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Idea Transcript


May/June Newsletter 2016

biz news… The City of Altoona voted on and approved a 3% Utilities Franchise Fee on April 18 after a 3rd reading. There was little to no opposition from the public or business sector. The Franchise Fee will allow the city to gain revenues from a broader base vs relying solely on those paying property taxes. Non-profits and apartment dwellers will be subject to the fee, providing additional funds for much needed infrastructure improvements. An informational flyer was emailed to Membership on April 4. If you didn’t receive the email or would like a copy of the flyer, please contact Melissa Horton at [email protected]. Two Des Moines institutions are brewing up an unlikely partnership. Community Choice Credit Union is proud to announce a signature, locally roasted Smokey Row creation – the UNbanking Blend. “We understand when most people think about coffee, they don’t think about banking,” said Josh Cook, Community Choice Credit Union Senior Vice President of Operations. “But a partnership like this makes perfect sense to us!” “The way I see it, any bank can hand out coffee. But it takes a special place to create their own blend – especially with a coffee shop as great as Smokey Row. To us, it’s just another example of unbanking. It really fits our attitude.” The UNbanking Blend is a full-bodied Sumatran bean grown in volcanic soil from Costa Rica and imbues the coffee with deep flavor and bright, clean drinkability. The exclusive blend has become very popular with Community Choice Credit Union members. Last December’s unseasonable weather had a disastrous effect on Make-AWish® Iowa’s largest fundraising event, Jolly Holiday Lights. Water Works Park, which was home to the event for twenty years was flooded, causing the charity to shutdown half-way through their event. Today, the organization is announcing it is moving Jolly Holiday Lights to the Adventureland Campgrounds in Altoona. “After the flooding last year, we needed to take a hard look at our location and see if we wanted to continue the risk involved with having the event at Water Works Park,” said Jamie Rasko, marketing & communications manager for Make-AWish Iowa. “Moving an event the size of Jolly Holiday Lights is a real challenge and we wanted to make sure that everything made sense logistically before making the move.” Make-A-Wish Iowa grants a wish about every other day in the state of Iowa and plans to grant 192 in their current fiscal year. The Jolly Holiday Lights fundraiser should have raised enough money to cover the cost of about forty of those wishes. “We still are in awe of how much the community rallied in those weeks after we closed,” said Rasko. “The individuals, companies and foundations who gave donations on their own and through the #bringthejolly campaign really rescued the event.” Not all the phone calls that came in to the Make-A-Wish office were for cash donations, though. Adventureland called to suggest that the organization consider their space for the event in the future. The company is donating the space to use and becoming a sponsor of Jolly Holiday Lights in 2016. “Adventureland Resort is excited to be a sponsor of the Jolly Holiday Lights program and proud that we can contribute to Make A Wish Iowa by donating the Adventureland Campground as the new location starting in 2016!" said Adventureland spokeswoman Molly Vincent. We’re really excited about working with the Adventureland team and see a lot of potential to enhance the event this year and in the future,” said Rasko. The organization plans to start setting up for the first time in Altoona beginning in October. Jolly Holiday Lights will be open this fall from November 22nd through January 1st.

In this Issue: President’s Letter Pg 2

Events Pg 3

Biz Tips Pg 4

Welcome New Members! Shelter Insurance/Rick Fee, Make-A-Wish® Iowa, Security Industry Specialists, CFO Systems, LLC, The Schneider Group/Dina Schneider, Kate Kuhns, Northwestern Mutual/Evan Fick, J D Sayles Design, Car X Tire & Auto & Denise Parker/Keller Williams

Biz Spotlight I Prairie Meadows Pg 5 Biz Spotlight II Adventureland Pg 5 Photo Gallery Pg 6

President’s letter…

Executive Board:

