February 2021 Better Together Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE

New Board President, BEP Update from Anne Troka of Sargento Foods and Chamber Champions Gala Details

UPCOMING Events

02.05.21

Brian Doudna, the new Executive Director of the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation

February 2021

A video update From the President

02.16.21

A Virtual Conversation with Sheboygan County Division of Public Health

02.18.21

Chamber Champions Gala

Watch Now - February Better Together Update - Mark Schuh

from the desk of the executive director “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.”

-Oprah Winfrey This year has gotten off to an exciting start and I’m happy to report we had a very successful Economic Outlook breakfast on January 28th with updates from many leaders throughout Sheboygan County.

Over 44% of survey respondents reporting that they experienced an increase in sales during 2020 over 2019 numbers. More than half are optimistic that Sheboygan County’s economy will perform well over the next 12 months.

02.25.21

Coastal YPN: Building Business

03.05.21

Mayoral Candidate Forum

Deidre Martinez

There is certainly a lot to celebrate and we hope you’ll join in the fun on February 18th as we announce this year’s Chamber Champion’s at our annual Gala. We are happy to invite everyone to participate this year, if you’re able to join us in person we have limited capacity available, if you prefer a private

ROUNDTABLES MEETINGS:

02.03.21 NON-PROFIT ROUNDTABLE 02.04.21 SAFETY ROUNDTABLE 02.09.21 HR MANAGERS ROUNDTABLE 02.10.21 BUSINESS OWNER SUCCESS STRATEGY

space for your group we have partnered with some wonderful venues throughout the County and if you would like to enjoy form home, you can do that as well. Please call the office if you have questions or would like to learn more about any of these options.

The Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce is committed to providing value to our members, increasing economic vitality and the well-being of the business climate in Sheboygan County through, providing opportunities in Professional Development, Relationship Building, Governmental Affairs, Workforce Development and Young Professional Development. We are truly Better Together!

Molly, Coastal YPN Liaison Happy February Coastal YPN Nation!

We had a successful start to the year with our Virtual Happy Hour! We had quite a few new people join as we played Among Us as well as Jack Box games. For those who do not know, these are all interactive games you can play while on a Zoom call! They are great tools for those who are not yet comfortable meeting in person but still want to enjoy a fun game or two. There were quite a bit of new faces at this event and we are excited to welcome them to our network.

Another event we held, which was very well attended, featured Olivia Zeman from Molly Talaska UnitedOne Credit Union. She shared her knowledge on budgeting and refinancing options that UnitedOne is offering now. For those of you who were not able to make her presentation, but are still interested in a budgeting sheet or a recording of the meeting, please reach out to me at molly@sheboygan.org and I will gladly send it to you. A huge thank you to Olivia for taking the time to speak to our network and teach us all about the benefits of budgeting and refinancing!

Our next event is the week following the Chamber Champions Gala, February 25th from 12-1:00 PM. We will be hearing from two business owners about the tips and tricks they found helpful in navigating opening their businesses. You will hear how it started to where they are now, plus the best way to become successful in opening and maintaining your own business. Taylor Roe from GreenRx and Nellie Weiss from Woah Nellies will be the speakers at this event and will be available for a Q&A after they are finished presenting. Register now!

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News from THE DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Happy February! The Super Bowl is on the horizon and should be a good one with two future Hall of Famers battling it out in Tampa, FL! The largest Chamber event of the year is happening soon on February 18th at the Stefanie H. Weill Center for the Performing Arts. Although it will look very different this year, “The Show Must Go On!” There is something for everyone, in-person and virtual, but please join us in celebrating you, our precious members of the Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce!

Limited tickets are still available to attend the Chamber Champions Gala. Or consider joining us virtually & order a dinner package to enjoy at home by going to 2021 Gala registration or www.sheboygan.org today!

Scott Kuehn

Some things to think about as we move through 2021: • If you have not joined a Deep Dive yet, there are still openings for all groups. Start 2021 by engaging with other members of the chamber from various business sectors. Health care, real estate, banking, insurance, painting and staining, attorneys, and many others are represented by exceptional people living in your county. Join a family of Deep Divers today!

• Roundtables are a terrific way to meet others within your business sector. Whether it’s Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, Not for Profit, and others, you’re sure to learn something from your peers. These peer-to-peer networking groups can help any one of your employees, or yourself, accelerate your learning curve, and minimize potential setbacks within your organization. Our own John Rogers does an outstanding job keeping each group on task, and always shares his own wealth of knowledge. Contact john@sheboygan.org and join a Roundtable today!

