Serving: Waupaca, Iola, Scandinavia, Weyauwega, Fremont, Manawa, Amherst and Surrounding Communities.

This article was submitted by both Allyce Lees, The Paint Store and Jim King, Jim King, AdVenture

Like many people, I get many emails with the instructions, “forward this to everyone you know.” I’ve never done that until now. I think that this approach makes sense.

As the holidays approach, giant Asian

factories are kicking into high gear to provide America with piles of cheaply produced goods – much of it produced at the expense of American labor.

This year could be different. This year Americans could give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found

December 2011 Newsletter

Staff President: Terri Schulz Operations Director: Kathy LeClair Tourism Director: Jeff Anderson Information Services: Lynn Tolle Sales Director:

Officers Chair, Jim Trzinski, Jim Trzinski Photography Inc. Chair-Elect, Craig Kantos, Riverside Medical Center Vice Chair / Secretary / Treasurer, Paul Shrode, Fox Valley Technical College Past Chair, Deb Johnson, Advanced Family Eyecare & Optical Center

Directors Trey Foerster, Waupaca Buyers’ Guide Jean Grenlie, Shambeau and Thern Real Estate Steve Johnson, AJ Holly & Sons Kirk Kallio, ThyssenKrupp Waupaca, Inc. Allyce Lees, The Paint Store William Lipschultz, Alter Metal Recycling Mark Staniak, Cellcom Julie Thompson, Community First Credit Union Angie Wanty, First National Bank

Bring Your Meeting Home 9

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News Flash 3

Chamber Welcomes Nina 4

Chamber Wish List 8

A look inside this issue:

W a u p a c aW a u p a c aW a u p a c a A r e a C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c eA r e a C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c eA r e a C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e

Joining Together

PRESIDENT’S CLUB SPONSOR

Contact The Chamber if your business is

interested in becoming a President’s Club

Sponsor. 715-258-7343

You’re Invited Chamber

Open House Dec 16

1 to 4pm

On December 16th from 1pm to 4 pm stop in at the Chamber office for a little Christmas Cheer, Treats and Spirit. Meet new and old Friends!

Christmas and Shopping Local go Hand in Hand

Continued page 2

Christmas and Shopping Local go Hand in Hand cont. from page 1

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that is produced by American hands. Yes there is!

I think it’s time we think outside the box! Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in wrapping paper made in China? Everyone – yes, everyone - gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local, American hair salon or barber?

Gym or fitness center membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement. Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down a couple of Benjamins on a foreign made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful recipient would like the driveway sealed, or the lawn mowed for the summer, or the driveway plowed all winter, or a few rounds at the local golf course.

There are dozens of owner-run restaurants - all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint?

Remember, this isn't about big national chains; it’s about supporting your home town. Americans with their financial lives on the line working to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle - done at a shop run by an American working guy?

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? She’d likely love the services of a local cleaning lady for a day – or longer.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I know I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

Looking for something more personal? Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit it into scarves. They make unique jewelry, pottery and beautiful wooden boxes. Plan your holiday outings at local, owner-operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a show at your hometown theatre? Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, do you really need to buy another thousand imported lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of lights, only about fifty cents stays in your community. If you have the extra bucks to burn, why not leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice tip?

Christmas shouldn’t be about draining American pockets to build another glittering foreign city. Christmas should be about caring for us, the U.S. - and encouraging American small businesses to keep the dream alive. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine. Maybe you can’t do everything. But, you can do something. If each of us would only commit to spending 20-25% of our holiday budget to local businesses, the impact would be huge! This year, make it a new American Christmas tradition.

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Taste of Christmas at Spencer Lake Christian Center, December 10th 10am - 5pm, featuring the Justmann Band and the Madrigal Singers. Visit & pictures with Santa, ornament & gingerbread house making, Madrigals &

several other area music artists, holiday treat shoppe, carriage & sleigh rides, live nativity, specialty holiday items from area merchants, fantastic food from great area restaurants, free lunch for children with donated food item, gloves or mittens, children's Christmas story corner, classic holiday movies running all day long, and more! Proceeds will be donated to the Miracle Tree (drop site day of event), Waupaca Area Food Pantry and the Pregnancy Info Center.

