The St. Francis Area Chamber of Commerce serves the
needs of its membership in working toward the common goal of a growing,
healthy business environment and community as a whole.
Chamber News
Archives
2010
Thank you to all the visitors and vendors for making
the 2010 St. Francis Area Community Expo another success! Congratulations to Corey Klebs of Isanti, winner of
the Chamber's $500 cash prize drawing. Also congratulations to John Green and
Stacy Ridge, winners of the Chamber's kids' bike drawing. View photos, including of every vendor, on the
expo photo page.
Thank you to everyone who made the 2010
Annual
Chamber Dinner a huge success! Congratulations to Greg Walter of East
Bethel--winner of the snowmobile raffle. View photos
from the event.
The St. Francis City Council and Minnesota
Department of Transportation authorized the reopening of the snowmobile
trail through St. Francis along Highway 47. A ribbon cutting ceremony was
held December 29. Pictured are (left to right): Chad Johnson of the St.
Francis Sno Ghosts snowmobile club, Gary Zimmerman of Sno Ghosts and the St.
Francis Area Chamber of Commerce, Chamber President David Johnson and St.
Francis mayor Jerry Tveit. View a
map
(PDF)
of the new snowmobile trails. For more information regarding snowmobiling in
St. Francis, visit the police department
web page. Photo by Deanna Bahr, Highland Money Management.
Thank you to all participants in the
annual Chamber holiday events including the
children's coloring contest and the Lighting of
the Park. The Chamber would like to thank the many attendees and
volunteers who made this year's Lighting of the Park another success.
Community members gathered in Woodbury Park December 5 for the annual
celebration that included photos with Santa, carols by the St. Francis High
School Madrigal Singers and refreshments. Thank you to those who donated
items and their time to the event: County Market, McDonald's, Bridge St.
Coffee, Rum River Tree Farm, St. Francis Ambassadors, Randy and Mary Dressen,
and the St. Francis Fire Department.
Thank you to the many area
businesses that participated in the Chamber's inaugural
Business to Business Trick or Treat on
October 30. Several families visited each business.
Dennis Berg, chairman of the
Anoka County Board of Commissioners, spoke at the Chamber networking lunch
September 23. Berg spoke on a variety of topics and took audience questions.
He said Anoka County has had to make cuts in response to the recession and
this may unfortunately result in property tax increases. Berg said the new
Northstar commuter rail line from Big Lake to Minneapolis is a long term
investment and he is hopeful that ticket sales will pay for at least one
third of its cost. Anoka, Ramsey and Elk River are in the running as sites
for a new veterans clinic. Berg said a decision will be made in a few weeks.
Berg also addressed ideas as to how to bring more businesses into the St.
Francis area. He said it is a matter of marketing potential businesses to
come where the employees live.
2009
Business coach Kelli Hoskins of
ActionCoach spoke to Chamber members August 26. Hoskins first spoke about
the importance of marketing: who to target, where to target
them, what to offer and why customers should buy from your business. She
covered "5 Ways to Grow Your Business" including increasing leads,
converting those leads into sales, increasing the number of transactions and
average dollar amount of each sale. Hoskins said businesses need ways to
attract new customers and retain old customers, all while ensuring profits
exceed costs. She emphasized that small changes in the right areas can pay
off in the long run. To learn more about ActionCoach and the services they
offer to businesses, call Hoskins at 763-444-9812,
email
or visit actioncoach.com.
Thank you to everyone who made this year's golf tournament another success! All
the golfers, hole sponsors and prize donaters helped raise funds for Chamber and
community events. View photos.
Thank you to everyone who made this year's Pioneer Days celebration another
success for the community! The Chamber booth in Community Park was a huge hit.
It is a wonderful way to promote your business and we gave away more promotional
items this year than ever!
Thank you to all the volunteers and those who donated items for the spinning
wheel.
