Chamber Connection Newsletter: October 2023

Shop Local, Support Local: What impact does this actually have?

You often hear the phrase ‘shop local’, particularly around the holidays, but what does shopping local really mean, and what impact does it actually have in our community?

A little goes a long way when it comes to shopping and supporting local. When you shop and support not only a local business, but a member of the local chamber community, a multiplier effect happens. A local business is able to invest in their community, dependent on their success, and the local support they get from customers. You are not only supporting the business owner, but the multiplier effect goes far beyond that. You are helping your neighbor make a living to support their family, helping the business sponsor a youth sports team or donate to a community event or non-profit. By supporting a local business you as a customer are showing you value their expertise as an entrepreneur and want their business to succeed. By joining the chamber as a member, you are showing your business values the chamber member benefits and continued growth of our local economy.

The Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce serves to support and connect local business members. By being a chamber member, businesses support our efforts in economic advocacy, networking, education, communication, business referrals, tourism efforts, and more. These services would not be possible without the support of our members.

Investing in your local chamber and community, in turn creates the community we all want to live in. Chippewa Falls has developed and flourished to what it is today, due largely in part to the choices we make and the

businesses we support. We look for shopping, dining, outdoor destinations, and places to work to shape the life we live and the community we desire to live in. We strive to make our home a destination for work and play and invite visitors to experience that pride in the unique opportunities the Chippewa Falls area offers. Attracting visitors brings local dollars through lodging stays, dining, and shopping and in turn, helps our community grow and thrive, and keeps the multiplier effect constantly in motion.

So, what can you do to shop and support local? The next time you need a gift, stop at a local store. Grabbing a cup of coffee? Swing through a local coffee shop. Planning your next vacation or weekend adventure? Look no further than outside your window and plan a staycation in your backyard. Purchase Chamber Buck$ to give to family and friends, or to reward employees at your next company appreciation event. The opportunities to support your local businesses and economy are endless and the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce is here to help do just that.

New Members

Our membership is 715+ members strong, and we continue to welcome new businesses to our Chamber. In the previous quarter, we added 12 new members to our membership base. At the next Chamber event you attend be sure to say hello to these new members:

CALM & COLLECTED CANNABIS CO.

Stacey Gabriel & Tim Wolfe

508 N Bridge St

Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

534-220-7033

CURRENT CATERING

Cory Vajgrt

36 W Spring St

Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

715-563-5588

EUPRAXIA

Shelly & Steve Nyman

301 W Prarie View Rd

Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

715-214-4184

FESTIVAL FOODS

Michael Siakpere

1109 Chippewa Crossing Blvd

Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

715-838-1000

FIRST CHOICE LANDSCAPE LLC

Austin Mahal

316 E Colombia St

Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

715-577-2299

GREEN FLEET

Bill Lobner

715-898-8022

HIDDEN TIMBER SOUL SANCTUARY

Kristina Brett-Buckman

E18970 County Rd N

Fall Creek, WI 54742

309-351-3963

HOMETECH BY MOSAIC

DeAnna Westphal

1830 Brackett Ave

Eau Claire, 54701

715-330-4663

KOBUSSEN BUSES LTD.

Curtis Harrison

2115 21st Ave

Bloomer, WI 54724

715-568-4233

NORTH COUNTRY ELECTRIC SERVICE, LLC

Tim Petrie

1692 Hallie Rd, Suite 10

Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

715-861-7138

P & B WOODWORKS

Ryan Burich & Alex Perry

527 Chippewa St

Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

715-382-3417

RUST PROOFERS

Paul Virijevich

PO Box 1061

Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

715-204-9998

THE PRETTY PEACH

Makenzie Nordin

521 N Bridge St, Suite 1

Chippewa Falls, WI 54729

360-991-8973

VON BRIESEN & ROPER S.C.

