Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce August 2023 Newsletter

RUSHMORE PARKING LOT STRIPING

RENEWING MEMBERS:

Turbiville Electric

Tri-State Livestock News

A&B Business Solutions

LaPrade Roofing & Restoration

Croell Inc

Red Onion Marketplace

Redwater Eye Care

Wilbur Excavating, LLC

2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President Matt Kreutz, Mid- America Travel/Crossroads

VP of Communications | Angie Besler, Albany Farms

Secretary & Treasurer Cassie Pannone, Highmark FCU

Sheila Hodge, Pete’s Clothing & Hodge Bootery

Nikki Hoyme, Monument Health

David Pruitt- Pooter Q BBQ

Rachel Woodroof- Beam Financial

Melissa Scofield, Black Hills Energy

Brittany Wilkinson, The Wild Bluebell

Heidi Parker | City Council Liason

Wendy Bowers Economic Development

Miranda

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

President- Fallon Hendricks

Nikki Hoyme

Rachel Woodroof

Audrey Pruitt

Cadie Hackenbary

Miranda Gallagher | Executive Director

@Center of the Nation Foundation

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE CENTER OF THE NATION FOUNDATION?

To provide financial support for the educational and community development activities and programs of the Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce. To promote and develop the economic, civic, cultural and social welfare of the citizens of Butte County, South Dakota through educational programs. To conduct educational programs to encourage the development of small business enterprises in Bute County; To establish technical education programs which will better qualify residents for employment in Butte County; To promote the development of tourism in Butte County through education programs; To promote the use of new technologies, businesses, and education support in Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce Members.

UPDATES & HAPPENINGS...

WELCOME TO OUR TWO NEW BOARD MEMBERS!

AUGUST MIXER!

Join Us at the CHAMBER OFFICE August 17th for our August Chamber Mixer 4:30 to 6:30 pm!

S.W.A.P. (Social with a Purpose) Schedule

August 17- Grant Street - Chamber Office

September 21st- HighMark Credit Union

October 19th- TBA

November 16th -Non-Profit Mixer

December 21st -TBD

SWAP Chamber mixers will be held on the 3rd Thursday of each month.

DON’T OWN A BUSINESS?

Become A Friend of the Chamber for $50. Received our weekly and monthly newsletter, ability to vote on Chamber business, ability to participate in committees or board of directors. Contact the Chamber to sign up today!!

MEET BRITTANY WILKINSON!

Hi, I’m Brittany Wilkinson. I own The Wild Bluebell Boutique located at 723 7th Ave in Belle Fourche. We carry casual western clothing in sizes small-3x, accessories, home decor and much more. The Wild Bluebell is also an American Darling retailer, carrying hand tooled leather, cowhide and conceal carry purses.

MEET MELISSA SCOFIELD!

Melissa Scofield was born and raised on a ranch south of Faith, SD. She is married to her husband, Jim for 35 years. They moved to Belle Fourche in 1996 and make their home east of Belle Fourche near Orman Dam. She and Jim have two grown children, Nicole who lives in Belle Fourche and Zach, who resides in Sheridan, WY. Melissa has worked for Black Hills Energy for 16 years and you may recognize her, as she worked the Belle Fourche office before it’s closing. In her spare time, she enjoys sewing (especially her new found love of quilting), photography, gardening and camping! I’m especially excited to be able to be a part of Belle Fourche once again. I’ve missed being involved with my “town” and look forward to all the great things happening now and in the future!

LOOKING FOR MENTORS!

LETTER FROM OUR DIRECTOR

The year is half over and it feels like we have just begun. Feels like we are always running so we can be ahead of the game by getting our orders in for the new hottest items, planning that next big event or sale, looking for new ways to advertise our business. We ALL want to GROW and how do you get there?

Take a moment to stop, look at what you have done for the year already and celebrate your accomplishments. Now that you celebrate your accomplishments I know that you are still trying to figure out what needs to be done next. How can the Chamber help you and your business with your “To Do List”?

Great Question. My team and I are here to help you reach your goals. We can give you the resources and tools to help you promote your business, coaching on how to grow your business, and the personal touch of working with us at the Belle Fourche Chamber. All you need to do is contact us, share the goals you are trying to reach,

answer our survey questions, or set up a one on one meeting with me. We have so many business connections, resources, and tools that you can utilize. Let us help you reach those goals.

“Working TOGETHER to make a STRONGER community”

THANK YOU TO OUR SUMMER INTERNS!

We had so much fun, learning and productivity with you both helping us out!

