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Page 2GFAFB Gives ChamberBuilding “ExtremeMakeover”
Page 4August New Members
Page 6 & 7A Month In Pictures
Page 8 & 9Business Briefs
Page 10Unemployment Rates byState
Page 11October Business AfterHours
Page 1210 Networking Tips
Vol 6 Issue 9 October 2010
202 N. 3rd StreetGrand Forks, ND 58203
PO Box 315East Grand Forks, MN 56721
(701)772-7271(701)772-9238 Fax
Mission Statement
“The Chamber of Commercecreates an environment
that encourages businesssuccess while enhancing the quality of life in our region.”
Staff
Barry WilfahrtPresident/CEO
Lisa SwansonVice President of Operations
Jennifer WalshMembership Relations Director
Kimberly StromProgram/Event Director
Carla YounceFinance Director
Audrey LindAdministrative Assistant
OfficersChair: Barb SchultzIdeal Aerosmith, Inc.
Chair-Elect: Jim GallowayJLG Architects
Past Chair: Rick DuquetteCity of Grand Forks
Secretary: Chris SemrauRalph Engelstad Arena
Kent HansonNCTC
Bryan LeeGateway StorageBarry Wilfahrt
The Chamber - GF/EGFDirectors
Thane Bergh - American Federal Bank
Andy Byron - United Valley Bank
Torrie Enget - Best Buy
Scott Huizenga- City of EGF
Brian Johnson - Choice Financial
Phyllis Johnson- UND
Curt Kreun - GF City Council
Linda Pierce -Crary Homes & Real Estate
Jim Richter - EGF EDHA
Jim Satrom - PS Doors
Tim Sayler - Altru Health System
Steve Swanson - AE2S
Klaus Thiessen - GF Regional EDC
Jeff Westrem - Hugo’s
Jeff Wilson - Vilandre Heating & AC
Matt Winjum - Rhombus Guys
Sr. Military Advisor to the BoardColonel Donald Shaffer - GFAFB
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Chamber News
25 From West Come EastIn a reciprocal visit 25 business people,development officials, local electedofficials and legislators traveled from theoil basin in Western North Dakota tospend two days in Grand Forks. Thiswas a return trip after a similar group of32 business and community leaderstraveled to the oil basin in June toexplore opportunities and learn moreabout the challenges facing oil country.
According to event organizers BarryWilfahrt, Chamber President and BruceGjovig, Director of the Center forInnovation these trips were aboutfostering good relationships, understand-ing and collaboration on energy, con-struction and government issues.
The group participated in a social prior tothe Sunday UND hockey exhibition gameon October 3rd. The next morning morethan 100 local business, UND andgovernment officials from the east joinedthe groups from the west to learn aboutwhat is going on in the oil patch and whybusinesses in the east should want to dobusiness in the west. The group themtoured UND department of engineering,its core sample library and the EERCwhere they participated in a variety oftours and learned about what UND isdoing to support the oil industry,.
Feedback from everyone participating hasbeen very positive. Many potential newbusiness relationships were formed andpotential partnership identified. It wasrelevant for everyone whoparticipated.According to event organiz-ers Barry Wilfahrt, Chamber Presidentand Bruce Gjovig, Director of the Centerfor Innovation these trips were aboutfostering good relationships, understand-ing and collaboration on energy, con-struction and government issues.
East Grand ForksCandidate Forum October19thLegislative Candidates in EGF willparticipate in a candidates Forum onOctober 19th.
The Crookston Chamber is organizingthe event and The Chamber-GF/EGF ispartnering with them again this year.
You are invited to attend the “Meet theCandidates Forum” hosted by theChamber’s Legislative Committee. Plans
have been finalized for the “Meet theC a n d i d a t e s ” F o r u m o n Tuesday, October19. The Forum will be held in UMC’sKiehle Auditorium, beginning at 6:30p.m. Each segment (School Board, CityCouncil, County, and Legislative) will beconducted separately, with one group ofcandidates on the stage at a time. TheSchool Board candidates will lead off at6:35 p.m., followed by the City Councilcandidates at 7:10 p.m., then the CountyCandidates at 7:45 p.m., the Legislativecandidates at 8:20 p.m., and ending withSenatorial Candidates. The Forum willconclude by 9:30 p.m., followed by aninformal time for visiting over coffee andcookies.
