May 2013 - Owatonna Chamber of Commerce and Tourism

MOWATONNA AREA CHAMBER ME
area chamber of commerce & tourism
MEMBER
Owatonna
BER•WWW.OWATONNA.ORG•
MN
what’s
Inside:
Coupons
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business brief
owatonna area chamber of commerce & tourism
Highway 14
Update
Expert Advice
Leadership
Owatonna
News
Tourism
Week
Volunteer Tour
Guides
Member News
Abrahams
Joins Staff
Beautification
Efforts
Dedicated to the prosperity of our member
businesses and the vitality of the area.
network
What do I get as a member of
the chamber
When I hear this question my
first answer is like anything in life,
you get out what you put in. As a
member organization we are able
to work together to achieve great
things. You can look to the past
and see a number of great accomplishments
that have happened.
Scott Kubicek
All of them came about because
Advantage Cabinets
someone had an idea and then a
OACCT Board Chair
group of people worked together to
make it happen. As a member of
the Chamber you are all a part of this. Even if you do
not actively work on a committee or attend an event,
we value your input and appreciate your commitment
to our organization.
I ask each of you to look at your talents and see how
you can help. I can guarantee that if you get more
involved you will get more out of your membership.
Together we can continue to make Owatonna great!
Thanks for being a member!
promote
connect
Member spotlight
focus on...
Prairie Ridge Orthodontics
Dr. Jeff Loveless, orthodontist
475 26th Street NE; 451-5993
ridgesmiles.com
Dr. Jeff Loveless and his team have decades of
experience providing orthodontic care to both
adults and children. Dr. Loveless is the only orthodontist
in Owatonna that is Board Certified
by the American Board of Orthodontics.
Dr. Loveless and his team continue to learn
and grow together with continuing education
courses. We stay up-to-date with new technology.
Dr. Loveless is a certified Invisalign®
provider, giving patients the option between
traditional metal
braces and invisible
clear braces.
We strive to create a
trusting relationship
with our patients by
providing completely customized treatments
that meet your needs, working around your
schedule to make sure each office visit is convenient
for you, and treating every patient as if
they are family.
Ask us anything! We strongly believe in engaging
our patients and their families throughout
the entire treatment process. Dr. Loveless and
his team leave nothing to the imagination. We
will share with you every detail of your treatment
so you always know what to expect.
Spotlighted members are randomly drawn.
get
online
2013
M a y 2 0 1 3

oard of Directors
“
I
I
2013
directors
Scott Kubicek, Chair
Advantage Cabinets
Jennifer Menzner. Vice Chair
TPS Insurance Agency
Mike Milstead, Past Chair
Ag Power Enterprises
Brad Breyer, Treasurer
United Prairie Bank
Laura Brady, At-Large
Haute Tanning
Dr. Brian Burmeister, At-Large
Main Street Dental
Jennifer Martin
AmericInn Hotel & Suites
Owatonna- Convention Conference Center
Center Glen Meger
Glen Brick Meger Funeral Home
Brick-Meger Dave Hietala Funeral Home
Riverland Dave Hietala Community College
Riverland Barb Heerema Community College
Barb Community HeeremaBank Owatonna
Community Cindy RossowBank Owatonna
Cindy Cedar Rossow Gallery
Cedar Dr. Michael Gallery Peterson
Dr. McGregor Michael Chiropractic
Peterson
McGregor Vicki Lysne Chiropractic
Vicki Comfort Lysne Inn
Comfort Julie Rethemeier Inn
Julie Federated Rethemeier Insurance
Federated Company Insurance
Company Shirley Schultz
Shirley Costas’ Schultz Candies &
Costas’ Restaurant Candies &
Restaurant
Wayne Starman
Wayne Cash Wise Starman Foods
Cash Wise Foods
know the Chamber is
representing know the my Chamber best interests is
representing and they do my so with best interests a powerful
and voice they and do respected so with a powerful
voice and respected voice.”
voice.”
