January 2019 Newsletter

www.keweenaw.org

January 2019 - Issue #78

Dear Chamber Members & Friends,

It's that time of year to begin thinking of six well deserving individuals and organizations who have accomplished inspiring things in 2018, and nominate them for a Keweenaw Community Spark Plug Award.

Every year the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce, MTEC SmartZone, Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance (KEDA), and Keweenaw Young Professionals (KYP), come together to put together this event to celebrate local businesses, organizations, community projects, and individuals for their efforts during the past year.

Nominations are open for the 2019 Spark Plug Awards, with the deadline quickly approaching we urge you to get your nominations in soon. Please submit nominations here.

The Awards Dinner will be held on Thursday, March 7, 2019 from 5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at the Bonfire Steakhouse in Houghton. Everyone in the community is encouraged to attend. Tickets will sell out fast, so make sure to register soon, here.

Thank you for your support,

Karin Van Dyke

Board President

Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce

Top Chamber Supporters

Welcome New Chamber Members

Please support our Chamber Member Businesses!

We would like to welcome our newest member, Keweenaw County , founded March 11, 1861. The land of ocean blue, emerald green, blazing russet, gold, orange and red; and in the winter, a pure white blanket of quiet and peace.

Eagle River became the county seat in 1861 followed by the building of a courthouse in 1866.

Townships that make up Keweenaw County are Allouez, Eagle Harbor, Grant, Houghton and Sherman.

Communities that make up Keweenaw County are Ahmeek, Mohawk, Gay, Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor.

Interesting fact about Keweenaw County is of all the counties in the United States, Keweenaw County has the highest proportion of water area to total area. In essence, approximately 90 percent of the county is under the surface of Lake Superior with 541 square miles of land and 5,425 square miles of water!

We are happy to welcome Phil Mcleod with Catalyst Design Group, LLC as a new Chamber member. With nearly 15 years of graphic design experience, the majority of Phil's background has been in the corporate realm working for and with a large in-house design agency. While in-house, he not only had the opportunity to work on some of the nation's leading brands, he also has had the privilege of working with and learning from some of the most talented designers, art directors, photographers, marketing and support staff in the business.

In addition to his corporate work, his current efforts have been more locally based. He recently has taken up an office at 1Q1 Quincy Co-Working, in Hancock and wanting to get involved in the community. Additionally he is currently taking on local clients using his marketing and design experience with national brands and applying that here with local businesses in the UP.

Be sure to keep up with Phil and his team over in Hancock by following their Facebook page!

Thank you for renewing your membership

Business Transitions Plus, LLC

Center Ice Skate & Sport, Inc.

Champion Welding Alloys

Columbia Linen Service

Community Action Agency

Copper Country Ford

Copper Harbor Trails Club

Copper Range Abstract & Title Agency, Inc.

Crampton Surveying, Inc.

Crown Cleaners

Culligan Water of South Range

Culver's

D & L Janitorial Services, Inc.

Electric Brewing Supply

Ferrellgas

Great Lakes Accounting, PC

Hillside Restaurant

Houghton Community Broadcasting

InSight EyeCare

Isle Royale Resorts - Rock Harbor Lodge

Keweenaw County

Kirkish Furniture

Leveque Agency, Inc.

Miller's Recreation, Inc.

North Star bp - Calumet

Northern Lights Clubhouse

Pettibone, LLC

Portage Lake District Library

SEMCO Energy

Sherwin Williams Company

Superior Screed Service

Vollwerth & Baroni Companies

WalMart #2192

WLUC TV 6 and Fox UP - Gray Television

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Stay connected to our latest news, events, and job postings.

Business After Hours

Schedule yours today!

Are you interested in hosting a Business After Hours?

Business After Hours is a monthly networking event that focuses on bringing together Chamber members and prospective members to develop professional relationships in a relaxed environment.

Sponsoring a Business After Hours event is an excellent way to showcase your facilities and services, get people through your door, and a great way to market your business.

If you're interested in hosting a Business After Hours in 2019, please send us an email at [email protected] or call us at 906-482-5240.

Mark Your Calendars!

Upcoming Chamber Events

Submit Your Nominations: 2019 Keweenaw Community Spark Plug Awards

NOMINATIONS

Have you experienced exceptional customer service at a local business? What about a great project that made a significant impact in the community? Do you know a young professional in the community that has made a difference?

Submit your nominations today! Deadline for nominations is January 31st. See the nomination form for category descriptions.

NOMINATION FORM HERE

AWARD CATEGORIES

Growth
Customer Service
Innovation / Transformation
Project of the Year
Young Professional of the Year
Community Contributor of the Year

AWARDS DINNER

Will be held on March 7th, 2019 - Networking and a cash bar begin at 5:30pm. The dinner starts at 6:00pm with the keynote speaker and awards ceremony to follow. Everyone in the community is encouraged to attend. Please get your tickets by February 28th.

Tickets can be purchased here.

Member Spotlight:

Finlandia University

What is the background of your organization?

