Valley County Works to Retain Youth

The Ord Area Chamber of Commerce, Valley County Community Foundation Fund (VCCFF), and Valley County Economic Development (VCED) have collaborated for a second year in an effort to increase awareness among local high school seniors of the opportunities to remain in or return to Valley County.

Representatives from the three organizations visited with over seventy high school seniors in Arcadia, North Loup-Scotia, and Ord prior to their graduation.  The goal of the visits was to inform students of the wide variety of opportunities in their hometown community, whether the student plans to enter the workforce immediately after their high school graduation, attend a two- or four-year college, or enlist in the armed forces.

Each senior was presented with a 4GB USB flash drive adorned with the I Love Valley County logo. The flash drives contained information on the opportunities to LIVE, WORK, PLAY, and GIVE in Valley County as well as community resources they can utilize if they wish to return to Valley County for a summer internship or future career opportunity. The flash drive also included well-wishes from their high school teachers and administrators.  The graduates can also use the extra space on the flash drive for saving college documents and storing resumes.

Kristina Foth, Business Development and Marketing Specialist for the Ord Area Chamber of Commerce and Valley County Economic Development states, “In 2012, 48% of all Valley County seniors could see themselves returning to the community at some point in the future.  This year, that percentage increased to 59%.  Alumni returning to our community have the potential to generate new business ventures, provide current businesses with a quality workforce, and contribute to local civic organizations.”

Dahn Hagge, HomeTown Competitiveness Coordinator for the Valley County Community Foundation Fund and Valley County Economic Development also states, “During the past two years, we have partnered with Valley County Schools to intensify our youth engagement programs. We are beginning to see the benefits of efforts like EntrepreneurShip Investigation (ESI) Camp, Business Discovery Day, Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase and the Senior Flash Drive Project. Meaningful connections with our youth directly impact the successful future of Valley County. We are excited to welcome alumni returning home!”

In order to maintain a relationship with these Valley County alumni, occasional emails will be sent with information and updates on projects, job opportunities, and other community news. Youth retention is vital to the future of our community and aligns with the missions of the Ord Area Chamber, Valley County Community Foundation Fund, and Valley County Economic Development.

ESI Camp to be held June 11-14th

EntrepreneurShip Investigation (ESI) Camp will challenge young people to develop their leadership, communication, and entrepreneurial skills. The goal is to inspire youth to use their talents and passions to create innovative, sustainable businesses and to establish meaningful connections with community business leaders. Youth will gain the skills and resources necessary to continue growing and evolving their business in the future! Youth will be empowered to make a difference in their communities through Head, Heart, Hands, and Health life skills model. The EntrepreneurShip Investigation curriculum, from Nebraska 4-H, will inspire learning!

ESI Camp will be held June 11-14th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. each day. The camp is available to ages 5th grade and older and is FREE for all participants.  You can download the brochure/registration form and the permission and health form below:

EntrepreneurShip Camp Brochure/Registration Form
Permission and Health Form

Space is limited so be sure to return the required registration form and permission and health form as soon as possible.  You can drop the completed forms at the UNL Extension Office (at the Valley County Fairgrounds) or the Valley County Community Foundation Fund/Ord Area Chamber Office (1514 K Street).

The ESI Camp experience is made possible for our local youth through the generosity of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 4-H Youth Development, Valley County Economic Development, Ord Area Chamber of Commerce, Valley County Community Foundation Fund, and various local businesses.  Financial sponsorship is provided by the Valley County Community Foundation Fund-Geweke Youth Endowment.

Shrine Circus Coming to Valley County

The Tehama Shrine Circus will be offering two performances at the Valley County Fairgrounds in Ord on Friday, May 24, 2013. The first performance will begin at 4:00 p.m. and the second performance will begin at 7:00 p.m.

Advance adult tickets are available at the Ord Area Chamber office (1514 K Street) for $10.  Adult tickets will increase to $12 at the door.  High school students can pay at the door ($8) and children in 6th grade and younger are FREE!

Proceeds from the event are for the benefit of Tehama Shrine.

Economic Development Fund Update

February sales tax receipts for the Ord city sales tax program for economic development are reported below. Sales tax receipts for the economic development fund are available for a variety of uses including low interest loans for business development, site and property improvement, community development and community promotion.

Of the annual receipts for the 1% sales tax, only 4/10 of 1% of the City’s annual property tax valuation can be used for economic development purposes, in accordance with Nebraska law. Any excess funds above the amount at the end of the 12-13 fiscal year will be transferred to the general fund of the City for expenditure on infrastructure, parks, community promotion and public safety purposes.

In 2012, a qualifying Valley County business received a sales tax refund in the amount of $198,000, denoted by an asterisk above***. The refund was paid out through sales tax collections made possible by the local option municipal economic development fund.

