May 2015 - Vol. 46, Issue 5
THANK YOU 2015 Annual Sponsors! PLATINUM Sponsor
Grand Opening May 16
GOLD Sponsor
SILVER Sponsors
BRONZE Sponsors
Sports and business collide at May’s B.E.E.R. Join us Friday, May peak performers in 15 for the next B.E.E.R. business. (Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Using inspirational Edina, Richfield) multistories and poignant chamber event hosted by life lessons from the the Richfield Chamber and featuring world of sports, Bernstein will show Ross Bernstein, best-selling author of attendees how to: nearly 50 sports books, and award• Create a “culture of excellence” by winning peak performance business giving extraordinary customer service, speaker. • Generate momentum by utilizing Bernstein has keynoted the “currency of karma,” conferences on four continents and • Follow their moral compasses to has been featured on CNN, ESPN, win “the right way,” with respect and Fox News, and “CBS This Morning,” integrity, as well as in the Wall Street Journal, Ross Bernstein • Be better leaders and create more New York Times and USA Today. Best-selling sports “buy-in” by embracing change and author His program, “The Champion’s failure, and Code: Life Lessons of Ethics and • Evolve from “order takers” to Accountability from the Sports World to the “trusted partners” by enhancing the quality of Business World,” is based on a series of books in their relationships. which he interviewed more than 500 professional Event details athletes and coaches – all with one thing in LOCATION: Bachman’s, 6010 Lyndale Ave. S, common – they were members of championship Minneapolis, MN 55419 teams. DATE: Friday, May 15, 11 am - 1 pm In his research, Bernstein concluded the same COST: $30 for Chamber Members & $50 for metrics and characteristics common among Non-Members champions in sports, were also common in
Thank you to our B.E.E.R. Sponsors
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Message from the Chair
Are you getting the most out of your membership?
By Carrie Dolinar, Chair Business - Talencio
to get involved. Our Ambassador Committee does a nice job of welcoming new members into the Chamber and introducing them Thank you to around. If you are newer to the Eden Prairie everyone who atChamber, please call on these individuals to tended the 2015 Home, assist you with whatever questions you may Landscape and Garden have. Thank you Ambassadors!!! AdditionExpo; it was another ally, the Board of Directors are also availmajor success. The able to assist in any way we can. That said, exhibitors were excited Chamber 202: Maximize your Membership to be showcasing their is right around the corner. Please mark your companies and we had a huge number of calendars for Friday May 8, from 8 to 9 a.m. attendees. We even have companies that Be sure to RSVP. have secured their spot in next years show. Come hear about the benefits and opBe sure to sign up early to reserve your 2016 portunities that are open to yourself, your spot! Are you getting the most of your member- company and your employees. We will offer ship? Whether you are a new member or ex- you step-by-step instructions of how to get isting member, there are many opportunities involved, define the programs and benefits
Kristen Miller joins the Chamber team
Eden Prairie Chamber members will see a new face at upcoming events. Last month, Kristen Miller joined the team at the Eden Prairie Chamber as the new Marketing and Communications Manager. With a background in mass communications, Miller comes to the Chamber with 10 years experience as a journalist for a weekly community newspaper, where she
spent the last five years as an editor. Miller was born and raised in the western Minnesota countryside near Darwin, home of the largest ball of twine (made by one man), and graduated from Litchfield. She graduated from St. Cloud State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mass Communications:Public Relations. Though she considers herself a smalltown girl, she is looking forward to getting
and show you how to navigate the website. Our goal is to make sure that everyone gets the most out of their membership. If you can’t attend a program and think someone else within your organization could benefit from one of our programs, please help them get involved. They are members too. Networking is a crucial part to the business world. Who do I know that you would like to know and vice versa? The Chamber’s goal is to connect businesses to businesses and the community to businesses. There is a definite value to knowing who is in your community. The Chamber staff is dedicated to serving their members. Please let us help you as we want to create a long lasting relationship! Happy Networking!
to know Eden Prairie and the Twin Cities area. “I’m excited for this new adventure in my life and I hope to do a great job serving the Chamber members,” Miller said. She also encourages Chamber members to reach out to her with any ideas or suggestions they may have to help make their Chamber experience even more enjoyable and valuable. Email:kristen.miller@epchamber.org
Get your message out!
