October 2015
THE
Official Publication of The Chamber - GF/EGF Official Publication of Grand Forks -
East Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce
Rapid Retention
Are you struggling with retaining valued employees who experienced an injury, illness or impairment?
Join us to learn about a business-focused initiative that connects employers with services of the ND Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and its workforce development partners. Rapid Retention: Maintenance of current workforce and productivity levels Assistance in identifying assistive technology options and potential solutions Professional work site and ergonomic assessments and options Customized continuing education and training options Job restructuring recommendations and assistance Reliable technical assistance Rapid response to employer inquiries
Presented by: Brenda Satrom
LPC CRC, Senior Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor from the Northeast Human Service Center Wednesday, October 21, 2015 11:30am – 1:00pm The Chamber Board Room $20/person ~ Member (Includes Lunch) $30/person ~ Non-Member (Includes Lunch) Registrations are available online only.
To register and add the events automatically to your calendar click the register button below.
Seating is limited to 30 Attendees. Sign up soon! Reservations not cancelled 3 days prior to event will be billed.
202 N. 3rd Street Grand Forks, ND 58203 (701)772-7271
(701)772-9238 Fax
info@gochamber.org
www.gochamber.org
Chamber News Officers Chair: Kristi Magnuson Nelson Hugo’s/Hugo’s Wine & Spirits Chair-Elect: John Oncken - True North Equipment Past Chair: Chris Wolf Alerus Financial Secretary: Ron Galstad Galstad, Jensen, McCann PA Matt Walkowiak - Ground Round Amy Haagenson- Brady Martz & Assoc. P.C. Barry Wilfahrt The Chamber - GF/EGF
Directors Josh Brown - Thompson Insurance Dan Dahl - Dahl Funeral Home Tom DiLorenzo - UND Kellee Fisk - Altru Pete Haga - City of Grand Forks Bonnie Haley - Bon Voyage Travel Brady Hansen- Verizon Wireless, BeMobile, Inc. Jason Heintz - Scheels Kenny Holweger - Kenny’s Music Curt Kreun - GF City Council Pat McLean - Clear Channel Comm. Bob Moore - River Cinema Tom Rosendahl - Dakota Supply Group Brian Rydell - Rydell Auto Center Cheryl Swanson- Alerus Center Klaus Thiessen - GF Regional EDC
Sr. Military Advisor to the Board Colonel Rodney Lewis - GFAFB
Staff Barry Wilfahrt
President/CEO barry@gochamber.org
Lisa Swanson
Vice President of Operations lisas@gochamber.org
Kimberly Strom
Program/Event Director kimberlys@gochamber.org
Carla Younce
Finance Director carlay@gochamber.org
Emberly Lietz
Membership Director emberlyl@gochamber.org
Rena DeSautel
Administrative Coordinator info@gochamber.org
Fort Collins Trip Show Grand Forks on the Right Track First, thank you to Chamber Board member, Pete Haga who organized the group of 18 community leaders who traveled to Fort Collins for an intense “immersion tour”.
What did we learn? Grand Forks is clearly on the right track! Choice Health and Fitness, new hockey facility, the Greenway, downtown events, Public Art, a new school of entrepreneurship, and a focus on young talent to name just a few. Frankly just about every idea Fort Collins is implementing surfaced during the NV360 Community Visioning process jointly led by the chamber. This process which continues to be implemented included the thoughts and ideas of more than 4,400 Grand Forks and East Grand Forks residents. The biggest takeaway I had from the Fort Collins trip was the commitment to intentional planning by the City working with non-profits, business groups and state and national government to tackle big issues (not just the low hanging fruit). A long term focus has resulted is real progress and a community transformation in Fort Collins. We experienced a community transformation after the flood. We need to think longer term and be more intentional and plan for the big things that can move Grand Forks ahead 50 even 100 years from now. A “futures committee” will likely be formed in coming weeks as a result of the Fort Collins trip. This group will only talk about long term opportunities and how to get there. All current issue will be off the table. This type of vision and long term planning will ensure our communities have bright futures for decades to come.
