In this issue:

New Investors 2

Scholarship Funds Raised 5

News Flash 5

Workforce Paradox 10

Legislative Dialogue 11

Officers Chair, Kirk Kallio, Waupaca Foundry Chair-Elect, William Lipschultz, Alter Metal Recycling Vice Chair / Secretary / Treasurer, Jerry Tiffany, Tiffany Complete Estate Planning Past Chair Paul Shrode, Fox Valley Technical College

Directors Steven Bandy Abacus Investments Deborah Domask American Family Insurance Chris Enslin, Recover Health Erin Helgeson, Waupaca Ale House R. Michael Jungers III A.J. Holly & Sons, Ltd Lisa Krueger, Best Western Plus Grand Seasons Allyce Lees, The Paint Store Scott Neumann Neumann’s Piggly Wiggly Paul Singh, Waupaca BP Amoco

Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce, Inc. 2/1/2014 Volume 2, Issue 2

Connect...Collaborate...Cultivate

Staff President: Terri Schulz

VP of Operations: Kathy LeClair

VP of Tourism: Jeff Anderson

Information Services: Lynn Tolle

VP of Sales: Tom Weiss

The largest attendance in history attended the Waupaca Area Chamber of

Commerce Awards Ceremony on Tuesday (1/28/2014) braving the sub-zero

weather and winds. “We were a little worried that the cold would keep people

away,” commented Chamber President, Terri Schulz, “but that was sure not the

case.” Awards included Project Facelift, Rising Star, Service Award, and Large

and Small Business of the Year. Chamber members voted for the winners in

each category.

The Facelift Awards are presented to new or existing businesses that improve

the appearance of their business by relocating or upgrading a current location

inside or out. Award winners this year are Adventure Outfitters, LLC; Ministry

Medical Group Chain O’Lakes Clinic; First National Bank; Foundations For

Living, Inc.; Hansen’s; Waupaca Hometown Pharmacy; Mills Fleet Farm; Paca

Pub & Grill; Rhythm & Brews; and

Riverside Medical Center –

Rehab Services.

The Grand Facelift Award, which

recognizes major improvements

to a local business, was

presented to Mills Fleet Farm for

their complete makeover of their

existing 29,000 square foot

building and turning it into a

130,000 square foot building, all

done while remaining open and

doing business. The project included

a new power source, heating and cooling system, sprinkler system, lighting,

restrooms, loading docks, inside storage and new office space, plus the

addition of about 100 parking spaces. Store Manager, Randy Paur, accepted

the award saying that Mills Fleet Farm was honored to accept the award and

how many local businesses were used to complete the project. And how they

really appreciate the support the community gives to Fleet Farm.

2013 Awards Announced

Continued on Page 2

Terri Schulz, WACC President and Randy Paur,

Manager Mills Fleet Farm

Thank you to these

2014 President’s Club

Sponsors

Supporting the Chamber

above and beyond.

You are Stars!

Contact The Chamber if your business is interested in becoming a President’s Club Sponsor. 715-258-7343

Waupaca Foundry First National Bank Faulks Bros. Construction

The Service Award is designed to recognize a Chamber Member, who has devoted significant time to the

Chamber, its mission and goals. This year’s nominees were Giles Bellin, Northstar Promotions; Anita

Olson, Embellishments and Julie Thompson, Community First Credit Union. The

2013 recipient is Julie Thompson who was raised to volunteer in her community

and followed in the footsteps of her parents Fred and Marrian Manel. She served

on the Chamber Board of Directors not only once but twice, from 1987 to 1992

and 2011 to 2013. In 1989 she served as the Chair (Title back then was

President) of the Board of Directors. During that time the Chamber started

Strawberry Fest, and the Christmas

Tour of Homes, applied for City Room

Tax funds for the first time and was

granted $10,000; and was on the

search for a new Chamber office

building. She has served on many Chamber committees

including the Ambassadors, Appleton Christmas Parade,

Tourism Promotion and Wintervergnügen committees. And

she continues to serve and chair the Chamber Golf Outing

Committee. 2013 Chair of the Board, Paul Shrode, noted that

Julie exemplifies this award by always having positive things to

say about the Chamber, volunteering when needed and

always

showing

her support.

