Providing Business Leadership in The Greater Menomonie Area Since 1938

December 2009

Volume 75, Issue 3

Chamber Statistics

Referrals Given 805

Walk-ins Served

Chamber office 413

Gift Certificate Sales $19,020

Phone

Inquiries

574

Chamber calls 258

Tourism calls 205

Misc. calls 111

Relocation

Packets

29

Visitor packets 28

Website Hits 53,743

CV Rally 2004 1

Annual Banquet/Awards Night 1

Tourism Coordinator Update 1

Thank You Renewing Members 2

Welcome New Members 2

Chamber Ambassador Update 2

Ambassador News 2

Business After Hours 2

Board of Directors 3

Business to Business 3

Business Seminar 3

Annual Banquet Sponsors 4

Inside this Issue:

342 E. Main St.

Menomonie, WI 54751

Phone: 715-235-9087

Fax: 715-235-2824

www.menomoniechamber.org

A Few Words from CEO

Business After Hours

Hiring Our Heros

74th Annual Banquet

Excellence in Education

Speed.net

Renewing Members

New Members

The Red Cedar Conference

Beverage Sponsor

Business to Business

Business After Hours

Ribbon Cutting at Vets Plus

Leadership Menomonie

Thank you Cake

School District of Menomonie

Dunn County Fish & Game

Luck O’ The Irish Insert

Tourism Happenings

Business Golf Outing

GMAYP

Junior Chamber

Inside This Issue

Chamber Statistics Referrals Given 112

Walk-ins Served

Chamber 159 Tourism 77

Total Walk-ins 236

Gift Certificate Sales $100 Phone Inquiries

Chamber Calls 211

Tourism Calls 83

Misc. Calls 76

Total Phone Inquiries 370

Relocation Packets 33

Visitor Packets 25

The Greater Menomonie

Area Chamber of

Commerce News March 2013

Chamber Celebrates a Milestone Michelle Dingwall, GMACC & Visitors Center, CEO

March 14, 1938: an important date in history for our community.

March 14, 1938 was the date that the “Chamber of Commerce of Menomonie,

Wisconsin” officially became incorporated by the State of Wisconsin. Their stated

business and purposes were “to advance the commercial, industrial, civic and gen-

eral interests of the City of Menomonie, Dunn County, Wisconsin, and to hold such

real estate as may be necessary for such purpose.”

When I read the original articles of incorporation, it was clear that the Chamber’s forefathers (listed below)

envisioned an organization that advanced virtually every business within our community, thereby advancing the

community itself. Their vision was sound in 1938, and continues to guide the Chamber today. I believe these

original board members would be proud of the foundation they set and the progress made in their community

in the past seventy-five years:

Farnham A. Clark

R. J. Cronk

Jacob “Jake” Lee

Clinton Peddycoart

William S. Smith

F. W. Tobin

Arnold Vogtsberger

Frank F. Volp

John Wilcox

Oliver Wright

Throughout the next twelve months, the Greater Menomonie Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center

will celebrate our founders’ vision and its impact on the community since 1938. Each month from March 2013

– January 2014, we will feature a specific focus of the Chamber’s programs, events and members, and encour-

age everyone to join us in the celebration. The Annual Banquet in February, 2014 will be the culmination of

our year-long “event”.

We will have a monthly drawing for $75 in Chamber dollars to help celebrate this milestone. You may enter

by attending or participating in the featured Chamber event or by registering at the Chamber office. You may

also enter by posting photos of yourself visiting Chamber members that match the current month’s theme on

the Chamber’s Facebook page (Menomonie Area Chamber). One person may enter up to five times/month

( with 5 unique entries). At the Annual Banquet in February, the top participant in the year-long celebration

will receive $250 in Chamber dollars!

Below are the themes for the first two months – hope to see you there!

March: Chamber History Stop in the Chamber office & meet the staff, page through artifacts of Chamber events and honorees over the

years. Take some photos and post them on the Chamber’s Facebook page (Menomonie Area Chamber).

Join us between 2:00 - 4:00PM on Friday, March 15 for a piece of anniversary cake!

April: Education

Attend the 50th Annual Excellence in Education Banquet (April 17), post a photo of yourself visiting an area

school or with an Excellence In Education honoree (past or present).

