. Plus your marketing plan needs to address the future. In marketing today, much of the future looks to be in the mo-bile arena. So what’s the goal? It’s to never hear a customer say your business is the best-kept secret! More information is available at your local Extension of-fice, as well as at http://powerofbusiness.net and www.eXtension.org/entrepreneurship. The Small Business Administration and its related organi-zations, such as the Small Business Development Centers and Service Corps of Retired Executives, along with many other state agencies, also can be valuable resources.

NDSU Agriculture Communication Source: Glenn Muske, (701) 328-9718, [email protected] Editor: Ellen Crawford, (701) 231-5391, [email protected]

Pumpkin Everything

If it seems like pumpkin is everywhere this time of year, that’s because it is. According to Nielsen data, 37% of U.S. consumers purchased a pumpkin-flavored product in 2014, with pumpkin products accounting for $361 million in sales in the last year. The category has grown 79% since 2011 and now includes every-thing from pumpkin-flavored dog food to chewing gum. But where does this leave real pumpkins? In the backseat, unfortunately. Sales of fresh pumpkins have been declining, with unit sale losses over the last three years accounting for 8.6 million fewer pumpkins sold. Source: Green Profit

http://www.eXtension.org/entrepreneurship

mailto:[email protected]


Chamber Christmas Social Tuesday December 8th

7pm J & M Hardware

Come enjoy food, drink and great company!

Chamber Annual Meeting

Monday January 11th 6pm

Beulah Civic Center

Mark Your Calendar!

Friday Chats With NDSU Extension PLEASE Join Us on Friday, December 4th at 11:15 a.m. CST for our Friday 15 Live Chat with Dr. James Barnes – “Facebook Ads Made Simple." He will share several lessons learned from the @MSUExtService Program called @MississippiBricksToClicks (www.msbrickstoclicks.com). To see the session, go to: https://plus.google.com/events/c47dat1q387r0d3201tqdkibnf4?authkey=CI3j-6Gyz_i_2AE or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evrrqRK0ZWI

CHRISTMAS & NEW YEAR Holiday CLOSURES

Beulah Chamber and

Beulah Motor Vehicle Branch Will be closed

December 24-25

& December 31-January 1

Succession Planning Workshop for Farm and Ranch Families

NDSU Extension presents a three session course to assist participants as they explore what they want for their business, how to discuss it in the

family and how to start creating a succession plan. There are case studies, discussion and a work-

book.

Pre-registration is required.

Beulah Course dates: Jan 7,11 & 14th

Please contact NDSU Extension Service Mercer County 873-5195 for more details.

13th Annual Big Buck Contest Saturday January 9, 2016

Civic Center—Beulah, ND

Dinner Serving at 5:30pm

Swiss Steak, Potatoes, Vegetable, & Rolls Meal Tickets:

$15 advanced/ $20 at the door

Big Buck Contest Gun Raffle Tickets $50/ticket buys you 12 chances to win 1 or more

prizes! Drawing at 6pm Jan 9th

Big Buck Contest

1st and 2nd prizes for: Mule Deer Buck White Tail Buck

Special Youth Contest—White Tail & Mule Deer

Meal and Raffle tickets available at J & M Hard-ware & The Chamber Office!

http://www.msbrickstoclicks.com

https://plus.google.com/events/c47dat1q387r0d3201tqdkibnf4?authkey=CI3j-6Gyz_i_2AE









http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evrrqRK0ZWI





2015 Chamber Chili Bingo Sponsors:

2K Meats and More Basin Electric Cooperative Beulah Beacon Beulah Convention & Visitor’s Bureau Beulah Dental P.C. Beulah Senior Citizens Club Black Sands Golf Course Bronson’s Marketplace Corval Group Dairy Queen Downtown Gas & Auto Dragon Delight Farmers Union Oil First Security Bank West Hiway Express Hook Line & Sinker Interstate Engineering J & M Hardware Knife River Care Center Lignite Tire Mercer County Women’s Action Resource Center MDU Neuberger Oil Nite Owl Otter Tail Power Roughrider Electric Cooperative Sakakawea Medical Center/Coal Country Community Health Center Solem Law Office Spoiled Rotten Spa & Salon Steam Brothers—Beulah Styles by Stacee The Coteau Properties The Union Bank Union State Bank West River Telecommunications


Neuberger Oil,


DECEMBER 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2 3 Planning & Zoning 7p

4

5 Double St Nick’s Picks! Shop Small!!

6 7 City Council 7p

8 Holiday Walk Around! 4:30p-7p Chamber Christmas Social J&M Hardware 7pm

9 Driver’s License

Civic Center

10

11 12 Double St Nick’s Picks! Shop Small!!

13 St. Nick’s Picks Promotion Ends!

14

15 16 Chamber

Board 7am

Country Kettle

17 Planning & Zoning 5p

18

19

20 21 City Council 7p

22

23 Driver’s License

Civic Center

24 Christmas Eve

25 Christmas Day

26

27 28 29 30 31 New Year’s Eve

Jan 1 New Year’s Day

Offices Closed

Offices Closed

701-873-2KMM (2566) “Your #1 Meat Stop”

Keith & Kathy Bohn 713 Hwy 49 N, Beulah [email protected]

Industrial & Commercial Painting Contractors

1709 Arikara Drive Beulah ND 58523

701-873-4520 Swansonyoungdale.com

BEULAH DENTAL

Dr. Kevin B. Lee, DDS Dr. Alison Just, DDS

Family Den stry

200 West Main, Beulah 701-873-2259

www.capcu.org

131 W Main Street, Beulah 701-355-7802

145 Main St. E., Hazen 701-748-6868

Solem Law Office

Scott T. Solem, Atty.

109 Central Ave. S, Beulah 701-873-5555

“Hometown Proud”

Families Serving Families

201 W Main St., Beulah 701.873.5293

Beulah Vision, P.C.

Advanced Eye Care For a Lifetime

Dr. M.J. Hammerschmidt, O.D.

204 West Main, Beulah

701-873-5251

Printing – Publishing Imprinting – Silk Screen Caps – Sports Apparel

Office Supplies

324 2nd Ave. NE, Beulah 701-873-4381

Roger Fischer Electric

PO Box 882 Beulah, ND 701.891.9070

BEN T. LENZEN Mercer County’s Only CPA & CFP

“Specializing in Full Service Small Business Accounting”


NAPA Auto Parts

Auto & Truck Parts & Supplies Marine & Small Engine Parts


Erickson Chiropractic

Dr. D.J. Erickson, D.C. Dr. Travis Voegele, D.C.


We’re more than just Tires! 300 19th St. NW, Beulah

701.873.7711

Professionals you need, People you trust. PO Box 742, Beulah ND

701-873-2266 www.interstateeng.com

committed. caring. serving.

147 West Main, Beulah 701.873.2515

www.beulahdrug.com

1700 Highway 49 N, Beulah 701-873-2900

Farmers Union Oil Cenex & Hot Stuff

1600 Highway 49 N, Beulah 701-873-4363

Healthcare with the Community at Heart

1312 Highway 49 N, Beulah 701-873-4445

http://corvalgroup.com 1218 Highway 49 N, PO Box 674

Beulah North Dakota 58523

701.873.2290 701-748-2225

“Quality Health Care

Sakakawea Medical Center

Deanne Gierke, AAMS® Financial Advisor

113 W Main Street Beulah, ND 58523

701-873-5490 www.edwardjones.com

300 Hwy 49 S. Beulah, ND 58523

Membership meetings the 2nd Monday of the month. www.visitbeulah.com

http://www.interstateeng.com

Documents

Chamber Chatter - December 2015