April showers, bring spring flowers!
...or is it April snow storms, bring spring flowers? 

Now that we are past what hopefully was our last snow fall of the year, we can concentrate on enjoying the great Minnesota outdoors and all the Spring chamber upcoming events.

In March weather co-operated and we had another very successful Landscape and Home Show/Consumer Showcase Expo.  I had the chance to shake hands with most of our exhibitors and say thank you for participating.  It was fun hearing from those who have been coming back for 5, 6, 7 and even 8 years because "this is a great show and I always get good quality appointments/sales".  Many first time vendors shared with me that they were participating because they heard Lakeville is the show to be at!  Vendors felt that attendees took extra time this year to ask questions and learn about their businesses.  Many appointments where set and many vendors said they can't wait to sign up for next year's show.  Thank you to the committee and Chamber members for another successful show. 

Don't miss the Tourism Lunch on May 8 celebrating National Tourism Week and its importance to our local economy.  Doug Killian from the Mall of America tourism office is a vibrant speaker and I've heard he has a special MOA gift bag and Nickelodeon Universe tickets for all attendees! 

Hopefully you have seen the invite for our Annual Golf Classic sponsored by Provincial Bank and Dicks Sanitation, that will be held at Wilds Golf Club on Tuesday, May 13.  Although golf is sold out, we are still looking for a few more businesses to sponsor a hole or green.  As always our fearless leader Todd Bornhauser will guarantee a sun-filled day.  Good luck to all who want to be 2014 champs and house the traveling trophy for a year!  

Two weeks ago our YEA! 6-8th grade participants were able to introduce their business idea to our investor panelists consisting of twelve Chamber members.  The evening started with some networking and then each new business was given 6 minutes to present.  Investor panelists were able to ask three questions of each presenter and at the end of the evening money was awarded to each new business totaling $6,000.  Congrats to the winner Katie Mills with Zen Pen who will be traveling to New York on May 1-2 to compete for the 6th Annual YEA! Saunders Scholars Semi-Finals.  

The entire YEA! group will set up booths to display their product or service at the South of the River Chamber-Wide Expo on May 22 at Buck Hill.  Please show your support to our inaugural YEA class and plan on attending this important expo.  We are currently looking for volunteers, chairs and co-chairs for next year's program so please contact Todd at the Chamber office if you are interested in helping.  It takes many volunteers and many hours to make this program a success.

Have a great Spring and I hope to see you at our next event.   

Bob Curtis, 2014 Chamber Chair
Bob Curtis Farmers Insurance Agency  

Celebrate with us!
National Travel & Tourism May 3-11, 2014   

National Travel & Tourism week was first celebrated in 1984 and continues with localized events in cities, states and travel businesses nationwide to champion the power of travel.  It was established as National Tourism Week when the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution in 1983 designating the week to be celebrated in May. In a White House ceremony, President Ronald Reagan signed a Presidential Proclamation urging citizens to observe the week with "the appropriate ceremonies and activities."

Travel and tourism is an $12 billion industry for Minnesota  and supports 240,000 jobs for our state, including approximately 17,000 jobs right here in Dakota County.  Travel is a broad and diverse industry employing a vast workforce, from airline and hotel employees to restaurant, attraction and retail workers.

In addition, travel and tourism further supports employees in other industry sectors, such as construction, manufacturing and finance.  "Travel is a force that can drive our nation's economic recovery. It is one of the healthiest sectors of our economy in terms of job creation and hiring, employing one out of every nine Americans," said Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association.

Help us celebrate as the Lakeville Convention & Visitors Bureau in conjunction with the Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce's General Membership are hosting a luncheon on Thursday May 8 to celebrate National Tourism Week.  The $20 luncheon event is being held at the Holiday Inn & Suites in Lakeville and will begin with a mini attraction trade show and door prizes at 11:15 am followed by guest speaker Doug Killian, Senior Director of International Tourism at the Mall of America, and the STAR AWARDS ceremony for hospitality employees.  Door prizes and special gift upon departure compliments of Mall of America and Nickelodeon Universe!   

To make reservations for the May 8th luncheon, please call 952.469.2020 or click here.   

Marco recently announced the following new hires expanding their staff.  Welcome to Musa Janneh, Support Desk Technician; Jeremy Coffin, Network Engineer; James Cork, Support Desk Technician; Jake Howe, Support Desk Technician; Julie Noraker, Managed Service Administrative Support; Tom Kell, Presales Architect; Chang Thao, Support Desk Technician; Jeff Marciniak, Support Desk Technician; and Tommy Sounthala, Support Desk Technician.   

Twin Cities Ballet of Minnesota in presents in collaboration with Ballet Royale Minnesota BEAUTY AND THE BEAST world premier May 9-11 at the Ames Center (formerly Burnsville Performing Arts Center).   Tickets available through Ticketmaster or at the box office.