AmericInn Menomonie

Big K-Mart

Burgfechtel & Parent

Cedar Corporation

Chippewa Valley Society of

Human Resource

Eau Galle Cheese

Heritage Builders, Inc.

Menomonie S.D.A. Church

Phillip M. Steans, S.C.

RCU

Welcome to Our

New Members! 29 Pines Restaurant & Sports Lounge

5872 33rd Avenue

Eau Claire, WI 54703

(715) 874-2929

http://29Pines@rivercountrycoop.com

Description: Restaurant and Sports Bar

Menomonie Fire & Safety

(715) 308-3765

N8254 627th Street

Colfax, WI 54730 Description: Fire extinguisher inspections

and annual maintenance, fire extinguisher

sales, fire & smoke alarms, carbon monoxide

alarms, in service fire extinguisher hands on

training OSHA 1910.157 compliance.

State Rep. 67th District- Tom Larson

(715) 225-9720

E9359 County Road N

Colfax, WI 54730 Description: State Representative for the

67th District

Please support our members

when making your local

buying decisions!

50th Annual Excellence in Education Banquet Wednesday, April 17th, will mark the 50th year of honoring outstanding achievements in education. The

Chamber will honor the top ten percent of graduating seniors from each of the four Dunn County High

Schools, the top 25 graduates from the University of Wisconsin-Stout, and an outstanding student from

Chippewa Valley Technical College. An outstanding educator for each school will also be honored at this

event, and the Chamber will award its 7th annual $500 scholarship to one of the high school seniors.

Many thanks to businesses that have already sponsored this event. Please consider having your company

sponsor this event. A portion of sponsorship supports the scholarship fund, covers the cost of meals,

gifts and awards for the honored students. Please see sponsorship form in this

month’s newsletter. For more information contact Toni at 715.235.9087 or

membership@menomoniechamber.org.

Networking Committee Presents

“Speed.net”

Networking at the Speed of Life!

Date: Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Time: 4:30-5:30PM

Location: GMACC & Visitors Center, 342 E Main Street

Cost: Free to members, please RSVP by registering online or by emailing info@menomoniechamber.org It is a fast paced afternoon networking event. It is focused on meeting as many people as you can dur-

ing your time together. There is no cost to attend, bring your business cards and a friend. Please pre-register with Donna (715) 235-9087 or by emailing info@menomoniechamber.org. Please call or

email with the number of people attending and their names.

*Remember to bring your business cards.*

Thank You...to our members that

have renewed their

Membership investment!

The Greater Menomonie Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Center would like to thank

all the sponsors who have helped make this event possible. We could not put on an event like

this without the generous support of our sponsors. To view photos of award winners and our

event sponsors visit us on facebook at Menomonie Area Chamber.

Below are a listing of the 2012 Award Winners.

Gary Theelke, Distinguished Citizen; Jackie & John Dotseth, Honorary Lifetime Member;

5 Star Dairy LLC, Farm Family of the Year; Pete Hybben, Good Neighbor: The Arc of

Dunn County, Nonprofit of the Year: Tractor Central, LLC, Business of the Year:

Whitetail Golf Course, Small Business of the Year: Ellen Ochs, Volunteer of the Year: Kari Loomis, Ambassador of the Year. Congratulations to all these well deserved winners.

2013 planning is underway already for the 75th Annual Banquet. If you would like to be part of

the committee please contact Michelle Dingwall at

ceo@menomoniechamber.org. We welcome you and your ideas

to help us plan and orchestrate this event.

Pictured: Gary Theelke and his wife Terry after receiving the

Distinguished Citizen Award.

Beverage Hosts:

Thank you February's sponsor:

Business to Business—News Briefs

Look for another round of community edu-

cation classes! The spring session of The

Menomonie Area Community Educa-

tion classes will begin in April. We are proud

to say we have increased the number of clas-

ses from 12 to 30. We hope with this wide

variety of classes there will be a large number

of people involved. Look for the spring bro-

chure online or pick up a copy at the Field

house or an area business. Registration be-

gins today and ends April 1st for all classes,

so sign-up early. Contact Kale Proksch (715)

232-2606 ext.42993 with questions.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is kicking off the

largest fundraiser of the year, Bowl for Kids’

Sake. The Kick-Off event will provide food,

information about Big Brothers Big Sisters,

information about forming teams. All team

captains who attend will receive a long sleeve

t-shirt! This is a great way to get in the 80’s

spirit and get excited about Bowl for Kids’

Sake. It offers adults, children, and local busi-

nesses in our community an opportunity to

have fun while raising money to positively

impact the lives of children. The Me-

nomonie Bowl for Kids’ Sake event will be

on Friday, April 12th at Broadway Bowl with

two shifts (5:30 & 8:00pm).

