The Buffalo Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Bureau serves our business members,

promotes our local assets and shapes the future of our community.

GOOD AFTERNOON BUFFALO

Artistic Me

205 5th St NE Suite 1

TOMORROW Thursday, May 9th

4:30 p.m.

Come and have some fun! Bring your business card!

Mary Randall, owner, will provide the buffalo statues, while we enjoy some snacks and a beverage (welcome to bring your beverage of choice too) while getting a little paint on our fingers! Then, once Mary fires our ceramic treasures, she will hide them around town during Buffalo Days week for people to find! The person who finds them can take a selfie in front of your business and share it. They will be entered in a prize drawing. Always love good cross promotion!

GOOD MORNING BUFFALO

Love, Inc

205 5th St NE Suite 2

NEXT Thursday, May 16th

8:00 a.m.

If you haven't seen the Love, Inc thrift shop since they moved up to the Soo Town area, now's a good chance to see that and hear what they are all about! They do amazing work in our community!

Let's gather, enjoy some coffee and treats, meet and greet others and support this local gem!

CHAMBER SCHOLARSHIP GOLF TOURNAMENT

WE ARE LOOKING FOR RAFFLE PRIZES!

Donate anything - small items up to $20 is fine! The players enjoy the luck of the draw and funds raised go towards the scholarships!

Our three scholarship recipients were interviewed and selected! They were thrilled when I called them with the news! Hopefully they will be able to stop in at the golf tournie and introduce themselves!

We congratulate Jayden Anderson (Larson Building), Bridget DesMarais (Buffalo Pizza) and Hope Schmitz (Big Bore BBQ)

BUFFALO DAYS 2024

Button boards are in! It's a small but fun way to support Buffalo Days! You buy a board for $30. If you sell them all you have recovered your investment. Some businesses buy them and give the buttons to their staff for a chance to win. 3 lucky numbers will be chosen for a $300/$150/$75 cash prize!

ANOTHER DON'T MISS EVENT

The Buffalo Chamber and WCEDP bring you our local State Reps and Senators! It's a great time to hear what they have to say and ask any questions you may have as business leaders in our community. There are 7 of them able to attend - the larges group yet!

Be sure to register now! Just check the button below and get er done!

NEW MEMBERS 2024

RALLY GEAR

9749 Hart Blvd

Monticello, MN

763-257-9282

www.rallygear.net

We welcome Rally Gear, owned by Jason and Cassie Kisner, to our Chamber! This husband-and-wife team (both Bison Alum by the way) opened their business 15 years ago in Monticello and Albertville. They are celebrating moving to a new 6,000 sf location in Monticello to expand their service offerings. They are open Monday through Thursday from 8 to 4:00 and Fridays 8 to noon.

Rally Gear does custom screen printing and embroidery of tees, sweatshirts, lettermen jackets and more - all team apparel with brands from Under Armor to Nike! With their inhouse graphic design team and state of the art production tools, they can make your gear look great - whether for a school team or your business!

They are hosting a Grand Opening tomorrow at their new location and welcome you to attend! I know we have a Good Afternoon Buffalo tomorrow, but maybe it can work for you. See all the info below!

What I really appreciated hearing from Jason, was how passionate they are about Chamber membership and getting involved by serving on committees and volunteering for events. They understand the value of the Chamber to a small business!

SOUTHPOINT FINANCIAL

507-233-5680

www.southpointfinancial.com

The photo below is a little dated as we all now know that things in this location (out by Allina/Crossroads Clinic) are happening!

We welcome SouthPoint Financial Credit Union to the Chamber and to our community with a planned opening date of late October/early November.

We hope to meet Tom Battis/Director of Growth & Revenue and Tom Gengler/Executive Manager of Business Development soon. They will be looking to hire a Branch President which will be the person most involved directly with our location as it comes to fruition. They will be looking for local employees, which is always great for our community!

What started out as members of St Mary's Church of Sleepy Eye back in 1936 has now grown to 7 branches with 107 employees! Credit Unions are a member owned non-profit co-operative.

