Latest / WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio / Talk Line: Dallas Knack shares the latest from the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce

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Talk Line: Dallas Knack shares the latest from the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce · WIXN AM 1460 - Shaw Local Radio

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  Speaker 1: Good morning, Sok Valley. You've joined the Waking crew here
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  Speaker 1: on FM ninety five one and AM fourteen sixty WIXN.
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  Speaker 1: It's eight sixteen on your Tuesday, February tenth morning, and
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  Speaker 1: that means it's time for talk line and I'm joined
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  Speaker 1: in the booth once again by my good friend Dallas
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  Speaker 1: Knack from the Sauk Valley Area Chamber of Commerce.
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  Speaker 2: Dallas, how are you?
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  Speaker 3: I'm great? How can you be bad? With the sun
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  Speaker 3: shining this morning and the weather finally warming up?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I'm telling you I'm not.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not even disappointed that my wife's going to put
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  Speaker 1: me to work outside.
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  Speaker 2: I could use the fresh air.
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  Speaker 3: Well. First of all, that's always the response when your
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  Speaker 3: wife wants you to work outside. But yes, I know,
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  Speaker 3: the fresh air is just so wonderful and it's so needed,
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  Speaker 3: especially it's been a long winter.
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  Speaker 2: It really has.
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  Speaker 1: I think we're all ready to crawl out of our
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  Speaker 1: shelters and just start looking around at the sun around.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I get some vitamin D.
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  Speaker 1: You wanted to start today recapping your annual dinner.
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  Speaker 3: Yees, So we had our annual dinner at the end
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  Speaker 3: of January. This is an event where we bring out
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  Speaker 3: all of our members to celebrate all of their accomplishments,
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  Speaker 3: all the things that we have accomplished together over the
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  Speaker 3: past year, and then talk about things for the coming year.
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  Speaker 3: So we were able to do some really great awards.
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  Speaker 3: We were able to present our Chamber Champion for twenty
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  Speaker 3: twenty five. That was Lee Hartman with the CEO Program.
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  Speaker 3: Lee is so wonderful, such an asset to this community,
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  Speaker 3: and we're just so grateful to be able to recognize
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  Speaker 3: her efforts, especially because she's retiring at the end of
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  Speaker 3: this year. Really, yes, I'm very sad, it's very well
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  Speaker 3: deserved retirement, but I'm so very sad just because Lee
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  Speaker 3: is a phenomenal person both personally and professionally, and I'm
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  Speaker 3: just so thankful that we were able to present her
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  Speaker 3: with the Chamber Champion Award.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I mean the CEO program is it's just
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  Speaker 1: such a wonderful program.
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  Speaker 3: It is. And the CEO program all of the students
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  Speaker 3: host our event, so they plan the whole thing, they
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  Speaker 3: pick the theme, they do all the entertainment and all
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  Speaker 3: of the logistics for the evening. And so we were
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  Speaker 3: lucky enough to have both East and West join us
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  Speaker 3: this year. So we had their one students that were
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  Speaker 3: helping put the whole event together, and they picked it
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  Speaker 3: was called Dinner Undercover, and then they did a little
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  Speaker 3: skit about Spy Academy and all the intel that they've
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  Speaker 3: gotten from our local businesses.
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  Speaker 2: So I love that.
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  Speaker 3: It was really cute. They assigned all their mentors code names,
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  Speaker 3: so if you're a mentor for the CEO program, you
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  Speaker 3: better ask what your code name was.
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  Speaker 1: That's absolutely great. What a wonderful idea for this does
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  Speaker 1: Do you guys have someone lined up to kind of take?
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  Speaker 3: Yes? So the CEO board has made an offer to
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  Speaker 3: an individual. I don't think it's quite official yet, but
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  Speaker 3: hopefully we'll be having some news soon.
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  Speaker 2: We'll cover that around. Yeah, so we're going to move on.
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  Speaker 1: You had your or you want to talk about your
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  Speaker 1: Professional Women's event.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, so Professional Women's Network they had an event earlier
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  Speaker 3: this month. It was a really great session on difficult
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  Speaker 3: conversations with doctor Sarah Dale, and we have another one
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  Speaker 3: coming up in April. We're really excited for this one
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  Speaker 3: as well. We have some really great things lined up
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  Speaker 3: for Professional Women's Network this year, and that's all in
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  Speaker 3: part due to the feedback that we're getting from the group.
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  Speaker 3: So on Wednesday, April twenty ninth, we will be doing
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  Speaker 3: a real colors personality assessment, So think like enny agram
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  Speaker 3: or disk analysis. So you take an assessment before you
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  Speaker 3: come to the event. Once you sign up, you'll get
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  Speaker 3: a link to complete it, and then you'll get your
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  Speaker 3: results and you'll come and you'll work through those results.