Cellcom: Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA)-The Wireless Association® announced the election of its 2012 officers, who were chosen by its 38-member board of directors. Patrick D. Riordan, president and CEO of Nsight and Cellcom, was elected as chairman and will begin serving a one-year term on January 1, 2012.

Congratulations Mr. Riordan!

The City of Waupaca encourages the community to sign up for important alerts and community notices from local agencies through Nixle, Registration is free, secure and can be completed by visiting nixle.com, or by sending a text message with your zip code to 888777. Nixle’s mission is to enable government agencies, small to medium size businesses and enterprise-level organizations to communicate in a secure way and exchange multimedia content over a trusted mobile platform.

Element Mobile has continued its tradition again this year of donating 660 turkeys to local food pantries and shelters to help families in need during the holiday season. With the help of the Opportunity Development Center, Element Mobile employees spent Monday, Nov. 14 distributing turkeys to local organizations including: Family Crisis

Center and Cap Services in Wisconsin Rapids, Waupaca Food Pantry, Family Crisis Center and Crisis Assistance (Operation Bootstrap) in Stevens Point, and St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry and Youth Net in Marshfield.

Fox Valley Technical College: Last year, the Supply Chain Planning team at Coca-Cola Refreshments (CCR) realized the 125 year-old worldwide soft drink provider faced a major challenge: Coca-Cola had just consolidated with its largest bottler into a single operating unit under one parent corporation. The result meant the company had to adapt to a leaner operation.

Coca-Cola Refreshments looked to the Association for Operations Management (APICS) to help them accomplish its goals. CCR decided upon the APICS Production and Inventory Management certification program (CPIM) for the company’s new team. The goal was to get employees from around the U.S. certified in an efficient, cost-effective manner. After considering numerous ideas, CCR chose to take advantage of FVTC’s online partnership with APICS.

“Fox Valley Technical College’s online delivery format allows companies to reduce training-related ancillary expenses, such as travel, housing, meals, and time away from the office,” explains Dominic J. Longo, director of corporate services for APICS. “When supply chain and operations management professionals are located across the country, as is the case with Coca-Cola, or around the world, this is an important benefit.”

First State Bank: Community members still have two weeks to participate in First State Bank’s Share the Joy Holiday Giving Program. Simply stop by First State Bank in New London, Clintonville, Dale, Manawa, Cecil, or Waupaca to select an ornament from the tree in the lobby. Participants then purchase a gift to fit the needs of the child listed on the ornament tag. Gifts should be returned to First State Bank by Friday, December 9.

First State Bank is working with the following community organizations to distribute all gifts to local families in need: the New London Community Cupboard, the Clintonville Goodfellows, the Hortonville Community Food Pantry (Dale), the Manawa Food Pantry, St. Martin's Catholic Church in Cecil, and the Miracle Tree in Waupaca.

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Chamber Welcomes Nina

If you hear a new voice on the telephone or see a new face at the front desk it is Nina. Nina is using the Chamber as a work experience through Waupaca County Industries. Her 8 weeks with us are free of charge to the Chamber in exchange for giving her the work experience. A win win for both of us.

Nina Much comes from the Manawa area, where she grew up. Nina and her husband have two children and seven grandchildren.

Nina’s previous work experience includes sales and marketing in different areas of the business world. A former member of the Board of Directors for the Manawa Chamber of Commerce in 2002, she realizes the importance of community and people working together to continually strive for what is in the best interest for the growth of our hometown businesses.

As a former youth director of twenty years, Nina has worked extensively at developing many different community events to help promote community as well as to help benefit other non-profit organizations and area food pantries.

