January 2023
From the Desk of the Executive Director
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”—Albert Einstein
Happy New Year! These past couple of years have certainly been a learning opportunity for us all and tomorrow looks more promising than ever. This year we look forward to introducing new programs. We plan to launch our Junior Leadership Sheboygan County program in summer of 2023, serving high school juniors and seniors. This is an opportunity to further engage Sheboygan County youth, immerse them in Sheboygan County offerings, help them better understand their role in society and provide a mentorship opportunity. As they make decisions about their next step beyond high school, they will also be earning school credit. This program will be made available to students free of charge. We will pilot this program with Sheboygan Area School District for the first year and our goal is to open it up to all Sheboygan County school districts after that. If you are interested in learning more about this program, or would consider sponsoring a student, please contact me directly at deidre@sheboygan.org.
We are also busy preparing for our Annual Meeting and Economic Outlook Breakfast, Thursday, January 19, 2023. We will say thank you to some board members who have served the Chamber for many years, and we will welcome new board members to the organization. We are thrilled to invite our partners from throughout the county to participate in the discussion, give us updates on their respective communities, and share with us what we can expect in 2023. We hope you can join us! Also, please take a few minutes to complete the Economic Outlook Survey. This helps us to better provide tools and resources of value to our members. The results of the survey will be made available at the event.
NEWS FROM THE Executive Director (continued)
And of course, the Chamber Champions Gala, the event of the year, will be held Thursday, February 16th at the beautiful Osthoff Resort. We have some exciting things in store and are thrilled to celebrate so many successes. Make sure your nominations have been submitted and get yourself registered right away. We want you to Think BIG (betterment, improvement, growth), Influence Local! The Sheboygan County Chamber of Commerce is committed to providing expertise for fostering dynamic organizations throughout Sheboygan County. We are truly Better Together!
Kierra brooks - special events coordinator
Hello Everyone and Happy New Year!!
I hope everyone’s holiday season was magical! I really enjoyed spending much needed time with the ones closest to me. Speaking of the holiday season, I want to thank everybody who came out to our Holiday vibe@5 at the Chamber this past December. It was so nice to see everyone dressed in their favorite holiday clothes, taking pictures, and indulging in all the goodies!
As promised, the Young Professionals Committee has come up with next quarter’s events. Once dates and times are locked in, I will be sure to get the word out. Look out for the Chamber’s quarterly events postcard or check our social media for updates. During a previous YP brainstorming event, volunteering in the community was a huge request from YP’s. So, to start off this year our first event will be a volunteer opportunity for you all! Mark your calendars for the third week in January; date and time will be revealed once the deal is sealed. We will be volunteering at a nonprofit called “A Million Dreamz,” a 24-hour daycare that is NEW to Sheboygan. They will be helping serve Sheboygan County’s pressing need for a daycare of this kind and they need extra hands to get things started. There will be a variety of things to do there so specific skills are not important. I hope to see you all come out and be a part of making this happen!
For those of you who want to do more, our Explore Your Future event this month is looking for volunteers. This event is for 7th & 8th graders; come talk, laugh, and share with hundreds of middle schoolers your knowledge and journey to success. The event will take place at Lakeshore Technical College on January 11th and 12th. Three sessions are being planned. Reach out to scott@sheboygan.org for more information.
Kierra brooks - special events coordinator [Continued]
I look forward to seeing you all at our next three events to start the year off right. Let’s make a New Year’s resolution this year to not only grow professionally but personally as well and make some new friends! Don’t hesitate to reach out and ask me questions whenever you feel the need.
Be sure to look us up on our social media pages. We will be using them more frequently!
LIKE US ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE- COASTAL YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORK
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM - COASTALYPNETWORK
FOLLOW US ON LINKEDIN - COASTAL YOUNG PROFESSIONALS NETWORK
Also, sign up for text alerts! Just text SHEBCOYP to 57838 (It will keep you up to date on all our current events) *We promise not to overload you with text messages*
Want to know more about Coastal YP Network? Check out our video. This video was created for training in various facilities. So, show your boss or share it with a friend or group. To hear about it from another source just email me kierra@sheboygan.org and I can tell you all about it!
That’s all I have for you today. Remember to stay connected!
NEWS FROM THE DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
Welcome to January!