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  Speaker 3: So you'll work through it personally and professionally. So maybe
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  Speaker 3: I work best with blue, you get assigned a different color,
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  Speaker 3: or maybe I know I need to have more difficult
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  Speaker 3: conversations with gold, things like that, and it's really interesting
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  Speaker 3: because a lot of our teams can come out then
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  Speaker 3: and see kind of how they work best together amongst
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  Speaker 3: their teams based off those personality assessments. So again, that
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  Speaker 3: will be Wednesday, April twenty ninth. It'll be led by
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  Speaker 3: Carla Beelzer from University of Illinois Extension. It is going
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  Speaker 3: to be held at Woodlawn and it starts at eleven o'clock,
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  Speaker 3: so it starts a little bit earlier than our events
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  Speaker 3: normally do. It'll be eleven to one and lunch is
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  Speaker 3: included in this session as well, so there is a
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  Speaker 3: cost to it because you do have to pay to
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  Speaker 3: take the assessment first and then of course to cover
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  Speaker 3: lunch as well. But all the information can be found
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  Speaker 3: at Stock Valley Area Chamber dot com, slash pwn or
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  Speaker 3: on any of our social media channels.
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  Speaker 1: There you go mark your calendars and for anybody who's
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  Speaker 1: not familiar with the group, can you tell us just
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  Speaker 1: a little bit about them and who's able to join? Oh?
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  Speaker 3: Yes. Professional Women's Network is a committee of the Stock
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  Speaker 3: Valley Area Chamber of Commerce. We really work on bringing
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  Speaker 3: affordable and accessible education pieces to specifically working women, but
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  Speaker 3: as open to anyone. We hope that things like a
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  Speaker 3: personality assessment or difficult conversations that can be used in
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  Speaker 3: any situation, right, but we make sure that we tailor
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  Speaker 3: our content specifically to working women, just because we know
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  Speaker 3: that there can be some extra hurdles there and we
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  Speaker 3: want to provide those resources. Anyone is welcome to attend
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  Speaker 3: the events. There is a discount for our members to attend,
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  Speaker 3: and then our members are able to be part of
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  Speaker 3: that planning process. So we have a planning committee that
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  Speaker 3: meets a couple months out of the year and work
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  Speaker 3: on looking through all the feedback that we've gotten from
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  Speaker 3: the events and then planning that next event. So anyone
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  Speaker 3: who is interested in being part of professional mins network
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  Speaker 3: part of the planning process can contact me, and anyone
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  Speaker 3: who just wants to attend to the events can keep
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  Speaker 3: an eye on Stock Valley Area Chamber dot com, slash
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  Speaker 3: p w N.
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  Speaker 2: There you go.
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  Speaker 1: Everybody talks about their community and wanting to help out.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, this is a great way to be a
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  Speaker 1: part of that. And speaking of great groups with the Chamber,
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  Speaker 1: your under forty group has an event coming up.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, they will be doing give back and get connected
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  Speaker 3: with Stock Valley under forty. That'll be on Saturday, April
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  Speaker 3: twenty fifth. So we're doing a Saturday event because we
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  Speaker 3: want to start at the farmers Market in Sterling. I
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  Speaker 3: feel like that is such a hidden gem. If you
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  Speaker 3: haven't been down to the Farmer's Market, you definitely need
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  Speaker 3: to go and check it out. So we're gonna grab
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  Speaker 3: some coffee at the farmers Market, We're gonna do a
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  Speaker 3: little bit of just like a get to know you,
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  Speaker 3: and then we're going to actually do some garbage cleanup
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  Speaker 3: around the Sterling riverfront area. So I know that you
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  Speaker 3: are very familiar with the Riverfront project, but unfortunately a
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  Speaker 3: lot of people in our community are not, so we're
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  Speaker 3: hoping to get some people connected with it, get them
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  Speaker 3: out in this space so that they can see all
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  Speaker 3: the progress that has already been made and then all
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  Speaker 3: the potential for what is still to come. We hear
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  Speaker 3: a lot, especially from some of our younger individuals, just like, oh,
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  Speaker 3: I wish we had a better riverfront. I wish we
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  Speaker 3: had this, and there are things, there are things in
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  Speaker 3: the works, but it takes time, right So we want
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  Speaker 3: to get people down in that space to see all
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  Speaker 3: the great things that are already there and then the
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  Speaker 3: potential for what is to come. So we're going to
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  Speaker 3: do some garbage clean up because it's right around Earth Day,
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  Speaker 3: so we're trying to give back to the community, a
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  Speaker 3: little bit invest in our community. And then after that,
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  Speaker 3: if anyone wants to continue the conversation, they can come
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  Speaker 3: over to the factory and have lunch on their own.
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  Speaker 3: That's not part of the event, but we want to
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  Speaker 3: make sure that there's a space to continue that conversation
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  Speaker 3: if people want to.
