Inside this issue: Blackhawk Tech/Emmi Roth 2

Score Seminar 3

Community Calendar 4

Morning Meet Up/Behring Senior Center 5

Linked In 6

Lean Six Sigma Training 7

SLICE Arena 8

ChamberWorks Newsletter

Monroe Chamber of Commerce | 1505 9th Street | Monroe | WI | 53566 | 608.325.7648 | www.monroechamber.org

January 2018

Welcome to 2018

2018 Annual Meeting

Mark Your Calendar

Thursday February 15, 2018 Peppercorn Banquets

1417 Mansion Drive Monroe WI

Social Hour: 6:00-7:00 Cash Bar Dinner and Program 7:00

Monroe Theatre Guild Cabaret Players “A Strange Busyness”

Lighthearted looks at Business Dynamics

Table Sponsorship $360.00 seats up to eight Individual ticket $45.00

RSVP contact@monroechamber.org 608 325 7648

Page 2

Partnership creates new Opportunity

– In a joint effort between Blackhawk Technical College (BTC) and the Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Develop-ment Board (SWWDB), with support from sponsoring employers including Bell Laboratories, Miniature Preci-sion Components, Pratt Industries, Scot Forge, Seneca Foods Corp. and Emmi Roth USA, Inc., a new Mecha-tronics Apprenticeship has been created as part of BTC’s academic offerings starting in January, 2018.

“Apprenticeships have applicability in every sector of the economy,” said Dr. Tracy Pierner, Blackhawk Presi-dent. “We are thrilled that our employer partners and the Southwest Wisconsin Development Board wanted to help create a great training opportunity for some of our region’s technicians.”

Designed to train electrical, mechanical and electronics systems technicians, the new Mechatronics Apprentice-ship requires a five-year commitment where students complete 24 college credit hours and 872 hours of relat-ed instruction as part of a 10,000 hour training regimen.

Building on national support to expand apprenticeships, the SWWDB helped secure a Wisconsin Apprenticeship Growth and Enhancement Strategies (WAGE$) grant to help get the new Mechatronics Apprenticeship started.

“Employers considering apprenticeships to right skill their teams are opening doors to the future of workforce train-ing, said Rhonda Suda, Southwest Workforce Develop-ment Board Executive Director. “The work and learn model is an investment that produces a quick return. Ap-

prenticeships cannot move forward without employer input and buy-in so this is a great start to establishing Mechatronics Apprenticeships all over the state.”

The United States Department of Labor awarded $5 mil-lion to the Department of Workforce Development as part of an American Apprenticeship Initiative that includes training for 1,000 new apprenticeships across 12 occupa-tions in three sectors, including advanced manufacturing.

Known as an efficient training tool, apprenticeship pro-grams integrate theoretical education at college sites with on-the-job-training at the companies. Blackhawk Technical College currently offers five apprenticeships including: Construction Electrician, Mechatronics, Maintenance Technician, Industrial Electrician and Weld-ing Fabricator Apprenticeships.

To help kick off the start of the Mechatronics Apprentice-ship, BTC will host a signing event on January 11 from 8 to 10 a.m. at the Advanced Manufacturing Training Cen-ter in Milton. Twelve students will officially sign on to the apprenticeship at the event with employers, BTC leader-ship and representatives from the SWWDB and the De-partment of Workforce Development/Bureau of Appren-ticeship Standards all in attendance.

For more information about the BTC Mechatronics Ap-prenticeship contact Col-leen Koerth at (608) 743-4597.

For more information about creating an apprenticeship, contact Dana Melahn, Southwest Wisconsin Work-force Development Board, at d.melahn@swwdb.org or (608) 314-3300 ext. 307.

Page 3

PIZZA COUPON $2 OFF Any Large Pizza

$1 OFF Any Medium Pizza One coupon per pizza-Not valid with other coupons

EAT IN OR CARRYOUT—325-3220 Free City Delivery-Med. & Large-5 to 10pm

Open Tues-Sat 9 am-4 pm Sunday 11 am-4 pm May 1 - October 31

National Historic Cheesemaking

Center “…an undiscovered

gem”.

