Yet again, Katherine Grandstrand has written an awesome article about a chamber member. This time, it’s J.M. Marschuetz Construction, which has recently opened operations in Killdeer.

Congrats J.M. Marschuetz Construction, and thank you again, Katherine! Now everyone go read it!

bit.ly/QiELGb

Great article yet again, Katherine, and thanks Dickinson Press!

Aaron’s will be hosting the chamber’s Business After Hours 10/2. Hope to see you all there!

bit.ly/OWCRHY

We’ve been asked a lot of questions lately about proper social media use by businesses. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help your business get started or expand in the social media realm! In the meantime, we found these 36 Rules of Social Media that we found awesome!

(via mediabistro: bit.ly/PUdiYe)

Congratulations to Lyons Concrete Construction, who found themselves the subject of a great article in this morning’s Dickinson Press by Katherine Grandstrand. Like the article says, “You can’t find a better group of people.” Be sure to check out the print version as well!

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/60857/publisher_ID/6/

Just wanted to take a moment to congratulate House of Color on their new location in Dickinson, and their article in the Press! Thanks, Press, and good luck House of Color!

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/60509/publisher_ID/6/

Good morning Dickinson! I just wanted to pass along this great article about a Chamber member business, Stroh and Associates. They’re a great community partner–they were already at a Business After Hours! Let’s all wish them well in their new venture!

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/60141/publisher_ID/6/

The following CBS This Morning video highlights our neighbor to the north, Williston, and the price of their prosperity. SW North Dakota is facing similar problems, just generally on a more manageable scale. I thought it would be interesting to pass this on. As we at the Chamber seek to help the community prepare for and overcome the potential obstacles that we will face, please contact us if you have input on how to do so!

Hey, folks! I wanted to pass on this great article that the Dickinson Press ran about one of the chamber’s new members, Smart Mart. Thanks, Press, and congrats to Smart Mart! Welcome to Dickinson!

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/59054/publisher_ID/6/

Last week’s first Alive @ 5 event was a huge success! A few hundred professionals, community members and friends enjoyed scrumptious food, fine wines, frosty brews and the free contemporary country music performed by the band, Outlaw Sippn’. Meanwhile, children formed a long line to have their faces painted.

The next one will be at 5:00 p.m. on June 14^th, and they’ll continue each Thursday evening throughout the summer, excluding July 5, through August 30. The location of the event is at 1st Avenue West between 1st Street and Villard. This area will be blocked off each week and people of ALL ages are welcome.

The purpose of the event is to help promote and revitalize the downtown Dickinson area and nearby retail businesses are encouraged to open their doors during those hours.

For further information call (701) 590.3532.

I wrote this in our June newsletter. Thought I’d share it on the blog as well!

Hello Chamber members! I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day and were able to set aside some time to remember the countless servicemen and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedom.

What an exciting time it is to live in this blessed community! With so much going on around here every day, sometimes it’s hard to remember that there is a massive recession going on in the rest of the country. I very recently relocated from Oregon, where the unemployment rate is still around 9%; and in my small community, the number of vacant storefronts in the downtown district doubled (from 20 to 40) in just the past two years.

Here in southwestern North Dakota, we have the opposite problem: sudden growth. As our community is dealing with the countless opportunities and challenges presented by this growth, I encourage all of us to keep in mind an important truth: of the two problems—recession vs. growth—growth is by far the better problem. Sudden growth can overrun communities if they’re not careful, but in our area we have the resources necessary to make the growth work for us, which include active City leaders, a progressive university, an energetic Chamber of Commerce, and countless other area leaders, groups and participants. All of these efforts have created the unmistakable sense of place that continues to set our community apart.

Like everywhere else in the world, citizens of the Dickinson area have our unique challenges. Let’s all try to remember—in spite of those challenges—that because of the commitment that Dickinson’s citizens have shown to our community as a whole, Dickinson truly is different. Let’s be grateful for that difference, and show that gratitude by continuing to work together.

I look forward to working alongside all of you!