Chamber’s Playing Bigger Role in Government
Throughout their history locally and nationally, Chambers of Com2
merce have prided themselves on their ability to work with elected officials on both sides of the aisle on business climate, infrastructure and community growth issues. In recent years elected officials have become more and more polarized. To use a sports analogy both sides tend to be congregated in opposite end zones shouting at each other. What is even more disturbing is more and more people are “buying tickets” in the end zones and becoming even more polarized in their views. One of the things that has contributed to this polarization was the elimination of earmarks at a federal level a few years ago. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but earmarks required members of Congress to come out to the 50 yard line to negotiate and compromise in a way that solved the big issues in exchange for something for their own state and district. Earmarks made up about 1% of the Federal Budget and may have been worth the cost to get Congress focused solving the big issues and working together. We need people and organizations to start buying tickets at the 35 yard line again. In the meantime the Chamber will continue to work with leaders at all levels to focus on growth, infrastructure and business climate issues that affect our country ability to grow and prosper. The end zones are never the place to be on issues. Progress is made through compromise and finding win wins and the middle ground. Your chamber and chamber’s throughout the country will continue to seek compromise and the middle ground that address the issues that must be addressed at all levels of government. We will play at the 50 yard line.
Chamber Hires Workforce Intern
Jill Leverty, a UND Business Administration Major has joined the Chamber team to work on the continued implementation of the Workforce Development Task Force Plan.
Cont. on pg. 3
Chamber News
Membership Renewals - Through September 25th The following businesses know the value of their Chamber Membership and have renewed their membership in The Chamber - GF/EGF. Please visit them for your purchasing needs.
1st Realty of GGF, Inc. - David Blumkin Advance Chiropractic Clinic Amazon.com American Family Insurance - Debra Hopkins Agency, Inc. Ameriprise Financial - Debbie Albert Assurity Finance & Development, LLC Aurora Clinic Bank Forward - Columbia Road Best Friends Grooming Salon Big Jim’s East Side Tire Black Gold Potato Sales Blue Moose Bar & Grill Bud & Ralph’s Appliance Service Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Dell-Comm, Inc. Downtown Development Association East Grand Forks Dental Care Edward Jones - Bret A. Bentow Empire Arts Center Enbridge GF Truss, Inc. GFK Flight Support Global Friends Coalition HB Sound & Light Henningsen Cold Storage Company Hertz Car Sales & Rental Hope Evangelical Covenant Church ICON Architectural Group iHeart Media JLG Architects Karl’s TV Audio, Appliances & Furniture Kelly’s Bar KLJ
Lafarge Dakota, Inc. Lignite Energy Council Monarch Travel & Tours Morgan Stanley New Vision Truck Accessories Northland Custom Woodworking Northwest Tire Olive Garden Olson Auto Repair Orchard Oil Overmoe & Nelson Prairie Public Pringle & Herigstad Prudential Crary RE - Jack Wadhawan Qdoba Mexican Grill Ralph Engelstad Arena Red Roof Inn Townhouse RehabAuthority Retrax Holdings, LLC Robert Boyd Rod Holth Sertoma Club of Greater Grand Forks Seven Clans Casino Sherwin Williams Company Shopko Stamart Truck Stop Super Target The Salvation Army Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1874 and Auxilary Wakefield Hearing Center Wendy’s - 32nd Ave. Widman’s Candy Wintrust Mortgage
Cont. from pg. 2 Jill will be working with the 6 sub-groups to help complete their action plans.