Finlandia University was founded in 1896 by Finnish immigrants, and for nearly 125 years has had a major impact on the culture and economics of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. The university’s student population is typically around 500 students, and it is home to four colleges and schools. The most well-known is the College of Health Sciences with its highly respected nursing program. The program is available as a traditional four-year degree or online for working nurses who already have a two-year nursing degree. The International School of Business houses more than a half dozen concentrations including Sports Management and Accounting. The International School of Art & Design is located in the waterfront Jutila Center and houses some of the most beautiful studio spaces in the upper Midwest. The Suomi College of Arts & Sciences has a variety of degree options ranging from pre-med opportunities, to psychology and our popular criminal justice program.

What are your organization’s goals?

Finlandia’s number one priority is always making sure our students have an unforgettable experience and are well prepared for the 21 st century workplace. We take great pride in getting to know all of our students on a personal basis, made easy by our average class size being eight students.

What is an interesting thing about your organization that most people don't know?

One of the most common misunderstandings people have about Finlandia is pricing. Our financial aid counselors develop close relationships with families to ensure an education at FinnU is affordable. We do that by offering generous institutional scholarships and grants like the $10,000 “Finnish Strong” scholarship for transfer students, $4,000 grant we provide to students who graduated from a U.P. high school and $2,000 scholarship we have available for students from outside of our region who complete community service hours. We also have great scholarships available for students based on academic performance such as our $7,500 Board of Trustees scholarship for students who earned at least a 3.5 GPA in high school. Our staff also guides families on how to find private funding opportunities like grants and scholarships.

How can people keep up to date with what’s happening at Finlandia?

There’s so much happening at Finlandia University on a monthly basis, and we want our community to be involved as much as possible. Things like Heikinpaiva this month, Finnish language classes, our ongoing Nordic Film Series, the many NCAA Division III athletic events and incredible exhibitions at the Finlandia University Gallery are all open to the public. If you’re interested in learning about these events we invite you to go to finlandia.edu/subscribe and subscribe to our twice-monthly e-mail newsletter, The Sisu Bulletin. We also have our Finlandia Podcast Network that features our weekly video podcast Finlandia Fridays, bi-weekly student-ran podcast Lion Around, monthly alumni podcast Leading the Pride and our weekly podcast in collaboration with 99.3 The Lift, This Week in Finlandia Athletics. These can all be found on Apple Podcasts or wherever you find podcasts.

Is your business/organization interested in being in our member spotlight? Contact us for more details!

Your Opportunity to Learn More

Contact the Chamber for free access to Skillshare

Member Events

Is your business or organization having an upcoming event? Send us your flyer and we will include it in our newsletter - Email: [email protected] . Also - be sure to post your events on our community calendar!

Are you familiar with Keweenaw Cash?

The Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce is pleased to offer Keweenaw Cash: a gift certificate program that can be used at more than 300 Chamber member businesses. Since its launch, the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce has issued over $341,000 worth of Keweenaw Cash. That money goes right back into local businesses!

Keweenaw Cash can be purchased in any denomination, allowing the recipient more flexibility and enabling them to use the certificates at numerous businesses.

In addition to making great gifts, businesses can purchase Keweenaw Cash as bonuses, prizes, at fundraising events, as employee incentives or awards, retirement gifts, to mark a milestone, or as part of a welcome package for new hires.

Certificates come with an envelope and a list of all the participating businesses.

Please note we require at least a 24 hour notice when placing orders. We are not responsible for any lost or stolen certificates.

If you are a business and would be interested in being able to redeem Keweenaw Cash, please look into a becoming a member with the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce.

For additional information about Keweenaw Cash, to purchase certificates, or how you can accept Keweenaw Cash, call 906-482-5240 or email [email protected]

We need your Business Cards/Brochures

Board of Directors

Karin Van Dyke, President

Vice President for Advancement

Finlandia University

Mary Myers, Vice President

Account Executive

WLUC TV6

Angela Luskin, Secretary

Health and Fitness Manager

UP Health System-Portage

James Desrochers - Treasurer

Associate Director, Industry Relations

Michigan Technological University

Morgan Impola

Regional Engineer

UPPCO

Brad Barnett

Owner

Apple Blossom Mercantile

Carrie Richards

Partner Engagement Program Manager

Michigan Technological University

Jan Cole

Managing Partner

Edochi, LLC

Todd Gast

Marketing Manager

Keweenaw Co-op

Will Schuett

Marketing PRI Specialist

UP Health System-Portage

Brian Donnelly

VP Director of Retail Banking

Superior National Bank

Our roots run deep in the Keweenaw

Upper Peninsula Power Company was created in 1947 through a merger of three utilities. One of them, the Houghton County Electric Light Company, earlier acquired the interests of Peninsula Electric Light and Power, which began operating in the Keweenaw in 1884 – just five years after Edison invented the light bulb.

From the Edison bulb to high-tech electronics of today, you might say UPPCO has been providing “ U.P. Power ” for more than 130 years.