Representing Business - Enhancing Community - Promoting Growth


THE CHAMBER'S MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER KEEPS YOU IN THE KNOW!

Recognizing Member News, Business Opportunities, Achievements and Growth
           
     
                                                                                   
   
Builders FirstSource - Tom Nyberg                              Winegar - Jeff Sampson, Paul Goettl, 
     New Business Award                                        Buddy Root, Tim Wenzel - ROOTS Award


Oscar's All American Food and Drinks -
Oscar, Maru and staff - New Business Award

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Business Day at the Capitol and Junior Achievement BizTown
March 8, 2017

         

Waseca Area Chamber's Leadership class, chamber board member and chamber staff spending the day at the MN State Capital, hearing about bills, issues and challenges to Grow MN. They met with Senator John Jasinski and Carolyn Jackson on updates with the Highway 14 funding options to complete 4 lanes from Rochester to New Ulm. Enjoyed great networking over lunch provided by MN Chamber and listened to panel speakers on Health care.  

The group spent their first stop of the day at the Junior Achievement BizTown. A great program where 5th and 6th graders come and learn about business, banking and government through sceneries they complete. The group ended their day with a tour of the beautifully renovated capital. A special thank you to Lake Crystal Coaches for chauffeuring us and Casey's North Waseca for providing our morning pastries.
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Junior Achievement needs volunteeers.  You can make a difference in a child's success by becoming a Junior Achievement volunteer. Junior Achie vement, serving the communities of Owatonna,  Waseca , and Medford, is currently seeking community volunteers to deliver JA classroom lessons at public and private schools.  Read more....
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Please submit your special announcements to the chamber office by the 5th of each month to share with the membership for inclusion in the monthly e-newsletter.
Chamber Connections - png
SAVE THE DATES!
UPCOMING EVENTS

                                        
Walk to the Park - June 8th                                             Chamber Golf Day - June 19th
Waseca Chamber Member Specialty Shops

Waseca Speciality Shops have it all!  Home accents, gift ideas, florals, furniture, boutique clothing, antiques, and one-of-a-kind finds.  Spend a day shopping in Waseca.  For locations and more information about the Specialty Shops go to www.wasecachamber.com and click on 'Find It Here'.   Click here to view Specialty Shops video.


Join us on April 17th for a Non-Profit Expo, held at the Starfire Event Center.  Non-profit organizations will offer brochures, interactive fun and games, meet and greet, and promote their upcoming events.  Thank you to the non-profit organizations that make Waseca area a great place to live and work.  Door prizes, appetizers and great networking.

Sign up now to host a Business After Hours in 2017.  
      SHOP LOCAL DISCOUNTS
                      
         PERK:  Hot Deals

Can be used for the public to receive a discount from your business - you set the timeline for expiration date. 
    Examples:  Retail, hotels, restaurants, etc. 
    *Follow member login instructions for Hot Deals

BUSINESS RESOURCES
Minnesota State Council on Disability Accessibility Frequently Asked Questions
I need to make my business more accessible to individuals.  What is my first step and where can I obtain additional information on accessibility?
17 Essential Tools for Entrepreneurs
One of the biggest challenges we face as entrepreneurs is staying on top of everything. You have to respond to emails, make sure your website works perfectly, organize projects, keep in touch with your network, and avoid getting distracted by social media, cat videos, and tools that only make you less productive.
Grants Available
Learn about the many available grants.  Listing provided by www.MnFieldTripLibrary.org
Selling to the Government: Introduction to the Hubzone Program
In October 2016 the Minnesota counties of Goodhue, Steele, Rice and Waseca became HUBZones. Businesses located in these counties may be eligible to become certified as HUBZone Small Business Concerns eligible for preferences in federal contracting.

A workshop will be held that will provide an overview of government contracting programs for small businesses with a special emphasis on the HUBZone program. In addition, two contracting officers from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Rochester and Waseca) will discuss their organizations' needs and how small businesses might access procurement opportunities. 

Presented by: SBA and Meda PTAC

When:   Tuesday, March 28th - 11 a.m.
Where:   Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation
525 Florence Ave, Owatonna, MN  
HUMAN RESOURCES
2017 Recruiting Trends Point To Technology Driving Change
From SHRM: As the labor market tightens, talent acquisition professionals in 2017 will be asked to fill more positions offering alternative work arrangements and to begin to use emerging technologies to find the right workers for their organizations.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
For the Chamber's Event Calendar go to www.wasecachamber.com/events  
 
Wasecachamber.com has a comprehensive event calendar to help enhance our community.  Anyone can post an event happening in the Waseca area.  It's free and a great way to promote your event.  Just click on the "Submit Your Event" icon on the home page of the chamber's website.  The chamber created this in 2007 to provide members, residents and visitors a listing of upcoming events.  Businesses and residents can plan around these activity happenings.  
CITY UPDATES
City of Waseca Full -Time Park Superintendent
For more information go to www.ci.waseca.mn.us.  
Welcome Mike Anderson, Assistant to the City Manager.  
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EFFORT
BEST of Waseca County, in collaboration with the City of Waseca, Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce, Waseca County, the Waseca Mayo Clinic and Waseca Public Schools, is leading an effort for the City of Waseca to develop a community vision to establish what the residents, businesses and other stakeholders would like our community to look like in 2030. This robust community engagement effort is designed to reach out into the community to get a broad range of perspectives on what makes this community great and what we need to improve to stay that way. This process builds on and complements the work done over the past several years on strategic planning, but focuses on generating implementable and visible change.

For more information visit www.wasecavision2030.com 
CHAMBER MEETINGS
AgriBusiness Committee                            7 a.m.      3rd Thursday, each month - September-May
Ambassadors Meetings and Visits              8 a.m.       3rd Tuesday each month
Business After Hours Membership Mixer     4:30 p.m.  February-November - Dates TBA
Discover Waseca Careers                                         Twice a month - September-May
Grow Minnesota! Business Visits                                As scheduled
Waseca Area Chamber Board of Directors   7:00 a.m.  Last Tuesday each month    
Waseca Area Chamber Executive Officers                  Monthly
Workforce Development & Education Committee         As scheduled
Chamber bucks                                        
  Chamber Bucks                Look here for commercial             Job Postings                       Rent the Chamber Conference
Redemption Directory       property to expand your business      on the chamber website             Room - Call the Chamber
Kim Foels, President                                                          info@wasecachamber.com 
Sara Pollard, Administrative Assistant                                   
507-835-3260                                                                      www.wasecachamber.com                                              

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The Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce is a member-driven organization of individuals & businesses who band together for the collective interest of developing Waseca area's future.