Additionally, the current economic development fund balance as of  4/30/2013 is: $335,106.

One Hour Walk for Youth

The Ord-Arcadia TeamMates Chapter is celebrating the impact of mentoring with the “One Hour Walk” on Friday, May 3^rd,   at the Ord Public Schools Track.   The one-hour represents the time mentors spend with their mentees each week to make a difference in the lives of youth. The event kicks off at 5 p.m. with registration and a meal.  At 5:30 p.m. the walk and program will begin. Everyone in the community is invited to join the celebration and support our youth and generous volunteers by participating in the walk! Community members can register at the track or by contacting the TeamMates coordinators. Registration forms are also available here.

Tom and Nancy Osborne founded the TeamMates Mentoring Program in 1991 in an effort to provide support and encouragement to school aged youth. The goal of the program is to see youth graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary education. To reach this goal, youth meet one hour per week with a caring adult who serves as a mentor.  Mentors are volunteers from the community who have dedicated themselves to making a difference in the life of a young person. Mentors give youth a sense of hope, purpose, and vision.

To learn more about the local TeamMates program and the One Hour Walk, contact the TeamMates coordinators Dahn Hagge at 308-730-2294 or Rachel Lueck at 308-202-0118.  We hope to see you at the walk on Friday!

Healthcare Reform Information Sessions Offered in Ord

From the office of Kurt Kremke, Town & Country Insurance Agency, Inc. – Burwell, NE

This is a very important time for employers and employees to explore the requirements, mandates, rules and general information regarding the Patient Protection and Care Act (PPACA), commonly referred to as Obama Care.  What is required of you as an employer, what are the benefits of providing coverage, what are the penalties if you don’t?  What level of coverage is required, who do you have to pay for and how much?  What are the responsibilities of your employees, what are their options, who will receive subsidies and where do you go for answers?  There are a multitude of additional questions, some we are able to answer; others are still waiting on guidance or rules from federal agencies.  We would like to share with you the information that is available now.

We would like to invite you to join us for an informative healthcare reform update/presentation.  We will have 4 presentations for your convenience.  Two will be in Ord at the Central Community College-Ord Learning Center on May 8^th.  On May 9^th,  we will be presenting at the Baptist Church in Burwell.  Both locations will have presentations at 1:30 and 7:00 pm.  The theme of the presentation is:

The Road to 2014. How Healthcare Reform will Impact Employers and their Employees.
Topics covered will include:
What’s happening in 2014?
Health Insurance Exchanges and how they will affect small group and individual health plans.Individual and Employer mandates (i.e. penalties).
Rules on what plans must cover and overall plan design
How we will help you through the maze.

We will allow plenty of time for Q&A.  Our presenter is Paul Scholz from OCI Insurance, a firm that provides back room support to many of my small group employee benefit plans.  Paul joined OCI in January of 2009 as an Account Executive where he specializes in the 2-99 employee group market.  At OCI, he personally supports over 300 agents with the writing, planning and development of group benefit packages.  Paul is an active member of NAIFA and NAHU and has presented multiple employee benefit topics to the local and state associations.  Each day Paul allocates several hours to reading and researching updates pertaining to the ever evolving rules and regulations within and surrounding PPACA.  Through NAHU, Paul received his accreditation as a Certified Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Professional.   Due to his vast knowledge on the subject, Paul has done numerous presentations on healthcare reform to both clients and agents alike.

I’m confident you’ll find this update helpful in understanding what new developments are coming in the near future.  I certainly hope that you will find time to attend one of these sessions.

These seminars will primarily be focusing on the Employer/Employee relationship. However, the individual marketplace will be discussed to some degree out of necessity.  We do plan on holding additional seminars intended to answer questions regarding the individual marketplace.

Please RSVP to kkremke.tci@nctc.net or call (308) 346-5220 if you and/or your staff will be joining us.

April VCED Board Meeting

The April meeting of the Valley County Economic Development Board will meet on Wednesday evening, April 24 at 7pm. Details of the meeting include:– Big Give Donations to Economic Development Endowment
– Funding for Leadership Program
– Hoffman Strategy Group
– 2013 Sponsorship Update
–  Exterior Sign for Building

An agenda of the meeting can be found here. Last month’s meeting minutes can be found here. The public is always welcome to attend.

ChamberMaster Workshops To Be Held in May

Are you taking full advantage of your Chamber benefits?  The Ord Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting four ChamberMaster workshops for Chamber members.  Learn how to utilize this program in order to market your business to consumers visiting www.OrdNebraska.com.

New Chamber businesses are encouraged to attend one of the four workshops but the sessions can also serve as a refresher course for businesses that have already received training in ChamberMaster.

Seating is limited – RSVP today.