TJ Proue

310 Pinnacle Way, Suite 201

Eau Claire, WI 54701

715-214-1800

Our

Member to Member News

Our members stay very busy and often have exciting news to share! Here are a few pieces of member news from the past few months highlighting local business growth and accomplishments. If your business has something to share, send your press release to lindsey@chippewachamber.org.

MASON COMPANIES named Brad Atkinson President of the company after 2 years as the Vice Chief Financial Officer. He announced the promotion at the Business After Hours event held at Mason Shoes and Clothing Outlet Store on September 25.

COMMUNIT Y FOUNDATION OF CHIPPEWA

COUNTY announced that nonprofits received almost $80,000 from the Community Needs Grants and $245,000+ from their Designated and Donor Advised Grants. Applications for grants are presently open for nonprofits.

CVTC’S culinary program received ‘exemplary’ accreditation from the American Culinary Federation during its national meeting this year.

ROYAL CREDIT UNION was listed on Forbes America’s best small employers 2023 list. This is a prestigious award. Ranking is based on employee satisfaction and social listening data with over 11,000 companies qualifying

WESTCONSIN CREDIT UNION was named one of the top five credit unions in Wisconsin on Forbes’ 2023 America’s Best Credit Unions in Each State list. Last year in 2022, they were ranked 5th, and this year moved up the list to secure 4th place.

PREVAIL BANK celebrated its free community shred days at each of its nine branches. 13.5 tons of paper was collected and shredded, saving 230 trees, 27 barrels of oil, 55,350 kilowatts of energy and more.

WASTE MANAGEMENT AND ASHLEY

FURNITURE INDUSTRIES, LLC were awarded the “Friend of the Environment“ award from Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce Foundation for their commitment to environment protection.

Member Snapshot

Each quarter, we highlight a few industries our Chamber represents.

Beauty Salons

Beauty Elite

Bravo! Salon & Spa LLC

EliteCuts

Shades of You

The Hair Refinery

The Pretty Peach

Bed & Breakfast & Inns

Glen Loch Inn

Inn on Lake Wissota

McLaren Bed & Breakfast

Beverage/Food Distributors

Culligan Water

General Beer-Northwest

Lee Beverage of Wisconsin LLC

Pepsi Beverages Company

Premium Waters, Inc.

UPDATE YOUR MEMBER PROFILE

Please make these updates before October 20 to ensure we have up to date information before our Chamber Member Directory goes into production. If you are having trouble logging into your member account please contact lindsey@chippewachamber.org.

Ribbon Cuttings & Ground Breakings

Ground Breakings and Ribbon Cuttings

The Chippewa Falls area is consistently growing with new businesses. The Chippewa Falls Chamber is excited to be a part of the celebration for new business members. We recognize new ownership and grand openings with a ribbon cutting ceremony and new builds with a groundbreaking ceremony. This is a unique way for new businesses to get their name out into the community. This quarter, we celebrated 10 ribbon cutting ceremonies and two ground breaking ceremonies throughout the Chippewa Falls area. Congratulations to all!

View upcoming Ribbon Cuttings or Ground Breaking Ceremonies by visiting chippewachamber.org/events or scan the QR code.

Riverstone Suites by Cobblestone Chippewa Falls

Village of Lake Hallie Pickleball Courts Lake Hallie

Collective Charm Chippewa Falls

Nicolet National Bank Lake Hallie

Eau Claire Roofing Chippewa Falls

Chippewa Mall Drive Chippewa Falls

Ribbon Cuttings & Ground Breakings

Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Chippewa Valley

If there is a business you know that isn’t a member of the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber, we would love to get in contact with them. We’ll help them learn more about what we do and how their membership benefits their business and the community at large.

Contact angela@chippewachamber.org for more information.

