Helping Your Business Grow
14800 Galaxie Ave, Suite 101 Apple Valley, MN 55124 952-432-8422 www.applevalleychamber.com
President Edward Kearney Chamber of Commerce
Vice Chairman Jodi Kurtz Warners’ Stellian
Past Chairman Eric Iverson Home Instead Senior Care Secretary Misty Scholler Bell State Bank & Trust Treasurer Guy Gunner Gunners Garage
Jane Hill Culver’s
Expansion
Below are the special guest speakers who congratulated Uponor on their expansion.
Bethany Marquette BMO Harris Bank
Nick Martinez Nerium Independent Brand Partner
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar
U.S.Congressman John Kline
Uponor President Bill Gray
John Wortman American Legion
Chamber Administration Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland
Chamber President Edward Kearnery
Director of Operations, Uponor, Rusty Callier
Uponor’s ribbon cutting for their new manufacturing bay and employee lunch room attracted 100+ guests!
Kristy Cleveland Business Manager
December 2013
From the desk of Scott Kadrlik, Chamber Chairman Hi Taxpayers! I just realized that a whole year has gone by since being selected as Chair of the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce and I am trying to figure out where the year went. The question to ask is not “what did we do?” but rather “what didn’t we do.” What I realized as the year moved forward is that we have great leadership in the Chamber. Ed Kearney and Kristy Cleveland run the Chamber office with passion and energy not found in many organizations. We are lucky to have these two great individuals keeping watch over our Chamber. They care deeply for the members of our organization and are committed to the success of our events and the businesses of our community.
During this year our city saw the completion of Cedar Avenue road construction and the opening of the Red Line Bus Rapid Transit. Ed challenged our city often but respectfully and they responded with great insight on many issues including continuing last year’s agreement on removing special road reconstruction assessments ($67 million not assessed), winning higher realistic speed limits on 147th, electronic message signage and a more transparent Economic Development Agency (EDA). The EDA (5 City Council & Planning Commission Chair) at our request added Chamber Past Chair Mike Maguire (KwikKopy) to join this critical body which decides on tax incentives, rebates (TIF) and other authority. The Chamber website has been updated to make it easier to navigate and find the services our members provide. We sent out 22,600 laminated Resident Guides to the homes of Apple Valley. 5,000 people visited our Home and Garden Show. We got to celebrate the end of Prohibition with the Great Gatsby Gala last spring. Another year on the golf course with 18 great sponsors of beer and food made the day a wonderful outing for everyone that attended. The Next Leaders group continued to grow during 2013. New members are joining this group each month and finding new and exciting opportunities to grow in their membership. I have been lucky this year. I have met many of the business leaders in our community. I spent time with Dan Shimek of Enjoy! and The Outdoor Great Room Company, his commitment to our community has been an inspiration for us all. Over the years I also got to know Wayne Pahl, his commitment to his family, hard work and growing food to feed our community made him one of the members that quietly lead us by his actions. We will miss them both. My stint as Chair of the Chamber got me involved in many ribbon cuttings for the opening of new and expanded businesses in our city. Warners’ Stellian, Dog Day Getaway, Chick-Fil-A, Uponor (2013 MN Manufacturer of the year & former Chamber Business of the year), Kwik Trip, Jay F Jewelers and many more show why Apple Valley is the 17th best city in America to live according to CNN/Money magazine. I need to offer a special thanks to our retiring board members Guy Gunner and Jane Hill. Thanks for your commitment to the chamber and your hard work in our community! Our Past Chair Eric Iverson’s happy spirit will be missed greatly. As I leave my position on the board of directors I know that we are going to be in very capable hands. The newest members on the board include Cynthia Heim Smith of Wings Financial, Mike Foley of Apple Valley Medical Center and Peggy Johnson of Dakota Electric. They join Bethany Marquette, Misty Scholler, Nick Martinez and John Wortman as we will be led by our new Chair Jodi Kurtz. Jodi (Warners’ Stellian) has been involved in a number of committees for the chamber including Local Issues, Cedar Avenue planning, design and construction and numerous Gala committees. She will be great as our Chair and will make us the #1 Best City in America to live. No pressure there! Thank you for the fun! Scott Kadrlik, CPA/PFS Meuwissen, Flygare, Kadrlik & Associates, P.A.
Scott@mfkcpa.com
December
Apple Valley Chamber
Joint Chamber Business After Hours
Tuesday, December 3, 2013 4:30 - 6:30 p.m.
Pahl’s Market
Coffee Connection Verizon Wireless Tuesday, November 5th, 2013
Pictured on the right is Verizon Store Manager Blake Schloesser preparing for the generous prize drawing!
6885 West 160th Street, Apple Valley Provincial Bank and Pahl’s Market are hosting a holiday theme joint Business After Hours with The Apple Valley Chamber and Lakeville Chamber. Enjoy free appetizers, drinks and prizes! Catered by Rascal’s.
Ribbon Cutting at The Joint
Calendar of Events
Wedneday, December 4th, 2013 10:00 a.m. 15050 Cedar Ave. S., Apple Valley (next to Cole’s Salon)
Chamber Holiday Luncheon Wednesday, December 11, 2013 Old Chicago Cedar Room
Location: Old Chicago 14998 Glazier Ave Apple Valley
Time: 11:30 am: Register & Network 12:00 pm: Awards 1:15 pm: End
Join us as we honour our outgoing board members, committee chairs, grand sponsors and award recipients! Seasonal music will be provided by The Eastview Choir. Cost: $15.00 for members or $20.00 for non-members RSVP to kristy@applevalleychamber.com
Welcome Salon Jubilee!