EGF members will be emailed once thefinal schedule and slate of candidates forthe forum is set.
Grand Forks CandidateForum October 20thThe Chamber’s Government AffairsCommittee Chaired by Greg Hanson,CEO of Valley Memorial Homes willfacilitate a candidate forum on October20th, 2010. The forums will be in theGrand Forks City Council Chambers.The public is invited and encouraged toattend. The schedule for the forum is asfollows:
6:30pmHouse of Representatives Candidates
Bernell BachmeierLois DelmoreDonald D. DietrichCurt KreunMark S. OwensLouise “Weezie” PotterMark SanfordDonald Vangsnes
7:30pmNorth Dakota Senate Candidates
JoNell A. BakkeRay HolmbergLonnie LaffenThomas Petros
8:00pmCounty Commissioner Candidates
Michael C. CoachmanDiane K. KnaufGary K. MalmWilliam “Spud” Murphy
Chamber News
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GFAFB Gives Chamber Building an “ExtremeMakeover”Close to 100 volunteers from GFAFB spent three full days removing paint, calking,replacing rotted boards, staining and painting the entire exterior of the Chamber’s OldDepot Building located on North 3rd Street. “It has been a remarkable transformationof our building” according to Chamber President Barry Wilfahrt. “It is also littlewonder GFAFB consistently wins the air forces community service award” forvolunteerism
Virtually no work had been done on the building since right after the flood of 1997and no work was really done on the exterior in almost 20 years. Also special thanks tothe UND swim and Dive Team who also participated in the makeover by doing thelandscaping around the building. Be sure to thank both of these groups as you seethem around town.
Pat Berger, Executive Director of theUnited Way, led a half day strategicplanning session for chamber staffmembers in September. The staff talkedabout how to most effectively andefficiently serve the needs of themembership through a blend of technol-ogy and personal service and programs.
The staff agreed the chamber needs a
technology plan, facility plan and commu-nications plan to best carryout the aggres-sive plan of action developed and set by theBoard of directors.
These recommendations and action stepsto achieve them will go to the ChamberExecutive Board and full Board of Direc-tors for their input and direction beforethey are implemented.
Staff Discuss Internal Goals
8:30pmCounty Sheriff Candidates
Mike FlanneryBob Rost
The Chamber SupportsMeasure 1The Chamber Board voted last month tosupport Measure 1. The “legacy fund”initiative is on the ND ballot thisNovember. It creates a fund where 30%of the oil revenue is put into a legacyfund for future use by the state. Thisfund is significantly less aggressive thanthe ballot measure which failed in 2008.It is also supported by virtually all of thegroups who opposed it in 2008.
The Chamber supports this measurebecause this type of fund will provide along term stable partial funding sourcefor the state of North Dakota long afterthe oil reserve is depleted. This will helpprovide stability in government revenue.Business thrives in stable environments.ND is doing well and this helps positionour state to continue to prosper well intothe future. The Chamber ND residentsare encouraged to vote yes on Measure 1on November 2nd.October 3rd and 4th withapproximately 30 business people,legislators and community leaders fromWestern North Dakota expected to attend.On the 3rd the groups will attend theUND hockey game and attend a socialevent. On the 4th the group will start theday with a community breakfast followedby tours of the energy department atUND; Core and Sample Library and theEERC. At noon, local legislators andcommunity leaders will be invited tomeet with the group to discuss WesternND infrastructure needs and talk aboutthe oil booms implications for all of ND.
Please contact Barry at the Chamber withany questions. The event is beingorganized in cooperation with BruceGjovig form the Center of Innovation andMike Jacobs, Editor and Publisher of theGrand Forks Herald.
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Chamber News
Welcome New MembersSEIMichele Thiel322 DeMers AveGrand Forks, ND [email protected] LLC is a leading provider ofcustomized technical helpdesk,customer service and inside salesservices that meet and anticipate theoperations and business of ourcustomers around the globe.