Calm & Collected Cannabis Co. Chippewa Falls

Chippewa Falls

Cadrex Manufacturing Solutions Chippewa Falls

Green Fleet LLC Eau Claire

The Pretty Peach Chippewa Falls

Eupraxia Chippewa Falls

We are sad (yet excited) to announce the retirement of Michelle Farrow from the Chippewa Falls Chamber. She has been employed at the Chamber for 14 years and has had several roles, most recently serving as the Workforce Development Coordinator. Michelle may not have held several positions in title, but she has helped in every role within the Chamber. She has done it all from planning Farmer Appreciation Dinner, assisting with the planning of Oktoberfest, to implementing tourism efforts, and completing administrative tasks. If you can think of a Chamber program or task, she most likely has done it at one time or another.

We are excited for the next step in her journey and know that whatever she will be doing or wherever she is, she will forever be an advocate for the Chamber, businesses and the Chippewa Falls area.

All the best Michelle, you will be missed!

Tourism Update

travel to our area.

Fall Colors

GO

JOIN A COMMITTEE

OKTOBERFEST

Be part of the Oktoberfest fun by helping plan Oktoberfest 2024! There are a variety of Oktoberfest committees to participate in. Contact missy@chippewachamber.org to learn more.

GOLF OUTING

The Chamber Golf Outing is one of our largest events of the year and you could help plan it! Join us for planning meetings before the event, and event support the day of the Golf Outing. Contact mandy@chippewachamber.org to learn more.

FARMER APPRECIATION

The Farmer Appreciation Dinnner is the annual dinner for our local farmers to thank them for their hard work year-round. Support this event by being on the planning committee!

Contact missy@chippewachamber.org to participate

When it comes to your to-do list, put your future first.

To find out how to get your financial goal on track, contact us for a complimentary review.

The Spirit of Christmas

Each year, the Chamber displays a Christmas Tree with gift tags as ornaments. You can stop by or call the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber to select one of these tags to support a community member in need this holiday season. Interested in learning more? Contact the Chamber at 715-723-0331.

$hop Local this Holiday

$eason with Chamber Buck$

Chamber Buck$ are the perfect gift for even the pickiest of gift-getters because you can spend them at any of our participating members (250+ local businesses!) Offered in $5, $10, $20, and $25 denominations, purchase your Chamber Buck$ for an easy gift to give to teachers, family, friends, or staff this holiday season.

Nicholas A Docksey, AAMS® 706 North Bridge Street 715-723-8588

Paul A Murry 16949 County Highway X 715-720-8849

Kelsey R Nicolai 224 N Bridge Street 715-861-1036

BUILDING STRONGER COMMUNITIES WHERE PEOPLE MATTER

Ted Oeffler, AAMS® 2751 Commercial Blvd Ste 2 715-723-2117

Debi Waldusky, AAMS®, CRPC® 345 Frenette Dr Suite 5 715-726-8923

Aaron L Widiker, AAMS® 2029 County Hwy I 715-720-6105

Chamber News

The mission of the Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce is to improve the quality of life in our community by providing leadership to coordinate, support and promote the business interest of our members.

Executive Committee

Chair

Scott Smith, Nordson EDI, LLC

Chair-Elect

Courtney Berg, CCF Bank

First Vice Chair

Dave Lemanski, Chippewa River Industries

Treasurers

Jamie Leibrandt, Northwestern Bank

Michael Stoffel, Ayres

Immediate Past Chair

Amy Forcier-Pabst, Royal Credit Union

Chamber Staff

Allyson Wisniewski

President

Angela George

Membership Director

Board of Directors

Andrew Daniels

Miron Construction Co., Inc.

Greg Field

W.S. Darley & Co.

Jason Forman

Blain’s Farm & Fleet

David Goldbach

Alliance Plastics Corp.

Dave Johnson

EO Johnson Business Technologies

Sue Leonard Tourism Director

Mandy Nunes

Workforce Development Director

Meet Angela

Membership Director

Cathy Leibke

Holiday Inn Express & Suites

John Monarski

Ex-Officio - City of Chippewa Falls

Karin Schuler

Premium Waters, Inc.