FAREWELL TO ALYSSA

Alyssa is off to college at Truman State University to pursue her degree in Marketing. She has been assisting us over the past few months with some of our marketing endeavours. Some of the things she helped us complete or start this year, was our new member directory booklet, Hidden Gems articles, Member Articles for the local newspaper, brochures, and a few other graphic items. The Chamber would like to wish her the best of luck on her new educational adventure.

ETHAN’S SCHEDULE will be changing as now soccer has started and school is starting soon. Please schedule your marketing videos by contacting the Chamber office at 605-892-2676 or emailing marketing@bellefourchechamber.org. Ethan will contact you to schedule a date and time.

“We strive to PROMOTE our members by Providing opportunities for their success & aim to provide tools, resources & information to help our members be successful.”

BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS - WHAT TO KNOW?

A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within which businesses are required to pay an additional tax (or levy) in order to fund projects within the district’s boundaries.

The BID is often funded primarily through the levy but can also draw on other public and private funding streams. BIDs may go by other names, such as business improvement area (BIA), business revitalization zone (BRZ), community improvement district (CID), special services area (SSA), or special improvement district (SID).

These districts typically fund services which are perceived by some businesses as being inadequately performed by government with its existing tax revenues, such as cleaning streets, providing security, making capital improvements, construction of pedestrian and streetscape enhancements, and marketing the area. The services provided by BIDs are supplemental to those already provided by the municipality.[1] The revenue derives from a tax assessment on commercial property owners, and in some cases, residential property owners.

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are organizations formed by private property owners and businesses within a legally constituted city district. Members pay a special tax to cover the expense of providing their BID with services beyond what the local government offers in their area. The legalities of forming a BID vary from state to state, but the organizations are often created simply by the approval by a majority of local business and property owners, by those who control a majority of the land area, or by owners responsible for the majority of the fees assessed.

BIDS -- which are sometimes referred to as business improvement zones, as well as special improvement, special assessment, special services, and/or business assistance districts -- can range in size and scope. Some are independent of local government, having almost complete autonomy to finance, construct, and manage specific projects, while others are dependent on local government, created only to raise revenue for specific projects. The benefits of belonging to a BID vary, also: Some BIDs simply supplement the district’s maintenance offerings, providing extra sanitation and landscaping services, while others expand into economic and community development.

For example, BIDs can:

• Provide welcoming services and extra security for public spaces and private businesses. This can come through introducing “ambassadors” to assist visitors to the area, financing extra security guards, and setting up neighborhood watch groups.

• Advocate and lobby on behalf of downtown businesses.

• Generate financing for capital improvements (such as raising money to build a performance stage in a public park) or for infrastructure alterations (like funding historic street lighting).

• Commission research and marketing services, collect and analyze economic and demographic data, and promote businesses in the area.

• Embark on integrated planning efforts.

• Allow BID businesses to experiment with innovative practices, implement strategies at a faster pace than if they had to engage with the full mechanisms of local government, and tailor-make solutions to their own needs.

RAPID CITY AIRPORT ADVERTISING

A grant we received allowed us to market Belle Fourche for a year at the Rapid City Airport!

The Belle Fourche Chamber is looking at creating a community gift card that can be purchased via our website and used at any participating businesses. We will be sending out a short survey to ask our members if they would be interested in participating in this community gift card. Please give us feedback on this topic. Note we have not started the process, we are just providing information. There is no revenue kickback for the Chamber; it is a way to keep our money local.

BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT SURVEY RESULTS

Survey Started: 132

Surveys submitted: 36

What areas in your business do you feel you are struggling with?

Top 4 Aanswers:

Would you be interested in participating in a one-on-one business coaching program?

Yes-11 No-25

Would you be interested in a weekly virtual networking opportunity?

Yes- 16 No-20

Would you be interested in attending a one day business education conference?

Yes -27 No- 9

Based on these results we will now be working on establishing the programs and writing grants to help provide these opportunities to our business members in 2024.

GIVEAWAY TIME! Anyone that buys a ticket now through August 17 will be entered to win a custom pair of Nike Air Force 1 from Sole Co. Any help pushing this would be appreciated. -

West

SIGN UP TODAY!

Content Creation Studio - AUGUST 23

2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

NEW The Barn At Aspen Acres, A-Frame Social House

Discover how to maximize your content. This experiential workshop will help you identify impactful content and the overtime adaption.

Learn how to take one piece of content to use in strategic ways across multiple platforms. Kelsey Ruzicka with Moxie Marketing and the SD CEO West team will help you create ready-to-use content during the workshop. Develop content and a method that is efficient and enduring.

TICKETS - $59

Preregistration is required. Limited spots.

BRONC PROGRAMS 2023-24!