Board Retreat Focusses on Big Issues Facing Community
The Chamber board had several presentations during its annual Board retreat. No action was taken; however, the chamber will likely weigh in on all of these issues in coming months. Todd Feland, City Administrator presented information on Grand Forks Growing Infrastructure needs and a possible sales tax
increase to fund those projects. The Board expressed concerns about having a sales tax higher than Fargo and also talked about the need for a specific list of what the funds would be used for. Susan Walton and Peter Johnson from UND provided survey information from UND students, faculty and administration along with date from students who were admitted to UND but went to another college and their parents. Grand Forks location was both a positive and negative in student’s college choice decision. The UND/Community Committee of the Chamber will look at
this data further to determine what more the community can do to be attractive to prospective students. Kristi Mishler, with the Community Foundation updated the group on the NV360 Community Visioning Progress and the Knight and BUSH Foundation grant funds that have been used as a catalyst to get new projects moving forward in the community. Pete Haga, from the City of GF presented on the State’s Legacy Fund and likely debate that will occur surrounding the use of this fund in the 2017 legislative session. 3
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701-772-6691 stonesmobileradio.com
1550 47th Avenue S. Grand Forks, ND 58201
Chamber News Hosted by
Hilton Garden Inn
4301 James Ray Drive, GF Park in the hotel parking lot. Additional parking after 5pm is available in the UND lot next to the hotel.
Thursday, Oct. 15 , 2015 4:45pm - 7:00pm Free Admission • Complimentary hors d’ourvres, drink ticket & cash bar • Great Door Prizes • Progressive cash drawing is at $1600! The Hilton Garden Inn invites all Chamber Members and their employees to join them for a fun Business After Hours. Enjoy the fun and take advantage of great networking opportunities. You might even win $1600 in our progressive cash drawing! We’ll draw the name of one Chamber Member business. If someone from that organization is present, they win!! Business After Hours is a great time to network, catch up with friends, coworkers and clients in a fun and casual way. Spread the word and plan to attend the next Business After Hours.
There is great savings and nice selections at the
Home Place Thrift Store 701-795-9704
1811 S. Washington, Grand Forks, ND www.prairieharvest.net
Call us to pick up your donations! (Available Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, schedule permitting)
* Furniture * Appliances * Electronics * Household Items * Clothing * Books All Proceeds Benefit:
Innovation New Ideas… Lasting Impact! 701.235.1121 • 888.526.1121 16 South 16th Street • Fargo, ND Passion. Quality. Innovation.
www.knightprinting.com 5
Chamber News
Welcome New Members Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Dakota Billi Jo Zielinski 4143 26th Avenue South, STE 104 Fargo, ND 58104 (P) 701-280-9474 bzielinski@northdakota.wish.org www.northdakota.wish.org Make-A-WishÂŽ grants the wish of a child diagnosed with a life-threatening medical condition in the United States and its territories, on average, every 38 minutes. We believe that a wish experience can be a game-changer. This one belief guides us. It inspires us to grant wishes that change the lives of the kids we serve. Dakota Made In The Shade Blinds And More Scott & Diana Ohman Grand Forks, ND 58201 (P) 701-317-5597 (P) 218-779-4038 Scottohman@madeintheshadeblinds. com https://www.facebook.com/ Dakotamadeintheshade?fref=ts Dakota Made in the Shade, Grand
Forks. We carry custom blinds, shades, shutters and draperies for a total window solution. We offer free estimates and bring the show room to you.
Valley Aircraft Services, LLC Daniel Malott 2550 17th St NE Manvel, ND 58256 (P) 701-330-7615 dan@flyvift.com www.valleyaircraftservices.com Valley Aircraft Services, LLC, is a full service aircraft consulting company. We provide solutions for businesses and individuals in aircraft selection and acquisition, including pre-buy maintenance inspections. Our specialty is piston aircraft up to light jets. E-mail or call to discuss your personal needs - we have economical solutions for you! Probitas Promotions Matt Fischer 4200 James Ray Dr. Grand Forks, ND 58203 (P) 701-352-0431
(F) 701-352-0436 m.fischer@probitaspromo.com www.probitaspromo.com It’s our responsibility to seamlessly build unsurpassed value in promotional consulting through timeliness, hard work and open communication while maintaining the highest level of ethical standards. JDM Jewelers Michael Berlin 215 N 3rd St. STE 204B Grand Forks, ND 58203 (P) 701-757-0202 jdmjewelers@midco.net https://www.facebook.com/ jdmjewelers?fref=ts JDM Jewelers has been serving the jewelry industry since 1985 offering repair and sales of fine jewelry and name brand watches. We pride ourselves on our professional craftsmanship to manufacture custom jewelry
pieces. Call for an appointment. We would love to help you find just the right piece!