One of the most common questions we get when signing up new members is “What is the chamber of commerce, exactly?” Most think that the chamber is a group of businessmen in suits arguing over downtown building projects. But Chris Mead, author of “Magicians of Mainstreet”, a book about the chambers, wants to shake up that notion. In Atlantic City, N.J., he says, the chamber started the Miss America pageant and it was the St. Louis chamber that helped pay for Charles Lindbergh's Atlantic flight. The gangster Al Capone was finally brought Brett McAllister down by the help of the Chicago Association of Commerce, 2016 President which collected financial information leading to his arrest. White Lake-Bethel, N.Y., Chamber of Commerce President Elliot Tiber, was the one who held the permit for the Woodstock Music & Art Fair, the unforgettable 1969 music festival. Being involved with the chamber of commerce allows you the opportunity to expand ideas, collaborate and develop programming and events that support the quality of life for your community, your business and business partners. The Altoona Area Chamber of Commerce along with other community leadership was instrumental in sharing information and in supporting Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino, who in turn has given millions to the metro and our community specifically. Taste of Altoona is the largest event of its kind in the metro, bringing over 1,400 guests to our business members, and the Nippie Hippie Charity 5K has grown to over 421 registered walkers/runners in the first 3 years and is expected to meet 500 this year. We promote and refer our business members above all and have seen the success of many. In the spirit of Woodstock®, the Altoona Chamber is partnering with Fireside Grille to host Music on the Plaza’s End of Summer Creole Bash Saturday, August 6 in Civic Plaza. It is a ticketed event (talent announcement coming soon!) with a tasty crawfish boil, burgers and more! You won’t want to miss this incredible night of music, friends and food! Our mission is to “provide opportunity & encourage growth” not just for our business members, but for our community as a whole. While we haven’t brought down the likes of Al Capone, we are the connector, the glue, the biggest cheerleader in town – THAT’S what the chamber is!

Brett McAllister/President Fireside Grille Jill Meyer/ President-Elect Matt Haberman/Secretary Jimmy John’s Elaine Castelline/Past President Prairie Meadows

Board of Directors Desirae Sanford—Altoona Auto Body Bill Ludwig—Royal Flooring Luke Sibley-Edward Jones Peggy Harmeyer-ReMax Real Estate Group Amanda Dufner—Sam’s Club Dr. Angie Atzen—The Iowa Clinic Staci Fjelland—Prairie Vista Village Stephanie Riding—Ted’s Body Shop

Board Liaisons City of Altoona-Jeremy Boka East Polk Regional Development-Alex Lynch Southeast Polk Schools-Dr. Dirk Halupnik

AACC Staff Melissa Horton—Executive Director Victoria Tracey—Event Planner Brittany Zimmerman, Admin Kennedy Horton, Admin

Altoona Area Chamber of Commerce President’s Club 2016 Gold Members Silver Members Adventureland of America, Inc. Altoona Living Magazine Bank Iowa Bankers Trust Company Bass Pro Shops City of Altoona Great Western Bank Hy-Vee Food Store Legacy Bank Prairie Meadows Sam’s Club Skinner Law Office, PC Wal-Mart Supercenter Ziegler, Inc.

Altoona Herald – Mitchellville Index Security Industry Specialists, Inc. Altoona Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Community Choice Credit Union Community State Bank Deery Bros. Chevrolet, Inc. Dealership Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority, DART Edward Jones Investments/L Baldwin, A Kline & L Sibley Facebook Fareway Stores, Inc. Gilcrest Jewett Lumber Co. Helena Industries, Inc. Iowa Donor Network Iowa Realty Jethro’s BBQ and Jake’s Smokehouse Steaks Luther Care Services Neumann Brothers, Inc. Perkins Restaurant & Bakery Shive-Hattery, Inc. 2 Snyder & Associates Timmins, Kroll, Jacobsen LLP Turner Construction US Bank



May: 3 — Noon Networking, 11:45am at Perkins 4—Government Affairs Comm Mtg, Noon at Spectators 5—Ambassador Comm Mtg, Noon at Sugar Shack 7—Kentucky Derby Hat Contest at 4:00pm at Prairie Meadows 9—Membership & Marketing Comm Mtg, Noon at PM Café 11—Community Development Comm Mtg, Noon at AACC with Subway 13—Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Altoona Eye Care, Noon 14—SEP Stand for the Silent Color Run 16—Economic Dev Comm Mtg, Noon at the HyVee Market Grill 19—Spring Membership Luncheon with Gary Palmer, 11:30am-1:00pm at Reclaimed Rails, 101 Main Street, Bondurant. $25 pp RSVP required. 20—Mitchellville Elementary Blue Ribbon Auction, 6:00pm at Prairie Meadows 26—Business 101: Employee Retention with Michelle Henaman of ITA Group, Noon at HyVee Club Room. FREE event. Open to the public. 27—Music on the Plaza Opening Night, 6:00pm-9:00pm Civic Plaza—AAYP Volunteer Opportunity. Contact Victoria Tracey to sign up! 31—Retailer’s Council Meeting, 8:30am at Sugar Shack