Thank you to all the exhibitors and attendees who made the
2009 Business & Community Expo a success! View Expo
photos! Congratulations to Ben Miller of St. Francis, was
the lucky winner of $500 cash presented by the St. Francis Area Chamber of
Commerce at the Expo on April 25. Expo committee member, Michelle Anderson,
presented Miller with the prize.
Congratulations to the newly elected members of the Chamber Board of Directors:
Janice Audette, Lynn Moe, Brian Opp and Kerby Scherer. They were formally
introduced at the April 15 Annual Meeting and their three year term will begin
in May.
The
Bowling Bash held February 21 was a great success. About 35 people showed
up to display their bowling skills and partake in some social networking. Many
members of the Chamber of Commerce and guests were there to enjoy an evening of
fun. Thank you to Patriot Lanes and everyone who attended.
The St. Francis Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking
nominations for
individuals interested in joining the Board of Directors. This year, four of
the nine board member positions are up for election. Each board member serves a
three-year term. The member-elected Board is instrumental in the operations and
activities of the Chamber. As a Board member, you exercise influence in
community issues while expanding your local networking and gaining greater
exposure for your business. Nominations must be received by March 15. Check your
mail for a nomination form.
2008
A big thank you to all Chamber and community members who made the Dec. 6
Lighting of Woodbury Park a huge success! (Thank you to Michelle Anderson of
Community Hotline for the photo at right.) View
2008 Lighting of the Park photos.
Bob Hoenie from the Minnesota Dept. of
Economic Development spoke to Chamber members November 13 at Billy's for a
networking breakfast. He shared resources for businesses provided by the
government, many of which are free, funded by your tax dollars. Attendees
learned that required workplace posters are available from the state, free of
charge, and many other interesting tidbits. To learn more
about what resources are available, visit the web sites of the
Department of
Employment and Economic Development, and
Minnesota Workforce Center
or call 763-783-4800. For specific questions for Mr. Hoenie, call 763-785-6470.
He and his office would be happy to answer any business-related questions you
may have.
Thank you to the candidates and community members who attended The
Chamber-sponsored Meet the Candidates Forum October 23. Five St. Francis
mayoral/city council candidates and more than 40 community members attended the
event co-hosted by the St. Francis Women of Today. Pictured at right: Randy Dressen, Jerry Tveit, Ron Benkler, Jeff Sandoval and Ray Jones.
Thank you to everyone who made this year's
Annual Chamber Dinner a huge
success! More than 75 people enjoyed the tailgate-themed event held October 3 at Captain's on Long
Lake. Thank you to the Chamber members who donated silent auction and prizes.
Proceeds from donations go toward Chamber and community events. View
photos from the dinner.
LaRhae Knatterud from the state of Minnesota
spoke to Chamber members September 18 on the topic of how retiring baby boomers will impact business and communities in the coming years.
If you were not able to attend the event, here is what you missed. Several state agencies joined to produce a
blueprint for how the state can address the need to transform policies,
infrastructures and services to prepare for the influx of aging baby boomers
in the state in the coming years. Knatterud's presentation covered topics
such as retirement planning, workforce planning and health care. For more information on the subject, visit
the
Transform 2010 web site
or call the Minnesota Board on Aging at 651-431-2500.
Check out the Chamber's new
email newslettereNews! It features Chamber news and member profiles.
The newsletter is emailed weekly to Chamber members, and is available to the
public via the link above. Please feel free to contact us
with comments about the newsletter.
Check out the Chamber Page in the August edition of
The Courier newspaper. Click
here for the PDF
version.
A New Member Showcase & Wine/Coffee Tastingwas held July 22 at The Ponds. New 2008 Chamber members Raymond James,
Edward Jones, Camilia Club 3 and Writings on Your Wall gave a short presentation about their
businesses and all members sampled beverages from St. Francis Bottle
Shop and McDonald's McCafe. View photos from the event
here.
Thanks to Sara Sauer who presented information on school
funding at the June 12 Chamber lunch. For more information about her
presentation, visit the
levy information site.
Woodbury Park a huge success! (Thank you to Michelle Anderson of
Community Hotline for the photo at right.) View