Lillians of Grand ForksAnnette Bendish12 S 3rd StGrand Forks, ND 58201701-335-5018abendish@lilliansshoppe.comwww.lilliansshoppe.com
SpringHill Suites Hotel
Lillians is an occasional shoppe openonly four days each month. Wefeature ridiculously affordable andtrendy handbags, wallets, jewelry,sunglasses, watches, fun accesso-ries, and a line of hip fashion calledMoon Goon. Each month Lilliansoffers fabulous new merchandise.
Northwest TireAl Christian300 2nd Ave NEEast Grand Forks, MN [email protected] Tire started in 1977. In thepast 33 years they have built theircompany on the goals of being thetire dealer of choice, deliveringcustomer service and quality prod-ucts. Northwest Tire carries perfor-mance, passenger, light truck, SUV,
The Ambassadors helpedcelebrate a remodel of oneof IRET’s properties with aribbon cutting at theirlocation.
The Ambassadorshelped welcome
new business andnew Chamber
Member,Lillians,with a ribbon cutting
their downtownlocation.
Lillians
Forest ParkEstates
The Ambassadors helpedwelcome new Chamber
member, Pearle Visio, with aribbon cutting.
Pearle Vision
The Ambassadors helpedwelcome new Chambermember, KorsmoCommercial Refrigerationwith a ribbon cutting.
KorsmoCommercialRefrigeration
commercial, industrial, and farm tires.Northwest Tire currently operates 12retail stores, 2 Bandag retread plants,and 5 wholesale locations whichserves 8 states.
Matt WoodworkingHugh Matt597 N 69th StGrand Forks, ND [email protected] Woodworking specializes incustom woodwork design for allcommercial and residential needs.Exploring creative alternatives tomeet your design and budget goals iswhat we do best. We focus on eachproject with the attention and person-alized service that provides you with acommitment to quality you can trust.
Ambassador Ribbon Cuttings
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Chamber News
Nominations for Henry Havig Award Now Being Accepted
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2010 Henry Havig Award for Community Service. This is The Chamber’smost prestigious award and is given annually to those special individuals who stand above the crowd by theirdedication to our community through community service in multiple volunteer leadership roles.
It is an award that recognizes individuals who have provided exemplary voluntary leadership service to ourcommunity over a long period of time and in a broad spectrum of community activities. Nominees must be at least36 years of age and have proven leadership qualities, commitments to community-based organizations and the desireto improve the quality of life in our community.
The Havig Award for Community Service is given in memory of a great community leader. He was president of theboard of the chamber in 1955-1956 and was a long time successful businessman who contributed greatly to ourcommunity as a member of the Grand Forks City Council and a life-long contributor to the YMCA.
Please complete and return a nomination by Friday, November 19th, 2010 to: The Chamber 202 N. 3rd St. GrandForks, ND 58203 Attn: Havig Nominations, fax to 701-772-9238 or email to [email protected]. Additionalinformation regarding the nominee may be included when submitting the nomination. The Selection Committee iscomprised of the past recipients of the award. This award will be presented at The Chamber’s Annual Dinner andBanquet on January 13th, 2011 at the Alerus Center.
Nominations shall include:• Nominee’s Name• Leadership qualities, organization memberships, Youth involvement, community service and other
pertinent and relevant information• Name and signature of person submitting the nomination
Please return by Friday, November 19th 2010 to:The Chamber – GF/EGFAttn: Havig Nominations202 N. 3rd St.Grand Forks, ND 58203701-772-9238 (Fax)
Chamber of Commerce – Grand Forks/East Grand Forks2011 HENRY HAVIG NOMINATION FORM
I am submitting the name of: _____________________________________________________________________
Who works for: _______________________________________________________________________________
Leadership Qualities, Organization Memberships, Youth Involvement, Community Service:
Other Information and Comments:
Submitted by: ________________________________________ Signature: ________________________________
Alerus Financial Business After Hours
A Month in Pictures
Military Appreciation Day
September Brown BagSeminar
Alerus Financial Business After HoursUND Swim/Dive Team Spruce Up
Chamber Grounds
Military Appreciation Day
Kickbutt Sales TrainingA Month in Pictures
Military Appreciation Day
MAC Golf Outing 2010
UND Swim/Dive Team Spruce UpChamber Grounds
Alerus Financial Business AfterHours
Alerus Financial Business After Hours
Alerus Financial Business After
Business Briefs
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AE2S Hires Rylander,Carpenter & SlickAE2S (Advanced Engineering andEnvironmental Services, Inc.) has hiredKristal Rylander as an AdministrativeAssistant in its Grand Forks, ND office.Kristal is a native of Crookston, MN andearned an Administrative Assistantdegree from Northland Community andTechnical College in East Grand Forks,
MN.