June: 1—Government Affairs Comm Mtg, Noon at Spectators 2—Ambassador Comm Mtg, Noon at Sugar Shack 3—Music on the Plaza, 6:00pm-9:00pm at Civic Plaza 7– Noon Networking, Noon at Perkins 8—Community Dev Comm Mtg, Noon at Fireside Grille 10—Music on the Plaza, 6:00pm-8:00pm at Civic Plaza 16-19—Cheers for Charity at Wing Nutt Brewing Company 17—Wine & Craft Beer Fest, 5:00pm-8:00pm in the Enabling Garden. Tickets on sale NOW! $15 in advance. $25 the night of. Contact Victoria Tracey at [email protected] 20—Economic Development Comm Mtg, Noon at HyVee Market Café 21—Business 101: Mindfulness in Leadership with Allison Peet, Noon at HyVee Club Room. FREE event. Open to the public. 24—Music on the Plaza, 6:00pm-9:00pm at Civic Plaza 25—AAYP Flippy Cup Tourney, 2:00pm at Fireside Grille. For more information contact Victoria Tracey at [email protected]. 26—Music in the Park, 7:00pm in Haines Park 30—Prairie Meadows Festival of Racing

For more details or reservations go to www.altoonachamber.org or call 967.3366.

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events & committees

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501 1st Ave N, Altoona 967-4441/Fax 967-4081 [email protected]

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biz Tips... Business Readers Best Sellers:

How To Have A Good Day by Caroline Webb

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Sprint by Jake Knapp, Josh Zeratsky & Braden Knowitz

Mindfulness by Ellen Langer

Two-Thirds of Managers are Uncomfortable Communicating with Employees by Lou Soloman CEO of Interact I used to show up five minutes late everywhere I went, believing that the universe generally accepted a margin of five minutes. One day a client and mentor named Nancy looked me in the eye and said something in a kind but no-nonsense way: “Part of the image you are projecting to people is that you are always late. Don’t let it get in the way.” I’ve been five to 10 minutes early ever since. I have been shaped in part by uncomfortable moments of feedback like this one. When offered with respect, honest feedback — even when critical — can have a major impact on your career and your personal life. With so much to gain, why don’t leaders have feedback conversations more often? Because not all leaders are comfortable with the responsibility. The fear of hurting people’s feelings and dealing with potential drama and retribution hold us back. How much of a problem is this, really? A new Interact survey conducted online by Harris Poll with 2,058 U.S. adults — 1,120 of them were employed, and 616 of the employed people were managers — showed that a stunning majority (69%) of the managers said that they’re often uncomfortable communicating with employees. Over a third (37%) of the managers said that they’re uncomfortable having to give direct feedback about their employees’ performance if they think the employee might respond negatively to the feedback. The survey results also showed that many managers are uncomfortable with becoming vulnerable, recognizing achievements, delivering the “company line,” giving clear directions, crediting others with having good ideas, speaking face to face, and having difficult feedback conversations in general. Here’s the paradox: People thrive on feedback. In my communications consultancy work I have watched droves of top executives, emerging leaders, supervisors, and frontline managers become enlivened — even honored — by feedback, whether it was positive or negative. Imagine training for a marathon without a watch, never knowing how fast you’re running other than the possible exception of the occasional “Good job!” from your coach. You’d have no way of knowing whether you’re prepared to meet your goal. The dark side of sugarcoating and avoiding honest feedback is dysfunction and disconnection, which leads to an unproductive team. That’s why it’s so important to give feedback early and often. The next time you need to have a difficult feedback conversation with an employee, consider these guidelines: Be direct but kind. Check your motives before diving into the discussion. If your goal is to shame someone or to feel superior in some way, you’re way off track. However, if you see an opportunity for growth, be direct. Don’t beat around the bush. Include specific examples of desired behaviors to help illustrate what you mean. Listen. Listening provides a space in which both people feel respected. Ideally, a feedback conversation is meant to spark learning on both sides — you must understand the situation together to make positive change. Consider this recent HBR.org article by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, which shared the results of a global study in which respondents were asked to rate their managers on the extent to which they “carefully listened to the other person’s point of view before giving them feedback.” Respondents who rated their managers as highly effective at listening felt more positively about the manager’s ability to provide feedback. The respondents who strongly disagreed with this statement rated their manager significantly lower on providing honest and straightforward feedback on a regular basis. Don’t make it personal. Imagined slights and malice are toxic. It’s easy to take things personally in a feedback conversation, but if you acknowledge the emotions being felt, you will offer the recipient a relief valve for the stress. Be present. Show up fully for the discussion, and don’t rush off once it’s over. Be brave enough to allow moments of silence to come into the conversation. Follow up later so that afterthoughts don’t create imagined distance. Inspire greatness. Be sure to communicate your aspirations for the person you’re giving feedback to. Respectful, direct feedback costs absolutely nothing but can make all the difference in individual and team productivity. In its absence, we become completely ineffective. Team communication breaks down. Leaders become irrelevant. But when we get it right, feedback can create better collaboration, a culture of connection, and sustainable change.