Riley Wogernese

Cobblestone Hotel & Suites

Cayci Young

Dove Healthcare - Regional Vent Center

Lindsey Nilsestuen Administrative Assistant

Ellie Peabody

Communication & Marketing Manager

Missy Prissel

Program & Partnership Director

Angela is excited to be back in Chippewa Falls and working with the surrounding communities in helping our businesses grow and connect. Angela previously worked in municipal parks and recreation for the City of Chippewa Falls then moved back to where she grew up in the Fox Valley, working for the City of De Pere. After being away from the Chippewa Valley she realized how much she missed living in the area and is thrilled to be back! She completed her bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from UW-La Crosse then went back to UW-L to earn her masters’ degree in Recreation Management. Her time working in parks and recreation provided her with experience in program and event planning and the opportunity to create relationships with businesses, organizations, and the community. She is excited to once again be working within the Chippewa Falls community and looks forward to meeting all our chamber members!

Upcoming Events

Throughout the year, the Chamber hosts a variety of networking and educational events. Members are strongly encouraged to attend these events to maximize their Chamber membership. From building community relationships to learning more about workforce issues, there is something for all.

OCTOBER 11|Chamber 101

This is a free virtual program from 9 to 10 am designed to help members learn about and take advantage of ALL the benefits that come with their Chippewa Falls Chamber membership. You must register online before the event.

13|Coffee & Commerce

event sponsor: imagineering it

Join us from 8 to 9 am for October’s Coffee and Commerce. Start your morning with a cup of coffee and networking with other members of our Chamber community. This event will take place at Caribou Coffee at 2868 Cty Hwy I, Chippewa Falls.

23|Business After Hours

event sponsor: leinenkugel’s leinie lodge

Enjoy an evening of networking, beverages, and appetizers at Leinenkugel’s Leinie Lodge from 4:30 to 6 pm. This is such a great time to meet up and connect with other business people in the community.

NOVEMBER 1|Nonprofit Roundtable

We are holding a Nonprofit Roundtable Discussion to bring local nonprofits together to connect and learn from each other. Marketing will be the focus of this year’s discussion and our panel will share some tips and ideas that can help nonprofit organizations to share their stories. See page 10 for more details.

10|Coffee

& Commerce

event sponsor: cvtc

Join us from 8 to 9 am for this month’s Coffee and Commerce. Begin your morning with a delicious cup of coffee and networking with other members of our Chamber community. This event will take place at the newly opened McLaren House Bed & Breakfast at 522 Superior St., Chippewa Falls.

27|Business After Hours

event sponsor: micon cinemas

co-sponsor: westconsin credit union

Join us at Micon Cinemas for food, beverages and more importantly, networking! This event will be taking place from 4:30 to 6 pm at 475 Chippewa Mall Dr, Ste 215, Chippewa Falls. We hope to see you there!

DECEMBER 8|Coffee & Commerce

event sponsor: hope village

Join us from 8 to 9 am for this month’s Coffee and Commerce. This event will take place at Cobblestone Inn & Suites/Wissota Chophouse at 100 N Bridge St., Chippewa Falls. Begin your morning with a cup of coffee and networking with other members of our Chamber community.

13|Chamber 101

This is a free virtual program from 9 to 10 am designed to help members learn about and take advantage of ALL the benefits that come with their Chippewa Falls Chamber membership. You must register online before the event.

18|Business After Hours

event sponsor: northwestern bank

Enjoy an evening of networking with fellow Chamber members at the Chippewa Falls Chamber Building! We are excited to host our members for this event just before the holidays from 4:30 to 6 pm! We hope you can join us.

