Y O U R C O N N E C T I O N T O B U S I N E S S & C O M M U N I T Y S I N C E 1 9 6 9

CONNECTIONSSeptember 2011 - Vol 42, Issue 9

Leadership

P2- Message from Pat MulQueeny

P2- Ambassadors of the Month

P3- Ambassador Updates

Public Policy P4- Article by Thomas Donohue

Community Building P5- Spotlight on a Member

Minnesota Vikings Football

Networking P6- Article by Mike Stanton

P6- New Member List

P7- Sponsorship Corner

P7- Sneak Peak- October Event

P7- Event Rewind

P8- August 2011 Calendar

IN THIS ISSUE...

Wednesday, September 14th from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

We are very excited to announce that Minnesota Governor, Mark Dayton, will be speaking at our Governor’s Luncheon! Join us and hear the latest updates on the budget, the shutdown, setting priorities and other hot topics in Minnesota.

Mark Dayton is Minnesota’s 40th Governor. He was born in Minneapolis and raised in a house in Long Lake, where his father still lives today. He has two grown sons, Eric (29) and Andrew (26), and lives in St. Paul with his two German Shepherds, Mesabi and Wanamingo (Mingo). He graduated,

cum laude, from Yale University, where he also played Division I hockey.

After college, Mark taught ninth grade general science for two years in a New York City public school. He still tells how it was the toughest job he ever had! It was here where he realized the ter-rible injustice that his students had so little, while he had been given so much; and he decided that he would devote his life to improving social equality and economic opportunity for all Americans.

For most of the past 34 years, Mark has served Minnesotans, as Commissioner of the Minnesota Departments of Energy and Economic Development, as State Auditor, and as United States Senator. He has worked throughout our state to help businesses locate or expand and create jobs, to improve local government services, to better fund our public schools, to support our servicemen and women, to help Minnesotans get the health care they need, and in many other ways to make a better Min-nesota. Currently, Mark serves on the Executive Committee of the National Governor’s Association.

Th is event will sell out fast, so place your RSVP today!

LOCATION: Olympic Hills, 10625 Mount Curve Road in Eden Prairie

COST: $35 for Chamber Members & their guests / $60 non-Chamber members

A special THANK YOU to our 2011 Annual Sponsors!

epchamber2Follow us on Twitter!

Look for us on Facebook “Eden Prairie Chamber”

Look for us on LinkedIn “Eden Prairie Chamber”

Visit our YouTube Channel “EPChamber2” VC

Visit our Discussions Blogepchamber2.blogspot.com

Governor’s Luncheon

Gold Sponsor Bronze SponsorSilver Sponsor Bronze Sponsor General SponsorSilver Sponsor

RASMUSSEN

Minnesota Governor, Mark Dayton

Sponsored By:

Leadership

A Message from the PresidentBy Pat MulQueeny, PresidentEden Prairie Chamber of Commerce

PAGE 2 “Connections” (USPS 729770) is published 12 times per calendar year by the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Periodicals postage paid at Hopkins, MN - POSTMASTER: Send address changes to “Connections,” 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Ambassadors of the Month- July In July, we had SEVEN outstanding Ambassadors who have qualifi ed for the Ambassador of the Month! Great job everyone,

keep it up! Next time you see these individuals, be sure to give them a pat on the back for a job well done.

Chamber Partners with City on Business Survey

The Eden Prairie Chamber recently partnered with the City of Eden Prairie on its business survey that wrapped up at the end of July. Th e Chamber contributed $5,000 to help pay for the services of a fi rm to complete 350 phone interviews with business owners in Eden Prairie.

Th e purpose of our eff orts with this once every three year survey is tied to our strategic plan. We want to gain valu-able insight into what our local business owners see as is-sues, fi nd out how their businesses are doing and to get insight into opportunities for the Chamber to help them be successful. We will use this information in our goals to provide relevant programs, become a hub to connect all industries and sizes of business and become desirable to a more diverse membership base. We will update our members in greater detail once we have the chance to thor-oughly review the results.

International Trips

The Chamber recently announced one of its three up-coming international trips – an Alaskan Cruise set for June 15 of 2012. Th e Chamber is very excited to be part-nering with long time Chamber member – CruiseOne. Th e trip includes Ports of Seward, Hubbard Glacier, Ju-neau, Skagway, Icy Strait, Ketchikan and disembarking in Vancouver. Chamber members, guests and residents alike are all invited to participate.

Additional trips that are being considered include Spain, Germany and a return trip to Ireland in 2013. To be add-ed to our e-mail list for international trips, please e-mail us your information to adminj@epchamber.org.

