UPDATES & HAPPENINGS...

WELCOME TO OUR TWO NEW BOARD MEMBERS!

AUGUST MIXER!

Join Us at the CHAMBER OFFICE August 17th for our August Chamber Mixer 4:30 to 6:30 pm!

S.W.A.P. (Social with a Purpose) Schedule

August 17- Grant Street - Chamber Office

September 21st- HighMark Credit Union

October 19th- TBA

November 16th -Non-Profit Mixer

December 21st -TBD

SWAP Chamber mixers will be held on the 3rd Thursday of each month.

DON’T OWN A BUSINESS?

Become A Friend of the Chamber for $50. Received our weekly and monthly newsletter, ability to vote on Chamber business, ability to participate in committees or board of directors. Contact the Chamber to sign up today!!

MEET BRITTANY WILKINSON!

Hi, I’m Brittany Wilkinson. I own The Wild Bluebell Boutique located at 723 7th Ave in Belle Fourche. We carry casual western clothing in sizes small-3x, accessories, home decor and much more. The Wild Bluebell is also an American Darling retailer, carrying hand tooled leather, cowhide and conceal carry purses.

MEET MELISSA SCOFIELD!

Melissa Scofield was born and raised on a ranch south of Faith, SD. She is married to her husband, Jim for 35 years. They moved to Belle Fourche in 1996 and make their home east of Belle Fourche near Orman Dam. She and Jim have two grown children, Nicole who lives in Belle Fourche and Zach, who resides in Sheridan, WY. Melissa has worked for Black Hills Energy for 16 years and you may recognize her, as she worked the Belle Fourche office before it’s closing. In her spare time, she enjoys sewing (especially her new found love of quilting), photography, gardening and camping! I’m especially excited to be able to be a part of Belle Fourche once again. I’ve missed being involved with my “town” and look forward to all the great things happening now and in the future!

LOOKING FOR MENTORS!

Letter From Our Director

The year is half over and it feels like we have just begun. Feels like we are always running so we can be ahead of the game by getting our orders in for the new hottest items, planning that next big event or sale, looking for new ways to advertise our business. We ALL want to GROW and how do you get there?

Take a moment to stop, look at what you have done for the year already and celebrate your accomplishments. Now that you celebrate your accomplishments I know that you are still trying to figure out what needs to be done next. How can the Chamber help you and your business with your “To Do List”?

Great Question. My team and I are here to help you reach your goals. We can give you the resources and tools to help you promote your business, coaching on how to grow your business, and the personal touch of working with us at the Belle Fourche Chamber. All you need to do is contact us, share the goals you are trying to reach, answer our survey questions, or set up a one on one meeting with me. We have so many business connections, resources, and tools that you can utilize. Let us help you reach those goals.

“Working TOGETHER to make a STRONGER community”

THANK YOU TO OUR SUMMER INTERNS!

We had so much fun, learning and productivity with you both helping us out!

Farewell To Alyssa

Alyssa is off to college at Truman State University to pursue her degree in Marketing. She has been assisting us over the past few months with some of our marketing endeavours. Some of the things she helped us complete or start this year, was our new member directory booklet, Hidden Gems articles, Member Articles for the local newspaper, brochures, and a few other graphic items. The Chamber would like to wish her the best of luck on her new educational adventure.

ETHAN’S SCHEDULE will be changing as now soccer has started and school is starting soon. Please schedule your marketing videos by contacting the Chamber office at 605-892-2676 or emailing marketing@bellefourchechamber.org. Ethan will contact you to schedule a date and time.

“We strive to PROMOTE our members by Providing opportunities for their success & aim to provide tools, resources & information to help our members be successful.”

BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS - WHAT TO KNOW?

A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within which businesses are required to pay an additional tax (or levy) in order to fund projects within the district’s boundaries.

The BID is often funded primarily through the levy but can also draw on other public and private funding streams. BIDs may go by other names, such as business improvement area (BIA), business revitalization zone (BRZ), community improvement district (CID), special services area (SSA), or special improvement district (SID).

These districts typically fund services which are perceived by some businesses as being inadequately performed by government with its existing tax revenues, such as cleaning streets, providing security, making capital improvements, construction of pedestrian and streetscape enhancements, and marketing the area. The services provided by BIDs are supplemental to those already provided by the municipality.[1] The revenue derives from a tax assessment on commercial property owners, and in some cases, residential property owners.

Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are organizations formed by private property owners and businesses within a legally constituted city district. Members pay a special tax to cover the expense of providing their BID with services beyond what the local government offers in their area. The legalities of forming a BID vary from state to state, but the organizations are often created simply by the approval by a majority of local business and property owners, by those who control a majority of the land area, or by owners responsible for the majority of the fees assessed.

BIDS -- which are sometimes referred to as business improvement zones, as well as special improvement, special assessment, special services, and/or business assistance districts -- can range in size and scope. Some are independent of local government, having almost complete autonomy to finance, construct, and manage specific projects, while others are dependent on local government, created only to raise revenue for specific projects. The benefits of belonging to a BID vary, also: Some BIDs simply supplement the district’s maintenance offerings, providing extra sanitation and landscaping services, while others expand into economic and community development.

For example, BIDs can:

• Provide welcoming services and extra security for public spaces and private businesses. This can come through introducing “ambassadors” to assist visitors to the area, financing extra security guards, and setting up neighborhood watch groups.

• Advocate and lobby on behalf of downtown businesses.

• Generate financing for capital improvements (such as raising money to build a performance stage in a public park) or for infrastructure alterations (like funding historic street lighting).

• Commission research and marketing services, collect and analyze economic and demographic data, and promote businesses in the area.

• Embark on integrated planning efforts.

• Allow BID businesses to experiment with innovative practices, implement strategies at a faster pace than if they had to engage with the full mechanisms of local government, and tailor-make solutions to their own needs.

Rapid City Airport Advertising

A grant we received allowed us to market Belle Fourche for a year at the Rapid City Airport!

The Belle Fourche Chamber is looking at creating a community gift card that can be purchased via our website and used at any participating businesses. We will be sending out a short survey to ask our members if they would be interested in participating in this community gift card. Please give us feedback on this topic. Note we have not started the process, we are just providing information. There is no revenue kickback for the Chamber; it is a way to keep our money local.