The Rising Star Award goes to a young business (1-5

years in operation) that provides a service while

enhancing and enriching the community and

demonstrates economic growth. Nominees for the

Rising Star included Amazing Cleaning Service,

Futurity First, and

Loop Communications and this year’s winner, Little

Fat Gretchen’s the popular café operated by

Gretchen Halverson.

Welcome New Investor

LegalShield Independent Associate Dave Walker E3143 Ebbe Lake Road Waupaca WI 54981 715-258-7132 Legal insurance/assistance and identity theft monitoring/restoration plans for you, your family, your business and your employees.

Julie Thompson

Gretchen Halverson, Little Fat Gretchen’s and Terri

Schulz , WACC President

Continued on page 3

It was always Gretchen’s dream to have a restaurant in downtown Waupaca. She loves to cook and

bake or as her mom would say concoct things. And one day in 2012 it all came together. The name

comes from her childhood; the interior of the restaurant is because she loves the 50’s era which

includes lots of chrome and to her chrome means clean and neat. She has kept the menu simple but

will make anything you ask for as long as she has the ingredients in the kitchen. And notes that

breakfast is served all day and that as many local, fresh seasonal items are used as possible. In just

over one year she has grown to 16 employees and has plans for expansion of the kitchen and

refurbishing the basement for storage.

The Small Business of the Year is to

recognize a business which demonstrates an

economic enhancement to the area; provides

service to the community; and enhances the

community image and enriches community

life. They must employee one to twenty

employees and be in business 5 or more

years. This year’s nominees were The Green

Fountain Inn, Fletcher’s Jewelry, Futurity

First of Waupaca, Marvin Metals, TLC

Signs, The Paint Store, and Waupaca

Dental Excellence. The recipient is voted

on by the Chamber investors. And this year

there was a tie, so two awards were

presented to The Green Fountain Inn and The Paint Store.

The Green Fountain Inn started twenty years ago when they purchased a private home along with

three other buildings. They upgraded the whole house with plumbing, heating, air conditioning,

ceilings, refinished floors and installed four private baths on the second floor. Then in 2000 they

renovated the kitchen to become a licensed restaurant kitchen. From there they opened the Back

Door Bakery, and eventually transformed that into the Secret Garden Café. Today they are open for

lunch and fine evening dining. They host cooking classes, business meetings and private parties,

murder mystery dinners and girlfriend getaways. Cindy Oerter, original owner accepted the award

and asked her former partner Patricia Vaux to celebrate in the award too. Cindy also noted that she

was so happy to share this year with Tedd & Allyce, the Paint Store.

Terri Schulz, WACC President, Cindy Oerter, Owner Green

Fountain Inn; and previous partner Patricia Vaux.

Terri Schulz, WACC President, and Allyce

and Tedd Lees, Owners The Paint Store

Continued on page 4

The Paint Store opened their doors in 1998 on the corner of Union and Washington Streets. They

quickly outgrew that space and added on to that building but it still was not enough. So they

purchased the old senior center and remodeled it from top to bottom. Since they made the move

eight years ago, they continue to add products to meet the demands of their growing client base,

this past year they added art supplies. Their goal is to make a difference in the Waupaca area.

Allyce and Tedd both are very active in the Chamber and the community. Serving on the Chamber

Board and committees, participating in the HR Network, the Waupaca King and In-between retailer

group, the ThedaCare Waupaca Plunge,

the International Encaustic Artist state

chapter, WisWax Panel and host a bible

study on site every Tuesday evening.

Allyce and Tedd accepted the award and

were very pleased to share the moment

with Award Recipient Cindy Oerter, The

Green Fountain Inn.

The Large Business of the Year criteria is

the same as the Small Business of the

Year however they must employ twenty-

one or more employees.

The two businesses nominated were

Centerline Machine and First National

Bank. And the award went to First National

Bank who has been a member of the

community since 1885 and over the past 128 years has grown to 11

branches, eight in Wisconsin and three in Texas. It is the 20th largest bank in the state of Wisconsin.

They strive to offer a comprehensive line of banking services to both consumers and businesses.

