Tara Bitzan, Executive Director

Message from the Executive Director ... The positives of 2020 abound

It’s an exciting time to be living/ working in the Alexandria Lakes Area. Our community is vibrant, growing, thriving.

That was the first line of my report for this publication in January 2020, before a pandemic rocked our world. Our community Tara Bitzan Executive Director was flourishing and the year before us was so full of promise. And then everything changed.

It would be easy to view 2020 as a disappointment, a disaster, a failure… but thanks to a year of living the theme chosen by 2020 Chamber Board President Robyn Snyder, “Be Positive, Do Positive,” I worked hard to reframe things in a positive way.

I could easily write about all the things that went wrong in 2020 – about the struggles our business community faced, about how devastating a fire, a pandemic, a challenging political year were for our community. But that gains nothing but more negativity, anxiety, fear and anger.

So instead, we focus on the positives. Here are just a few that came out of a year we will never forget:

A focus reset on family and

“down” time. Stay-at-home orders, cancelled events and activities, distance learning equated to more family and home time. We needed this. The pace of our lives was out of control and even though we knew this, we seemed unable to slow things down. Maybe this was the only way for that to happen. Social media postings give evidence that many happy memories were made this year that weren’t tied to being on the go constantly.

Learning and growth. In order to survive we had to learn to adapt by finding new ways to do things and by thinking outside our norms. We had to go outside our comfort zone, and as uncomfortable as that may be, it is a good thing. The adaptation and innovation (plus the grit and determination) displayed throughout our community by businesses, nonprofits, schools, the health care system and more was incredible!

New businesses and new res-

idents. Despite what was going on, Alexandria still saw new businesses opening and new residents moving to town. This was still a location of choice for many people.

Compassion, concern and gen-

erosity abounded. From employers to employees, from business to business, from the community to the healthcare and education systems, from businesses and individuals to our nonprofit entities, needs were met, concern was shown, and compassion kept us going.

Many could argue that the challenges imposed this year by a pandemic – forced closures, stay-athome orders, layoffs, loss of revenue, health concerns, and so many others – simply made it impossible to be positive. But we need to shift our focus from those things to the good things noted above.

Another comment I shared in last year’s report was what another Minnesota Chamber director had said to me: “Your community seems so supportive and cohesive.”

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That comment was eye opening for me. I guess when we live it, we take it for granted. I hadn’t realized that all communities aren’t like that. Through the past year it was evident to me that we are unique, and that is why we are weathering this storm so much better than that particular community and many others across the state which have experienced numerous business closings. a strong Chamber, but also a strong community.

There is a cohesive, collaborative, supportive atmosphere in our community – just one more reason why we are the “ultimate destination to live, work, play and prosper.”

And we want to see ALL of our businesses and organizations come through this and thrive again, because we know that we are all

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Chamber Pillars of Operation

The Alexandria Chamber oper- » Operational Excellence ates under four pillars that are key Establish and maintain logistics to in not only building and maintaining allow for operational excellence. community. » Satisfied, Engaged

The Chamber Board undergoes Members regular strategic planning sessions Members understand the value the and creates action plans to accom- Chamber brings to their business. plish identified tasks under the umbrella of each of these pillars. » Strategic Events/ » Effective Collaborations Programs Offer quality events and programEstablish rapport, reduce duplication ming that benefit members and and join resources to best serve the strengthen the community. truly “Better Together.” oakparkcampground.com

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