July2014

JULY 2014 - Vol. 45, Issue 7 IN THIS ISSUE...

Leadership P2- Article By Pat MulQueeny P3 - Article By Jeff Holds P4 -Ambassador Updates

Networking P5 -Networking

Golf Tournament P6- Golf Recap P7- Golf Recap

After Hours @ Umbria Pizzeria July 10th from 4:30-6PM Plan to attend an exciting after hours event at Umbria Pizzeria! There will be free appetizers, a cash bar with drink specials, door prizes and great networking! Umbria Pizzeria is the ideal place to break the monotony of your journey. The genius combinations of the fresh ingredients, the simplicity of the dishes, the wide range of choices, the traditional Italian atmosphere, and the kindness of the staff are the distinctive features of Umbria Pizzeria.

LOCATION: Umbria Pizzeria, 7922 Mitchell Road in Eden Prairie.

COST: FREE for Members & their guests / $10 for Non-Members.

Follow us on Social Media! epchamber2 Follow us on Twitter!

Look for us on Facebook “Eden Prairie Chamber” Look for us on LinkedIn “Eden Prairie Chamber”

Women’s Networking Summer Social July 17th from 3:30-5PM This month, we will be having a Women’s Networking After Hours in place of our monthly luncheon. This is going to be a great event of fun and networking! Be sure to BRING A GUEST! The cost to attend is $10 for everyone.

There will be complimentary appetizers and cash bar! Weather permitting we can enjoy the roof top patio, or hang out in the party room. Be sure to RSVP, you won’t want to miss it!

LOCATION:The Bluffs at Nine Mile Creek, 7475 Flying Cloud Drive, EP COST: The cost to attend is a special rate of $10 for EVERYONE!

Visit our YouTube Channel “EPChamber2” Visit our Discussions Blog epchamber2.blogspot.com

THANK YOU to our 2014 Annual Sponsors!

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsor’s

Silver Sponsor’s

Bronze Sponsor

Bronze Sponsor

Leadership Mid-Year Review By: Pat MulQueeny, President Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce

With 2014 half over, I wanted to take some time to update our members on achievements and items to plan for in the final months. As a non-profit business association, we focus on membership as a key dynamic each year. We are the largest single city Chamber in the metro area and 51 businesses have joined as new members this year already! Our programs to date have attracted over 3,500 people to attend. Thanks to our members who contributed to our equipment fund, we have updated our computer systems and software and have added some features to the Chamber’s website.

New programs and opportunities: •Business Resource Center (BRC) – the BRC is up and running on the Chamber website. Members are highly encouraged to submit their articles on the topics they have expertise in for publication – as well as visiting the BRC to read articles on business issues they may be facing. Plus, we have additional topics like health and fitness for everyone. Only members can submit their articles, but anyone can read them.

•Today’s Business Radio program – mark your calendars for a special partnership breakfast on Thursday, Sept. 12 at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. This program will feature a panel of business speakers.

•B.E.E.R. with Beer – with our ongoing partnership with the Bloomington, Edina and Richfield Chambers we have added a special after-hours featuring micro-breweries on December 4th at Brunswick Zone in Eden Prairie! More information to come.

•Restaurant and Retail Card – coming in November is a discount card for all our members to use with member restaurant and retailers.

Our Chamber continues to provide numerous programs (over 120 a year) for our members to network and build leads for their business, as well as new initiatives to save money, time and gain exposure for your businesses.

Public Policy – the Chamber hosts numerous Public Policy forums to make sure the “voice of business” is heard! As you know this is an election year and we strongly encourage members to evaluate candidates on their views on issues that impact businesses. This past year we saw business issues like the increase in minimum wage that had a direct impact on some of our member companies. This year’s primary races are important as well as some candidates and incumbents are looking for your votes. Please review the information below on the key election dates and be sure to vote in the primaries and general elections!

2014 EDEN PRAIRIE ELECTIONS CALENDAR (from city of Eden Prairie website): June 27 July 22 July 29 Aug. 9 Aug. 12 Sept. 19 Oct. 14 Nov. 1 Nov. 4

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Absentee voting for Primary Election begins; Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Voter Pre-registration for Primary closes at 5 p.m.

Filing begins for City Council seats Absentee voting Saturday prior to Election Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

State Primary, Polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Filing closes for City Council seats at 5 p.m.

Absentee voting for General Election begins; Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Voter Pre-registration for General Election closes at 5 p.m.

Absentee voting Saturday prior to Election Day, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

General Election; polls open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“Connections” (USPS 729770) is published 12 times per calendar year by the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Periodicals postage paid at Prior Lake, MN - POSTMASTER: Send address changes to “Connections,” 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Leadership Chamber Newsletter- What have you done with yours?

By: Jeff Holds Phoenix Technology Solutions, LLC Each month the Chamber distributes a newsletter highlighting upcoming events and networking opportunities. This newsletter also reviews many of the past events along with the messages we may have received while in attendance. Many of you may have noticed there is a section where we highlight new members that have been welcomed by the Ambassadors which usually entails a photo at their place of business. We also have several Ads from other member businesses and inserts on their products or services. All in all, I think the Chamber staff does an outstanding job getting this pulled together and published each month. The question is, what are you doing with your Chamber Newsletter after you have read it?

One of the great things about any Chamber is connecting with other members. If you see a new member in the newsletter or an old one that you would like to connect with…send them an email recognizing that you saw them in the publication. This is a great way to stay in-touch with other members and let them know you are engaged.

Staying up to date with the schools in Eden Prairie is very important to the Chamber and it’s members. Take a few minutes and review what is happening with the education system and other community groups.