Carrie Dolinar ProStaff , 952-975-0106 carrie.dolinar@prostaff .com www.prostaff .com

Tom Hanske Beacon Bank, 952-937-2450 thanske@beaconbank.com www.beaconbank.com

Craig Ramsey ProIntroNet, 612-867-3337 craig.ramsey@gmail.com

Becky Reilly Hampton Inn, 952-942-9000 becky.reilly@hilton.com www.minneapolisedenprairie.hamptoninn.com

Randy Royse Wells Fargo Advisors, 952-897-4990 randy.royse@wfadvisors.com

Mike Sitek Handyman Matters, 952-836-6326 Mike.Sitek@HandymanMatters.com www.handymanmatters.com/twin-cities

Adam Weinblatt Liberty Mutual, 763-543-4344 adam.weinblatt@libertymutual.com www.libertymutual.com/adamweinblatt

Leadership

11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org PAGE 3

Ambassador UpdatesThe Eden Prairie Chamber Ambassadors serve as goodwill representatives in our business community. Th ey learn about member businesses and encourage membership retention through mentorships, personal phone calls and much more. Below are some of the places that our very busy Ambassadors visited in August!

• BuxBack Minnesota Mike Jessop mike.jessop@buxback.com 952-261-9965 www.buxback.com

• Chanticlear Pizza Ryan Elsner 8397 Columbine Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 952-252-2222 www.chanticlearpizza.com

• Farmers Insurance Group David Krelitz 6420 Flying Cloud Drive, # 103 Eden Prairie, MN 55344 952-255-9682

• Parallel Technologies Dale Klein 7667 Equitable Drive Eden Prairie, MN 55344 952-920-7185 www.ptnet.com

• Rasmussen College in Minnesota Jeff Brosz 4400 West 78th Street, Floor 6 Bloomington, MN 55435 952-545-2000 www.rasmussen.edu

Visit our Facebook page (Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce) or our website:www.epchamber.org/Photo_Gallary.asp for more photos!

y y g

BuxBack Minnesota

Parallel Technologies, Inc.

Public Policy

PAGE 4 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org

Now that a debt ceiling and defi cit re-duction agreement has been reached, the White House and Congress have an-nounced, once again, that they are pivot-ing back to jobs. Refocusing attention on Americans’ highest priority is welcome as

long as it is real. Good intentions and great speeches are nice but they don’t produce paychecks for the more than 16% of our fel-low citizens who are unemployed or underemployed. Long-term re-forms to boost our nation’s competitiveness and set us on a course of robust economic growth and job creation are essential. But jobless Americans want to know how and where they can fi nd work now, not later! Th ey deserve some real answers and fast action.

Here are fi ve steps offi cials in Washington should take immediately to spur faster hiring in America’s private sector. Th ese actions will not increase the defi cit. Instead, they will reduce the defi cit by ex-panding the ranks of employed taxpayers, thus thinning the ranks of those who are dependent on government support.

1. Ratify Pending Free Trade Agreements With Colombia, Korea, and Panama. Free trade agreements (FTAs) with these dynamic economies were negotiated years ago; yet, they’ve languished. If they are passed, they will create hun-dreds of thousands of new jobs. If they aren’t, we’ll lose 380,000 jobs to our competitors that have cut their own deals with these countries. Let’s get these agreements done already.

2. Unlock Our Domestic Energy Resources. We’ve got plenty of our own energy resources, and allowing American in-dustry to get them will create jobs, increase government revenues, enhance our national security, and release us from the grip of some unfriendly governments. By some estimates, increasing access to American energy resources could create an additional $150 billion in federal and state revenue and add more than 500,000 jobs. Expanding the development of domestic natural gas will continue to drive gas prices down and bring manufacturing back to the United States.

3. Green-Light Transportation and Energy Infrastructure Projects. Congress and the administration should immedi-ately end the impasse that has suspended Federal Aviation Administration funding, jeopardizing hundreds of impor-tant projects and idling some 70,000 construction work-ers. Lawmakers must also reauthorize the nation’s

core highway program and its existing dedicated funding source, which will support transportation improvements in every corner of the country without increasing the defi cit. Opening up the infrastructure sector to tens of billions of dollars in private investment—which can be done through some simple, specifi c changes in rules, liability, and fi nan-cial incentives—could create substantial numbers of new jobs. And by quickly acting to approve the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline connecting Canada to U.S. refi neries in Texas, the administration could generate some 250,000 jobs and $20 billion of investment in the United States.