Prior to joining AE2S,she worked as a Parale-gal for Fisher, Olson,and Juntunen, Ltd.,where she performedadministrative dutiesand prepared legaldocuments. At AE2S,
her responsibilities include receptionduties, administrative duties, support totech-nical staff, and other specialprojects.
AE2S has hired Roxanne Carpenter asan Accounting Clerk in its Grand Forksoffice. Roxann’s addition will allowAE2S to meet the expanded accountingneeds of the company as it has grown to
eight offices and over120 people.
Roxann is a native ofCavalier, ND. Sheearned an Associate ofApplied Science degreein Accounting and anAssociate of AppliedScience degree in
Financial and Credit Service Administra-tion from Northland Technical College.Previous to joining AE2S, she worked asan Accounting Operations Specialist atAlerus Financial. At AE2S, she willhandle accounts payable, payroll, and
various accountingprojects.
AE2S has hired GeoffSlick as an Engineer inits Grand Forks, NDoffice. Geoff is a nativeof Baudette, MN andearned his Bachelor of
Science Degree in Civil Engineeringfrom the University of North Dakota(UND). He is currently pursuing hisMasters Degree in EnvironmentalEngineering from UND. His Mastersproject is a pilot study and technicalevaluation of aerobic digestion at the
Grand Forks Wastewater TreatmentPlant.
Geoff served as an Engineering Intern atAE2S prior to being hired as an Engi-neer, working on numerous rural waterprojects. In his new position, Geoff willbe initially performing constructionobservation for Phase 1, Phase 2, andpreliminary work for Phase 3 of theTraill Rural Water District Expansion,which includes well field development,construction of a new transfer station,pipeline construction, and distributionsystem improvements.
Alerus Financial HiresLindsay Cox has accepted a new role asindirect loan product specialist at Alerus
Financial’s Banksouthlocation on SouthColumbia Road.
Previously a loanoperations specialist,Cox is now responsiblefor facilitating theindirect loan process
and overall development of the indirectloan portfolio for Alerus.
Cox has three years experience in thefinancial industry and received aBachelor’s Degree in public administra-
tion from the Universityof North Dakota. Sheand her husband,Nicholas, live in GrandForks.
Stacy Kroll hasaccepted a new positionas credit administratorwith Alerus Financial.
Previously a records specialist, Kroll isnow responsible for supporting thecommercial lending and sales staff byperforming commercial file reviews,providing credit bureau reports and liensearches, and being the primary liaisonbetween the commercial credit staff andthe records department.
Kroll joined Alerus in 2008. Prior toAlerus, she worked in the Altru recordsmanagement department and as alifeguard. Kroll received an Administra-tive Support Software Specialist degreewith an emphasis in Microcomputersfrom Northland Community and Techni-
cal College. She is a member of theArglye Community Club and lives inOslo, MN with her husband, Jeffrey.
Alerus Financial ispleased to welcomeCarol Gressman as anaccounting operationsspecialist at itsBanksouth location onSouth Columbia Road.
Gressman is responsiblefor supporting the
internal accounting operations of AlerusFinancial, including general ledgerposting and balancing, accounts payableprocessing, cash room transactionprocessing, pledging for public deposits,and government and regulatory reporting.
Gressman joins Alerus with more than 25years experience in the financial industry.She previously worked as a city auditorand I.T. project manager in Florida.Gressman and her husband, Tom, live inHatton, ND. They have four grownchildren.
Matt Jacobson hasjoined Alerus Financialas a relationshipmanager at its down-town Corporate Centerlocation.
Jacobson is responsiblefor developing and
cultivating relationships in addition tomanaging significant customer portfolios.He is the primary contact for new orexisting customers and provides compre-hensive financial management solutionsfor customers with lending, deposit, andinvestment services.