Rhonda Guthier
Interim President
rguthier@owatonna.org
Dave Effertz | TPS Insurance
Dave Effertz | TPS Insurance
Melanie Sunnarborg
Board of Directors
MainStreet Director
msunnarborg@owatonna.org
SAVE THE DATE: GOLF EVENT
THURSDAY, AUGUST 1
OWATONNA COUNTRY CLUB
Get your foursome together for the Chamber’s annual best ball golf event on August 1st! The registration
form is available in this month’s Chamber Pack and online at Owatonna.org.
We can organize a foursome team for you as well.
AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & TOURISM
Beverly Bowers
Membership Manager
bbowers@owatonna.org
Lisa Havelka
Marketing sponsorships also availble! Connect with golfers as a hole or
refreshment sponsor--lots of options and benefits are available.
Tourism Director
lhavelka@owatonna.org
Call 507.451.7970
Email oacct@owatonna.org
Fax 507.451.7972
Web www.owatonna.org
Hours M-F: 8am-5pm
Contact Katie at the OACCT for more info
or to sign up--knelson@owatonna.org.
Make the most of your membership!
oacct staff – we are here to serve you!
Allison Abrahams
Office Support Manager
aabrahams@owatonna.org
Title Sponsor:
Try a Coupon Promotion
Enter a savings discount or special offer to create a coupon promotion available to the entire
community and visitors. You also have the option to
add your coupon to OACCT's Facebook Page. It's a
FREE opportunity to reach another online audience.
Coupon offers are due by the 28th of each month.
OACCT will email members a notification of current
offers the first Monday of the month.
Beverly Bowers
Membership Manager
As an Owatonna Chamber Member you are able to utilize
our website to network with other area businesses, sign-up for events,
and advertise! Use your Username and password to log-in to our Members
Only services. (If you do not know yours please call to have one assigned.)
Stacy Kubat
Office Support Manager
skubat@owatonna.org
Katie Nelson
320 Hoffman Drive
Owatonna, MN 55060
Follow us on
Visa, Mastercard & Discover Card
accepted
Marketing Director
knelson@owatonna.org
NEW!
Bogey &
2 Putt Limit
Anne Peterson
Group Tour Coordinator
apeterson@owatonna.org
2 | may 2013 Business Brief Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism

legislative Updates
Transportation Rally Draws Supporters
Highway 14: Transportation advocacy organizations worked together on April 17th
and held a rally to demonstrate the public support for an investment in Minnesota’s
transportation infrastructure. Highway 14 Partners
that spoke were Mayor Tom Kuntz, Senator
Vicki Jensen and Beth Hodgman.
According to the Highway 14 Partnership, the
Minnesota Senate Transportation Committee
passed a transportation budget that included
funding for the Corridors of Commerce program
($47.6 million in FY14 and $110.3 million in FY14)
on April 17th.
The revenue source that pays for the Corridors
of Commerce program is a gross receipts tax
on motor fuels at the wholesale level. The
bill has language for this program, stating: “In
selecting a project from District 6 and 7, the
commissioner is encouraged to prioritize the expansion
to four lanes of an interregional corridor
that connects regional trade centers, connects
with other interregional corridors, and contains
two lane segments with 1.5 times the state
average fatality rate for rural two lane roads”.
Motor fuels distributors will be imposed a 5.5
percent tax on their gross receipts to be paid on
Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz spoke at the
Transportation Rally about the importance
of completing Highway 14, as well as other
similar statewide transportation projects, to
keep our state economically viable.
a quarterly basis, not per transaction. Correspondingly, the gas tax is decreased by
6 cents. Once fully phased in, this revenue stream is projected to generate around
$200 million/yr for the Highway User Tax Distribution Fund, which distributes funds to
trunk highways (to the Corridors of Commerce), counties, and cities. Agricultural and
heating fuel is exempt from the gross receipt tax.
The Highway 14 Partnership also shared that Senator Jensen has been an incredible
advocate for Highway 14 and deserves a lot of credit for the funding legislation
position that was current at the time of printing. You can thank Senator Jensen at
(651) 296-9457 or sen.vicki.jensen@senate.mn.