4. Speed Up Permitting and Provide Immediate Regulatory Certainty. Small and large businesses alike have cited regu-latory roadblocks and fears about what government regula-tors will do to them next as the most signifi cant obstacles to new hiring. Th e administration should act to immedi-ately reform the nationwide permitting process. Rigorous reviews are fi ne. But speed them up, do them once, and stop letting the lawyers gum up the whole process. Reform permitting, and you will quickly see a burst of new eco-nomic activity and job creation. It’s also critical to revisit current regulatory proposals that would kill thousands of jobs with no proven benefi ts to off set this hurt. EPA’s pro-posed new ozone standards are a prime example, especially since these standards were just strengthened several years ago and the nation’s workers and businesses are still absorb-ing the costs.

5. Put the Welcome Mat Back Out for Tourists and Travel-ers. Th is is a “clean,” small business-centered sector that already accounts for $700 billion in revenues and 7.4 mil-lion American jobs. We can create untold numbers of new jobs, businesses, and government tax revenue as well as boost exports (since foreign tourism expenditures count as such) if we we’d stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We need to reform and revise visa, travel, and other discourag-ing policies that have sent a message to travelers that says “go somewhere else.” Let’s cut the hassle factor and vigor-ously promote America’s extraordinary destinations just as other countries do.

We have more job-creating ideas. Others do as well. Let’s act on these fi ve. Let’s add to the list. Let’s stop only talking and start some serious doing!

Another “Pivot” Back to JobsBy Th omas J. DonohuePresident and CEO, U.S. Chamber of CommerceGuest Article

Community Building

11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org PAGE 5

SPOTLIGHT ON A CHAMBER MEMBER: Q & AMinnesota Vikings Football, LLC-- Chamber Member since 1981We had the opporutnity to connect with Minnesota Vikings Football, LLC in Eden Prairie. Below are some questions we asked to get to know them and their business a little bit more.

Eden Prairie Chamber (EPC): Please tell us a little bit about your business.

Minnesota Vikings (Vikings): Founded on January 28, 1960, the Minnesota Vikings have since become one of the most recognizable or-ganizations in the State and throughout the Upper Midwest. Th e storied franchise celebrated its 50th season in 2010, and over the last 50 years has been a top performing NFL team. Beginning with the fi rst game in 1961, the Vikings have won 425 regular season games, made 26 playoff appearances and played in four Super Bowls. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, Minnesota has the fourth-most wins (361) and the third-most home wins (214) of any team.

Th e Vikings are led by Chairman Zygi Wilf and President Mark Wilf, brothers who took ownership of the franchise in 2005 along with their cousin Leonard Wilf, Vikings Vice Chair, and three other limited partners. Head Coach Leslie Frazier enters his fi rst year as the team’s locker room leader after serving as interim head coach for the fi nal six games of the 2010 season. Outside of players and coaches, the Vikings have approximately 100 employees. Departments such as sales and marketing, public relations, operations, and many others work closely together to ensure success of the franchise.

EPC: What are some key aspects of your business that you take special pride in?

Vikings: Th e focus of the Vikings is to win World Championships and to create a fi rst class organization that competes and operates consis-tently with core values in mind. Since the Wilf family became owners in 2005, the Vikings commitment to civic leadership and investment has grown signifi cantly and now includes annual playground builds at elementary schools, partnerships with the U of M on community-based health programs and funding grants, and childhood immunizations to uninsured and medically-underserved children and families in the Twin Cities. Th e team also donates tens of thousands of dollars worth of autographed items and tickets each year.

Th e Vikings Children’s Fund (VCF) serves as the primary funding mechanism of the team’s non-profi t community involvement. Th e VCF is a means for members of the organization and their families to focus their support on helping children. Th e VCF has assisted over 300 child-related organizations across Vikings country and has donated nearly $9 million since its inception in 1978.

Th e increased pledge from Vikings ownership has reverberated throughout the organization, as 2010 marked the fourth consecutive year that every player on the 53-man roster participated in the team’s community outreach eff orts. Players, coaches and staff continue to volunteer countless hours to a wide range of non-profi t organizations, and the team makes signifi cant contributions to numerous charitable causes throughout the State’s businesses.

EPC: What is it about the Chamber that has led you to be a member?

Vikings: Being a member of the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce for over 25 years is a great source of pride for the Vikings. Th e relation-ship has allowed staff within the organization to remain connected to not only the community in which they work but also the neighborhood in which many of them live. Th e Vikings have been long-time believers in and supporters of the Eden Prairie Chamber and several other chambers of commerce, including the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. We value the Chamber’s leadership on public policy initiatives and your representation and voice for business interests. We also appreciate the opportunity to network with the Chamber’s members, who typically are the most active and community-minded of all of our State’s businesses.

