Welcome New Members

Chamber

Snapshot

January 2012

Phone Calls: 484

Walk-in: 274

Email Inquires: 28

Relocation Packets: 29

Phone Books 21

Misc. & Maps: 71

Web Hits 1854

Facebook Users 336

Special points of interest:

February 7—Business After Hours—

Dickinson State University—Alumni

House

February 20 —Presidents Day—

Chamber Closed

For more upcoming events

Check out our calendar at

www.dickinsonchamber.org

Inside this issue:

Coffee Sponsor 3

Leadership Dickinson 4

Chamber Member News 5

Election Information 7

Ribbon Cuttings 9

Chamber News 10

Business After Hours 11

The

Chamberline

February 2012

Camp ReCreation DeEll Jordre

PO Box 26

Richardton, ND 58652

701-974-3774

www.camprecreationnd.com

Camp ReCreation is a Christian summer camp

for people with developmental disabilities.

Camp ReCreation aims to pair young adult coun-

selors with camper who have special needs on a

one-to-one basis. As they participate in each

day’s activities, this pairing builds bridges of un-

der standing & friendship. Camp ReCreation

promotes respect, community involvement &

volunteerism.

My Place Hotel Lori McCarty

2431 3rd Ave. West

Dickinson, ND 58601

701-483-0300

www.mplacegm@ndsupernet.com

My Place Hotel offers 64 studios. Each studio has a kitchenette, which includes a two burner oven top, microwave and refrigerator. Superior bedding ,37” flat panel TV, Free Wi-Fi, iron & board, hair dryer, guest laundry, C-Store, and free local calls.

QED Electrical Supply Tim Lish

3185 North Hwy 22

Dickinson, ND 58601

701-225-9028

www.qedelectric.com

QED Electrical Supply

Page 2

Board of Directors

Dennis Cannon ..................................... President

Craig Kubas .......................................... Pres-Elect

Rachelle Schroeder ............................ Treasurer

Chris Johnson . ..................................... Past President

Elaine Myran ......................................... Director

Mike Renner .......................................... Director

Klint Sickler ........................................... Director

Harmony Kolling ................................. Director

Lisa Roers ............................................... Director

Christian Kostelecky ......................... Director

Terry Kovacevich ............................... Director

Nathan Bouray ..................................... Director

Committee Chairperson

Agriculture ............................................. Kevin Holten

Airport Promotions . ......................... Matt Remynse

Ambassador .......................................... Tasha Gartner

Education ............................................... Rebecca Pitkin

Governmental Affairs ....................... Nate Bouray

Promotions and Retail ..................... Betty Jo Noe

Officials .................................................... Rachelle Schroeder

STAFF

Lexi Sebastian ...................................... Executive Director

Kristi Tessier ........................................ Events & Marketing Coordinator

Cindy Brock ........................................... Administrative Assistant

Publication First Day of the Month

Published By C. Brock

Deadline Third Thursday of the month - For both copy and advertising

Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce

314 3rd Avenue West •P.O. Box C

Dickinson, ND 58602

Phone: 701-225-5115 Fax: 701-225-5116

E-mail: team@dickinsonchamber.org

Board of Directors monthly meeting minutes

and annual financial statements are available to Chamber Members.

.

Butch’s Rat Hole & Anchor Service, Inc. Darrin St. Ama

2043 Prairie Oak Drive

Dickinson, ND 58601

701-690-9492

www.brhas.com

Butch’s Rat hole & Anchor Service is an oilfield service company specializing in rat hole, mouse hole & conductor drilling.

Welcome New Members Continued.. .

Rasmussen College 1701 E. Century Avenue

Bismarck, ND 58503

701-530-9600

www.rasmussen.edu

Rasmussen College you can earn your degree online or on campus in one of six schools of study: Business, Education, Health Sciences, Justice Studies, Nursing, & Technology & Design.

Bakken Shuttle Service

R ichard Nee l

562 Colfax Street

Dickinson, ND 58601

701-641-8009

www.bakkenshuttle.com

Bakken Shuttle Service is a scheduled daily airport shuttle service from Stanley, ND to Williston airport, Williston Amtrak, Minot Airport & Minot Amtrak destinations. It will start in Dickinson soon.

