ADVOCACY IN ACTION

Sarpy Chamber Group Advocacy

(January Legislative Coffee Event)

Serving as an unwavering advocate to the business community in the fastest growing county in the state means the Sarpy Chamber needs to diversify resources to meet many different needs. Sarpy Chamber groups are instrumental in providing niche resources and the chamber is thrilled that events for these groups are back in full swing. Groups like Government Affairs, W.O.M.E.N., and B.U.Y.S. allow the chamber to focus space and resources on specifi c demographics which enables them to meet their unique goals. The Government Affairs group kicked off the new year with a return to Legislative Coffee events. Part of this chamber group’s mission is to connect people with their elected offi cials. These events are free and open to the public and in January and February guests heard from Sarpy County state senators on their priorities in the legislative session and learned how those potentially impact their businesses. It was also an opportunity for people to learn about available fi nancial resources for pandemic recovery. Bellevue University’s Military and Veteran Services Center hosted Senator John Arch, Senator Carol Blood, and Senator Rita Sanders on January 14th. Tiburon Golf Club hosted the February 18th event with Senator John Arch. The government affairs group is grateful to the hosts, representatives, and attendees who make it possible for these important conversations to take place. We Optimize Mentor Elevate Network are the words behind the Sarpy Chamber W.O.M.E.N. Group acronym and they’re at the heart of the group’s events. The group returned to regular in-person events on January 25th at Soaring Wings Vineyard. Guests heard from an Entrepreneur Panel featuring Dr. Kate Hansen with Essentials Natural Family Health, Kim Jones with ProCare

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Collision Center and Rhonda Uhe with Five Salon. In February, W.O.M.E.N. focused the conversation on leadership with a panel of women in leadership positions at Cobalt Credit Union. Robin Larsen - President & CEO, Keli Wragge - Chief Operations Offi cer, Haylie Rodgers - Chief Administrative Offi cer, and Sharon Stahr - Chief Human Resources & Marketing Offi cer lead a fascinating group discussion and fi elded insightful questions from the group. In March the group gathered at Pint Nine Brewery for the “Call to Action” event, a relaxed forum designed to open up meaningful conversations on the needs, expectations, and experiences of women in the workplace. The group will continue to facilitate unique conversations at their April 26th luncheon at Oak Hills where guests will hear from guest speaker Diane Sullivan with The Organization Station on de-stressing and de-cluttering. The B.U.Y.S. Group (Beef Up Your Sales) is back with events that focus on refi ning your sales skills and training. In January, Clayton Mulford with The Ignite Team at Platinum Realty presented on Cold Calls vs. Warm calls and highlighted different approaches to make the most or your time. Jim Barger with ActionCoach presented in February and took attendees through the DISC Assessment and how it can be used to analyze the personalities of your clients and best sales practices for each of the different personality types. In March the B.U.Y.S. group focused on long-term relationships building by having T.J. Matgen with HiTouch Business Solutions speak on “The Long Game.” The presentation focused on building relationships with prospects and ways to utilize CRM System to manage your time and your approach for prospective customers. In April the B.U.Y.S. Group will dial up the motivation by welcoming Professor of Business Intelligence and Analytics from Creighton University’s Heider College of Business Greg Dyche. His presentation will give expert insight in resilience, mindset, and productivity on April 19th. All B.U.Y.S. Group events are hosted at the Sarpy Chamber offi ce in Papillion.

(January W.O.M.E.N. evet at Soaring Wings Vineyard.)

New in Networking and Education

With spring in full swing, it’s the perfect time to highlight the Sarpy Chamber resources that are either newly expanded or newly created! Sarpy Chamber T.I.P.S. Groups are an essential hub for building networks and maintaining relationships between business community peers. Most groups, with the exception of the Modern Professional T.I.P.S. Groups, keep membership exclusive to one person per industry, which makes it exciting to offer a new T.I.P.S. group that meets Thursday afternoons at 3:30. If you’ve been looking for one of these exclusive industry-specific spots in a T.I.P.S. Group then it’s worth checking out this group that will be meeting at The Brant in Gretna. The space in these networking groups will continue to grow, so watch for additional groups to be added throughout summer and fall. Get started by contacting Breann Lundblad at membership@sarpychamber.org and visit any new or existing T.I.P.S. Group. Tara Simons with the Sarpy Chamber was interested in channeling the networking power of a T.I.P.S. Group into a resource specifically aimed at nonprofits. This vision led to the creation of the Nonprofit Collaboration which

Equipping business today for what’s coming tomorrow.

Smart solutions for staying competitive and connected.

meets the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month. The purpose of this group is to create a space for nonprofits to support one another by sharing successes as well as obstacles and ideas on overcoming them. Members not only build up their network, the discuss topics like fundraising, managing a board, volunteer recruitment, community engagement and internal communications. Those interested in visiting the Nonprofit Collaboration can contact Tara at grow@sarpychamber.org. Education resources are back to offering in-person events and workshops. The new Business Education series began on March 23rd with guest speaker Dr. Joe Kirby, Assistant Professor in the College of Business at Bellevue University. This free event focused on effective decision-making and alignment with strategic business management. The Business Education Series will continue on April 20th with guest speaker Dr. Strawberry Olive. She has been working in the field of training, professional development and organizational development for the past 20 years and she’ll present her expert perspective on team building.