• Our Young Professionals network goal is to attract, engage and retain young, diverse talent to Sheboygan County by providing opportunities for young professionals to design their social culture, serve as civic innovators and community stewards, and develop into the next generation of leaders for Sheboygan County. If you are interested in joining the YP network, please contact Molly Talaska at Molly@sheboygan.org • Check out the chamber calendar at www.sheboygan.org and make sure you mark the remainder of 2021 for all events coming up this year, it is sure to be an exciting and rewarding year!

And finally, I am looking forward to another year of Meet a Member Friday and having the opportunity to meet so many of our wonderful Chamber members throughout 2021!

See you at the Chamber Champions Gala in a couple of weeks to celebrate so many of our members, and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email or call me, because we are so much #BETTER TOGETHER!

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Business Education Partnership Update

By Anne Troka, Sargento Foods Community Engagement Manager On behalf of the Business Education Partnership (BEP), we would like to share our goals for 2021. Please feel free to let the Chamber know if you would like to become involved or learn more about any of these five focus areas. We look forward to continuing to help connect current as well as future talent with careers and employers in Sheboygan County.

MISSION: The mission of the Business Education Partnership committee is to facilitate business, education, and community partnerships to advance workforce development.

VISION: Future talent will demonstrate career readiness, contribute economically, and work towards financial independence.

15-17-year-olds • Modify format of Explore Your Future for March/April 2021 to meet school and student needs during the pandemic

• Childcare

18-24-year-olds • Support the development of one source to get information about new opportunities for 18-24 years olds that is shared with high school seniors, counselors, parents, non-profit organizations, etc. via INSPIRE.

ALICE population (26% in Sheboygan County) • Create a working committee to help the Job Referral Network develop a new program to connect ALICE population (26%) with companies who offer living/family wages, healthcare benefits and tuition reimbursement programs

• Partner with Inspire on Senior Workforce Pathway • Partner with Lakeland University on Gap Year or Pro Experience • Partner with Junior Achievement to create new lesson plan as follow up to Reality Day that explains the value of companies who offer: living/family wages, healthcare benefits, and tuition reimbursement programs 25-49-year-olds • Create a working committee to partner with SCEDC Talent Community • Employment Barriers • Support solutions in the following areas • Technology

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• Transportation • Affordable Housing

Underrepresented Students • Support females, low income, Black, Hispanic, Hmong, Asian and other students helping them prepare themselves for success • Partner with BBBS MentorU so students can connect with employees who share similar interests, values and backgrounds Workforce Development Symposium • Plan in May, June, July and August to prepare for the September event • Use this county-wide event to plan BEP 2022 Goals

meet your 2021 board of directors New Board President, Mark Schuh At the January 28th annual meeting, we said farewell to Martha VandeLeest for her service as Board President these past few years and welcomed new Board President, Mark Schuh from Plymouth Foam. Meet your 2021 Board of Directors.

Executive Committee Mark Schuh, Plymouth Foam, President; Justin Selle, HSHS St. Nicholas Hospital, President-Elect; Martha VandeLeest, RCS Empowers, Past President; Max Scheuer, Denmark State Bank, Treasurer; Kyle Whelton, Aflac Insurance, Vice President.

Mark Schuh

Board of Directors Paul Blackley, Sargento Foods; Barbara Hamann, Rockline Industries; Lindsay Harrison-Eirich, Engaged Marketing Co.; Kristin Liphart, Lakeshore Technical College; James Schramm, UW Green Bay, Sheboygan Campus; Kristin Stearns, Lakeshore Community Health Care; Kyle Whelton, Aflac Insurance; Christine Loose, Kohler Company; Dan Mella, Plymouth School District; David Zimmerman, Zimmerman Printing; Max Scheuer, Denmark State Bank.

Retiring Board Member Thank you for your service Jim VanAlstine of RCS Empowers.

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January past events

Ribbon cutting at Van Horn KIA of Sheboygan

Nellie Weiss of UnitedOne Credit Union - 2021 Royal Chamber Ambassador

Economic Outlook Breakfast & Annual Meeting

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stay up to date!

Sheboygan

County Chamber

Newsletter sponsorship opportunities now available!

Please contact Scott Kuehn at 920-918-1315 or scott@sheboygan.org for more information.

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