EPC: Final question, what are some positives that you are looking for in 2011- 2012?

Vikings: Under the leadership of Frazier and veteran playmakers like Jared Allen, Donovan McNabb, Adrian Peterson and Steve Hutchinson, the Vikings are poised for an exciting season in 2011. Th e team’s nucleus of nine Pro Bowlers coupled with the 10 draft picks from the 2011 NFL Draft gives the organization a chance to pursue its third NFC North championship in the last four years.

Th is year is also critical for the Vikings new stadium eff orts. Last May the Vikings and Ramsey County agreed on a partnership to build a new stadium on the former Twin Cities Army Ammunitions Plant (TCAAP) property in Arden Hills. With just 10 games remaining on the team’s current lease at the Metrodome, the Vikings are working with State leaders on the project that will support thousands of jobs, provide signifi cant economic activity and result in a state-of-the-art, publicly-owned facility that will benefi t the community and the region.

Minnesota Vikings Football, LLC is located at 9520 Viking Drive, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 (952) 828-6500 www.vikings.com

Networking

PAGE 6 11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org

Welcome the Following New Members & Add Th em to Your Directory!CLX Delivery 13775 Chestnut Drive #223 Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Mark Larsen, President Category: Courier/Delivery Service www.CLXDelivery.com (612) 454-9589

Farmers Insurance Group 6420 Flying Cloud Drive #103 Eden Prairie, MN 55344 David Krelitz, Agent Category: Insurance Agencies/Companies (952) 255-9682

Nine Mile Communications, Inc. 7475 Flying Cloud Drive #225 Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Rob Cabitto, President Category: Communications www.ninemilecommunications.com (952) 454-0290

There are many things that are uniquely American inventions such as jazz music, baseball and jeans (thanks Levi Strauss!).

Also with American cultural DNA, is the idea that America is the land of opportunity and that anyone can succeed regard-less of your pursuits. Th is has produced another profoundly uniquely American trait; that is the desire to be part of suc-cessful volunteer associations, like the Chamber of Com-merce. Interestingly, if you were to travel to many parts of the world you would fi nd little activity regarding various business associations.

I have friends from around the world and I’m told by them that associations exist, but on a very limited basis. It seems that Americans like to connect with each other, after all aren’t Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Myspace American con-structs? I believe that as American’s we value social and pro-fessional networks because like minded folks value banding together for a “winning” cause! How does this relate to you

and your affi liation with the Eden Prairie Chamber of Com-merce? Good question! We want you to be connected with the fastest growing, most dynamic group of business profes-sionals and we need your help to accomplish this.

Next month, on September 22nd we will be hosting our bi-annual “Taste the Chamber” event at Buca Di Beppo in Eden Prairie. Th is is your opportunity to help grow our organi-zation and bring in new energy and business opportunities (new members bring both!). Tell two or three business friends about how the Chamber can benefi t their business and invite them to the free luncheon, then go to the website and register. Th ere will be limited seating, so register today! Now more than ever, we need to connect with each other and support our local business people. With your help, we look forward to a great turnout next month. See you there!

Visit our website to RSVP for Taste: http://epchamber.org/diary/diary_view.asp?id=660

Why We Value AssociationsBy Mike Stanton, Membership DirectorEden Prairie Chamber of Commerce

Olympus Ventures LLC 8500 Normandale Lake Blvd #1750 Minneapolis, MN 55347 Theresa Elveru, Vice President Category: Commercial Real Estate (952) 324-8900

Search Marketing Wizards 2613 Cloverfi eld Circle Chaska, MN 55318 Shikha Bagchi, Principal Consultant Category: Internet Marketing www.search-marketing-wizards.com (952) 448-3806

Signall 88 of Minneapolis 4248 Brookside Avenue St. Louis Park, MN 55416 Mike Olson, President Category: Security Services www.signal88.com (612) 799-4840

Victory Automotive Services, Inc. 1010 Osborne Road NE Fridley, MN 55432 Jordan Cozatt, Business Development Manager Category: Auto Repair www.victoryautoservice.com (763) 786-6920

Networking

11455 Viking Dr. #270, Eden Prairie, MN 55344 • Ph: 952-944-2830 • Fax: 952-944-0229 • www.epchamber.org PAGE 7

THANK YOU to our Sponsors: July & August!

www.goumbria.com952-374-6464

www.redmoonchinesecafe.com952-941-6556

Ambassador Lunch Sponsors

General MembershipLuncheon Sponsor (August)

www.mbc.org 888-GIVE-BLD

For more information onhow to become a luncheon

sponsor, please contactPat MulQueeny:

Offi ce:(952) 944-2530

Email:pat.mulqueeny@epchamber.org

Great exposure for your business for a great deal!!!