Captain PJ's BBQ, competed in 4 KCBS

(Kansas City Barbecue Society) contests and

our standings for 2012 just came out. They

ranking for 2012 were: Chicken 425, Ribs

615, Pork 490, Brisket 48 with an overall

score of 600,and that's out of over 8000

teams nationally. 2013 they are slated to

compete in at least 3 KCBS events and one

local Rib cook off.

The spring semester brings a new way for

University of Wisconsin-Stout stu-

dents, faculty, staff, alumni and the public

to get information about campus. A free, new mobile application is available

for iPhones, Android and BlackBerry

smartphones that officials say will allow access to important information anytime

and just about anywhere. “UW-Stout has once again shown it is a

technology leader by delivering a compre-

hensive and easy-to-use app that will be a

hit, both on campus and off,” Chancellor

Charles W. Sorensen said. “We took our

time to develop this app, and we did it

right.” A UW-Stout committee worked

with AT&T Campus Guide to develop the

app, which replaces a mobile site that has

been available since the recent UW-Stout

website redesign.

Dunn Energy helps area Aquatic Club–

Recently. Dunn Energy Cooperative

awarded the Menomonie Area Aquatic

Club (MAAC) with a grant from the Op-

eration Round Up program. The grant

helped purchase two portable, digital pace

clocks for the club. For more information

on Operation Round Up, Visit

www.dunnenergy.com

Tractor Central announces Grant win-

ners. Tractor Central offers 54 grants

each year totaling $13,500, one for 4-H

and one for FFA, in each of 27 counties

that comprise the Tractor Central prima-

ry service area. The purpose of the grant

program is to help the youths in FFA and

4-H advance their education, their con-

nection with rural life and their citizenship

skills.

The Chamber welcomes our new Pro-

gram Assistant Dawn Michaud. Dawn

will manage our accounting and also help

with Chamber programs & events. Please

welcome Dawn as she assumes her new

responsibilities at the Chamber.

Business After Hours

Take advantage of this monthly networking opportunity to meet other members and

make those very important

business contacts!

Join Us

Monday, March 18, 2013 For our next Business After Hours

at Quality Auto Body, Inc.,

1821 Talen Street

Time: 5-6:30PM

Cost: $5/members

$7/non-members

Sponsors are:

Cedar Falls Building Systems, Inc.,

Quality Auto Body, Inc.,

State Farm Insurance- Jackie Hunt

Invite a co-worker or a prospective new

member. Bring a door prize to promote

your business and… don’t forget your

business cards!

A special thank you to

last months BAH sponsors:

Thanks to all of our

Ambassadors for a job well done!

Do you have news to share about your business? Contact Toni at the Chamber office by the 15th of each

month to be included in the following issue of The Chamber News.

E-mail membership@menomoniechamber.org or fax to 715-235-2824.

To partner, network and

collaborate to promote and

advocate for business, tourism

and quality of life in

Dunn County.

Chamber Mission

Chamber Survey deadline approaching

March 15. If you have not had the oppor-

tunity to give us your feedback on our

Chamber survey please visit: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/

SHQMCGH

Leadership Menomonie Participants Law & Government Day

Headquartered in Wisconsin for over 20 years, Vets Plus, Inc.

(VPI) is a global leader in the animal health industry. VPI focuses

on private label manufacturing of custom nutritional, nutraceuti-cal, Probiotic and Prebiotic health products for food and com-

panion animals. Dedicated to innovation and consistent product

quality, VPI has experienced significant growth in recent years. In

December 2012, the company moved from Knapp to a renovat-

ed 56,000 square foot building in Menomonie to better accom-

modate current business needs with room for expansion.

Pictured L-R: Ambassador Robin Buck, Steve Vale of VPI, Ambas-

sadors Carol Hestekin, Donna Weber, Kara Bayerl, Kay

Pershern, Rich Munroe, Stephanie Broten, Wendy Wold, Brice

Medin, Shaun Kapanen, Deidre Garrett, VPI owners Swati and

Raj Lall are front and center with the scissors, Royed Wollberg,

Ambassadors Mark Kalscheur, GMACC Board Member Will

Carlson, Laurey Schlottman, Mayor Randy Knaack, Ambassador

Seth Sundeen, Holly Bembenek, GMACC President Jeff Jaeger

and Killol Raval, Production Manager for Vets Plus on the far

right.

