The Business and Education Committee has had an active start to the school year.  We are continuing our monthly teacher appreciation breakfasts and have completed this month with a visit to JFK Elementary School on October 5.  Next month we will visit Lakeview Elementary on November 9.

The Annual Career Fair for all high school juniors in the district will be held on November 5 at Lakeville South High School.  There will be over 80 careers represented at this event.  Students will have an opportunity to interview professionals who are working in areas of interest selected by the students.  This is a very popular event and is attended by over 800 of our Lakeville students.  All Chamber members are invited to come and see this event which begins at 2:45 pm and concludes at 5:00.  Brian Knapp has done an outstanding job again this year organizing this event.  Chamber members will soon begin the annual Senior Interviews at Lakeville South High School.  This program provides real world interview experience for the students who are completing their high school education.

There are plans underway to initiate new programs directed toward our elementary school students.  Kathy Bennett is leading an effort to support reading and Bob Finke will be exploring opportunities for bringing community professionals to the students interested in science and math.  There will be pilot programs developed in the near future and Chamber members will be asked to participate as mentors for these young students.

Our next committee meeting will be on Friday, November 16 at 7:30 am in the conference room at Lakeville North High School.  All chamber members are welcome to join our committee in support of our Lakeville students!

 

Bob Finke can be reached at Family Health Medical Clinic

The students directly applied the business communication techniques and strategies that they learned in class  by cold calling local businesses to get their opinion on topics in which the Chamber was interested.  Upon  completion of the calls, students had to gather all the data and put it into a meaningful format so that the results would have impact for the Chamber.  Students then presented the results to members of the Chamber.  The Chamber was pleased with the results and the professionalism of the students. 

has named Lakeville as the 19th Best Place to Live in the United States for cities greater than 50,000 in population! They recognized our top-rated schools and business growth amongst the quality of life amenities that make Lakeville one of the best.  In the Money Magazine ratings, Lakeville schools surpassed the averages of other cities in the top 100 best places to live by 30 points in math test scores and 10 points in reading. The job growth in Lakeville also surpassed the national average by 10 percent.

That job growth came through expansions of businesses that have chosen to locate, stay, and grow in Lakeville: MOM Brands (Malt-O-Meal) has expanded and announced plans to move their corporate headquarters to Lakeville; ImageTrend, ConAgra, and National Polymers have completed or are completing major expansions; Genpak acquired and remodeled an existing building in Airlake Industrial Park and moved its production lines to Lakeville. The City also continues to be one of the top places people choose to live, as reflected by Lakeville consistently being near the top for housing starts in the metro area.  This recognition that Lakeville is a great place for people to live and work supports the City's marketing campaign Positioned to Thrive.

Ultimate Martial Arts & Fitness is now open in the new retail building at the Heritage Commons development in central Lakeville, and Mi5 Fitness & CrossFit Lakeville recently opened in their new location on Kenrick Loop south of County Road 46. Perfectly Random in Downtown Lakeville along with Cherry Berry and Wild Birds Unlimited, both located in the Crossroads Shopping Center at the intersection of Cedar Avenue and Dodd Boulevard are also now open.

The City has also issued permits for 183 single family homes through September with a total valuation of $53,549,000. This compares to 94 single family home permits through September of 2011 with a total valuation of $29,281,000.