2 March 2012 • Vol. 17, No. 3
The Bismarck Mandan Chamber of Commerce 1640 Burnt Boat Drive • P.O. Box 1675 Bismarck, ND 58502-1675 223-5660
www.bismarckmandan.com or
www.bismanchamber.com
Published by The Bismarck Tribune 707 E. Front Avenue • P.O. Box 5516 Bismarck, ND 58502-5516
Contact Information: Content:
The Chamber - 223-5660
info@bismarckmandan.com
Advertise: Gene Holwegner phone 701-355-8847
MISSION STATEMENT:
The Chamber will advance the business environment and economic base of the Bismarck-Mandan area.
Chamber Staff Kelvin Hullet
Susie Kocourek Sally Paulson Dot Frank
Ryan Parsons Jesse Sailer Peg Iszler
Annie Bergrud President
Senior Program Director Program Director
Marketing & Communications Director
Membership Director
Membership Services Director Director of First Impressions Chief Accounting Offi cer
Executive Committee Shannon Gangl, Gangl Hospitality/Development ............................ Chairmen Leslie Oliver, Vogel Law Firm
.......................Chair-Elect Dr. Craig Lambrecht, Medcenter One ............... Treasurer Tom Todd, NW Contracting .............................. Secretary Barb Aasen, Eide Bailly
LLP...........................Past-Chair
Board of Directors Jeff Neuberger Mike O’Keeffe TJ Russell
Perrie Schafer Rick Matteson Greg Vetter Barb Aasen Molly Barnes Norm Clark Bill Daniel Jeff Essler
Karen Johner Craig Larson
Shannon McQuade-Ely Leslie Oliver
Annette Behm-Caldwell Shannon Gangl Tom Todd
Chris Brown Marc Taylor
Craig Lambrecht Ed Wolff
Heather Jones Jeff Albers
Michael T. Schmitz Dan Pearson Wayne Munson
Mid-Dakota Clinic Primecare Farm Credit Services Cloverdale Foods
Schafer Financial, Inc. MDU Resources Group American Bank Center Eide Bailly LLP
Northern Improvement Co. Gate City Bank
Daniel Companies HIT, Inc.
ND Guaranty & Title Co. Starion Financial
McQuade Distributing Vogel Law Firm
Open Road Honda
Seven Seas Hotel & Waterpark Northwest Contracting NRG Technical Services Northern Plains Equipment MedCenter One NISC
City Air Mechanical
Schwan GM Auto Center Widmer Roel PC Northwest Tire
Indigo Signworks
“win”. However, on occasion, there is a success that we can point to and say, “Now, that is clearly a success.” In February, the Chamber had one of those wins when Frontier announced it would begin service to Bismarck- Mandan on May 17. For three years, Cheryl Fenster and the Chamber’s Air Service Committee have worked toward this announce- ment. It was last spring when the data showed our community as 175th in the nation in size of market and 9th in the nation for cost that the conversation to recruit a new carrier took shape. From there, it was a cooperative eff ort with many people and organizations playing to the strength’s of their role in the ef- fort.
A I want to extend a sincere thanks to
Cheryl for her tenacity as chairwoman of the Air Services Committee. To have the opportunity to recruit a new carrier requires all the stars to align. And, it took awhile, but they did align. I also want to thank all the businesses that assisted in putting together the travel bank. To assemble more than $300,000 in 14 days is pretty remarkable and speaks to the importance of this issue.
I also want to take a moment and
say thanks to the City of Bismarck. The Mayor and City Commissioners agreed to partner with us on this project and put forth the $200,000 minimum rev- enue guarantee. And, we must extend a thanks to Greg Haug, Melissa Galvan and Tim (?) for their eff orts in creating the opportunity to talk with Frontier and for in providing insight and advice throughout the process. Finally, I extend a warm welcome to
Frontier to our community. As with our other carriers, we look forward to a long and prosperous relationship. It is a great time to be in North Dakota and as we look to 2012, it will be a record setting year for air travel to and from our community. If you read last month’s lead story in the Chamber Connection, you got a good overview of Measure 2. This constitutional proposal is slated for the June ballot. The coalition that is com- ing together to oppose this measure is a once in a lifetime event. Over 60 organizations have joined the eff ort to defeat this ill advised proposal. Of most concern, is the loss of local
control it will create; somehow, mov- ing control of our local budgets to the legislature does not seem like it will create eficiencies or respond to the individual needs of our community. There will be more information coming
s business people, we know that many times it is dificult to determine if we have a clear
CHAIR’S
out on Measure 2 as we get closer to the election. The eff orts to renovate the Commu-
nity Bowl continue to move forward. At the end of February, the commit- tee had raised $7.25 million toward the goal of $8 million. It is anticipated the bids for the project will go out in mid-March with an open date of mid to late April. Assuming all goes well, the renovation will begin after the state track meet of this year. The “Friends of the Bowl” campaign,
Showcase
your company at the Spring Mixer!
which is for those that want to donate $100 or more, kicked off in mid-Febru- ary. I encourage you to check out the website at
www.ProtectOurTurf.com for more information. And, you can even make a donation online. In closing, let me encourage you to check out the events and activities coming up at the Chamber. From net- working to education, there are a num- ber of events as we enter the spring that will help educate you about business and grow your business. For more information, see the events listed in this publication, check out the Chamber’s web- site or call the Chamber. The staff is always happy to hear
from members. Shannon
Shannon Gangl, Board Chair
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