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  Speaker 2: There you go.
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  Speaker 1: You know, that's I really like that you bring that up.
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  Speaker 1: Continuing the conversation you know, because you're right. So many
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  Speaker 1: people say I wish I'd like, right, don't wish. Okay,
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  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, but shooting stars don't grant your dreams. Action
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  Speaker 1: and involvement does, and groups like this are the way
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  Speaker 1: to do it. And I really like this under forty
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  Speaker 1: group because you guys have really concentrated on trying to
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  Speaker 1: get you know, a younger group and demographic involved in
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  Speaker 1: their communities at an earlier stage.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, we get a lot of either young
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  Speaker 3: individuals or their employers that are like, hey, this is
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  Speaker 3: someone fresh out of college, or maybe this is someone
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  Speaker 3: fresh out of high school, Like, how do we get
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  Speaker 3: them some affordable professional development and some personal growth? And
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  Speaker 3: so those are the goals for Sock Valley under forty.
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  Speaker 3: It is a group of people under the age of
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  Speaker 3: forty because we're really looking at how do we grow
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  Speaker 3: these young leaders or just young community members that want
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  Speaker 3: to get more invested. Maybe you went away to college
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  Speaker 3: and you move back and you're like, I don't know
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  Speaker 3: where to start now, Or maybe you're fresh out of
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  Speaker 3: college and you're like I or out of high school
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  Speaker 3: and you're like I don't know where to go, Like
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  Speaker 3: how do I start who do I get connected with?
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  Speaker 3: So I have a lot of those conversations one on one,
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  Speaker 3: but I can't personally take everyone by the hand and
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  Speaker 3: introduce them to all the things. So trying to do
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  Speaker 3: that on a bigger scale and provide different opportunities, whether
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  Speaker 3: that is some resources, some networking, or just making some friends.
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  Speaker 3: Like how hard is it to just make friends and
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  Speaker 3: you're like in your first job, or even like your
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  Speaker 3: second or third professional job, Like trying to make friends
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  Speaker 3: outside of the workplace, it can be hard.
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  Speaker 2: It's difficult.
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  Speaker 1: You usually become friends with people you have regular interaction with,
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  Speaker 1: right and once you're an adult outside of work, unless
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  Speaker 1: you're part of a club or an organization, it's going
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  Speaker 1: to be hard to do that. This is a great
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  Speaker 1: way to not only make friends, but to make a
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  Speaker 1: difference in the community.
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  Speaker 2: Get started earlier. I'm a couple of years past, only
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  Speaker 2: two for the group, so I can't.
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  Speaker 1: But things like this really make me hopeful for like
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  Speaker 1: my adult kids who talk about this kind of stuff,
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  Speaker 1: and like you said, they don't know where to you know,
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  Speaker 1: what to do, how to start after high school? This
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  Speaker 1: is such a great way and some of you, I'm
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  Speaker 1: sure have some fantastic ideas. Don't keep them in your
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  Speaker 1: head and wish upon a star. Contact the Chamber and
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  Speaker 1: become part of these groups and help make a difference.
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  Speaker 1: And speaking of the future and new ideas, you're finally
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  Speaker 1: able to talk about a very special program that's been
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  Speaker 1: in the works for a good year.
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  Speaker 3: Now you say yes, And I've been hinting at it,
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  Speaker 3: trying to bite my tongue as much as I can,
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  Speaker 3: but we're very excited to officially launch the Sock Valley
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  Speaker 3: Future Founders Program. This is an entrepreneurship program for middle
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  Speaker 3: school students. So I talked earlier, We talked about how
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  Speaker 3: wonderful the CEO kids are, right, but what if we
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  Speaker 3: got them earlier. What if we started that pipeline and
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  Speaker 3: we had our middle school students that realized entrepreneurship or
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  Speaker 3: even just some leadership roles are a real possibility for
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  Speaker 3: you and for you in the Sock Valley. So connecting
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  Speaker 3: them with local leaders, local business owners, and then giving
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  Speaker 3: them the tools if they want to to start their
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  Speaker 3: own business. And we're going to end with a pop
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  Speaker 3: up during Chalk the Walk at Grand and Civic Center
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  Speaker 3: in July, so they'll work through a five week program.
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  Speaker 3: It's just one day a week. It'll be at WACC.
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  Speaker 3: They have some wonderful space for us. They're a great
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  Speaker 3: partner on this program. The University of Illinois Extension is
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  Speaker 3: going to be providing a facilitator that will do all
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  Speaker 3: the classroom work with them, and then the SBDC at
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  Speaker 3: Sock Valley Community College will help them with the actual
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  Speaker 3: building of a business if that's what they choose to do.