Astoria Hotel & Event Center

Kama l P a te l

363 15th St. West

Dickinson, ND 58601

701-456-5000

www.stayastoria.com

Page 3

Development, Construction, Property Management and Commercial & Residential

Real Estate.

News

February Coffee Sponsor

Continental Real Estate

135 Sims PO Box 1121

Dickinson, ND 58601 701-483-9107

www.crealestate.com

Business After Hours

There only a few dates

Available!

Hurry and schedule

a date now

so you can showcase

House of Color, Inc.

Gary G . Hans on

193 24th St. East

Dickinson, ND 58601

www.houseofcolorinc.com

House of Color, Inc. has been serving the Bismarck area since 1973 & will has added a 2nd location in Dickinson. We are proud to off the best name brands & interior products in the area including Abbey Carpet & Flooring, StarNet Commercial Floor-ing, & we are Stainmaster flooring Center. At House of Color, Inc. we can assist you with interior design products for your home or business. We specialize in carpet, laminate, hardwood, ceramic tile, paint, cabinetry, window treatments & more. We have an excellent design team to help you with your project from start to finish. We invite you to explore either our Bismarck or Dickinson location to help you “Make your house a home.”®

Page 4 Leadership Dickinson

Blog by Beth Honeyman

For Leadership Dickinson this month, our theme was economic develop-

ment. On January 18, we started off our economic session by meeting

at Baker Boy. Guy Moos, head of Baker Boy, started our group off with

Baker Boy sugar cookies and doughnut holes as he presented information

on how Baker Boy got started and how it has grown over the years. We

then proceeded to take a tour of the entire factory, including the new

addition which hasn’t been finished yet. Once we wrapped up the tour,

our group returned to the Chamber of Commerce to meet with Peggy

O’Brien, manager of the Prairie Hills Mall. She explained to us the basic

idea of how the mall operates and how big her job really is. She told us

about the new security system that has been put in place, briefly de-

scribed how the store leases work, and informed us of the new plans she

has in mind for a renovation. Once Peggy answered all of our questions,

we then prepared for our next speaker. Gaylon Baker, of the Stark De-

velopment Corporation came to talk to us about all the new develop-

ments coming to our city and how a business goes about becoming part

of the city. After this, we wrapped up and headed out for a brief lunch

before continuing our economic day.

Blog by Andrea Jirges

Our Leadership Dickinson afternoon was one speaker and a game! Ray

Ann Kilen, SBDC Regional Director, was our speaker and she was a

positive and motivational person. She helped us to believe that our opin-

ions about our community matter because we are the future of Dickin-

son. She helps new businesses to start in Dickinson and she insisted that

we give her our ideas in case they could become a reality. We also had

the opportunity to play the Futures Game. This game showed us how

small decisions, like bringing in big business, could help or even threaten

a community. This game let us choose what we wanted to do to our city

and then we got to see the outcome on a map. Overall, the day was en-

joyable because we learned many things but also had fun while doing it.

Page 5

Brady Martz has recently hired four

new employees

SWA Announces New

Hire TMI Systems Design Corp. promotes two

Member News

The Southwest Water Authority (SWA) is proud to announce hir-ing Pam Courton as the Adminis-trative Assistant to Manager/CEO. Courton joins SWA with past experience as an office manager for a commercial real estate com-pany, and as a certified athletic trainer for high schools and McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA. Courton holds a BSE from the University of Kansas and a MS from Louisiana State University. In her spare time she enjoys sports, cooking and baking, and enjoying nature and wildlife. She resides in Dickinson with her husband, Ed, and son, Spencer. They moved to Dickinson from Overland Park, Kansas when her husband accepted the position of City Planner. “We are all very happy with the positive energy Pam brings to the Authority, and I am looking for-ward to working closely with her on a daily basis,” said Manager/CEO Mary Massad. The Southwest Water Authority

takes the greatest pride in its mis-

sion of providing quality water for

southwest North Dakota.

