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Hal L. led us in songs and, at least to this writer, it seems like we sound better when we are singing less frequently. From resting our voices no doubt.  Ken H. has duck derby raffle tickets and posters to be distributed and suggested that none of us want to be the last to get our ducks in a row. Brian T. reminded us that our fine/brag cards expire June 30th, so if you have a lot of unmarked circles, you need to find something to brag about. Bob R. is looking for someone to assist in selling duck derby tickets at the Ramada Inn in Fargo on April 12th and 13th during our District Conference and offered two explanations of why there were three e-Rounds last week, only one of which explanation was true. Keith L. reported that former Rotarian Cal Larson died with details on the funeral to follow. Lisa M. is still taking orders for the ribs being sold by FMAM Rotary -- $60.00 for four stacks of ribs that come vacuum packed, either in classic barbecue, teriyaki or a combo pack, with orders due by April 29th. Tim H. started our brags and fines by encouraging our support of the Prairie Wetlands Learning Center; Ken H. was eager to announce the second annual Golden Loon Awards given by The Daily Journal would be handed out that evening; Wally C. paid in for purposely choosing the wrong explanation for why we had so many e-Rounds in one week; Holly W. contributed for missing the last two meetings; Mary P. was happy about Trilogy's Peter Cottontail event which raised over $200 for the Humane Society, with about 155 attending; Katie J. paid for having to leave the day's meeting early and for missing the next two weeks as she travels to Israel; and President Zack contributed for missing last week's meeting. Mary P. introduced Lisa Workman from the Chamber who told us about what is going on there. We found out that Lisa received her Bachelor of Science degree from Saint Cloud State University and in 2021 successfully completed a professional development program offered by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce through its Institute for Organization Management. We were told Lisa's hobbies include fishing and shopping locally. We also learned that Lisa studied in France for six months while in college, graduating with a degree in the French language, and while in France, spoke to a local Rotary club. Historically, the first chamber of commerce was organized in Marseille France in August of 1599; locally, our organization was incorporated on August 4, 1886, or 138 years ago. Lisa shared a pie chart showing that 22% of our local Chamber's members offer professional services, 18% are in retail and 13% are non-profits; all other areas had smaller percentages. Over the past ten years the Chamber has experienced an annual membership retention rate ranging from 80 to 99%. Right now, there are a total of 324 members. The Chamber launched a new website design in January of 2024. Last year the website garnered 209,991 member pages views, 159,743 directory searches, 64,686 event views and 40,243 job views. (Over the last 12 months, our Club's website was visited 141 times.) Lisa went through each of the goals of our Chamber which are: 1) to rive local economic growth; 2) inspire community vitality; 3) facilitate business to business relationships; 4) celebrate growth; 5) leverage government liaisons; 6) support workforce strategies; and 7) pursue clarity and distinction from what is offered by other local entities (Fergus Falls Refresh, the City, the County, Visit Fergus Falls, etc.), hoping to thereby improve the return on investment for its members. In going through these goals, we were told that last year Lisa did "Random Acts of Chamber," giving out $20 in Fergus Bucks to shoppers she approached. The Chamber also recently received a $25,000 grant to reimburse businesses up to $500 for each intern hired in high-demand areas, with the application form consisting of only seven lines. The Chamber has also recreated a leadership training program that just got started with nine participants, with another, expanded offering starting next fall. A new dues structure has been put in place where the cost of membership is based on the extent to which you are utilizing the Chamber. The "Classic" level is equivalent to what was offered in the past, is no longer based on the number of employees, and costs $360 annually, with five other levels above it, the highest of which is "Visionary" -Otter Tail Power is a member at that level. Responding to questions, Lisa told us the program they call Fergus Falls Business Gives has been in existence for about 15 years, with a Chamber member self-nominating itself if it gives three percent (3%) or more of its net profit back to the community each year. When the program started, twelve businesses were recognized while last year the number had grown to 48. The contribution can be in the form of cash, in-kind donations and/or volunteer hours. When asked about the annual distribution of Fergus Bucks, Lisa said they sell about $50,000 each year and see about $45,000 expanded annually. |
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