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Wintervergnügen Planning is underway for the 1st Wintervergnügen (Winter Festival) January 27 & 28, 2012. Wintervergnügen is German for ‘winter fun’ and was chosen as a way to stand out from the crowd and attract visitors to the event. Being funded through room tax dollars, the purpose of developing a winter event in Waupaca is to bring visitors to the area with the intention of spending the night in a local lodging facility which in turn will support our local retail and dining establishments. Wintervergnügen will feature outdoor activities in Lower South Park and on Shadow Lake on Saturday, January 28th. Activities being planned include ice sculpting demonstrations, ice bowling, broom ball, boot hockey, snowman and snow castle building competitions, ice fishing, horse drawn wagon rides, chili cook-off, a food and beer tent and more. Plus the event will close with fireworks viewable from the Wintervergnügen activity area at 5:30pm. Thank you to the members who have made a sponsorship commitment, Element Mobile and First National Bank. Opportunities are still available with several sponsorships starting at the $100 to $250 level. Please contact Jeff at jeff@waupacaareachamber.com or 715-258-7343 for more information. For detailed event information please visit www.WaupacaMemories.com and find Wintervergnügen under the events tab.

Waupaca made it’s first appearance in the Appleton Christmas Parade promoting reasons to come to the Waupaca area. Thanks to the parade committee for all of their efforts, Waupaca High School Madrigal Singers, the Shrode family, and Horsin’ Around Wagon Tours.

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Waupaca Eating Smart arose out of a desire to address the growing incidence of obesity and subsequent health conditions that are on the rise in Wisconsin and around the country. One way to address this problem is to look at where people get their food--in food stores and restaurants--and make it easier for people to make healthier choices at these places. WES is a collaboration between the Waupaca County NuAct (Nutrition/Activity) Coalition and the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine to see if changes can be made in our local food stores and restaurants that can improve the types of foods people

eat. A survey was conducted among Waupaca residents to determine where they eat, where they shop, what influences the choices they make, and what could help them make healthier choices. Out of this survey came strategies that were proposed to area restaurants and stores to make tasty, nutritious foods easier for their customers to distinguish and include in their family meals. Only a limited number of businesses are participating in WES at this time due to time and funding limitations. The restaurants and stores represent a variety of eating and shopping opportunities in the area and were selected based on NuAct’s experience with local outlets.

The WES program is being offered as a pilot program in the city of Waupaca; during this time we will be determining what works for area businesses and their customers so we can sustain this program after the grant funding has ended. One of the goals of WES is to incorporate all the strategies and materials into a "toolkit" that other interested nutrition/physical activity coalitions around the state can use in their communities. Additional materials specifically written towards restaurant and food store owners/managers will also be developed. The NuAct Coalition will be available for future consulting on how to make these materials work for them.

We would love to see more interest in the goals WES is trying to promote for Waupaca residents--increasing intake of fruits and vegetables and decreasing the amount of calories we eat. These goals could greatly enhance the health of our community and the appeal to others outside Waupaca to come and visit, knowing area restaurants and stores have made it easy for them to choose tasty, healthy foods while visiting here. Any interested restaurant, food or convenience store that would like to take steps in promoting these goals by being included in a future planning meeting can contact Bev Hall of NuAct after March 1st, 2012, at bev.hall@co.waupaca.wi.us or 715-258-6276.

Waupaca Eating Smart

Reminder: Chamber Gift Certificates make wonderful Christmas gifts. You may purchase them in any amount and it means your

purchase is money that will circulate within our community. It’s the perfect gift. It will never be the wrong size, wrong color or they just plain didn’t like it. Plus the person receiving the gift can spend it at nearly 400 businesses.

Call ahead and we will have them ready for you! 715-258-7343, fax 715-258-7868 or Lynn@WaupacaAreaChamber.com

For You

Washington, D.C. – Senator Ron Johnson (WI) today announced the launch of the American Job Creators website. The site gives small business owners and other job creators an opportunity to tell Washington about the federal rules and regulations that prevent them from hiring more workers:

“Our economy continues to grow far too slowly, and instead of helping, Washington is making it worse. We should be adding hundreds of thousands of new jobs each month – as we have in previous recoveries – but we are barely creating enough jobs to keep unemployment from rising. It’s clear that Washington needs to be focused on job creation – not on expanding government, as President Obama favors.

“The first step in encouraging real, sustainable, private sector job creation, is to stop the tide of new regulations from Washington. Instead of imposing new burdens, we should be repealing rules that are misguided, costly, and harmful to economic growth. This new site will give people a way to let Washington know what we can do to get our economy growing again.