TMI Systems Design Corpo-ration recently announced the promotion of Tom G. Krank and Lynn M. McChesney. Tom Krank was promoted to Senior Vice President. He has been with TMI for 32 years. Tom’s work his-tory includes time in the factory loading, machining and building cabinets. In July 2005, Tom was ap-pointed vice president with responsibility for informa-tion technology. As senior vice president the departments that will re-port to Tom include infor-mation technology, cus-tomer service, manage-ment, engineering, and pur-chasing/inventory control. Tom was born and raised in the Dickinson area. Lynn McChesney was pro-moted to vice president. Lynn began his TMI career as a draftsman 15 years ago. In September 2004 Lynn accepted the position of factory operations manager with responsibility for the manufacturing of three product lines, all buildings and grounds and mainte-nance. Lynn is originally from Sid-

ney, MT and attended the

University of North Dakota.

Ashli Nickola is a CPA and has a Master of Taxation degree from the University Of Denver, Colorado. Prior to her current posi-tion with Brady Martz, she was in the tax de-partment of Ernst & Young, LLP in Houston, TX.

Brittany Wentz and Zach Keller were both hired as interns for the 2012 tax season.

Both are seniors

majoring in accounting at Dickinson State Uni-versity and are listed

in the Theo-dore Roose-velt Honors program. Brittany will be a gradu-ate of 2012 spring class. Zach will be a graduate of the class of December 2012.

Mary Ann Steckler was hired as the secre-tary/reception-ist. Prior to joining Brady Martz, she

was employed in the fi-nancial industry.

American Bank Center is pleased to announce Sandy Miller as Teller at the downtown Dick-inson loca-tion. Sandy brings prior admin-istrative and bookkeep-ing experience with her to American.

American Bank Center is also pleased to an-nounce Kim Pierce as

Mortgage Loan Market Processor. Kim brings over 21 years of experience to the Mort-gage Team

including bank opera-tions, compliance and most recently internal audit.

American Announces New

Employees

Page 6 Election Information

Dickinson, ND City Commissioners (Four positions will be up for election, they are elected as four year terms)

Stark County Commissioners (Three positions will be up for election, they are elected as four year terms)

Earliest day to begin circulating Petitions ……………………………….Saturday, January 14, 2012

Earliest day to file Petitions…………..…………………… Monday, January 16, 2012 Last day to file Petitions…………………………4:00p.m., Friday, April 13, 2012

To Contact Our Local Legislators:

District 36 Senator George L. Nodland (R) Email:glnodland@nd.gov Representative Shirley Meyer (D) Email:sjmeyer@nd.gov Representative Mike Schatz (R) Email:mischatz@nd.gov

District 37 Senator Rich Wardner (R): Majority Leader Email: rwardner@nd.gov Representative Nancy Johnson (R) Email: njohnson@nd.gov Representative Vicky Steiner (R) Email: vsteiner@nd.gov

To Contact North Dakota’s Pro-Business Legislation: North Dakota Chamber of Commerce www.ndchamber.com Phone: 701-222-0929 Toll Free: 1-800-382-1405 Fax: 701-222-1611

Primary Election June 12, 2012

Page 7 Election Information

Measure 2

This init iated measure would amend sections 1, 4 , 14, 15, and 16 of article X of the North Da-

kota Consti tution and repeal sections 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10 of that same article, el iminating prop-

erty taxes, poll taxes and acreage taxes, effective January 1, 2012. The measure would replace

the lost revenue with allocations of various state level taxes and other revenues, without re-

strictions on how these revenues may be spent.

Support

In November 2009, Robert Hale, a Minot, North Dakota resident announced that he was in the process of forming a committee,

known as the Empower the Taxpayer committee, to propose the measure. According to Hale, the ballot language was similar to that

of Rep. Dan Ruby's proposal during the 2009 legislative session. The proposed legislation called for amending the North Dakota

Constitution to remove property taxes as a sources of state revenue. The measure is also sponsored by Charlene Nelson of Cassel-

ton, North Dakota.

Supporters

Robert Hale, Charlene Nelson, Empower the Taxpayer committee

Arguments

In response to arguments that removal of the property tax may lead to questions about other types of taxes that are intended as

property tax substitutes, sponsors of the proposed amendment said that issue could be resolved by "specifying that some types of

taxes are not based on their property value."