We are gathering up sponsorships in our ACTIVITY PROGRAMS for the coming year to support our Belle Fourche Booster Club and Bronc students. We also want to highlight our seniors. We’ have a senior spotlight section to the program, be sure to grab one as a keepsake!

We would love to have you again in the programs and feature your business as a proud local sponsor. Great way to get your business in front of lots of eye balls, and support our Broncs at the same time!

I have attached our rate card and a link below to the prior year publication.

Last year you did a 1 spot or 2x2 ad size for the $250 total for Fall & Winter/Spring programs.

We can help you build the ad, or you can submit a camera-ready ad. Please let Kelsey @ Moxie Marketing know by August 10, 2023.

TAKE THE PLEDGE!

South Dakota Department of Tourism launches new stewardship campaign to remind citizens and visitors to travel respectfully. Read their full media RELEASE HERE.

TIME FOR LAUGHS!

Wyatt’s Hideaway Campground is having comedian, Joe Caliz out to perform August 7,8, and 9th at 7:00PM. Dinners available for purchase during the show.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced a new version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification Employers mus use Form -9 to verify the identity and employment authorization of their employees.

Employers may begin using the new edition beginning Aug 1, 2023, or may choose to continue to use the 2019 version of the form through Oct. 31, 2023. Beginning Nov. 1, 2023, only the new Form I-9 dated "08/01/2023” may be used. The version date can be found at the lower left corner of the form A revised Spanish Form I-9 dated "08/01/2023” s available for use in Puerto Rico only

Overview of Form I-9 changes

• Reduced Sections 1 and 2 to a single sheet. No previous fields were removed. Multiple fields were merged into fewer fields when possible, such as in the employer certification.

• Moved the Section 1 Preparer/Translator Certification area to a separate Supplement A that employers can use when necessary. This supplement provides three areas for current and future preparers and translators to complete as needed. Employers may attach additional supplemen s as needed.

• Moved Section 3 Reverification and Rehire to a standalone Supplement B that employers can use as needed for rehire or reverification. This supplement provides four areas for current and subsequent reverifications. Employers may attach additional supplements as needed.

• Removed use of “alien authorized to work” in Section 1 and replaced it with “noncitizen authorized to work” and clarified the difference between “noncitizen national” and “noncitizen authorized to work.”

• Ensured the form can be filled out on tablets and mobile devices by downloading onto the device and opening in the free Adobe Acrobat Reader app.

• Removed certain features to ensure the form can be downloaded easily. This also removes the requirement to enter N/A in certain fields.

• Improved guidance to the Lists of Acceptable Documents to include some acceptable receipts, guidance, and links to information on automatic extensions of employment authorization documentation.

• Added a checkbox for E-Verify employers to indicate when they have remotely examined Form I-9 documents. Overview of Form I-9 Instructions changes:

• Reduced length from 15 pages to 8 pages.

• Added definitions of key actors in the Form I-9 process.

• Streamlined the steps each actor takes to complete their section of the form.

• Added instructions for the new checkbox to indicate when Form I-9 documents were remotely examined.

• Removed the abbreviations charts and relocated them to the M-274.

SDCEO

THE 4TH ANNUAL BELLE FOURCHE SWEET CORN FESTIVAL

3:00 - 8:30 PM | TRI-STATE MUSEUM GROUNDS

The fourth annual Belle Fourche Sweet Corn Festival will take place on Saturday, August 19 from 3 to 8:30 p.m. on the grounds of the Tri-State Museum and Visitor Center at 415 Fifth Avenue in Belle Fourche.

The event is put on by the Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce, Hometown Thursday, the Tri-State Museum and Visitor Center and the City of Belle Fourche.

FOOD AND CRAFT VENDORS, LAWN GAMES, A BOUNCY CASTLE, FACE PAINTING AND ACTIVITY TABLES AND ACTIVITIES

– many of them corn-related – will be in place or begin at 3 p.m.

A SCARECROW CONTEST will be judged at 4 p.m. with a prize of $100 for first place. A cornhole contest for kids will take place at 5 p.m. with a $30 prize for first place. Details about the contests will be posted on the Belle Fourche Sweet Corn Festival Facebook page or are available at the Tri-State Museum.

FREE COOKED CORN will be served on the museum back deck beginning at 5 p.m. and continuing until gone.

From 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., the band “Stick Ponies” will perform on the Hometown Thursday stage on the museum and visitor center back lawn. The band and beer sales are provided by Hometown Thursday.

If you would like to be a vendor for the festival, please call the Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce at 605-892-2676. If you would like to volunteer for the event, in set-up or tear down, to help with face painting or crafts and activities or to help with corn cooking, please call 605-723-1200.