Want to share an event or upcoming offer with fellow Chamber members? Advertise with our eBlasts or newsletter Call (952) 944-2830 or email communications@epchamber.org “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
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Message from the President Recognizing excellence By Pat MulQueeny Chamber President
they hope to learn from us. Finally, the Association of Chambers of Commerce Executives offered a great Every year, the honor by selecting me to serve on their Chamber recognizes Board of Directors almost two years ago excellence in our now. community with This national association continues business awards and to grow and focus on serving Chambers scholarships to help throughout the United States, Canada and individuals further around the world! Access to discussions in their education. It is important to highlight the great efforts of these meetings has given us new opportuthe businesses and individuals in the Eden nities and insights into trends from around the country and beyond. More to come on Prairie area. In addition to the excellence showcased these opportunities in the months ahead. by our members and students, our Cham- Opportunities for Involvement: As members, you and your staff can ber has been recognized for excellence as well. We recently hosted chamber execu- be involved in the Chamber’s committees and here are a few to consider: tives from around the state of Minnesota • Recognition Committee – as mento help them learn from how we run our tioned above, the Chamber looks to programs and provide the marketing and promotional opportunities that best serve recognize excellence in our community, and this is the committee that makes it our members. happen! We have received additional requests Responsibilities include the ability to for information from Chambers, regarding our Student Membership program, as read through, evaluate and select the best candidates for our awards and scholarwell as other programs of ours, in which ships in a timely manner. If interested,
please e-mail lori.brown@epchamber.org to get additional information. • Government Committee – this committee reviews issues and legislation that may have a positive or negative impact on our businesses and community. This committee gives recommendations to our Board of Directors on any policy position statements the Chamber may take. For more information please e-mail pat. mulqueeny@epchamber.org. • Business Development Committee – is working on our second Career Fair for this fall. Committee members will work on getting area businesses involved in the Career Fair including a focus on areas and skills that have a shortage of applicants. For more information, please e-mail pat.mulqueeny@epchamber.org. • Gala – this committee plans our major fundraising event in the fall – set for Saturday, Nov. 7 at Target Field! Volunteers will help with design and layout of the room, decorations, silent auction, live auction and more. To join this committee, please e-mail audrianna.schenck@ epchamber.org.
Ladies, take control of your brand and impression Find out how at this month’s Women’s Networking Luncheon
Margaret Smith
Founder of UXL
Join us on Thursday, May 14 as we hear from speaker, Margaret Smith on personal branding! Smith has a broad business background, including 27 years in business management at 3M. As founder of UXL, Smith uses her experience to serve a diverse range of clients and create relatable, interactive workshops, keynote speeches, and oneon-one coaching sessions. Smith will speak with our group on learning how to take control of your brand and the impression you make. Presented by:
LOCATION: Biaggi’s Eden Prairie Center, 8251 Flying Cloud Drive DATE: Thursday, May 14, 11:30 am - 1 pm TO REGISTER: epchamber.org or call (952) 944-2830 Price: $25 for members and $40 for non-members
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Tee off with the Chamber June 1, sponsorships still available You’re invited to partake in one of the Chamber’s largest events of the year – our Annual Golf Tournament, set for Monday, June 1 at Bearpath! The annual golf tournament is an amazing event that brings together our members (from sole proprietors to Fortune 500’s) community leaders, educators and many more for a fun, enjoyable experience. In addition to the tournament, the event includes a silent auc-
tion, reception, along with networking and promotional opportunities for our members. Don’t miss out on your chance to sponsor or partake as a golfer at this year’s tournament! Registration and sponsorships are filling fast. For more information about becoming a sponsor or for more information on golfing in this year’s tournament, contact audrianna.schenck@epchamber.org or call (952) 944-2830.