“Wherever I travel in the State of Wisconsin, I hear from small businessmen and women about the barriers the federal government puts in front of them. Wisconsin job creators who want to expand – who want to hire new workers – are worried about a Washington agenda which includes health care mandates, higher energy prices, higher taxes, and more bureaucratic interference. I’m inviting the people of Wisconsin – or any American - to let me know what the Senate should be doing to get Washington out of the way of job creation.”

This project builds on a successful initiative launched by Members of the House of Representatives. Thousands of Americans have suggested ways to eliminate Washington interference that hampers growth.

JOHNSON LAUNCHES ‘AMERICAN JOB CREATORS’ WEBSITE

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Each year the Chamber produces events to bring visitors to the community, for networking opportunities and to recognize outstanding businesses. In order to produce these events your help is needed. Our sincere thanks to those who have helped in the past. We couldn’t produce successful events without your support.

Please consider stepping up this year and helping with the 2012 events. Sponsorships are a great way to advertise your business and support the community. With all different levels of sponsorships available, there is an opportunity for everyone

The Chamber is organizing seven events during 2012, including two new events, Wintervergnügen, a winter festival, and the Chain O’ Lakes Blues Festival.

Contact Kathy LeClair at Kathy@WaupacaAreaChamber.com to learn more about the sponsorship opportunities available and the benefits of being a sponsor.

Maybe it is Your Time to Support an Event?

You could be the recipient of one of the many awards given out at the Chamber Awards Ceremony on January 24th at the Waupaca Ale House. But in order to receive you must submit. Why not nominate yourself or your neighboring business for an award? Nominations are being accepted until Dec. 11, 2011. You can find the nomination forms on our website under Chamber of Commerce—Chamber resources.

Do You Have Your Acceptance Speech Written?

Flat Panel TV to display Innline kiosk, advertising and photos on the office wall

Back Door that opens with out kicking it.

New Visitor Information sign for front entryway.

Cleaning service for a month, a quarter, a year.

New flooring or carpeting or carpet stretching service.

Coffee Cups with Chamber logo on them.

A case of soda or can of coffee.

Chamber Wish List

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Business After 5 Thank you to Wisconsin Title for the terrific evening at TW Martin’s Public House.

Chamber Ambassadors to greet all and Chamber Staff keeping a close eye.

New Member Investors are always welcome!

Camera Shy?

Through the utilization of room tax dollars, the Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce will be making a concentrated effort in 2012 to promote the Waupaca Area as a meeting destination. We believe that Waupaca has a lot to offer meeting planners through not only our larger conference centers but also through the opportunity for small executive gatherings and retreats at vacation homes and bed & breakfasts. Combined, we have a unique opportunity to promote our area as a meeting destination.

To accomplish this we will begin by expanding our current webpage listing of meeting facilities to include all types and sizes of lodging facilities that wish to make their facility available to this clientele.

This is just a first step in the Chamber’s efforts to promote our area to meeting planners. In the near future you can expect to see additional information about how the Chamber can assist meeting planners with their event through connecting them with local vendors and providing various meeting services.

We will also be launching a program titled, Bring Your Meeting Home, to local businesses, organizations and individuals. This program asks our community to consider bringing their organization’s meeting to Waupaca Area to show what we have to offer. This could include business conferences, club and association gatherings, corporate retreats, etc.

It is our hope that this program will provide value to Chamber members and assist in the marketing of their businesses. For more information about this program please contact Jeff at jeff@waupacaareachamber.com or by calling the Chamber office.

Bring Your Meeting Home

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1

LEADS Network 7:30 am breakfast 8 am Network Comfort Suites

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4 5 6 Board of Directors Meeting 7:30am Chamber Conference Room

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11 12

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15 Tourism Promotion Committee Meeting 7:30 am Chamber Conference Room LEADS Network 7:30 am breakfast 8 am Network Best Western Grand Seasons Hotel

16 Chamber Christmas Open House

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19 20 Business Enhancement Committee Meeting 7:30am Chamber Conference Room

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23 24

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26 Chamber Office Closed

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New Years Eve

Reminders: 1. The deadline for the newsletter advertisement submission is the 15th of each month. 2. The Board of Directors usually meets on the first 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.

December 2011 Office Hours: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Monday - Friday

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

You’re Invited Chamber

Open House Dec 16

1 to 4pm