Monday Morning Memo

May 18, 2015

We'll Miss You

Photo by Dan DeBaun, WJON

Kathy Severson, owner of Accents at 713 W. St. Germain Street and member of the DTC has been operating her unique home furnishings store since 2010. We were so sad to learn that the store will be closing for personal reasons and more time to travel.

From all of us at the DTC, we wish you the very best and want to thank you for operating such a fine business in Downtown. You will certainly be missed.

In This Issue

Accents - We'll Miss You

Welcome New Members

New Member Benefit

Thank you for Meet-n-Greet

Events & News

Thank You Volunteers

A Walk in the Park

Downtowns; The Place to Be

MMM is a Member Benefit

Welcome New Member

Pregnancy Resource Center, led by Julie Spore, has decided to become a member of the DTC. They are located at 305 5th Ave S, Suite 170.

Also joining the DTC is Beaver Island Brewing Co., co-owned by Nick Barth and Matt Studer. Located at 216 6th Ave S, this is the first brewery in St. Cloud since the St. Cloud Brewing Co. closed their doors in 1939.

Glad to have both on board.

New DTC Member Benefit

You'll always find value in your DTC membership! Contact Stephanie Theisen at Leighton: stheisen@leightonbroadcasting.com

Another Fun DTC Meet-n-Greet

Thank you to Bumbledee's and Pickled Loon for hosting the May DTC Meet-n-Greet last Thursday. It was a nice time. The Rusty Pick opened their doors for the first time. Amazing food and stimulating conversation.

Dee (Bumbledee's) shared during the evening that she wouldn't still be open if not for the efforts of the DTC; and Buddy said that the Pickled Loon would likely not have opened if not for the support of the DTC.

We're the only organization actively retaining Downtown businesses and recruiting new business to Downtown; extremely proud of our 3% vacancy rate!

Featured Events & News

Celebrate Spring at the Capital One 360 Caf�!

Join us Thursday, May 21 at 30 7th Ave S in Downtown from 11am-2pm for FREE Shaved Ice Cones from Kona Ice, games and prizes!

In addition, we are hosting a Happy Hour from 9am-11am that morning. Show your Capital One card and get a FREE medium handcrafted drink from Peet's Coffee & Tea or � off without a
card. (limit one per person).

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We are so proud to have GeoComm as part of our downtown community.l Congratulations on celebrating 20 years in business.
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Columbia Gear and SCTCC were awarded a $300,000 grant through the MN Dept. of Employment and Economic Development to train or re-train employees. The program began this month and runs for 3 years.

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Marco purchased Solbrekk, Inc, a business IT services company in Minneapolis. Solbrekk provides clients with IT services including cloud computing, managed IT services and document management.

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Kelly Zaske, co-founder of Gaslight Creative, was awarded the American Advertising Federation Silver Medal Award at the 2015 Show in additional to 9 other awards.

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CSB was recognized among the top bachelor's institutions for producing the most Fullbright students for 2014-15.

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Bremer promoted Alex Cameron from credit analyst to business banker.

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Tom Cruikshank was promoted to managing director of operations and planning at Metro Bus and Paula Mastey was hired as director of finance.
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Alan Kaplan, Microbiologics, was hired as the company's U.S. national sales manager. Microbiologics also announced a new business solutions division that works with diagnostic and life science technology manufacturers.

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Opening soon:

Quarks American Bento
J.L. Beers,
7 West Taphouse,
Pizza Hut Eat Streets

Thank You Volunteers

A huge thank you to all that participated in the Downtown Spring Clean Up last Friday. We had over 70 volunteers picking up trash, pulling weeds, cleaning out planters and documenting areas that need additional attention (graffiti removal, etc.). Tidbits:

72 volunteers
112 garbage bags
213 volunteer hours
over 10,000 cigarette butts (that we prevented from ending up in the Mississippi River!)

Thank yo

u to DTC member, Coborn's, for providing lunch and beverages.

St. Cloud Times 30 Minute Walk

A Walk in the Park is a chance to get out and experience area parks. Take a break in your day to join St. Cloud Times' staff for a 30-minute walk. The Walks will start at noon each Tuesday, starting tomorrow and weather permitting. Cancellations will be posted at www.sctimes.com.

May 19th, Sauk River Park. Meet in the parking lot.
May 26th, CentraCare Plaza. Meet at Meadow Entrance doors.

June 2nd, Lake George. Meet at the granite fountains.
More dates in upcoming newsletters.

We encourage all Downtown employees to do Laps at Lunch around Lake George every Tuesday as part of the Downtown Council's Walk About Active Experience Series. Get out. Get a break. Get moving.

Nice Downtowns: How Did They Get That Way?

Great downtowns don't happen by pure happenstance; it is a long, deliberate process. In every "successful" and vibrant downtown, getting people to live there is of crucial importance. READ MORE

And why investing in Downtown is so important -- it's all about ROI. LEARN MORE

Members - Share Your News

DTC members should remember that this newsletter is a FREE way to share your news, announcements, events, etc. Simply send an email to Pegg by the end of week.

St. Cloud's Downtown

Working on behalf of our members for the betterment of Downtown, the heart of the region.

RENEW or BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!

"Downtown is our face
to the world."

Our Members

Check out our web site for the full list of our members and partners.

Our Members

Our Board

Check out our web site for the full list of our Board of Directors.

Our Board

Officers:

Tami DeLand, Chair

Kate Hanson, Vice Chair

Jeff Peterson, Treasurer

Sonja Gidlow, Secretary

Penny White, At-Large

Our Committees

Get involved in shaping the future of Downtown.

Membership Development

Vibrancy

Marketing

Business Retention/Recruitment

Downtown Walk About

Parking

Winter Nights & Lights Parade

Downtown Visioning

River's Edge Convention Center

Click to view the

River's Edge Convention Center calendar of events for

May 2015.

Larger Events:
5/9 Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witness (2,100)

5/15-18 Edge Life Expos (1,000)

5/18-19 SCTCC Grad (2,500)

5/26-29 UMC Conf (1,200)