Progressive networking at this month’s Fusion This month’s Fusion luncheon is a great networking event you won’t want to miss out on! Fusion, Eden Prairie Chamber’s young professionals group, focuses on networking and growing as knowledgeable members of the business community. For the Tuesday, May 19 program, Fusion is partnering with Edina Chamber’s Young Professional group for a progressive networking luncheon! What is PROGRESSIVE NETWORKING? It’s
a twist on speed networking, and will help you with the best methods of networking conversation. During this event, we will have a facilitator share tips on best practices of networking during a three course meal. However, to start each new course you will be relocating to a different table so that you network with a new group while implementing the new tip given. This is a great opportunity to meet new people outside of Fusion and our Chamber. Don’t miss it!
LOCATION: Helmuth & Johnson, 8050 West 78th Street, Edina TIME: Tuesday, May 19, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. COST: Free for Fusion members, $15 for non-Fusion Chamber members, $30 for nonChamber members
Spread your wings at the May 7 After Hours Wings of the North and FARE Hypnosis will be cohosting a great After Hours event Thursday, May 7 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Wings of the North hangar at Flying Cloud Airport Eden Prairie. Not only will this be a great opportunity to see the local airport, it will also be a wonderful networking event with complimentary pancakes & beer/wine/water, and some excellent door prizes. The grand door prize will be an immediate ride (weather per-
mitting) in a World War II AT-6 Texan airplane! Ladies, you are encouraged to wear slacks if you hope to win the ride, as these planes are a bit awkward to get into. DIRECTIONS: People should enter the airport through Gate H at the northwest corner of the airport next to the city athletic fields. The hangar is part of Premier Jet Center - 14801 Pioneer Trail, Eden Prairie, MN 55347. REGISTER: epchamber.org or call (952) 944-2830 COST: FREE to Chamber Members; $10 for Non-Chamber Members
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Progressive networking was a big hit at the April Women’s Networking Luncheon Last month’s Women’s Networking Luncheon was a big hit, with several regular attendees saying it was the best one yet! A partnership with TwinWest Chamber, this speed networking event, which garnered nearly 100 attendees, is definitely one to duplicate in the future. Facilitated by Sarah Kinkeade of Anchor Bank, the progressive luncheon took attendees through three rounds of networking opportunities in a dual effort to share more information about their business, as well as learn more from those around the table. For those who missed the luncheon, some of the highlights Kinkeade addressed were making oneself memorable in just a few short sentences, and how to maximize the networking potential in the time available.
Women (and men) from the combined chambers enhance their networking skills during the WNL Progressive Networking luncheon April 9.
Thank you to our event sponsors for this event - Aerotek and Executive Sales & Leasing.
April After Hours was well attended
AIBM and Business Connections co-hosted an After Hours event April 21 at the AIBM location with several attendees, which made for a fun after-work networking event, complete with prize drawings.
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General Membership Luncheon and Awards Recognition
Four Golden Apple awards were also presented to those who have made contributions 2015 Charles DeBono Award recipient Steve Bowman, to the enhancement of the quality of education and healthy youth development in right, received a framed piece from the Chamber. Eden Prairie. They are Gary Chanen of Biaggi’s, Jill Boyd and Conn McCartan of Eden Presenting the award are fellow Chamber members Mic Prairie Schools, Brent Pottinger, and Jean Kim Maierhoffer. Klaith and Glenn Schwartz.
The April General Membership Luncheon was extra special as the Chamber had the pleasure of recognizing several individuals who have had a significant impact not only on the Chamber, but the community of Eden Prairie. Awards included the Golden Apple Award and several student scholarships. In addition, Steve Bowman was awarded the distinguished Charles DeBono Volunteer Appreciation Award for his continuous efforts with the Chamber and its Ambassador Committee. Again, thank you to all of the award recipients for your dedication and work with the Chamber. We appreciate it!
Student scholarships went to Tessa Enns, Maria Merino Franco, and Mark Fogarty.