Jacobson has 7 years of experience in thebanking industry. He previously workedas business relationship manager at WellsFargo Bank. Jacobson received abachelor’s degree in business administra-tion with an emphasis on businesseconomics from the University of NorthDakota. He actively volunteers for theUnited Way and is a member of the SiouxBoosters Board of Directors. Jacobsonand his wife, Kari, live in Grand Forks.
ND Nurse of the YearHonoreesMarch of Dimes recently announced their2010 North Dakota Nurse of the Year
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Chamber News
honorees. Each of these winners werechosen on a national basis to receive theaward. This year, three award winners werefrom Altru Health System in Grand Forks.These recipients and their categoriesinclude:
- Nurse Management: Diane Shervold, RN,manager of Altru’s Family Birthing Center,NICU and Pediatrics (Hospital). Thiscategory recognizes a nurse who demon-strates exceptional leadership in an adminis-trative and/or management capacity.
- Pediatric Nursing: Sherry Burg, RN,supervisor, Altru’s Pediatrics (Hospital).This category recognizes excellence in thenursery, general pediatric units and pediatricclinics.
- Women’s Health: Karla Miller, RN, carecoordinator, Altru’s Labor & Delivery. Thisaward recognizes a nurse who impactswomen’s health in a positive way throughfocusing on antepartum, intrapartum,maternal, baby care and/or postpartumneeds.
Haley Cummings, BSN, RN, of Altru’sLabor and Delivery, was also a nominee forthis year’s Rising Star award.
Dr. Hape Named as FellowDr. Robin Hape was recently named as a
Fellow with the AmericanCollege of Surgeons. Dr.Hape has been part of AltruHealth System since 2007.In addition to his role as ageneral surgeon, Dr. Hapeis also director of Altru’sBreast Center and Altru’sBariatrics Center.
Dr. Hape received his medical degree andcompleted residency training with theUniversity of North Dakota School ofMedicine and Health Sciences. He is amember of the American College of Sur-geons, the Society of American Gastrointes-tinal Endoscopic Surgeons, AmericanSociety of Breast Surgeons and the Ameri-can Society of Bariatric Metabolic Surgeons.
EAPC Receives HonorAwardEAPC Architects Engineers was selected asthe Honor Award design recipient during the2010 AIA North Dakota convention. TheHonor level is the highest award given outby the American Institute of Architects at thelocal level. EAPC was presented with the
award on September 23 at the AlerusCenter in Grand Forks during the 48th
Annual Awards Gala.
EAPC’s entry, the University of Mary –Gary Tharaldson School of Business inBismarck, was selected for the designaward honor. Specific use for theproject was classrooms, an auditoriumand office space for the School ofBusiness. This project was to create abold architectural design to inspirestudents and reaffirm the university’sprogressive values, establish a designaesthetic complimentary to the adjacentchapel and monastery designed byiconic modernist architect MarcelBreuer, and to exploit the site’s hilltoplocation by emphasizing the sweepingviews of the Missouri River valley. Thetwo-story, 29,000 SF building and wascompleted in September 2008.
EAPC was also awarded a Merit Awardfor the SDSU Wellness Center projectin Brookings, SD, and received theJuror’s Choice Award for the UNDChoir Loft Addition at St. ThomasAquinas Newman Center in GrandForks.
John Nelson JoinsSimmonsFlintSimmonsFlint is pleased to announceJohn Nelson has been hired as anaccount manager. He will manageclients’ marketing efforts as well as new
business developmentfor the agency.Additionally, Nelsonwill apply his fran-chise marketing andmanagement expertisetowards Flint Direct, asubdivision of theFlint Group focusedon direct marketing
for dealer and franchise programs.
A native of Grand Forks, N.D., Nelsonis a graduate of UND, with a B.A.degree in mass communication,emphasis in advertising. During collegeNelson interned at SimmonsFlint, andupon graduation, continued workingthere as a producer, copywriter andcreative manager for four years. Inaddition to his work at SimmonsFlint,he founded Blue Tower RecordingStudio in downtown Grand Forks andlater moved it to Denver, where itcontinues to operate today. In 2005 he
joined The Alternative Board, a busi-ness coaching company in Westminster,Colorado, as the senior marketingmanager, and in 2009, the director ofmarketing.
Nelson, wife Jill and daughter Miabellalive in Grand Forks.
