St. Cloud Downtown Council Newsletter

Monday Morning Memo

January 12, 2015

Thank You for Your Membership

I bet everyone is ready for Spring after the odd winter we've been having. As I am sure you all know by now, renewals for Annual Memberships went out at the end of 2014. Your dues serve as notice that you are renewing your DTC membership and allow us to plan out the 2015 fiscal year. As a friendly reminder, all member renewals are due by the end of this month. If we do no received payment by March 31st, your membership can be cancelled, and you will probably receive one or more calls from me or a Membership Committee member. If you need to make arrangements for payments, contact either Pegg Gustafson at the DTC office.

We would like to remind you that as a member, you can attend events and workshops, advertise and share announcements in this weekly online newsletter, received advertising discounts with local media and be assured that we are here to advocate on your behalf. Membership is an excellent opportunity to engage in the downtown community and network.

Things happen when people get involved. I ask that you consider serving on one of our committees: Parking, Business Retention & Recruitment, Beautification/Placemaking, Membership, Events, or Marketing/Communications. Meeting dates will be set soon.

We were 148 members strong in 2014, and expect to grow by 5% this year. Sign up a new member by April 1, get $50. All members who actively recruit a new member in 2015 will go into a drawing to win $200 cash. Two winners will be drawn on November 15, 2015.

Thanks, as always, for your continued dedication to the DTC, and I look forward to seeing us grow and change during the year.

Kate Hanson

Membership Chair

In This Issue

Renew Today

Your Board

All About Members

Signature Project for 2015?

Health & Wellness

Mitigation Measures New Ramp

Convention Center

Board Members Work on Members' Behalf

This year's theme is the POWER OF IDEAS. The leading the way on behalf of our members are:

Andy Barth, D.B. Searle's
Seth Baughman, Brother's Bar & Grill
John Bestgen, Bachman Jewelers
Tami DeLand, School Dist. 742
Lisa Ellis, Coborn's Inc.
Sonja Gidlow, Greater St. Cloud Development Corp.
Brad Goskowicz, Microbiologics
Kate Hanson, Granite City Real Estate
Mayor Dave Kleis, City of St. Cloud
Ryan Laudenbach, Capital One 360
Bob Leighton, Leighton Broadcasting
Tammy McGee, SCSU
Kurt Otto, St. Cloud Hospital
Jeff Peterson, Gray Plant Mooty
Mary Kay Pfannenstein, Mahowald Insurance Agency
Michelle Redding, Catholic Charities
Rob Ruprecht, Rasmussen College
Jami Trenam, Great River Regional Library
Penny White, Community Volunteer/Resident

The work of the DTC would not be possible without the collaboration and wisdom of our Board Members who volunteer their time and expertise to our mission. The Board of Directors are downtown property owners, employers, residents and leaders representing key expertise and constituencies.

All About Members

Meet-N-Greet
Interested in hosting a Meet-N-Greet in 2015, getting people into your place of business and meeting other members? We are seeking 6 DTC member businesses to open their place of business for an after work "mixer". Attendees make valuable connections with other members of the Downtown community while enjoying different venues and locations.

The responsibility of the host business is to provide the location, food and beverages for the attendees (generally 30-50 people). The DTC will take care of promoting the event.

If you are interested, please contact Pegg at 257-8600. Hosts are needed for the following months:

February
April
May
June
August
October

Pioneer Place on 5th

Powderfinger Brings the music of Neil Young to the Stage on Thursday, January 15 at 7:30pm.

Forever Everly returns for 2 nights, January 16 & 17.

FOR TICKETS

DAYTA University: St. Cloud Registration is Open!

DAYTA Marketing is proud to announce the second annual, DAYTA University, a one day social media seminar designed for small business owners, entrepreneurs, business professionals on Friday, March 27,

8am - 5:30pm at the River's Edge C.C.

TO REGISTER

Schlenner Wenner & Co., certified accounting firm, celebrates 50 years in business! Congratulations.

Thelen's welcomes Mary Ellen Kerber as an account executive. She brings over 20 years of marketing, communications, branding and strategic planning experience to the St. Cloud-based advertising and marketing firm.

2015 Signature Project

The DTC Board of Directors has included in this year's goals and objectives, identifying a Signature Project for Downtown. There is a consensus that a DTC "Signature Project" would help provide continuity and a greater sense of purpose and accomplishment for the organization. We are looking to our members to engage in this process within the next two months.

Is it a community garden?
Is it a parking campaign?
Is it a public art project?

Watch for more information soon.

Health & Wellness

It's the beginning of a new year. Many New Year's resolutions include getting healthier and more fit. Maybe we need a Downtown Walk Your Block Off campaign or a weekly Paw Walk. Okay, maybe January isn't the best month to start. It IS, however, the best month to start planning. What does your place of employment want to do to challenge and encourage employees to walk around or throughout Downtown, to Lake George and back, etc? Let's start thinking about how we can do this together. Send your ideas to Pegg.

City's Comp Plan Update

A memorandum summarizing the early input meetings has been posted. The consultant team will return mid-February and engagement efforts will continue through Summer toward adoption of the document next Fall.
St. Cloud Outreach Collective Summary
Workshop Data Summary

New Parking Ramp

The Downtown Parking Committee will soon be reviewing the design plans for the new parking ramp behind Mexican Village and across Fifth Avenue. We will also discuss ways to mitigate the impact due to construction and the partial closing of 5th Avenue. We will use the Monday Morning Memo to provide regular update and communications.

Talent

There are many factors in retaining and recruiting talented people to choose to live, work and engage. One key component is a vibrant Downtown.

Another key component is to provide the linkages for job seekers and employee seekers. In just a few short months, JobSpot has grown to include almost 900 job seekers and over 750 active jobs posted by 250 employers.

From the beginning, the intention has been for the JobSpot portal to be self-sustaining. Until now, it has been free of charge. However, there is a need to transition the site to a "pay to Post" model in 2015.

To ensure a goof fit for every size business, there are 3 different pay models with 3 options to feature your business or job opportunity.

Questions? Contact Gail Cruiikshank, GSDC Talent Director

River's Edge Convention Center

Click to view the River's Edge Convention Center calendar of events for January 2015.

Chamber Business After Hours

The St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce's Business After Hours offers a great opportunity to network with other professionals. BAH is open to all Chamber members and their guests -- bring friends, co-workers and business associates. The following DTC-member businesses are hosting Business After Hours 4:30 - 6:30pm

Thursday, March 19, 2015          Gaslight Creative
                                             713 W. St. Germain St., St. Cloud

Thursday, July 16, 2015             D.J. Bitzan Jewelers
                                             203 Waite Ave. N., Waite Park

St. Cloud's Downtown