Home of the Green County Welcome Center

2108 6th Ave. Monroe, WI (608) 325-4636

JOIN NOW! 2205 21st Street

Monroe, WI 53566 608 325-3157 608 325-3150

700 8th Avenue, Monroe

The Best in Independent

Retirement Living (608) 329-4400

January Topic: Simple Steps for Starting Your Business Presenter, David Grunke Wednesday January 17,2018 8:00 –10:00 am Major topics will include: Startup Basics This Seminar will cover the following topics Myths and realities of entrepreneurship Critical success factors Know your options Components of business ownership Making it legal Funding and cash management Business plan basics

Seminar Location Monroe Chamber of Commerce 1505 9th St Lower level Conference Room Seminar fees Members $15.00 Non Members $50.00 Continental Breakfast will be served

February Topic: Simple Steps for Starting Your Business Wednesday February 14,2018 8:00 –10:00 am

Business Concepts This Seminar will cover the following topics Capture Your Dream Feasibility Plan Draft Meet Ann’s Nursery Industry Profile Data Customer Data Competitive Data Resources for Collecting Data Seminar Location Monroe Chamber of Commerce 1505 9th St Lower level Conference Room Seminar fees Members $15.00 Non Members $50.00 Continental Breakfast will be served Future, monthly seminars will provide infor-mation on initial start up as well as maintain-ing a well run business. Available for enroll-ment will be announced. We are proud to be able to offer such beneficial expert advice to our community.

SCORE Seminar Series

Page 4

Community Events Calendar

Monroe Clinic Gallery

Monroe Clinic Hospital

Exhibit by Williams & Goodspeed 1/1/2018 - 1/31/2018 www.monroeartscenter.com

Monroe Arts Center - 1315 11th Street

1/1/2018 - 1/12/2018

www.monroeartscenter.com

Turner Hall, 1217 - 17th Ave.

1/2/2018 5:30 - 8 pm

www.turnerhallofmonroe.org

Dutch treat menu First Tuesday of the

month.

Bullquarian Brewhouse Live Music

1128 17th Ave

Check for dates: 5:30 pm

facebook.com/Bullquarianbrewhouse/

Leisure Lanes, 2308 - 6th Ave

Check for dates 8:30 pm

www.leisurelanesmonroe.com

Showcase of Talent

Monroe High School PAC

1600 26th St

1/12/2018 - 1/13/2018 7:30 PM

www.monroeartscenter.com

Squeezebox Night

Turner Hall - 1217 17th Ave

1/16/2018 6 PM

turnerhallofmonroe.org

Comedy Night

Monroe Theatre Guild, 910 16th Ave

1/19/2018 - 1/20/2018 7:30 pm

www.monroetheatre.com

Indoor Farmers Market Masonic Tem-

ple

Saturdays 9 am - 2 pm

www.mainstreetmonroe.org

Midday Masterworks Series

1/24/2018

12:15 United Methodist Church, 2227 - 4th St.

5:15 St. Victor Church, 1760 - 14th St.

http://coldspringsroad.com/

middaymasterworks.html

Monroe Arts Center - 1315 11th Street

1/26/2018 - 1/31/2018

www.monroeartscenter.com

Seasons of the Sugar River - Juried

Show

Fisharee/Chickaree

1/27/2018

Monticello Held at Lake Montesian.

monticello-wi.com

The Monroe Chamber of

Commerce is pleased to

welcome Preferred Living

to our list of publication

sponsors Preferred Living

Supportive Home Care 15015 9th St, Monroe WI

Diane Knautz 608 328 2517

prliving@tds.net

Page 5

Al Rufer 2017 MCCI President Precision Drive & Control Tim Wolff 2017 Vice President Colony Brands Adam Bansley 2017 Treasurer Empire Media Gary Olson 2017 MCCI Past President Minhas Brewery Erin Daniels Monroe Clinic Gerald (Fuzzy) Karlen Fuzzy’s Audio & Video Joe Klein Bank of New Glarus Jeff Maliszewski First Weber Hedeman Group Lynn Molinaro Dairy Queen Phil Vosberg International Ingredients STAFF Melissa Even Executive Director Mary Lou Campbell Administrative Assistant

2017

MCCI BOARD OF

DIRECTORS

Morning Meet up!

Business After Five has been the “go to” staple in the Networking op-portunities provided by the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but now there’s some new competition in town. Businesses owners have used this platform to celebrate milestones, make organizational announce-ments and promote their business throughout the business community. 2018 is the time for us to make an addition to our already popular network-ing platform.

With the new year come the “Morning Meet Up”. We are excited to offer an early day option for businesses to network. The Morning Meet up is designed to be an early day networking event plan on a 7:00 am start and wrap it up around 9:00. . Think a quick cup of coffee and a breakfast meeting could be a better way to stay connected? So do a lot of others.

We realize not everyone has the ability to attend evening events. We be-lieve this morning option will assist members that work different schedules and also would like to maintain a work and home life balance. Morning Meet Up and Business After 5 are great ways to showcase your business, connect with new businesses and keep up to date on the chamber of com-merce happenings.