Welcome New Chamber Members!
Barrington Townhomes Assn. 6438 City West Parkway Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (952) 922-2004 jolson@gassen.com
CertaPro Painters - SW Metro 16526 W. 78th St. Suite 335 Eden Prairie, MN 55346 (612) 209-1691 southwestmetro.certapro.com
Bartlett Tree Experts 2724 Fernbrook Lane N. Plymouth, MN 55447 (763) 253-8733 www.bartlett.com/locations
Edina Realty-Kathryn Damato 7655 W. 78th St. Chanhassen, MN 55317 (952) 258-3612 kathryndamato.edinarealty.com
Member Referral Bonus!
Refer a business to the Chamber - once they join, you’ll get $100 CASH if they mention you are their referral
9Round 30 Min Kickbox Fitness 8023 Glen Lane Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (612) 276-6483 www.9round.com Peak Heating & Cooling Inc. 7801 Park Dr. Suite B Chanhassen, MN 55317 (952) 474-1725 www.peakheatingandcooling.com/ WebRatio Inc. 6385 Old Shady Oak Rd. Suite 250 Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (612) 638-2762 www.webratio.com
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Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce welcomes you! Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies
The Ambassador Committee took part in four ribbon cutting ceremonies in April, in which the members welcomed Sean Picht of Edward Jones, Cruise One, Wow 1 Day Painting, and Associated Bank.
Wow 1 Day Painting Mike Sandness, Managing Director 14226 Wilds Drive NW, Prior Lake, MN 55372 (612) 437-0575, www.wow1day.com
Edward Jones - Sean Picht 8929 Aztec Drive Suite 7, Eden Prairie, MN 55347 (952) 975-6003, sean.picht@edwardjones.com
John Pullis CruiseOne 16526 W. 78th St. Suite 181 Eden Prairie, MN 55346 (952) 204-7259, www.johnthetravelguru.com
Associated Bank 566 Prairie Center Drive Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (952) 255-7300, www.associatedbank.com
Congratulations to Ambassador of the Month: Rick Jensen -Richard Jensen Law Offices
Chamber Happenings May 8 – Chamber 202: Maximizing your Membership June 1– Golf Tournament at Bearpath June 26 – Luncheon at Winter Park with the Vikings August 13 – Twins outing in the Bud Deck vs. the Texas Rangers August 24 – Women’s Network Golf tournament at Bent Creek September 10 – Chamberfest! September 17 – ATHENA Luncheon November 7 – Gala at Target Field See May Calendar on Page 8
An afternoon at Target Field with the Eden Prairie Chamber Thursday, Aug. 13, 12:10 p.m Twins vs Texas Rangers
PERIODICALS US POSTAGE PAID PRIOR LAKE MN USPS#729770
Enjoy America’s Favorite Pastime with fellow Chamber friends during the Eden Prairie Chamber Young Professionals Twins Outing.
Reserved BUDWEISER DECK! Tickets $40
MAY 2015 - EPC Calendar of Events Monday 4
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Tuesday 5
Wednesday 6
Thursday 7
Friday 8
Ambassador Visits & Meeting Business@Breakfast by WELLS AH: Wings of the North & 10 AM - 1PM FARGO FARE Hypnosis 7:30 - 8:30 AM 4:30 - 6 PM
Chamber 202: Maximize your Membership 8 AM - 9 PM
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Business@Breakfast by WELLS WNL: Personal Branding FARGO 11:30 AM - 1 PM 7:30 - 8:30 AM
B.E.E.R. Luncheon 11 AM - 1PM
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FUSION: Progressive Networking 11:30 AM - 1 PM
Business@Breakfast by WELLS FARGO 7:30 - 8:30 AM Ambassador Visits 1:30 - 2:45 PM
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Business@Breakfast by WELLS FARGO 7:30 - 8:30 AM
PLEASE RSVP/Cancel FOR ALL EVENTS BY 12 PM THE DAY PRIOR! Visit epchamber.org to view details, pricing or to RSVP today!