Federally insured by NCUA

INTRODUCING CHIPPEWA FALLS

Tom Allred - ChemCeed

Kristin Anderl - Chippewa Falls YMCA

LEADERSHIP CLASS OF 2024

Stephen McMahon - Chippewa Falls Police Department

Melissa O’Brien - Miron Construction

Kristopher Bergstrom - Nicolet National Bank

Barb Blum - Security Financial Bank

Greg Bowe - Chippewa Falls Fire and Emergency Services

Kristin Creviston - Chippewa Valley Technical College

Shawn Dachel - Royal Credit Union

Michael Farrow - Northwestern Bank

Sherry Jasper - Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District

Heather Johnson - Chippewa River Industries

Ryan Ludy - United Way of the Greater Chippewa Valley

Angela Maloney - Legacy Community Center/Agnes Table

Non Profit Roundtable

Matther Pfeifer - Xcel Energy

Shannon Potts - Nordson Extrusion Dies Industries

Missy Prissel - Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce

Cassidy Quinlan - Boys and Girls Clubs of the Greater Chippewa Valley-Chippewa Falls

Devin Shaw - Mason Companies, Inc.

Cassie Sonnentag - WI Farm Bureau Federation

Lisa Winrich - ITW Deltar Fastenars

Daniel Woodward - Royal Construction, Inc.

Oktoberfest Thank You

Join us at the Heyde Center for the Arts on Wednesday, Nov. 1 from 8:30 to 10:30 am. We know that what makes Chippewa Falls special is the willingness and ability of nonprofits to work together to make the greatest impact with our limited resources. In that spirit, the Chippewa Falls Chamber is hosting this Nonprofit Roundtable Discussion to bring local nonprofits together to connect and learn from each other. Marketing will be the focus of this year’s discussion.

Please call the Chippewa Falls Chamber at 715-723-0331 to register for this event.

We want to extend a HUGE thank you to each of the volunteers, sponsors, royalty, vendors, organizations, and staff that made this event a success. The 20th Anniversary was nothing short of remarkable and we had an awesome weekend. Oktoberfest wouldn’t be what it is without the incredible community support for this event. The history, tradition, family, and fun aspects are what continue to make it truly unique. Danke.

2023 Royalty - Scott and Wendy Sullivan

Marketing Opportunities

Membership Directory

The Chamber’s Membership Directory is available in print and digital form. The directory is distributed to every Chamber member, given to guests, and is a great resource in our relocation packets.

Advertising in the directory is a great way to reach a broad audience.

$600 - Inside Front Cover Ad (Limit 1)

$600 - Inside Back Cover Ad (Limit 1)

$600 - Outside Back Cover Ad (Limit 1)

$450 - Full Page Ad

$300 - Half Horizontal

$200 - Quarter Horizontal

$200 - Enhanced Listing (includes logo, name, address, phone number, and website)

Member Memo

The Member Memo is a bi-weekly e-news publication that is sent to 1,600+ members or business professionals.

$120 - Large Ad, 620x800px (Limit 2 per email)

$90 - Medium Ad, 620x600px (Limit 4 per email)

$60 - Small Ad, 620x300px

Website Feature

The Chamber website offers many opportunities to market your business. With views from relocation prospects, local businesses, community members, and visitors, you can reach a broad audience with website advertisements.

$2,000 - Digital Communication Sponsor (Annual) Logo on footer of website (Limit 6)

$150 per month - Featured Event Listing

$150 per month - Horizontal Banner Ad

Chamber Buck$

Chamber Buck$ are a popular gift that keeps local dollars in our community. Feature your logo on the Chamber Buck$ check to gain awareness for your business.

$500 - Logo Sponsorship (Annual) and linked URL on website (Limit 6)

2024 Chippewa County

Travel Guide

Official Destination Marketing Material for Chippewa County

13,000+ copies of the Travel Guide are printed annua and distributed to Visitor Centers all over the state of Wisconsin and to TourismRelated Businesses within Chippewa County. If you are a Tourism Business interested in Advertising in the 2024 Travel Guide please contact sue@chippewachamber.org to start the conversation.

Additional Tourism Marketing Available

In addition to the Travel Guide, there are a number of ways the Tourism Division of the Chamber can promote your Tourism-Related Business.

• Monthly E-Newsletter: 9,000+ subscribers - $75 to $150/mo.

• Website Featured Listing or Event: 675k annual website pageviews - $150/mo.

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