Many groups work hard behind the scenes to make Eden Prairie such a great community. Learning what they are doing within the community allows us to appreciate their hard work.

Reviewing the schedule on the back to place events on your calendar as to not schedule over them helps plan out the month. I find this to be a great way to take a quick peak at what is coming in the month and insure I don’t miss an event I would like to attend. This just takes a couple minutes to review and schedule.

Now that you are updated with the current happenings within the chamber, share the newsletter with your clients. I like to place the newsletter in our lobby for clients to review while waiting to see us. This is an excellent way to share the Chamber with others that might not be familiar with us and what we do. You never know who might just pick up the newsletter and see an ad from a Chamber member or read an article about something important in the community. Lets utilize this tool to not only keep us current on what is happening around Eden Prairie but also help share and connect with new potential Chamber members.

Thank you to all the Annual Sponsors that help make this publication work!

Deal of the Month!

BUY A LARGE EBLAST FOR $85 IN JULY AND GET A SMALL BLAST FOR ONLY $30($65 Value).

SPACE IS LIMITED. EBLAST DATES WILL BE FIRST COME FIRST SERVE.

PLEASE CONTACT BRIANNA AT (952) 944-2830 TO RESERVE YOUR EBLAST TODAY! 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org

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Leadership AMBASSADOR UPDATES

The Eden Prairie Chamber Ambassadors serve as goodwill representatives in our business community. They learn about member businesses and encourage membership retention through mentorships, personal phone calls and much more. Below are some of the places that our very busy Ambassadors visited.

Hilton Garden Inn

Hilton Garden Inn Colin Klipfel 952-995-9000 6330 Point Chase Eden Prairie, MN

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Carver-Scott Humane Society

Carver-Scott Humane Society Caroline Emswiler 952-368-3553 P.O. Box 215 Chaska, MN

Pixel Napalm

Pinstripes

Pixel Napalm Romeo Azar 612-961-2197 275 Market Street #c15 Minneapolis, MN

Pinstripes Amanda Brown 651-333-0434 3849 Gallagher Drive Edina, MN

11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org

Networking 2014 Small Business Person of the Year Award The Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce annually recognizes an individual associated with one of its member companies as their Small Business Person of the Year. This award recognizes the individual for the success of the company and the individual’s participation in community affairs.

GENERAL QUALIFICATIONS •Must be an owner or a member of the management of a privately held, for profit business enterprise.

•The company will have been in existence for a minimum of three years.

•The company must have fewer than 250 employees.

•The company must be a member in good standing of the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce.

DEADLINE FOR NOMINATION / APPLICATION: August 25, 2014 at 4:00 PM Please fill out the nomination form online at http://epchamber.org/News.asp

After Hours @ Hilton Garden Inn

Women’s Networking Luncheon

Congressional Luncheon with Erik Paulsen - Sponsored by C.H. Robinson

After Hours @ SpringHill Suites by Marriot

Fusion Speed Networking

Mark Your Calendar!

Girl’s Gone Golfin’ - August 25, 2014 ChamberFest - September 4, 2014 Chamber Gala - Fire & Ice - October 25, 2014 B.E.E.R. with Beer- December 4, 2014

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2014 Chamber Golf Tournament

Presenting Sponsor

Tournament Sponsor

Club Sponsors

Additional Sponsors A to Z Rental Abra Autobody & Glass Aerotek Inc American Family Insurance American Investors Bank & Mortgage Anchor Bank Auto Source AVI Systems Beacon Bank BMO Harris Bank - EP Bobby & Steve's Auto World Brunswick Zone XL BWS Heating & Air Conditioning C. H. Robinson Worldwide Carver-Scott Humane Society

Comcast Business Corporate 4 Insurance Country Inn & Suites Chanhassen ECM-Sun Group Emerson Fastsigns Eden Prairie Froehling Anderson, LTD. GE Capital Fleet Services HealthSource Chiropractic & Progressive Rehab Hellmuth & Johnson, PLLC Image Express Jade Logistics Metro Sales Murray, Camp & Associates, PA Nextera Communications

Phoenix Technology Solutions, LLC Pinstripes Promotion Select, Inc. RepCompany Republic Services Signature Bank Signature Bank Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Unity Bank Unity Bank W.J. Bradley Mortgage Capital, LLC Washburn-McReavy EP Chapel Xcel Energy

Thank you to all of our sponsors, silent auction donors and golfers! The tournament was a huge success! We hope to see you again next year on June 1, 2015 at Bearpath Golf & Country Club.

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11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org

2014 Chamber Golf Tournament

Thank You Volunteers!

Jim Allen Ty Armstrong Heather Bantle Cathy Haukedahl David Hellmuth Jeremy Hoese Kevin Honius David Hurley

Rick Jensen Sarah Kinkeade Mic Klaith John O’Neal Nathan Ries Randy Royse Hope Sevlie Dick Thom

11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org

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JULY 2014 - EPC Calendar of Events Monday

Tuesday 1

Wednesday 2

Thursday 3

NO BUSINESS@BREAKFAST

7

8

9

Friday 4 CHAMBER OFFICE CLOSED

10

11

7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@ Breakfast at EP Mall 4:30-6PM- After Hours @ Umbria Pizzeria

14

15

16

7:30-8:30AM :Government Committee Meeting

7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@ Breakfast at EP Mall

17

18

3:30-5PM - Women’s Networking Summer Social at Bluffs at Nince Mile Creek

21

22

23

24

25

7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@ Breakfast at EP Mall

28

29

30

31

7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@ Breakfast at EP Mall

PLEASE RSVP/Cancel FOR ALL EVENTS BY 12 PM THE DAY PRIOR! Visit epchamber.org to view details, pricing or to RSVP today!