Supporters of the measure also argue that eliminating property taxes may make the state more attractive to businesses, which may

lead to increased revenue for the state. "This would remove the property tax disincentive across the state. I believe that we would

see many industries taking a very, very serious look at this state as a place to settle," said Hale.

Opposit ion

Opponents argue that it is dangerous to "eliminate an entire source of revenue" and that the proposal is misleading. The proposal,

they argue, may appear like a tax cut but may instead force other state taxes upward in order to compensate.

Opponents

Wahpeton Finance Director Darcie Huwe, Williams County Auditor Beth Innis, North Dakota Public Instruction Superintendent

Wayne Sanstead, Rep. Charles Damschen, Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce

Arguments

In response to the proposed measure Wahpeton Finance Director Darcie Huwe said, "This will be monumental. Property tax is one

way for local governments to kind of control their destiny, with their ability to raise bulk revenue to provide local services. And if

we lose that ability or diminish that ability to raise local revenue that provides local services, I think you end up with a disconnect

between funding and priorities." If property taxes were eliminated as a source of revenue, local governments would have to depend

on the state to replace the source, said Huwe. "In what form and how would it come and would it be the same amount and what

would control how much that amount would be... a lot of big unknowns that aren't necessarily defined in the proposed legislation,"

she said.

According to Williams County Auditor Beth Innis eliminating the property tax would have had a serious impact on citizens and

could have caused an increase in sales taxes or income taxes in order to compensate for the lost revenue. In particular, Innis said

she believed the elimination of property taxes would have impacted people with low or fixed incomes.

North Dakota Public Instruction Superintendent Wayne Sanstead said, "It has ramifications that could be severe for certainly, I'd

say, school districts, but all political subdivisions." Sanstead argues that the legislature has taken strides to reduce property taxes.

"We're down around 30 percent now. It's a lot less than it was when I came into this office, and I'm happy about that, but the first is,

to eliminate totally, that`s a whole different kettle of fish," said Sanstead.

Rep. Charles Damschen said that he is concerned that voters may assume that the proposed amendment means a tax cut. Damschen

argues that it may in fact force state taxes upward. "This really is not going to be a net tax cut, and if people believe that, or are told

that, it’s really misleading. That revenue isn’t going to just appear (elsewhere) when we abolish property tax," he said.

Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Craig Whitney said, "To eliminate an entire source of

revenue for nearly 3,000 political subdivisions without an approved methodology to replace that funding is dangerous. Instead, we

need to explore alternative, sustainable revenue sources in order to lower the tax burden on property owners."

For more information on the proposed measures and the primary election go to www.nd.gov

Page 8 More Area News

Cantabile of CDCC Presents “A Night iN itAly”

Come support Central Dakota Children’s Choir’s new Dickinson Choir, Cantabile, at their first annual fund-raiser “Cantabile Presents: A Night in Italy” on Sunday, February 26, at 4:30 p.m. at the Dickinson Elks Lodge. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 14 and under. Tickets will be available at the CDCC choir office, online at www.aboutcdcc.org, and at the door the night of the event.

“Cantabile Presents: A Night in Italy” is a fun, one of a kind event that will feature a spaghetti dinner, a si-lent auction, a raffle, and performances by Cantabile, CDCC’s 4th, 5th, & 6th Grade choir from Dickinson, An-gelica, CDCC’s high school women’s choir, and Dickinson State University’s Chamber Singers. Proceeds from this fundraising event will benefit Central Dakota Children's Choir and their efforts to inspire tomor-row’s voices.

Formed in 1998, CDCC has grown from one choir of 65 students to six choirs and a pre-choir with 350 chil-dren in grades 2 - 12 from 47 public, private, and homeschools from the central and western North Dakota regions. To date, the choirs have performed for more than 130,000 people in the tri-state area and have been invited to perform at many local, state, and regional events.

Water/Wastewater Engineering—Surveying/Mapping/GIS

Electrical/Structural Engineering—Land Development

Municipal Engineering—Instrumentation And Controls

Page 9

Thank you for renewing 2011-2012 memberships

AC Mortgage Money Works Liberty Tax Service Kevin Thompson Wellsite Solutions

Ribbon Cuttings December 28th

J & J

Operating

Hollywood Theater

Dan Porter Motors

Hometown Pride

Award

Want to reach the

maximum

number of people for

only a few

pennies!!!!