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  Speaker 3: So the idea is that this is really creating a
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  Speaker 3: pipeline from middle school into hopefully the high school CEO program,
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  Speaker 3: and then into our businesses, into our downtown storefronts that
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  Speaker 3: we know we always want to see filled. Hopefully that'll
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  Speaker 3: just create this pipeline for young students.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and I mean I love that you guys are
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  Speaker 1: going younger and younger recognizing that there's ways, despite the age,
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  Speaker 1: you don't have to wait till high school. Middle school,
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  Speaker 1: they've got a lot of great ideas, they've got a
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  Speaker 1: lot of great energy. You need somewhere to put it.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, somewhere in the world there's a three year
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  Speaker 1: old playing the violin better than I ever will, and
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  Speaker 1: it's because you expose them to these things, You give
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  Speaker 1: them a chance to grow, you help foster it, and
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  Speaker 1: it just it grows and you guys are keeping it local.
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  Speaker 3: Yes, that is the goal. We want to invest in
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  Speaker 3: our community right here. We want we always say that
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  Speaker 3: we want to see more local businesses. Well, when you're
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  Speaker 3: getting someone in their forties or fifties that wants to
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  Speaker 3: start a business, maybe it doesn't always come to fruition
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  Speaker 3: before it's time for retirement or just because of life circumstances.
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  Speaker 3: But how can we bring that even younger and get
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  Speaker 3: that middle school thinking about how do I progress through
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  Speaker 3: high school and then what does my college education look like?
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  Speaker 3: Or how do I want to go into the workforce
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  Speaker 3: so that I can use my entrepreneurial skills. And this
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  Speaker 3: program involves a lot of leadership, a lot of just communication. Right,
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  Speaker 3: awkward middle schoolers, how do we communicate? So there's going
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  Speaker 3: to be a lot of just life skills in this
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  Speaker 3: program as well. I mean it is short, it's only
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  Speaker 3: five sessions, so it's a lot jam picked into a
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  Speaker 3: little amount. But we're very excited to launch Stock Valley
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  Speaker 3: Future Founders, especially with our partners. Like I mentioned, there's
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  Speaker 3: been a lot of work behind the scenes on this
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  Speaker 3: and we're excited to get it going. It'll start in June,
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  Speaker 3: so it runs June through July, and at the very
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  Speaker 3: least come out to chalk the walk and support the students.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, And even if your kid doesn't have a business idea,
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  Speaker 1: you made a really good point. So many young kids
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  Speaker 1: today like I don't know how to talk to people,
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  Speaker 1: I don't know nobody get around these work on those
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  Speaker 1: great soft skills that it's you know, I tell my
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  Speaker 1: kids all the time, the only way to get past
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  Speaker 1: these uncomfortable things is to do them right. Like maybe
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  Speaker 1: you don't dive into the twenty foot deep end, but
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: you start in the five foot start wading around, kicking
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: your toes in the water, and after a while you're
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  Speaker 1: not afraid of it anymore.
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  Speaker 3: You have to start somewhere. Yeah, so they will be
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  Speaker 3: encouraged to start a business if they choose. And that's
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  Speaker 3: also because we know a lot of middle schoolers that
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  Speaker 3: have that ambition, that already have things they're doing on
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  Speaker 3: the side that they're asking their parents to sell on
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  Speaker 3: Facebook for them. So we're hoping to target some of
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  Speaker 3: those students. But we're also there's going to be like
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  Speaker 3: a budgeting mainly for businesses, but that's so important in
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  Speaker 3: your personal life too. Like that is a skill that
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  Speaker 3: they are going to need. Whether it's that or leadership
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  Speaker 3: or like I said, just communication, teamwork, those are all
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  Speaker 3: going to be very much featured in this program. So
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  Speaker 3: if they don't want to start a business, that is
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  Speaker 3: a okay. They'll be given the tools to do so.
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  Speaker 3: But if they don't want to, that's not for them,
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  Speaker 3: and that's perfectly fine. There would be so many just
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  Speaker 3: real life soft skills that they can take out of
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  Speaker 3: this too.
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  Speaker 2: I love it. Anything else you want to share, els.
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  Speaker 3: We are of course looking for sponsors for it. So
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  Speaker 3: if you have a passion for middle school students or
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: want to encourage the future of our community, please reach
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: out to me and be happy to chat. But otherwise
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: come out in July to support the Sock Valley Future
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  Speaker 3: Founder's Program at Chalk the Walk.
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  Speaker 1: There you go check out these events, these fantastic programs.
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  Speaker 1: Go online to the Chambers website. If you need more information,
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  Speaker 1: or better yet, call and have a conversation with Dallas.
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  Speaker 1: She knows everything there is to do with any and
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  Speaker 1: all of this. Dallas, thank you so much. For not
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  Speaker 1: only sharing this information, but for all the wonderful work
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  Speaker 1: your organization is doing out there.
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  Speaker 3: Thank you so much, I appreciate it.