JLG Receives StateDesign AwardsOn September 23, 2010 at the AmericanInstitute of Architects (AIA) NorthDakota Awards Gala in Grand Forks,JLG Architects received an Award ofMerit and the Unbuilt Award. Theawards were presented “for distin-guished accomplishments in design andthe profession of architecture.”
AWARD OFMERIT –Chateau deMores Inter-pretive Center;Medora, ND:Located in the
North Dakota Badlands, the Chateau deMores is North Dakota’s most visitedhistorical site. In 1883, the Marquis deMores, a French aristocrat and entrepre-neur, built a summer home in what isnow called the Theodore RooseveltNational Park and named the town thatdeveloped “Medora,” after his wife.While rough by aristocratic standards, itwas considerably more luxurious thanmost contemporary homes built byDakota settlers, which were mostlyconstructed of sod or logs, and wasdubbed “chateau” by the locals; over theyears it housed many famous guests,including Roosevelt. The home andland were given to the State of NorthDakota in 1936 and restored by theCivilian Conservation Corps in 1937-1941; it has been open the public eversince.
UNBUILT AWARD – BonanzavilleBarnes Pavilion; West Fargo, ND:Bonanzaville, founded in 1972, is a 12-acre, 43-building non-profit educationalfacility that offers more than 400,000artifacts related to the pioneer life in theNorthern Plains.
The proposed interpretive center ismeant to invoke the spirit of the plainsand the agricultural structures thatmake up the landscape. The curve of themain reception hall bends to the view ofthe his-toric church tower, while theattached gift shop is low enough toafford glimpses of many historicstructures throughout the park. Thedesign of the main hall uses both amplenatural light and a simple structure tohighlight the many events and exhibi-
Chamber News
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Job Service North Dakota (JSND)reported that labor statistics releasedtoday show North Dakota’s August notseasonally adjusted unemployment ratewas 3.5 percent. The rate is unchangedfrom prior month and 0.6 percentagepoints lower than last year (4.1 percent).The national rate in August was 9.5percent. Michael Ziesch, ResearchAnalyst for Job Service stated, “Thestate’s current unemployment rate isapproximately one-third of the nation andshows the continued local economicstrength.”
North Dakota Not Seasonally AdjustedLabor Force Data August 2010 July 2010August 2009
Unemployment Rate 3.5% 3.5% 4.1%Unemployed 13,168 13,223 15,282Employed 363,455 364,180 357,946Labor Force 376,623 377,403 373,228
North Dakota’s Unemployment Rate 3.5% for AugustThe nation’s seasonally adjusted unem-ployment rate was 9.6 percent for themonth, little changed from July (9.5percent), and very similar to August oflast year as well (9.7 percent). Theseasonally adjusted rate for North Dakotawas 3.7 percent in August, an uptick of0.1 percentage point from prior month,but 0.7 percentage points below August2009 (4.4 percent). The seasonal adjust-ment process utilizes a statistical adjust-ment to accommodate predictablefluctuations between months; such aslength of daylight and typical weather.Seasonal adjustment allows for compari-son between all months of a year.
Seasonally Adjusted Rates August 2010July 2010 August 2009
North Dakota 3.7% 3.6% 4.4%United States 9.6% 9.5% 9.7%
Notes:
1. The unemployment rate is the percentageof people actively seeking work compared tothose in the labor force (employed plusunemployed).
2. Data are subject to revision.
3. These statistics, produced by the JSNDLabor Market Information Center, utilizestandard methodology developed by the U.S.Bureau of Labor
Statistics as a requirement for use by allstates.
4. County and substate areas will be postedon 9-27-2010 to the JSND Labor MarketInformation website: http://www.ndworkforceintelligence.com
Chamber News
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Chamber News
The Country Club invites all Chamber Members and employees to their Business After Hours. Stopb y a n d t a k e a d v a n t a g e o f g r e a t n e t w o r k i n g o p p o r t u n i t i e s w h i l e y o u a r e t h e r e . Y o u m i g h t e v e n
w i n $ 3 0 0 i n o u r p r o g r e s s i v e c a s h d r a w i n g ! W e ’ l l d r a w t h e n a m e o f o n e C h a m b e r M e m b e r
b u s i n e s s . I f s o m e o n e f r o m t h a t b u s i n e s s i s p r e s e n t , t h e y w i n !