Chamber Ambassador Ribbon Cuttings
To schedule a ribbon cutting for a new business, new location, remodel or dedication, contact Emberly at emberlyL@gochamber.org
H & R Block
GF Senior Center
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Bully Brew Coffee House
Brown Bag Seminar Ambassador Committee Meeting
Alerus Center Business After Hours Alerus Center Business After Hours
Leadership Class
Alerus Center Business After Hours Military Appreciation Day
Wake Up to UND Breakfast Wake Up to UND Breakfast
Military Appreciation Day
Wake Up to UND Breakfast
Business Briefs GF Grocer Receives Grocer of Year Award
Kristi Magnuson Nelson, President of Hugo’s Family Marketplace, was presented the North Dakota Grocer of the Year award from the North Dakota Grocers Association at their convention in Fargo, ND on Monday, September 14. Hugo’s Family Marketplace was founded in 1939 by Hugo and Dorothy Magnuson in Grand Forks, ND. Kristi’s grandfather, Hugo, and father, Curt are past recipients of this award. Kristi grew up working in the family grocery business in Grand Forks. At age 13, she began bagging groceries at the South Washington Hugo’s Piggly Wiggly. She graduated from the University of North Dakota with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and worked at Tri-County Community Corrections in Crookston, MN for a number of years. In 1998, she began working alongside her father and grandfather in the operations area of the business as the Director of Marketing and Advertising. In 2007, after her father passed away, she took over the lead position in running and growing the family business. Hugo’s currently operates a total of ten grocery stores located in Grand Forks (4), East Grand Forks, Crookston, Thief River Falls, Jamestown, Grafton and Park Rapids and 5 liquor stores located in Grand Forks, East Grand Forks, Jamestown and Grafton. “Receiving this award is a great honor to myself, my family and our team”, said Kristi Magnuson Nelson. “We are extremely thankful for the support and dedication of our team members and the communities that we have served over the past 76 years.” Kristi has been very active in the Grand Forks/East Grand
Forks Chamber of Commerce serving on the board of directors and a variety of committees, including the Leadership, Youth Leadership and Finance Committees. Currently, she holds the position of Chair of the Board of Directors. Kristi also serves on the Board of Directors for the local Prairie Harvest Foundation, North Dakota Grocers Association and Minnesota Grocers Association. Kristi has previously served on the Board of Directors of the local United Way. She is also a past recipient of the National Grocers Associations Spirit of America Award.
Before joining AE2S, she was a Career Coordinator at University of North Dakota (UND) Career Services, where she guided students through career planning and job searching, developed various service offerings, designed tools and resources, and coordinated career events. Before that, McDonald-Trostad was an HR Generalist at Edgewood Management Group and LM Blades, and a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Ecolab.
“Michelle has an extensive background in HR recruitment. She has training and hands-on experience in full-cycle recruitJLG Architects Named ing, applicant tracking systems, and leadership training. in Top 50 in the US She is also certified in behavJLG Architects has been ranked #19 of the “Top 50 US ioral-based interviewing,” said Architecture Firms in Business” Megan Houser, AE2S Human Resources Manager. “We are by Architect Magazine. JLG is very glad to have Michelle’s the only firm in North Dakota knowledge, expertise; and to have ever made the list. can-do attitude on our team Architect Magazine is the pub- and look forward to her positive contributions.” lication of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Originally from Fisher, MN, national professional association of architects. The “Top 50 McDonald-Trostad holds a Bachelor degree in Business US Architecture Firms” is the Management from the Univermagazine’s annual ranking. sity of Mary in Bismarck, ND.