Currently they employee 140 people and have over $800 million in assets. They are committed to

the communities that they

serve not only monetarily but

they also have many

employees who are very

involved in various community

organizations. President

Archie Overby was present to

accept the award along with

many bank employees.

Gold Sponsors

First National Bank

Neuville Motors

Silver Sponsor

Faulk’s Bros. Construction.

Platinum Sponsors

Archie Overby, President First

National Bank, Terri Schulz

Foundations for Living: Is looking for volunteers for their Community Clothes Closet. Duties will include sorting clothing, stacking

shelves, and customer service. If interested contact them at 715-942-2725.

Waupaca Breakfast Rotary Club: Presents a Night of Romance, Friday, Feb. 14, Waupaca Ale House with dancing, chocolate fountain and a rose for each lady. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the Chamber office or from a Rotarian.

AT&T: Presented an Innovation and Investment Grant to Fox Valley Technical College to support expansion of the Pro-Seed Small Business Design, Plan and grow program. The program is to encourage, support and provide training to Waupaca County Entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Have something new happening at your Business? Drop Terri an email at Terri@WaupacaAreaChamber.com and let her know. She is happy to share it in the Chamber Newsletter and on the Chamber Facebook page.

$2372 raised for Chamber

Scholarship Fund

As a part of the Awards Ceremony, a

Silent Auction and 50/50 Raffle were

held to raise funds for the Chamber’s

Greg Wehmeyer Memorial Scholarship

Fund. Many Member Investors and

outside the area businesses and

organizations donated items which were

combined to make some outstanding

packages. From 5 to 7pm on Tuesday

evening the attendees enjoyed jotting

bids down until the final call to end the auction. Twenty-one packages raised $1982 and the 50/50

raffle raised $390.

The WACC awards the Greg Wehmeyer Scholarships to Waupaca High School Seniors furthering

their education. The criteria for the award includes that the applicant must be a Waupaca High

School senior accepted to any technical or four year college. The applicant must have an affiliation

with the Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce. This affiliation can be through a parent who owns

or is employed by a member in good standing, or through the applicant’s own employment by a

member in good standing. The scholarship will be awarded based on financial need and a desire to

continue his or her education, not necessarily on academic performance.

Board Changes Committee Names

In an effort to better reflect what the Chamber

Committees work on, the Board of Directors have

renamed a number of committees.

Political Strategies is now Business

Advocacy

Business Enhancement is now Business &

Workforce Development

Member Support remains as Member

Support

Tourism & Promotion is now Tourism Council

To see what the goals of these committee are for

2014 click here. If you have an interest in

serving on a committee please contact the

Chamber office. 715-258-7343 or

Terri@WaupacaAreaChamber.com

Member Investors Celebrating

February Anniversaries.

Congratulations!

Send your Anniversary date to

Kathy@WaupacaAreaChamber.com to be recognized.

Anniversaries to Celebrate!

February 25: Paca Pub & Grill

March 25: Premier Community Bank and Waupaca Ale

House

April 22: Neuville Motors

May 20: Knight Berry

June 24: Waupaca Breakfast Rotary Club

July 22: Chain Bar & Grill

August 26: Waupaca Area Chamber

September 23: Waupaca Buyers’ Guide, County Post West

October 28: Waupaca Curling Club

November 18: Theda Care at Home

Reserve your date for 2015 by contacting

Terri@WaupacaAreaChamber.com.

2014 Schedule

Premier Community Bank 1941

Bauernfeind Business Technologies 1960

Harvey Dental 1980

Sew N Sew 1997

Social Web Dzine 2004

United Country - Udoni & Salan Realty

Group

2005

Plane Guys Aviation LLC 2006

Tiffany Complete Estate Planning 2006

Property Caretakers 2010

Collect Auctions, LLC 2011

East Side Mobil Express, LLC 2011

Restorative Healing Touch, LLC 2011

Wild West Campground & Corral 2004

February

Business After 5

Your Host: Paca Pub

106 N Main St, Waupaca

Come and enjoy the new

dining area.