Chamber members were treated to an in-depth look at today’s healthcare and also what tomorrow’s might look like. Bob Stevens, President and CEO of Rid-geview Medical Center, gave the members an update on their services and the new Two Twelve Medical Center that handles emergency and urgent care only, located in Chaska. Bob’s comments addressed our current system, which pays by proce-dures performed versus outcomes. It also has the potential for redundancy due to the lack of electronic records. Bob shared numerous stories and examples of issues in our health system. He illustrated that Medicare reimbursements to hospitals typically are only 29 cents on the dollar

and the remaining costs need to be cov-ered elsewhere. Th e sponsor of the lun-cheon was Memorial Blood Centers.

What a great event! Pictured Below: Our sponsors from Memorial Blood Centers with our speaker, Bob Stevens and Pat MulQueeny, EP Chamber President.

The Eden Prairie and Bloomington Chambers of Commerce are pleased to announce their partnership with Micro-soft on a Cloud Technology Summit. Mark your calendars for this amazing program; it will be on Wednesday, October 26, from 11:00 – 1:15 at the Mall of America in the Great Room.

Businesses are looking for the newest and best technology for their companies that will help them gain a competitive edge. Today, Cloud Technology is leading the way and opening doors for businesses in ways never before imagined.

Presenting the Keynote is Microsoft’s own Kevin Remde, Sr. IT Pro Evange-list – Microsoft Corporation. A prolifi c blogger, Kevin shares his thoughts, ideas and tips on his “Full of I.T.” blog. He also contributes to, and moderates, the TechNet Forum IT Manager discussion, posts screencast demos and interviews on TechNet Edge, and presents live TechNet Events.

Kevin is an engaging speaker and web-caster who has landed several times on Microsoft’s top 10 webcast list and has delivered many top-scoring TechNet events and webcasts. Outside of Micro-soft, Kevin has formerly held positions such as software engineer, information systems professional and information sys-tems manager. He loves sharing helpful new solutions and technologies with his IT peers.

Our emcee for the event is Fox 9 News Anchor, Jeff Passolt! Be sure to RSVP today!

LINKS TO LOOK AT:

Full of IT Blog: http://blogs.technet.com/kevinremde

TechNet Forum: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/cat-egory/itmanager/

TechNet Edge: http://edge.technet.com

TechNet Events: http://www.technetevents.com/KevinRemde

Healthcare Discussed at Chamber Luncheon

SNEAK PEAK – Mark Your Calendars for October 26 Microsoft Event

This is a publication of:Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce

11455 Viking Drive, Suite 270Eden Prairie, MN 55344

Ph: 952.944.2830Fax: 952.944.0229

www.epchamber.org

SEPTEMBER 2011 - EPC Calendar of EventsMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 2

4:30 PM- Fusion Social Outing, Mini Golf & Lion’s Tap

5 6 7 8 9

LABOR DAY HOLIDAY

EPC CLOSED!

11:30 AM- Ambassador Mtg. at EPC

7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@Breakfast

7:30-9:30 AM- Board Mtg at EPC

11:00 AM- 1:00 PM, Women’s Networking Luncheon at Community Center- Cambria Room

12 13 14 15 16* Newsletter ads due to the Chamber 11:30 AM- 1:00 PM, Noontime

Networking at Healthy Training

7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@Breakfast

11:30 AM- 1:00 PM, Governor’s Luncheon at Olympic Hills

19 20 21 22 237:30 AM- Government Commit-tee Mtg at EPC

11:30 AM- 1:00 PM, Fusion Monthly Meeting at Star Bank

7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@Breakfast

11:30 AM- 1:00 PM, Taste the Chamber at Buca Di Beppo in EP

* Newsletter inserts due to Chamber by 12 PM

26 27 28 29 30

2:00 PM- Girls Gone Golfi n’, Women’s Networking Golf Event at Bent Creek

7:30- 8:30 AM, Business@Breakfast7:30 AM- Business Development Mtg. at EPC3:30 PM- Recognition Commit-tee Meeting at EPC

PLEASE RSVP FOR ALL EVENTS BY 12 PM THE DAY PRIOR! Visit epchamber.org to view details, pricing or to RSVP today!

Save the date for this year’s Gala event....

Bourbon Street Ball Saturday, November 12, 2011