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Holiday and got some great gifts from Santa and had time to spend with family, friends and loved ones. There is still time to get involved with Explore Your Future! Over two days (January 11th and 12th), three workshops will be conducted by business and educational volunteers. We’ll have (1,200) 7th and 8th graders learning more about their personalities, and how their personality will ultimately play a role in their future career choice(s). This will be an incredible opportunity for students to ask questions and learn more from our county business leaders.
NEWS FROM THE DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT [continued]
For more information please call me at 920-395-8705 or email me at scott@sheboygan.org to get involved and have some fun, while educating our next generation of leaders.
Don’t forget, you can post events, introduce new employees, and many other topics via Member News. Member news is part of your membership, so at no additional cost you may post every day, every week, etc., whatever makes sense for your business and staff. Please reach out to me if you’ve never posted before and we can walk through this process, or you can send me what you’d like to post. It’s quick, easy and it’s a great way to let everyone in Sheboygan County know who you are, what your business does or if you’ve got an event coming up!
Some other things to think about as we move into 2023:
• Deep Dive opportunities are a great way to meet new Chamber members and their respective businesses and gain referrals in the process. Every member is from a different business sector, so no two members are alike in any one group! Who do you want to do business with? People you know and trust of course. Join a Deep Dive today! Check out a short video at www.sheboygan.org to learn more about Deep Dives.
• Roundtables are a terrific way to meet others within your business sector. Whether it’s Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, Not for Profit, and others, you’re sure to learn something from your peers. These peer-to-peer networking groups can help any one of your employees, or yourself, accelerate your learning curve, and minimize potential setbacks within your organization. Our own John Rogers does an outstanding job keeping each group on task, and always shares his own wealth of knowledge. Contact john@sheboygan.org and join a Roundtable today!
• Our Young Professionals network goal is to attract, engage and retain young, diverse talent to Sheboygan County by providing opportunities for young professionals to design their social culture, serve as civic innovators and community stewards, and develop into the next generation of leaders for Sheboygan County. If you are interested in joining the YP network, please contact Kierra Brooks at kierra@sheboygan.org
Have a wonderful start to the year and don’t forget, we are all #BETTERTOGETHER!
christy jacobs - director of events
And here it is…the New Year….
A time for new beginnings, new traditions, and new events.
The last 4 months have been wonderful at the Chamber. I am so grateful to work with the staff here and with all the members. The events during 2022 have been insightful, and everyone has been wonderful to work with. I can’t even tell you how excited I am for 2023 and for the events that are planned. If you look at our calendar on the website, we have events planned out through the end of 2023 already. Mark your calendars and save the date for these events, they are sure to be a hot commodity and registration will fill up fast.
Speaking of registration, don’t forget that we have the Economic Outlook and Annual Meeting Breakfast fast approaching on Thursday, January 19th at Pine Hills Country Club. A great event to start the year off, followed closely by the Chamber Champions Gala on February 16th at the beautiful Osthoff Resort. Everyone who is anyone will be there! Registration for the Gala opens the first week of January. Mark your calendar! Lastly, I am always looking for members who would love to host a vibe@5. We have a few months left open in 2023 to fill. Reach out and let’s talk.
Happy New Year!
Cheers!
~Christy
john rodgers - business roundtables facilitator
Numbers often reflect failure or success. For example, if you are a baseball fan you may know about the ‘Mendoza Line’. Conversely, some shortstops have had very successful careers. How does that information relate to ‘roundtable numbers’? Well, people or organizations often issue end of the year summaries and that is what this is Better Together article is about – roundtable numbers.
john rodgers - business roundtables facilitator [Continued]
Since November 2007, Sheboygan County Chamber has hosted and facilitated 485 different technology transfer or peer-to-peer roundtables that can be listed in 12 different categories. Yes, I could go into considerable detail about the topics discussed and the information shared all at NO COST to Chamber members simply because roundtables are a benefit of membership. Sponsorship is critical and appreciated, too.
For all who have and will participate in roundtables, thank you. Projecting into 2023, roundtable number 500 will occur on April 12 when the Business Owner Success Strategy group convenes. Will we celebrate? Yes, we will. In fact, “celebrate” will be both my one word opener and one word closer. Keep your eye on The Buzz for the roundtable schedule.
December in Review
December in Review [continued]
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Sheboygan
County Chamber Newsletter sponsorship opportunities now available! Please contact Scott Kuehn at 920-395-8705 or scott@sheboygan.org for more information.