McDonald-Trostad Joins AE2S
AE2S (Advanced Engineering and Environmental Services, Inc.) has hired Michelle McDonald-Trostad as a Human Resources (HR) Generalist in the firm’s Grand Forks, ND office. She will be an integral part of the recruitment of new employees for AE2S and its affiliated companies by partnering with hiring managers to develop prospective leads, building and strengthening recruitment connections, coordinating recruitment needs and strategies, and assisting in the interview and selection process.
Alerus Announces Acquisition of Beacon Bank
MN Alerus Financial, N.A. (“Alerus”) (OTCQX: ALRS), announced recently that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Twin Cities-based Beacon Bank – a community-focused bank with three locations in the Twin Cities and two locations in Duluth, Minn. – through a merger of Beacon Bank into Alerus Financial, N.A. The acquisition, consisting of approximately $352 million in banking assets, will increase Alerus’ Minnesota banking assets to approximately $771 million, and will grow Alerus’ total banking assets to almost $2 billion. As of June 30, 2015, Alerus had McDonald-Trostad has more total banking assets of apthan ten years of experience in proximately $1.6 billion, assets HR recruitment, career develunder management of approxiopment, succession planning, mately $2.7 billion, and assets and training and development. 9
Business Briefs under administration of approximately $17.8 billion. The definitive agreement contains customary representations and warranties from both Alerus and Beacon Bank, and their respective holding companies, and each party has agreed to customary covenants and closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory and corporate approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2016 and further strengthens Alerus’ presence in the Twin Cities market and represents its entrance into the Duluth market. “For over ten years, we’ve focused on growing our presence in the Twin Cities market,” said Alerus President and CEO Randy Newman. “This is
the largest bank transaction we’ve ever entered into and will allow us not only to expand our Twin Cities footprint, but also to enter into a new market in Duluth. Culturally, we are extremely pleased with the match of our two organizations. Alerus and Beacon Bank both share a customer advocate philosophy where long-term, personal partnerships are established between the customer and their trusted advisor.” “We picked them as much as they picked us,” said Beacon Bank President and CEO Bob Weiss. “Our customers will benefit from the expanded array of mortgage, retirement, and wealth management products and services enabling us to meet even their most complex financial needs, while continuing to work with the same local employees.” Beacon Bank’s three Twin Cities offices, located
in Shorewood, Excelsior and Eden Prairie, Minn., as well as its two Duluth, Minn., offices will remain open and operate as usual. Branch locations will continue to serve customers under the Beacon Bank name until the acquisition is final in early 2016, after which they will transition to the Alerus name. Expanded products and services will be added to the new locations early next year. “We look forward to working with our new customers and are committed to making the transition to Alerus as seamless as possible,” said Alerus Twin Cities Market President, David “Chip” Norris.
JLG Architects Recognized
JLG Architects has been named to the top 25 large employers on the “50 Best Places to Work” list by Prairie Business Magazine. It is JLG’s second year in a row on the list, and the firm’s third Best Place to Work honor in 2015. JLG has also been recognized by The Zweig Group and the GGF Young Professionals. Now in the second year of hosting the Best Places to Work contest, Prairie Business received nearly 2,500 surveys nominating more than
STAND OUT in The Chamber’s 2016 Membership Directory You can make your directory listing in the 2016 Community Profile/Membership Directory stand out with BOLD or RED print! Included with your membership is a listing in the back of the Communtiy Profile book. You have the opportunity to make your listing stand out by purchasing with BOLD or RED for your listing.
The 2015 edition has been selected as chamber Publication of the Year by Mid-America Chamber Executives (MACE) organization! An online version of the book can be found HERE
Your listing for the Contact Emberly for details! directory is emberlyL@gochamber.org taken from 701-772-7271 our member da10
tabase. Please check your listing on our website HERE. If there are changes to the contact person, email address, phone, address or website, contact Emberly to make the change.
Chamber News 140 companies. Companies were nominated through an anonymous employee satisfaction survey and rated in areas including work environment, employee benefits and employee happiness. Consideration was also given to the number of nominations received per company. The top 25 small for-profit companies (99 or fewer full-time employees) and the top 25 large for-profit companies (100+ employees) are honored in the magazine, which is available now on www.prairiebizmag.com.