Hosting a networking event is very easy to do, call us at 608 325 7648 or email us at contact@monreochamber.org and we will get you in one of our few remaining slots for 2018, Keep your eyes open for upcoming de-tails! Surprises wait around every corner!

The new year brings new opportunities to improve yourself. Not all reso-lutions need to be monumental changes. If you have any interests in mak-ing your lifestyle a little better than it was before, check out a couple op-tions now available through the Behring Senior Center. Healthy Eating for Successful Living a 6 week class Date: January 10th to February 14th

Time: 1 to 3:30 pm Cost: $10. Learn more about nutrition and lifestyle changes can promote better health. TO REGISTER CALL THE ADRC OFFICE AT 328-9499 CALLING ALL iPad Users Please note these 3 classes are for iPad users ONLY. Please bring your own iPad with you. Call 325-3173 to reserve a spot for you. Each class will be limited to 8 people. iPad Basics Date: January 11th Time: 9-11am Cost: $12. This class is for beginners who want to learn how to use the iPad. iPad Plus Date: January 25th Time: 9:30-11am Cost: $12. Already using an iPad? This class is more advanced.

Behring Senior Classes

Page 6

For many professionals, LinkedIn is the first place we turn to on social media in our search for opportunity, professional value and building a sol-id professional network. It may be the last destination for professional and educational content that's not polluted, however, it is starting to get and feel a bit less professional. I know this is not a new topic, but it keeps happening to me, and maybe to you as well? This is your chance to comment on the issue. Since I became an active daily user of LinkedIn, I've experienced a lot on the platform and written over 630 articles, many of which receive dozens of com-

ments. Recently, I've noticed the quality of comments have declined dramatically. I'm very open to different points of view, but it hurts me to read my hard work reduced into an opinion that feels more appropriate or made for Facebook. While I applaud the LinkedIn algorithm to emphasize real human dialogue and conversation, I expect that we as a com-munity are able to keep things professional and civil. To make matters worse, typically, it's clear the "offenders", (upwards of 20%) have not even read the article or clicked on any of the links I have so painstakingly created. They mostly comment on the title alone. So what's going on here? I understand we are busy professionals and live in a mobile world, but what is the incentive to attempt to create value, if the comments lack even a basic level of respect and professionalism? The Digital Dumb Down Many of the comments clearly come from a level of digital intelligence that Facebookhas conditioned in us. The algorithmic echo bubble creates trolls that have no interest in the truth or debate. We are now living in a digital world where we have become creatures of impulse, without the patience to listen or learn about an opinion that might be different from our own. 2-5 second attention spans Emotional gut reactions (Facebook "reactions") Unprofessional statements full of personal or political bias Seeking entertainment over education Negative comments with no basis in fact or logical discourse

The LinkedIn Dating Zone A huge majority of the daily active population on LinkedIn happens to be older men. The majority of these profession-als, typically work in sales, marketing or as recruiters. There's been a lot of speculation recently about how LinkedIn is being used as a place to flirt and make connections of different kinds. As a woman, have you ever received inappropriate messages from your network or strangers? Are we creating an environment where healthy dialogue and professional networking can still take place?

Why I Prefer LinkedIn I myself prefer LinkedIn over other social media sites like Facebook because of the business, educational, tech news and future content I expect to find, and write about. However, the more I have to police "trolls" and spam on my comment section and unfollow inappropriate content in my feed, the more I start to wonder about LinkedIn's credibility as a professional site that attracts earnest and sincere profes-sionals. I want to converse with people from all over the world, as a person, but as a professional first and foremost. Michael Spencer

LinkedIn is not Facebook, let's create opportunity- Michael Spencer

Page 7

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608.328.4292

Stateline Ice and Community Expo (SLICE)

Take the Family Skating! Winter is here and it’s time to get the family signed up for some good old fashion family fun at Monroe’s Indoor Ice Rink

NEW - OPEN SKATE SEASON PASSES We are excited to introduce Open Skate Season Passes this year! We offer both family and individual passes. Family Pass (Non-Member) $100 Family Pass (Member) $80 Individual Pass (Non-Member) $50 Individual Pass (Member) $25 The season pass allows skaters to get into open pass for free. Skate rentals are not included in the seasonal pass. Please note: The definition of a family is 2 adults and 4 children living at the same address year-round. Stateline Ice and Community Expo (SLICE) 1632 4th Avenue West, Monroe, WI 53566

608-325-RINK (7465)