February 2014 Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce

221 S. Main Street, Waupaca, WI 54981 - Phone 715-258-7343 - Fax 715-258-7868

Office Hours: 8:00a - 5:00p Monday - Friday

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1

2 3

4 Business Advocacy Committee Mtg 8:00a Chamber Conference Rm

5 RSB3 8a Johnson’s Waupaca Woods Restaurant

6 LEADS Network 1 7:30a Breakfast 8:00a Network, Comfort Suites Business Day in Madison, Monona Terrace

7 Member Support Committee Mtg 7:30a Chamber Conference Rm

8

9

10 11 Board of Directors Mtg 7:30a Chamber Conference Rm Strawberry Fest Committee Chamber Conference Rm 4p

12

13 LEADS Network 2 12:30p Chamber Conference Rm

14

15

16

17 Legislative Dialogue Breakfast Best Western Bridgewood, Neenah, 7:30a

18

19

20 LEADS Network 1 7:30a Breakfast 8:00a Network, Comfort Suites

21 Investor Orientation 8a, Chamber Conference Room

22

23 24

25 Business After 5 Paca Pub

26 27 Tourism Council 7:30a Chamber Conference Rm LEADS Network 2 12:30p Chamber Conference Rm Business & Workforce Development Committee Mtg 5p Chamber Conference Rm

28

Reminders: 1. The deadline for the newsletter advertisement submission is the 15th of each month. 2. The Board of Directors usually meets on the second Tuesday of each month. 3. Business After 5 usually takes place on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Note: The Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce is a non-secular organization. Holidays listed are legal holidays and are posted for business convenience only.

Educational Opportunities

A Strategy for Change: Did I get the business re-sults I hoped for in 2013? Do I know what will im-prove my results in 2014? Am I addressing the things that keep me up at night? What do I need to do differ-ent? If these questions resonate for you as a senior executive, Fox Valley Technical College invites you to consider another, are you willing to invest two hours of your time to get some answers to those questions? Feb. 6, 7:30-10:30a. Click here to Regis-ter

Supervisory Leadership 1: Offers guidance for aspiring or new leaders and pragmatic recom-mendations for leaders who seek to develop strong teams and drive outstanding results. Explore different leadership styles and discover your own unique style. Understand the transition into leadership and how your role and responsibilities are defined. Feb. 11&12. Supervisory Lead-ership II provides succinct skill sets in coaching and developing employees. Communicating clear and specific expectations to your employees is critical to operational effectiveness. Learn how to overcome resistance to performance assessments, how to establish job expectations and how to conduct coaching sessions. March 11 & 12.UWGB Business Solutions. Click here to register.

Fusion 2014 CEO –CIO Symposium, March 5&6, Fluno Center, Madison. More info at http://www.fusion2014.com/

Brazil Business Summit: Doing Business in Brazil: Challenges and Opportunities for Midwest-ern Companies, Feb. 19, Fluno Center, UWM, Madison. More info at http://ocr.wisc.edu/brazil-2/

To bring workforce and business issues closer to home, WMC is teaming up with the Wisconsin Technical College System to bring the conversations to local communities in February and March.

Wisconsin continues to battle the workforce paradox – high unemployment, yet employers desperately seek-ing qualified workers.

The WMC Foundation and WTCS, in partnership with the 16 technical colleges, will highlight current work-place solutions in every district.

In addition, WMC will provide an early preview of a new initiative to establish a 20-year strategic plan for the state called – Future Wisconsin.

How will Wisconsin deal with the workforce paradox, global factors, business competitiveness, quality of life issues, and technological improvements?

With an emphasis on demographic challenges that will face the state, WMC will review the research done in 2013 and plans for 2014, culminating in an economic summit in December.

Program agenda for this series will cover:

College President Address

Future Wisconsin: A Strategic Plan for the State

Solving the Workforce Paradox

Feb 19 – Fox Valley Technical College, AppletonFeb 19 – Fox Valley Technical College, Appleton

Mar 3 – Northcentral Technical College, WausauMar 3 – Northcentral Technical College, Wausau

Mar 13 – Mid-State Technical College, Wisconsin Rapids

For more information on this seminar series including dates, locations and registration, click here

ONLINE REGISTRATION

Cost is $20 if you are a member of WMC and/or your local chamber of commerce. Non-member cost is $30.

Contact Susan Nyffenegger at (608) 258-3400 with any questions or concerns.