Grand Forks over the past decade.” Follow THIS LINK To see the Governors slides on the economic performance of North Dakota.
JLG Architects has been named #87 on the Architectural Record Top 300 Firms list, which ranks architecture and architecture/engineering firms headquartered in the United States by annual revenue. JLG was #158 in 2014, and is the only firm from North Dakota to have ever made this ranking.
Governor’s Economic Diversification Summit Recap
The Chamber cosponsored the ND Governor’s Economic Diversification Summit last week. According Chamber President, Barry Wilfahrt, “Despite lower oil prices, a low Canadian dollar and weaker ag commodity prices, our local economy continues to be strong in most sectors. This is thanks to the aggressive economic diversification efforts in
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Business Briefs
4 Beginning Twitter Tips for Business
From 2014-2015 the number of Twitter users grew by 50 million, and it’s estimated that close to 1/5 of Internet users have Twitter accounts. The average Twitter user follows 5 businesses so if you’re not trying to reach your customers on Twitter you’re missing an opportunity.
sages to new followers. While the concept seems nice – thanking them for following you – they come off as exactly what they are, robotic. Plus many Twitter users don’t check their messages box because of the large number of these they receive.
Twitter is easy enough to understand, just share something 140 characters or less. You can share links, images, or videos. Here are a few other tips for businesses just starting out on Twitter:
In addition to finding customers and potential customers on Twitter, it’s good to connect with influencers in your industry or audience such as mommy bloggers or niche bloggers.
Follow the Golden Rule
To follow back or not to follow back. That is the question and the answer for business is follow back, or do unto others as you would like them to do to you. There are exceptions to this rule. Twitter will cap you at 2,000 following (people you follow) if your followers (number of people who follow you) are not fairly equal. For instance, if you followed 2,000 people but only 500 followed you, Twitter will not allow you to follow any more until those numbers get within (about) 200 of each other. Twitter won’t tell you the exact number that it takes but you will be limited until those follower numbers rise. You also don’t want your followers and following number too far off of one another because:
Use Hashtags
Twitter is as hard to follow as the ticker tape on a stock page. It’s a constant barrage of messaging, particularly for those accounts that follow a lot of people. Hashtags, or pound signs (#), help people search for the information they want. Using an appropriate hashtag can expand your business’ reach and help potential customers find what they’re looking for. Employ one specific to your business and use hashtags that are relevant. For instance, Jake’s Jewelry Store might use all, or any, of the following hashtags in tweets with images of gifts for mom: #jakes, #mothersday, #gift. You can also use popular hashtags of trending topics, when applicable, like #marchmadness.
Share Images
This tip applies to most of social media but Twitter will display images prominently in the stream so it’s a good way to get your followers’ attention.
Rise Above the Noise
Find ways to stand out from others who are merely posting articles they’ve written. Ask questions. Have conversations. Thank people for sharing your content. One of the easiest ways to create loyal followers, at least initially, is through commenting on what they share – either by providing your own opinions or asking them follow-up questions. Avoid sending out automated thank you mes12
• If you are following too many people, and a relatively equal number is not following you back, it looks like you’re not sharing worthwhile information. On the other hand, • If a lot of people are following you and you’re only following a handful, you look like a bit of a jerk. That’s okay for reality TV stars but people who are using Twitter for business should be a little more congenial. You can manage your Twitter followers through tools like ManageFlitter, Followerwonk (a Moz app) or Friend or Follow. Many of these tools can help you tell which accounts are spam bots or fake accounts or inactive accounts. (You don’t want to spend time engaging those.) They also help you isolate influencers in your area. There are pages and pages of tips written on topics like Twitter for business but the best thing to keep in mind is your humanity. Don’t make it all about your business and be gracious. Find ways to connect with people on a more personal level and imagine every tweet you’re sending could be seen by your grandmother. Christina R. Green Writer, blogger