Thank You Cake Delivery…

On Thursday, February 7th Ambassadors delivered a Thank You

Cake to American Structures, Inc.

American Structures, Inc. specializes in the design and manufacture of

bolted, stainless steel storage containment vessels and related prod-

ucts. For over 37 years, they have been the leader in providing bolt-

ed, stainless steel storage tanks for potable and non-potable water

process, and dry storage applications in the municipal, agricultural,

industrial, and commercial sectors nationally as well as international-

ly. A strong work ethic and adherence to recognized standards and

maintenance of corporate integrity drives American Structures, Inc

to be a industry leader. Thank you to American Structures, Inc. for

your continued support of the Chamber and all you do in our com-

munity.

Pictured is the staff at American Structures, Inc. including far left VP

President Sue Wildenberg. President Earl Wildenberg is missing from

photo.

The Leadership Menomonie class participated in a full day of

presentations from area Government Leaders: Tim Eiden Attor-

ney with the Law firm Eiden & Hatfield, LLC, Judge Rod Smelt-

zer, and Sheriff Dennis Smith were the Co-Chairs for Govern-

ment & Law Day. The full day began with a panel consisting of

Mayor Randy Knaack-City of Menomonie, Gene Smith-Dunn

County, and Christine Stratton, School District of Menomonie.

Tim Eiden moderated the discussion as the panel discussed is-

sues facing City and County Government and the School Dis-

trict. The class headed to the North Fire Station where Chief

Jack Baus with the Menomonie Fire Department gave the group

an overview of the department followed by a tour.

The afternoon was a packed session at the Judicial Center begin-

ning with introductions by Sheriff Dennis Smith, and Police Chief

Erik Atkinson. They presented an overview of both the City

Police Department and the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department

followed by a question & answer time with other law enforce-

ment officials including representatives from the K-9 Unit, West

Central Drug Task Force, SWAT team, computer crimes/

identity theft and a close-up look at a squad car and mobile

command unit. The class then received a back tour of the Dunn County Jail and presentations on programs available to inmates

from Barbara Reid, Jail Administrator. The end of the day con-

cluded with a game of Jeopardy with Judge Rod Smeltzer.

Thank you to Tim Eiden, Judge Rod Smeltzer, and Sheriff Dennis

Smith for coordinating the day’s events!

NAIFC TOURNAMENT SERIES™ Tournaments are multi-day,

premier fishing events. The NAIFC Tournament Series season begins in January and lasts through March, with the

NAIFC Tournament Series Championship Invitational held the following December. Each season consists of several

regional qualifier events held in several states across the ice belt. All local events were held at the Dunn Co. Fish &

Game February 22-24. The winners of the Menomonie tournament were Bill Hendricks and Doug Bussian with a total

weight of 10.15lbs for 8 Crappies & 8 Bluegill.

The NAIFC tournament is great for our community. Throughout the winter partici-

pants come and pre-fish our lake and some come

for numerous days prior to the event. They stay in

our hotels, eat in our restaurants, and stop for gas

filling up snowmobiles & ATV’S. Thank you to all

the sponsors who made this event possible: Dunn

County Fish & Game, Robert Giede Design,

Bait on Broadway, and Bills Distributing!

Thank you for helping get the word out for our

event! The NAIFC donated the fish back to the

Dunn Co. Fish & Game for their elderly and disabled Fish Fry. Also, thank you to the Lions Club for donating the

hot dog lunch and serving at the Saturday kids camp we really appreciate your participation in the event. We had over

150 participants at the kid’s camp and each child received a free ice fishing pole from HTC.

The Chili Cook-off was also a great success, Congratulations to Menomonie Food Market Co-

op who won first place in the business category they won a newsletter insert and Red Cedar Lodge won second place

with a free eblast advertisement. Our Individual winners: first place Brian Hagberg, second place Tilli Hotchkiss

(brother & sister) & Martha Stratton took third. Thank you to the following businesses who donated prizes or food

for our Chili Cook-off winners: Dairy State Bank, RCU, Bank Mutual & WESTconsin Credit Union- all donated Visa

Gift Cards, Peoples State Bank and Citizens Bank donated prizes, Wal-Mart donated garlic bread and cookies, Culvers

donated the sample cups for the chili. Thanks to Cassie Ullom from RCU for all her hard work helping with the Chili

Cook-off.