We also appreciate Representative Petersburg efforts in co-authoring trunk
highway bonding legislation and openness to approving general obligation bonding
projects like the Corridors of Commerce.
Locally, the OACCT continues to advocate with our tax-base entities on items from our
2013 Legislative Agenda:
Steele County: encouraging more transparency by broadcasting public meetings, the
OACCT continues to follow the County’s efforts for streaming Commissioner meeitngs.
Adminstrator Shea has shared the County plans to stream meetings this fall. The
OACCT is researching temporary options for broadcasting or streaming meetings until
the more permanent structure is in place.
School District: the OACCT has offered a few suggestions for the Distict’s potential
fall levy sucess by addressing issues of concern from strategic planning, connecting
members with the District’s community finance committee and monetarily quantify
the savings of the most recent bond refinance.
United for Jobs is a non-profit that’s focused on a grassroots effort to emphasize
government and budget efficiency, asking legislators to cut the waste and spend every
tax payer dollar wisely.
Legislation may raise $4.65 billion in new taxes on top of the Governor’s proposed $1.8
billion in new taxes, business is highly concerned raising billons to cover a $627 million
deficit at a time when the economy is only growing at a 2% rate. This will force tough
business decisions, lack of investment and impede job growth.
View more at VoiceforOwatonna.blogspot.com!
workforce Event
voice forOwatonna.org
Contact lawmakers via VoiceforOwatonna.org!
Let our elected officials
know how current
bills and legislation will
effect your business.
Items like Highway 14 funding
efforts, minumum wage
increases, and enourmous
spending increases are a
few timely topics that you can give insight on.
Business
3rd
After Hours
Congratulations to Business After Hours jackpot
winner Habitat for Humanity!
They won $100 in Chamber Dollars (which will
equate to $800 in local economic impact as it
rolls over approximatley eight times in the community).
Happy Shopping!
Thursday Networking
Speedy connections via speed networking was
the focus for April’s 3rd Thursday event. More
than 35 members participated.
Join us on May 16 for the next structured
networking event! We’ll be at Roosevelt
Community School, 122 E McKinley St. from
Noon-1PM.
Grow your business!
Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism www.owatonna.org | 3

expert Advice
Time Management that
Works
Do you ever wonder how
some people get so much
done in a day The answer
is time management! We
all have 24 hours in a day –
how you choose to spend
those 24 hours is up to you.
Below I will share three
Christy Tryhus
Simply Balanced Coaching
time management tools
that work.
1.Develop a Power Plan:
Take 10 minutes each day to
create a plan for the next day. Studies show that
10 minutes of planning equates to 100 minutes
of increased productivity each day. Create a plan
with realistic expectations - what do you really
need to accomplish tomorrow
2.Time Blocking: Schedule similar activities
together and turn off distractions such as email
alerts and social media. Pure laser focus will
increase productivity.
3.Eat Your Frog first thing each morning. According
to Brian Tracy, your frog is the most difficult
task you have to complete for the day. If Eat
Your Frog first thing in the morning the balance
of your day will be more productive.
The key to success is consistency – to truly see
the results of time management you must use
the above tools consistently for 30 days. I challenge
you to use the tools and get more done in
less time.
The choice is yours – use the tools and shift life
from chaos to calm.
leadership Owatonna
Riverland Community College along with the OACCT
is about to embark on its fifth year of our Leadership
Owatonna partnership, and we
want to share some EXCIT-
ING news! We are moving to
a new model with next year’s
program.
Jim Krile, retired director of
Community Leadership programs
for the Blandin Foundation
will be joining us as the
instructor. Jim’s involvement
represents an important valueadd
to the participants, the
alumni and to our community!
The Leadership Owatonna brochure and application form
will be inserted into this month’s Chamber Pack. Please
review with your management team and select one or
more employees to be part of this year’s ground breaking
program.
tourism
National Travel & Tourism Week
Celebrating the Positive Effect of Travel
The first full week of May is annually recognized as National Travel and
Tourism Week, a tradition first celebrated in 1984. Owatonna Tourism
is proud to be taking part in this nationwide celebration being held May
4 – May 12, 2013.