4

Lou Solomon is CEO of Interact, a communications consultancy that helps Fortune 500 CEOs, business leaders, managers, entrepreneurs and their teams to develop authenticity, make connections, earn trust and build influence.

biz spotlight… Prairie Meadows Race Track & Casino 1 Prairie Meadows Dr., Altoona 967-1000

OUR MISSION IS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL IOWANS. Every day, our community efforts promote economic development, agriculture, jobs, and tourism for the state of Iowa. As a licensed 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation, Prairie Meadows supports a broad range of non-profit proposals and projects through our Community Betterment Grant Program, Scholarship Program and Legacy Grant Program. The results have seen Prairie Meadows giving more than $1.4 billion back into the state of Iowa. And more than $600 million of that figure has remained right here in our community.

The racetrack is open between April and October during the racing season. Children under 18 are welcome if accompanied by an adult. However, no one under the age of 21 is allowed to access the casino floor, located on Level 2.Admission is free for all of our live horse racing events with both indoor and outdoor seating. Parking is also free and includes handicap spaces and valet parking—and for your convenience, a shuttle is accessible from the parking lot that will take you to the main entrance.

Anyone can pay to sponsor a race. Benefits include having your name/photo displayed on the Big Screen, your name in racing program, a personal message read by the track announcer, and your picture in the winner’s circle. These are a great way to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, corporate outings and other special occasions. www.prairiemeadows.com

Adventureland Amusement & Water Park 3200 Adventureland Dr., Altoona 265-7321 Adventureland Amusement Park and Adventure Bay Waterpark contain over 100 rides, shows, and attractions including some of the country's most exciting roller coasters and thrill rides that can challenge the most avid amusement park enthusiasts. There are also plenty of rides for less adventurous guests including great water rides as well as a full compliment of children's rides spread throughout the park. But the entertainment doesn't stop with rides - Adventureland presents a full array of shows in the park - from thrilling circus acts and magic shows to live music and juggling - there's always something to suit everyone's taste. Simply the most fun you will have all year! In 2014 Adventureland added the Storm Chaser - a 260 foot 4 million dollar giant tower swing ride. This ride will certainly test the most daring riders! The 2015 season had many fun changes made over the winter. The Dragon Island bridge was expanded and lit, the Palace Theater was completely remodeled and we rebuilt the River City Smoke Shack to better serve our guests some of the best BBQ around! A 24 tap German Bier Garten was added to the Rathskellar and the new Abita Bar in River City gives guests a real taste of New Orleans. 2016 is the season of THE MONSTER! Coming in June, this is Adventureland's first new rollercoaster in 23 years and it is looking scary! With 5 inversions, 10 air time moments and a vertical lift hill, The Monster will test your bravery. Summer will soon be here! Adventureland opens for weekend Saturday, April 30! Adventureland is located off exit 142A of I-80, along U.S. Highway 65, near Altoona, just East of Des Moines. www.adventurelandpark.com 5

photo gallery...

Business 101 with Kelsey Meyer of Blue Frog Marketing

Make-A-Wish® Iowa & Spectators Ribbon Cutting April 11.

Great Escape the Ultimate Experience & Social Eats & Crafts Ribbon Cutting Feb. 25.

Subway Altoona Ribbon Cutting Feb. 26.

119 2nd St. SE, Ste. A Altoona, IA 50009 (515)967-3366 Email: [email protected] www.altoonachamber.org

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We Appreciate Your Partnership! 6

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