For SouthPoint, they purpose is passion and it's all about the "we" not "me" mentality. They work to find solutions for their members and their financial success. They have great solutions for first time homeowners, installment loans and children's accounts. SouthPoint serves personal or business members with their money management or financial needs without the high rates and fees of a traditional financial institution.

AMBASSADORS ON THE MOVE

HONEY MAMA BOUTIQUE

4 1st Ave NE

https://www.facebook.com/HoneyMamaBoutique/

Owner, Shayna Sykes, never thought she would be a retailer, as she had always been in the medical field. Several years ago, she was looking for secondhand clothing for her kids, so she started her own pop-up shop for other moms. She then moved to boutique clothes for kids and eventually to women's clothing as Moms wanted options too!

She took the leap and opened her own brick and mortar shop downtown in August of 2022 and has enjoyed meeting all the local women who love all the fashion and accessories she has to offer! She loves people - never really considered herself a fashionista. She focuses on easy things to wear, layer and mix and match! She also has a kids play area, so moms can bring their kids and enjoy shopping!

She enjoys the flexibility of owning her own business so she can tend to her family. She has 3 kids that are 16,8 & 6-years-old, that keep her busy!

Honey Mama's is open every Thursday through Saturday from 10-4:00 p.m.

The Ambassador group had fun sporting some of the fashion and accessories Shayna carries. The colorful sweaters, the Dreamer brand, are great sellers all year round.

As you are out and about do you make a purpose to do business with only other Chamber members? Do you recognize and thank the businesses that are fellow members? When you walk in the door of a business- take note - do they have a Chamber member window cling?

Below is Thomes Insurance sporting their cling. Do you know that for each event the Chamber holds, I have to have separate event insurance? Lana Fabel, who's been a licensed agent since 1987, takes care of me and knows our events well, as she volunteers for most of them! Thanks Lana - for your great service!

SUE SAYS

Workforce Training Funding Available for Minnesota Employers

Need Help Training or Retraining Your Workforce? We Can Help!

The state of Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) program offers grants to help train or retrain your workforce. We've helped train thousands of workers in communities across the state.

Your business may qualify for one of our training grant programs that help offset training-related expenses. 

A few programs we're highlighting:

MJSP Partnership Grant of up to $400,000 to educational Institutions that partner with Minnesota businesses to develop new-job training or retraining for existing employees. Businesses must partner with an accredited Minnesota educational institution.

Automation Training Incentive Program (ATIP) Grant of up to $35,000 is available to small Minnesota businesses (under 150 full-time employees) in the manufacturing or skilled production industry for the express purpose of training incumbent workers as quickly and effectively as possible on new automation technology. Eligible Minnesota businesses must be located outside of the Twin Cities seven-county metro area.

Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) Grant of up to $200,000 is awarded to eligible Minnesota businesses to provide training for at least three new jobs. Award amount is limited to $5,000 to $10,000 per new employee trained based on wage rates. Eligible Minnesota businesses must be located outside of the Twin Cities seven-county metro area.

Find out more and apply for funding at mn.gov/deed/mjsp

Or contact the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Office: deed.mjsp@state.mn.us

SHOP LOCAL FOR MOM!

Start at SHE and get your passport. Shop at 8 of the 20 some stores participating and get a stamp. Return your passport to SHE to pick up a pretty green plant for Mom!

BUFFALO CHAMPIONSHIP RODEO 2024



You can't talk Buffalo without talking about the rodeo! Be sure to check out all the events happening at www.buffalorodeo.com but here's the quick and dirty:

Wed, June 19th - Family Day - Mutton Bustin qualifications, pony rides and more for the kids - FREE

Thurs, June 20th - Performance - Kid's Night (12 & under free)

Fri, June 21st - Performance - 1st Responder Night

Sat, June 22nd - Performance - Military and Veteran Night

There will be a rodeo dance on the grounds following Friday and Saturday nights performance with live music by South Forty.

They are celebrating 70 years and still promote a quality family friendly entertainment built on a foundation of rich tradition! We are the oldest PRCA rodeo in the state!