Investing in Tourism is Smart
•Tourism in the state of Minnesota is an $11.9 billion industry –
generating $32 million a day. Tourism supports almost 240,000 leisure
and hospitality jobs providing $4.1 billion in wages. Tourism generates
nearly $769 million in state sales tax revenues, which is 17 percent of
Minnesota’s sales tax revenues. To learn more about the investment
Minnesota is making in tourism check out the Minnesota Tourism
Lisa Havelka
Growth Coalition’s website: http://www.explorebrainerdlakes.com/
Tourism Director
brainerd-lakes-chamber/
government-affairs/minnesota-tourism-growthcoalition/
Tourism Spending = Return on Investment
•No matter what the reason or duration of a traveler’s
visit to Owatonna, there is a direct effect on our
local businesses and economy, including our hotels,
gas stations, coffee shops, restaurants, shopping
stores, and ATMs. Every $1 invested in state tourism
marketing returns an estimated: $8 in state and
local taxes, $22 in income and $84 in spending by
travelers. The power of travel and tourism stimulates the local economy and showcases Owatonna
as a great destination for events, group tours, and family getaways.
Tourism is right in your Backyard
•Help support our local tourism economy by staying with one of our ten lodging properties, or
eat in a local restaurant, take your family to one of our many attractions, such as the new Steele
County History Center, Orphanage Museum, National Farmers’ Bank, Frank Gehry-designed
Winton Guest House, Cabela’s, RAD Zoo, River Springs Water Park, among many more. And
don’t forget about all the local events and celebrations throughout the summer, such as Smokin’ in
Steele BBQ Championship, Harry Wenger Band Festival, the 11 @ 7 Concerts in Central Park, MN
Senior Games, Steele County Historical Society Extravaganza, Owatonna’s Five Days of Fun and
Festival of the Arts and, of course, the Steele County Free Fair!
Be a tourist in your town this summer and help support the local economy! Celebrate National
Travel & Tourism Week May 4–12, 2013, by planning a trip, taking a vacation, or even stopping
by the Owatonna Tourism office to find out about all there is to see and do in your own backyard
this summer! Find out more at www.VisitOwatonna.org or “Like” us at www.facebook.com/
VisitOwatonna.
*As reported by the U.S. Travel Association
** Based on MN Dept. Of Employment & Economic Development & Revenue & Explore Minnesota
survey in 2008 & 2010
Are you the “U’ in Volunteer
Nancy Vaillancourt training volunteer
tour guides on the walking
tour of downtown in 2012.
Owatonna Tourism is seeking additional Volunteer Group
Tour Guides to help show off our city! All you need is a
willingness to share all the great things to see in Owatonna;
we’ll provide the training!
As a Volunteer Tour Guide, you will be trained to give tours,
which may include bus tours of the city, our historic homes,
historic downtown, National Farmers’ Bank, and other local
attractions. Last year, 52 group tours were scheduled
through Owatonna Tourism and we’re
hoping to top that number in 2013.
Training Day – May 14: Noon-4pm
Our training will begin with a lunch at
the OACCT lower level and a discussion
of the “how-tos” included in the
2013 Volunteer Tour Guide Manual. We’ll also have the opportunity to attend
Harvey Ronglien’s presentation at the Orphanage Museum and take
part in a tour of the Farmers’ National Bank!
Any questions can be directed to Rhonda Guthier, Operations
Director/Interim President at rguthier@owatonna.
org. Deadline to submit your application is June 7th!
Contact Anne Peterson, group tour coordinator at apeterson@owatonna.
org or call the OACCT office at 451-7970.
Anne Peterson
Group Tour Coordinator
4 | may 2013 Business Brief Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism

Untitled-2 1 7/24/12
Dedicated Assemblers
Each month we have a group of volunteers come in who
stuff the Chamber Pack envelopes and help to ensure the
OACCT Business Brief is delivered on time!