Verizon Wireless hosted an excellent November Coffee Connection! The crowd enjoyed coffee and fresh baked pastries from Dunn Bros catering while networking. Verizon’s friendly employees were their to greet guests and inform them of new products and specials. Thank you Verizon for a successful event!
Welcome Chick- Fil-A!
Ribbon Cutting - November 8th, 2013
Ribbon Cutting - November 1st, 2013
Henry Cho is the local restaurant owner. Viking Cheerleaders, Chamber Chairman Scott Kadrlik, Chamber President Ed Kearney, Mayor Mary and second row all City Council & Police Honor Guard, we all agreed to “eat mor chickin.”
Above is store owner Khanh Boren with her family.
State Representative Anna Wills attended the ribbon cutting and mingled with salon guests.
Chamber Luncheon Improving Your Public Speaking Skills
President’s Perspective By: Edward Kearney
Tasha Rohlfs, Public Speaking Consultant
Tasha grew up in Apple Valley and gave a “standing ovation” worthy presentation. She was fun, informative, creative and gave practical and precise techniques on how to improve our speaking at anytime, not just in front of crowds. Tasha, we learned, won the individual National Championship in speech while at Eastview. The Chamber is proud of a local graduate who became successful and came back home to share her secrets to success. Everyone attending will be a little more prepared and professional when it comes to public speaking.
“…we want to be sure our Chamber Members learn about tax incentive opportunities before out of state developers do.”
Washington Fix Found at Uponor Minnesota this week demonstrated the solution to gridlock and the lack of bi-partisanship in Washington. At our Uponor Ribbon Cutting for their massive expansion, US Senator Amy Klobuchar and US Congressman John Kline sat next to each other willingly in unassigned seats and spoke cheerfully at length to each other. Both myself and Uponor President Bill Gray commented on it in our remarks to the packed hall. “Minnesota Nice” is the secret answer to jobs and compromise. They agreed to spread the word in Washington. City Accommodates Chamber EDA Request The City’s EDA (Economic Development Authority) often meets six or seven times per year. For a few years, we’ve been asking for changes that were finally agreed to. Our Local Issues Committee at the Chamber tries hard to follow these meetings but even we had trouble knowing when meetings were. Most cities post their EDA schedule annually. EDA is where “real development decisions are made and tax rebates voted from time to time” as incentives to bring in new development or keep jobs from leaving, 15 years ago, incentives were used to attract Wings (NWA Credit Union) to relocate from Bloomington and also to build Fischer Marketplace which this year is back paying full taxes again. Just last year, a few million of unused Fischer incentives were instead reapplied to help build Apple Valley Business Campus (behind Menard’s), Blue Water Swimming pool (behind TAGS), Time Square shopping center upgrades, purchasing more park land for Kelly Park and other projects. We want to be sure our members learn about incentive opportunities before out of state developers do. TIF was an incentive for Stream Global to locate here from Boston but at the last minute, Eagan won those hundreds of jobs as Apple Valley just didn’t have a building suitable. TIF incentives are powerful tools and we support them strongly, but with proper vetting. The City does an incredible job in almost everything they do in keeping meetings accessible. However EDA was the one area where transparency could be greatly improved. For years, meetings weren’t posted on their website (still are not) and minutes from previous meetings often took six months to post as they await formal meetings for approval. The City has agreed to our insistence that all meetings be televised resulting in video being online within days. The City didn’t do anything wrong by law but we feel transparency changes were needed to give you better development access to where the real debate happens.
The audience really enjoyed Tasha’s interactive presentation! Pictured next to Scott is his daughter Jillian Kadrlik and Timothy Anderson.
City Council Agrees to Add Chamber Business Owner to EDA EDA in Apple Valley will now have City Council plus two others (only 1 other in past years but state law requires 3, 5 or 7). Many cities around us have only one or two City Council members on EDA or often only businesses. We really wanted a business owner to advise council on development. City Council agreed to our selection of business owner, Mike Maguire, owner of KwikKopy and Past Chamber Chairman. You will be well represented for six years by a man of the highest integrity, is also a Delta pilot and who has lived in Apple Valley for nearly 30 years. We thank the City for listening and for making our listening easier. Mike Maguire beside Mayor Mary on EDA.
Pictured on the right is incoming Chamber Board Chair Jodi Kurtz, Chamber President Ed Kearney, Store owners Joyce Christensen & Shelly Gaetz, Mayor Mary Hamann-Roland, City Council Member Tom Goodwin. Thank you to everyone who joined us!
Welcome Occasionally Yours!
Welcome Occasionally Yours!
17 unique vendors display at this “one of a kind store.” Ribbon Cutting - November 19th, 2013
Wings Financial Business After Hours Celebrating 75 years!
At right, WINGS CEO Frank Weidner points to their 75th Anniversary logo. Guests enjoyed a beautiful view of Apple Valley from the 6th floor board room and executive suites. Congratulations, Wings, on a successful 75 years! May you soar to new heights in the future.
Happy 75th anniversary to Wings financial, thank you for hosting a fantastic event!
Last year’s Chamber Volunteer of the Year and incoming board member Cynthia Smith of WINGS is seen here thanking the crowd and awarding gifts.
Nerium Skin Care
County-Wide Business After Hours Thank you to all who participated and attended the County-Wide Business After Hours at Mendakota Country Club!
Dakota County Galaxie Library
Wings Financial
Great Clips IMAX & Minnesota Zoo
360 Communities
Old Chicago Cedar Room