Business After Hours is a great time to network, catch up with friends, coworkers and clients in a fun and casualway. Spread the word and plan to attend the next Business After Hours.
Thursday, October 21st, 20104:45pm - 7:00pm
Free golf for Chamber Members on Oct. 21 - Must call fortee time: 772-3912Free Admission
Complimentary hors d’oeuvres, drink ticket & cash bar ~Lots of Great Door Prizes including a Social Membership
& a round of golf with cart for 4 ~ Progressive cashdrawing is at $300! ~ NO RSVP Needed
Hosted by
Grand ForksCountry Club
New Resident PacketsDistributed By The Chamber
In 2010:
220 Total for September: 13
Total for September: 2
Certificates of Origin SignedBy The Chamber In 2010:
24Member Referrals Made By
The Chamber In 2010:
Total for September: 121729
First State Bank - 613Stray Media - 606
Forks Builders Assoc.- 600Gateway Storage- 594
Altru Health System - 593
Top Member Directory Hits for SeptemberNumber of Member Exposures for August (statistic includes internet search engine visits): 489,195
www.gochamber.org
Games Galore - 588Kadrmas, Lee & Jackson- 586
GOLDMARK- 584Ameriprise Financial-Debbie Albert - 581
City of GF Finance Dept.- 581
Check Out The Chamber Calendar of Events Here
Hosted by:
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Effective business networking is the linking together ofindividuals who, through trust and relationship building,become walking, talking advertisements for one another.
Keep in mind that networking is about being genuine andauthentic, building trust and relationships, and seeing howyou can help others.
Ask yourself what your goals are in participating innetworking meetings so that you will pick groups that willhelp you get what you are looking for. Some meetings arebased more on learning, making contacts, and/or volunteer-ing rather than on strictly making business connections.
Visit as many groups as possible that spark your interest.Notice the tone and attitude of the group. Do the peoplesound supportive of one another? Does the leadership appearcompetent? Many groups will allow you to visit two timesbefore joining.
Hold volunteer positions in organizations. This is a greatway to stay visible and give back to groups that have helpedyou.
Ask open-ended questions in networking conversations.This means questions that ask who, what, where, when, andhow as opposed to those that can be answered with a simpleyes or no. This form of questioning opens up the discussionand shows listeners that you are interested in them.
10 Tips for Successful Business Networkingby Stephanie Speisman
The following businesses know the value of their Chamber Membership and have renewed theirmembership in The Chamber - GF/EGF. Please visit them for your purchasing needs.
Thank You For Renewing Your Membership
1st Realty - David BlumkinAirman & Family Readiness CenterAmerican Red CrossApplebee’s - EGFBank Forward - Columbia RoadBecker Marketing ConsultantsBlack Gold Potato SalesBlue Moose Bar & GrillCenex - Gateway DriveCost CuttersDale Carnegie TrainingEmpire Arts CenterEnbridge PipelineFarmers Insurance - Steve Renslow AgencyFine Print Screen Printing & EmbroideryGF Park District
H & R Block - 32nd AvenueHertz Car Sales & RentalHope Evangelical ChurchNew Vision Truck AccessoriesNodak Insurance - Dana BoeOrchard OilRiver City MortgageRod HolthRonald McDonald HouseS & S Rehab - Grand ForksS & S Rehab - Thief River FallsSertoma Club of Greater Grand ForksThe Salvation ArmyToshiba Business SystemsTravelodgeU.S. Corrugated
Become known as a powerful resource for others. When youare known as a strong resource, people remember to turn to youfor suggestions, ideas, names of other people, etc. This keeps youvisible to them.
Have a clear understanding of what you do and why, forwhom, and what makes your doing it special or different fromothers doing the same thing. In order to get referrals, you mustfirst have a clear understanding of what you do that you caneasily articulate to others.
Be able to articulate what you are looking for and how othersmay help you. Too often people in conversations ask, “How mayI help you?” and no immediate answer comes to mind.
Follow through quickly and efficiently on referrals you aregiven. When people give you referrals, your actions are areflection on them. Respect and honor that and your referralswill grow.
Call those you meet who may benefit from what you do andvice versa. Express that you enjoyed meeting them, and ask ifyou could get together and share ideas.