We truly appreciate the dedication and effort of Elsa
Mandt, Jan Moehnke, Ruby Wolesky and Lucy Skalicky.
A special thanks to Bernice Hartle and the late Helen
Hufendick for their many years of volunteering. We will
miss your hard work and smiling faces.
Business BReak
Stacy Kubat
Office Support Manager
Member Announcements
Done right,on time, as promised.
Owatonna, MN • Phone: 507.446.5300
• High Quality Printing
• Digital Printing
• Wide Format Printing
• Complete Mailing Service
• Bindery Services
• Marketing Solutions
• Web to Print
• Quick Turn
volunteer Thanks submit by 15th monthly
Owatonna Araea Chamber of Commerce & Tourism www.owatonna.org | 5
Riverland Community College, has partnered with Milwaukee-based Cardinal Stritch
University to make available a “2+2” program in which students can earn their
Associate in Arts or Science in Business from Riverland, and then transfer all
of the credits to Stritch to finish a four-year degree in Business Management at
the Owatonna campus.
Traditions of Owatonna is pleased to announce Amy Snider as the administrative
assistant.
Oak View Nursery is pleased to announce their new greenhouse location in the
parking lot at Cash Wise Foods.
Country Inn & Suites By Carlson® Owatonna was presented with a 2012 Country Inns
& Suites Be Our Guest Service Award.
Visiting Angels has added Kelly Simmons to their staff as director of Mankato
operations.
Kristin Surdy is the Director of Nursing at Valleyview Assisted Living and Memory
Care.
Steve’s Meat Market is celebrating 40 years in business in 2013! Also, they were
awarded the Grand Champion for Dried Beef and Reserve Champion for their
Cooked Smoked Pork at the MAMP convention in March.
Dori Prochniak has been appointed as a financial advisor with Dufresne, Wayne &
Associates, a financial advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial.
Natalie Ginter has been named the manager of Development and Community
Engagement at Owatonna Hospital.
J-C Press is pleased to share that Sabra Otteson is one of eight women being honored
in April at the Women of Distinction 2013 Girl Scouts River Valleys luncheon,
honoring inspiring women for their leadership, professional accomplishments
and community contributions.
Marco announced they have purchased Hyde Telecom Partners, Inc., a data and
telecommunications company that serves clients in Central and Eastern Iowa.
The employees from Hyde Telecom have joined the Marco team.
Congratulations to Melanie Blanchette who was united in marriage on Saturday,
April 27th to Joe Sunnarborg.
Owatonna College & University Center
965 Alexander Drive SW
507.455.5880 or 800.247.5039
www.riverland.edu
Steele- Waseca
Cooperative
Electric
2411 West Bridge Street, Owatonna MN 55060
507.451.7340 • fax: 507.446.4242
swce@swce.coop • www.swce.coop

area chamber of commerce & tourism
MEMBER
Owatonna
BER•WWW.OWATONNA.ORG•
MN
May events
Promotions Committee
May 2
Plan Retail Events
The Kitchen, 329 Cedar Ave. N
7:30 am
3rd Thursday Networking
May 16
Roosevelt Community School,
122 McKinley St.; 11:57 am
Sponsor:Oak View Nursery
Business After Hours
May 28
Owatonna Care Center,
201 18th St. SW; 5:30 PM
Chamber Pack Insert
Supply the OACCT with 600 copies
of your promotional insert by May
30 for June’s mailing; cost is $125
Don’t forget to register for the
MN Senior Games June 19-22!
Registration closes June 3!
MOWATONNA AREA CHAMBER ME
OACCT events
Don’t miss out!
June events
Promotions Committee
June 6
Plan Retail Events
The Kitchen, 329 Cedar Ave. N
7:30 am
3rd Thursday Networking
June 20
Famous Dave’s BBQ,
4355 W Frontage Rd.; 11:57 am
Sponsor: Famous Dave’s BBQ
Business After Hours
June 25
Spare Time Entertainment,
333 18TH St. SE;
5:30 PM
Chamber Pack Insert
Supply the OACCT with 600 copies
of your promotional insert by June
27 for July’s mailing; cost is $125
SAVE the Golf DATE!
