Premier Partners
I am not sure when my fear of heights started. I am inclined to think it started the summer between my 7th and 8th grade year of junior high. That’s when I shot up a couple of inches and became the “big” girl. Yes, that was my claim to fame in my little Missouri town, population 325.
Right about this time of year, every year, Minnesota can be known not only as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but also the Land of 10,000 Festivals. It seems every small town found in every nook and cranny of the state holds some type of summer celebration. The festivals have not only social benefits, but great economic benefits to communities as well.
In general, dictionaries peg the word recreation as meaning a ‘resource affording relaxation and enjoyment’. Relaxation and enjoyment. Hmmm, two words not generally associated with the business world
This is the time of year we here in the Greater Mankato region celebrate something that can’t be found just anywhere, the sounds of summer. Sure, there is the joy that comes each spring with the sounds of neighborhoods once again coming to life. I enjoy that immensely. But it’s the other sounds of summer in southern Minnesota I’m talking about.
From the outside, and even to those in the local business community, it may have appeared to be just a small business transaction. One small business being acquired by another. To those involved closely in the deal, though, it was so much more.
I know it may sound cliché, but as I get older time really does seem to be going faster. I wake up and before I know it the day is behind me, another page on the calendar flipped, a new season starting.
I have always enjoyed learning. It’s probably one of the things that led me into journalism in the first place. The opportunity to cover and learn about something different every day.
With the emergence of networking groups and the growth of the Internet and social media sites, the local chamber of commerce is no longer the only game in town for businesses. Data shows in many cities nationwide, chamber membership is stagnant if not declining. Yet, for more than a century now, chambers have fostered economic vitality in the communities they serve and have been the trusted, unified voice for millions of businesses.
Well, here we are at the intersection of another new year. A time when most start making those New Year’s Resolutions. I myself am often a victim of the resolution game, only to feel like a failure by mid-February. So this year I am going to try a little resolution reversal. Instead of making a list of things I want to do in 2017, I am going to make a list of what I’m NOT going to do.
