Greetings all and happy Thanksgiving week! I don’t know about you, but as the year winds down I’m feeling a little weary. Looking forward to rejuvenation that comes with family and friend time. I hope you are, too.

Which gets me to my word for the week: gratitude. I believe gratitude is a choice, a posture that reflects your approach to life. I choose gratitude. And there’s so much to be grateful for. Just yesterday morning I started the day as a guest of Allison Rempel Brown, from the Science Museum of Minnesota, as we listened to Senator Klobuchar at her Inspiring Women’s Power Breakfast. I ended the day with J Marie Figer, from Nemer Fieger, a woman I don’t know well yet, but who impresses me with her kindness and generosity. Between those two people I spent the day meeting with my team leaders talking about and planning for all the work we do on your behalf.

In all these exchanges, I felt gratitude. Deeply. I want you to know that your amazing Chamber team – we are 20 people strong now! – are so very committed to doing great work for you. I’m grateful for their excellence, dedication, and integrity. Always ensuring we do good work for the right reasons. We also tell one another the truth, we wrestle when we don’t agree, we laugh a lot, we are better because of it all. It takes a lot to deliver on our commitments to you, our members. And I am so honored to serve a team like ours, who does their work so well.

I’m also grateful for YOU, who encourage and challenge and partner and support. You show up, and that makes all the difference.

See you in the trenches.

B

B Kyle

President & CEO

St. Paul Area Chamber

Young Professionals Holiday Party

Join us for our annual Young Professionals Holiday Party at Camp Bar & Cabaret in downtown St. Paul. This will be a fun and casual event to get in the holiday spirit and meet our 2025 Young Professionals Committee. We will be playing Drag Bingo hosted by Sasha Cassadine with the chance to win amazing prizes from our member organizations. We can't wait to celebrate the holiday season and the end to a great year of YPro with you!

Roseville Business Exchange

Attend the Roseville Business Exchange and enjoy a holiday party recognizing Roseville businesses. Join us to meet your business colleagues and share in the goodwill of the season.

Free to attend, please let us know that you are joining us! 

Join Us for Holiday Chamber Connect - Dec. 10th

The holidays are almost here, and we’re excited to invite you to our Annual Holiday Chamber Connect – a festive gathering for Chamber members, friends, and colleagues to enjoy great food, drinks, and the warmth of community! Sign up to host a booth; or if you want to be a sponsor, please contact Beth. 

Grand Meander – Grand Avenue Business Association

Saturday, December 7 | 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Winter Warm-Up – Rice and Larpenteur Alliance

Saturday, December 14 | 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM

MN Skills Based Hiring Accelerator

Tuesday, January 28 | 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM

2025 Ramsey County Inclusive Hiring Summit - Save the Date

Wednesday, January 29 | 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

2025 Annual Meeting - Save the Date

Thursday, February 27 | 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Royal Credit Union Regional Director of Branch Operations, Amy Burma and Comprehensive Lending Specialist II, Heather Prueher, have been named Royal’s 2024 Positive Impact Award winners. The Positive Impact Awards are Royal’s highest team member recognition for a leader and team member who have truly gone above and beyond to make a lasting impact on Royal’s Members, team members, and communities. READ MORE.

Wellworth, a coworking space in downtown St. Paul, in partnership with the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance, is offering a chance to win a free, 6-month membership — a $1,650 value that includes free parking. And, if you miss this shot at a free membership, you may qualify for 6-month, $50/month discount package. To enter for your chance to win, SIGN UP HERE.

The American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in Mpls needs 6-10 Volunteers on Thanksgiving to help serve serving at 1:00 pm. We will have the meal delivered and heated up and then volunteers would be responsible for serving the meal, packing leftovers, and cleaning the space afterwards. If anyone is interested, please contact Briana Fodstad at the Hope Lodge. New Years Eve and New Years Day are also open for Volunteers to help as well.

This holiday season, the Minnesota State Fair’s Community Gives Together program is hosting a drive to collect items for “Mindfulness Kits” in support of FamilyWise. Kits will be given to families going through stressful situations and provide an opportunity for self-care as they participate in FamilyWise programs. LEARN MORE

Join Circus Juventas for a high-flying, whimsical ride to the North Pole! When a trio of careless elves, The Big Book of Holiday Stories, and a blizzard collide, winter chaos is set loose. Add a little circus magic to your holiday festivities as CJ takes you on a mixed-up sleigh ride through the most beloved holiday stories of all time in Blizzard!  Elevate your visit by checking out our Blaze Balcony Experience HERE.

Ambassador Jeff Perry and his Sonic Dream duo will be performing at 1881 in Union Depot on Thursday, December 19 from 6-8pm. Join them for dinner, snacks, and/or drinks and hear their "hip retooling" (Star Tribune) of pop songs that span from Elvis to Dua Lipa and a whole lot in between. 

Small, local shops keep St. Paul’s Grand Avenue alive amid continued vacancies.

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