August 1
Owatonna Country Club
Register at owatonna.org
or with enclosed form
All OACCT event participants are subject to photography/videography exposure. These photos/videos
may be reproduced in publications or promotional items developed by the OACCT. All photos and
videos are property of the OACCT.
Beautification Season
We’re Itching to get Outside!
May 4- Farmers’ Market: Grab your reusable
bags and walking shoes as we prepare
to open the Farmer’s Market for another
season. The Farmers’ Market is open each
Saturday from 7 am-1 pm running through
October. Interested vendors should contact
John Meixner at 455-0969.
May 17- Downtown Clean-Up: Students,
staff and business owners will clean-up the
heart of our city. The Owatonna ALC students
sweep sidewalks, pull weeds and pick
up trash while the City of Owatonna Street
Department works to sweep the streets and
parking lots. If you are a business owner
Melanie Sunnarborg
MainStreet Director
within downtown, we encourage you to thank the students who work
to clean up downtown as well as take an opportunity to spruce up
around your building!
May 22- Hanging Flower Baskets: We are set to hang 150 flower
baskets throughout the downtown. Thank you to our many business
and individual contributors as well as Souba’s Greenhouse & Garden
Center, Cedar Valley Services, City of Owatonna Park & Recreation
department and our watering volunteers who make this program a
success.
May 23- Thursday Night Live and 11@7 Concert Series: Join us
on Thursday nights for family-friendly fun followed by music in Central
Park. Kick-off night features Tuition Daddies sponsored and hosted
at St. Clair’s for Men starting at 5 pm followed by the Mile 5 Band in
Central Park.
Local businesses and members of the Promotions Committee are
planning different events throughout downtown from 5-7 pm prior to
the concerts in Central Park. Plans are being made like live music, entertainment,
food, refreshments, shopping specials, sidewalk sales, a
Thursday Evening Farmers’ Market, etc. to attract visitors and locals
to shop and dine before enjoying the Thursday concerts in Central
Park! There will be a theme each Thursday night.
We encourage our local businesses to organize or sponsor activities
and events in their stores or on the sidewalks in front of their stores.
There is also plenty of space in Central Park for businesses not located
downtown to participate. If you have an activity planned, please
let myself know so we can get it on the calendar!
These events will be followed by the ‘11@7’ Summer Concerts, which
will be held in Central Park beginning at 7 pm each Thursday from
May 23rd-August 8th (exception of July 4). If you miss the concert
series, you can watch it online at owatonnalive.com.
Welcome!
Abrahams Joins Staff
Allison Abrahams
Office Support Manager
Congratulations to Allison Abrahams;
office support manager who
started working at OACCT on April
3rd. Allison is a long time resident
of Owatonna and will be working
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
each week at the front desk. She
brings great customer service, organization
and management skills
plus experience in an advanced
office setting, hospitality, accounting,
and Microsoft Office programs.
Please welcome Allison as part of the Owatonna Area
Chamber of Commerce and Tourism team!
Farewell to West
With the placement of Allison
at the front desk, we bid Sharon
West a very fond farewell.
Thank you Sharon for staying
on at the Chamber after your
retirement date in December.
That only proves what an outstanding
employee and stellar
person you are! Thank you for
your 10 plus years of volunteering
and as an employee of the
Sharon West
Office Manager
Chamber! Congratulations on
your official retirement Sharon
and you will be extremely
missed!
Business Brief is published by the Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism at 320 Hoffman Drive,
Owatonna, Minnesota 55060 | Phone: 507-451-7970 | 800-423-6466 | www.owatonna.org
Owatonna Chamber
MEMBERS
Chamber member
businesses are encouraged
to display the “Member”
Chamber logo on their
website, marketing material,
and business window/door.
The Chamber is happy to
supply our logo to members
in an electronic file format
by contacting Katie
Nelson at 507-451-7970 or
knelson@owatonna.org.