Place an ad in our

quarterly

Chamberline which is

mailed to

Over 470 businesses

in the Area.

CHAMBER COMMITTEES

Hometown Pride Award January – MAC’s Hardware Baker Boy was added to the list. Ribbon Cuttings The list was reviewed and the follow-ing were added. Moe Moe’s Garden – Mom, Tot & More Tanning Salon next to Pizza Ranch Berger Chiropractic The next Ribbon Cutting is January 25, 2012. Announcement of New Vice Chair Brady Boese is the new Vice Chair.

Education Committee No Meeting Held. Promotions Committee Business After Hours Business After Hours will be at Dan Porter Motors on January 10th from 5pm to 7pm. The February Business After Hours will be at DSU Alumni & Foundation on February 7th. The March Business After Hours will be at the Public Transit Building. The LaQuinta will host the April Business After Hours.

Other Lexi went to Bismarck to see how the Bismarck/Mandan Chamber’s Holi-day Mixer is set up. It was held at the Bismarck Civic Center December 14th from 5pm to 7pm. They sold pack-ages to their Chamber Members (booth space and tickets). Each booth had a game or giveaway. There was a cash bar in the middle and there were caterers with food samples. There were Major Sponsors for the event. They also allowed non-chamber members in as well. It would be a great way to recruit members. It will continue to be on the agenda.

Recreational Events: 3on3 Hoopfest Committee Meeting to be held February 23 at 8am.

Government Affairs Commit-tee Meeting to be held on February 16th at 4pm.

Page 10 Chamber News

Airport Committee 2011 Flight Statistics The flight statistics sheet was reviewed. The Dickinson Airport has seen an 83% increase in from 2010 to 2011 in en-planements. EAS – 2012 Overview of Process – The DOT con-tracts the airline to fly planes into the Dickinson Airport. The DOT will be looking at new contracts in 2012. The Dickinson Airport would like the com-munity to send letters of support to the DOT once the contracts have been re-viewed. 2012 Fly-In Event The proposed dates for the Fly-In event are June 23rd or June 30th. The Commit-tee will help design the flyers as well as attend the event. It would include serv-ing breakfast to around 200 people. We will need to look for some sponsors to fund the event. The committee also felt it would be nice to also have a car show to bring people out. Air Show in 2013 We are looking at August for the air show. The committee was on board with the idea so we will start planning now.

Are you new to the Dickinson area or want to get more involved? Do you want to develop an awareness of the issues and opportuni-ties facing our community? Do you want to participate and explore various leadership styles and techniques? Then this class is for you.

Using the community as a classroom, you will get to explore and participate in nine sessions (Tuesdays 8am to 11:45am) led by com-munity experts in a variety of formats, including panel discussions, tours, presentations, and hands-on workshops.

Topics to Include: Volunteering, Media, Transportation, Economic Development/Ag, Legislative/Government, Energy Services, Healthcare, Education.

Please consider how your businesses can participate in the Community Leadership Institute through investing in personal growth of an employee by encouraging participation or through a contribution. The fee of $250 and a completed enrollment form are due to the Chamber office prior to February 15th, 2012. The class size is limited to ten.

Sessions will begin: March 6th, 2012 through April 24th, 2012.

For additional information contact the Chamber office at 225-5115 or email team@dickinsonchamber.org.

Agriculture Committee Bull Day Committee Report The work schedule was passed around. Ag BBQ Committee The subcommittee meeting date is January 24, 2012 at 8am. Ag Week Awareness Bonita reported that the Dickinson Press will do a signature page for the Ag Week Awareness. She would like to have winning essay for the page along with some AG related photos.

Ambassadors /Membership Committee Tina Reiss of Humana was introduced to the Committee; she is a new com-mittee member. Sampling of Sicily The event was reviewed. The commit-tee will meet at the Ramada at 4:30pm in white shirts and black pants. Food will be set up and ready to serve at 5:15pm.

Page 11

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Page 14 Newsletter Title

Page 15 Volume 1, Issue 1

FEBRUARY 2012

For more information go to

www.dickinsonchamber.org