Please Welcome Our Intern, Christopher Struve Chris is a senior at UW-Stout majoring in Hotel,

Restaurant, and Tourism Management with a minor in French and Spanish. He is highly

involved in many hospitality clubs and associations at UW-Stout and comes to us with a

wide range of experience in the hospitality, service industry. Please welcome Chris as he

assists us with our tourism events and community initiatives. Chris will also be helping

with our Destination Guide deliveries coming in the next few weeks so if you see Chris

please say a big Menomonie welcome!!

2nd Annual Get It Dunn Run-5K/Half Marathon

will be held on May 18 in Menomonie Registration is now

open, go to www.getitdunnrun.com. See you at the Marathon!

Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Events:________ March 14* Red Cedar Watershed Conference at UW-Stout will be held from 8AM-4PM (note correct time)

March 17-19 Governors Conference on Tourism in Madison

April 20-21 Visit Menomonie Disc Golf Open Tournament

May 18 Get It Dunn Run-5K/Half Marathon

May 18-19 Twin Cities Power Boat Races on Lake Menomin

June 15 Nature Valley Grand Prix & June 14-15 MainStreet of Menomonie’s Summerdaze For information on all events in the community log on to our community calendar at www.menomoniechamber.org. Keep entering

your organizations’ events to keep us informed on what is going on in our community.

Board of Directors

Officers

President

Jeffery Jaeger

RCU

President-Elect

Roxann Vanderwyst

Chippewa Valley Technical College

Secretary/Treasurer

Jacob Spies

Dairy State Bank

Past President

Stacy H. Wigfield

REACH, Inc.

Members at Large

Gary Barnett

Menomonie Recreation

Department

Karen Hofland

Century 21 Premier Group

Directors

Lori Ausman

WESTconsin Credit Union

Mary Bygd Mayo Health Clinic Health System-

Red Cedar

Will Carlson 3M

Steve Cook

Northtown Ford

Jody Hagman

WESTconsin Credit Union

Todd Kostman

Wipfli, Inc.

Wade Lambrigtsen

Vintage Sign Shop

Kay Pershern

Ambassador President

Phil Lyons

University of Wisconsin-Stout

Jon Menz

Workforce Resource, Inc

Reid Tate

Indianhead Insurance

Chamber Staff

Michelle M. Dingwall

Chief Executive Officer

Donna Nygard • Administrative Assistant

Joan Friedenfels • Tourism Director

Toni Oas • Membership & Events Director

Dawn Michaud • Program Assistant

Jolene Sterry • Weekend Staff

Questions or Comments? PH: 715-235-9087

FAX: 715-235-2824

EMAIL: info@menomoniechamber.org

WEBSITE: www.menomoniechamber.org

Visit us on facebook at Menomonie Area Chamber

TOLL FREE: 1-800-283-1862

342 East Main Street

Menomonie, WI 54751

Our Young Professionals group enjoyed a fun evening out at the Mabel Tainter

Center for the Arts in February. Tim Harmston, a very funny comedian, entertained

the crowd with his humor! The GMAYP gathered in the lower level beforehand to

enjoy some social networking. Fun time had by all! Thank you to Jill Rassbach Pem-

ber for planning this event! Please visit www.menomoniechamber.org and click on the young professional tab for the

complete 2013 calendar and details on upcoming events.

Junior Chamber Experiences Law and Government Day School District Superintendent Chris Stratton presented Issues facing City and County. Firefighters gave the class

a tour of the North Fire Station, followed by presentations for services of Fire/Rescue with demonstrations of

Fire/Rescue Equipment.. The final stop was at the Judicial Center with introduction to Menomonie Police Depart-

ment and a tour of the Dunn County Jail. Dunn County Court System - Judge Smeltzer and Kari Sandberg along

with Luke Wagner presented legal Jeopardy. The group really enjoyed the day!

Thank you to Attorney Luke Wagner of Wagner Law Firm and Jack Baus, Fire Chief of the Menomonie Fire

Department for planning the day!