The Annual Ord Area Chamber of Commerce and Valley County Economic Development Banquet is just around the corner.  In conjunction with this year’s theme of “Vision Valley County,” the Chamber of Commerce will be presenting eight awards to individuals and Chamber businesses that have shown remarkable leadership, goodwill, and commitment to our community.  Throughout the past few weeks, Chamber businesses submitted their nominations and voted online.  The nominees for each category are as follows:

ExtraORDinary Citizen:
This individual has made notable contributions to the community through public service, leadership, their ability to effectively work with others, and/or entrepreneurial efforts throughout the year 2011.  This nominee (or their business/organization) must be a Chamber member. 

Alan Gabriel
Becky Ries
Dahn Hagge
Dale Zadina
Danielle Proskocil
Guy & Jennifer Lewis
Heather Sikyta
Janie Zadina
Kayla Hinrichs
Mark Hagge
Megan Cargill
Russ Blaha
Sally Domeier

Silver Citizen Award:
This individual is at least 50 years old, has made notable contributions, and shown outstanding public service to the Ord area over the past 25 years.  Chamber membership is not a requirement.

Butch Koehlmoos
Dale Zadina
DiAnne Hughes
Dr. Bernie Keown
Eulalia Edwards
Frank Smedra
Gaylord Boilesen
Mary Molle
Paul Markowski
Ray Scott
Rich Klimek
Steve Wolf
Walt Smith

ExtraORDinary Young Citizen:
This individual is 18 years old or younger and has made notable contributions to their school and community.  Chamber membership is not a requirement.  

Bryant Els
Devin Cronk
FBLA
Johnny Ference
Katie Peterson
Melani Hagge
Ord High School Drama Team – Cast & Crew

Partner in Progress:
This individual has donated their time to help with Chamber projects and activities.  They provide valuable input and are active participants in Chamber efforts.  This nominee (or their business/organization) must be a Chamber member. 

Ashley Woodward
Dahn Hagge
Heather Sikyta
Kiley White/Grocery Kart
Laura Pokorny
Mark Hagge
Megan Cargill
Sue Blaha

Rising Star Award:
This award is to recognize a business that has been established within the past five years.  This could also include a business that has pursued a new venture within this time period.  They contribute to the community and actively participate in the Chamber.  This business must be a Chamber member.

Agland Electric & Irrigation
Misko Sports/Clay & Jennifer Ramsey
Scott’s TV
Technology 1^st
Valley Fire Pottery
Wray Insurance Agency

ExtraORDinary Organization:
This organization (non-profit or not-for-profit) has demonstrated good stewardship of dollars and exhibits community impact and involvement.  This organization must be a member of the Chamber. 

FBLA – Jennifer Remmereid
Loup Valley Ag Society
Loup Valley Jaycees
Make Christmas Happen – Plain Valley Extension Club
Ord Rotary
Second Hand Rose
St. John Lutheran Church & Bethany Lutheran Church
Teammates
Valley County Community Foundation Fund
Valley County Health System
Veteran’s Club

Community Development & Improvement Award:
This award is to recognize a project that has helped to improve the Ord area and/or benefited Ord area residents.  Please indicate the individual or organization responsible for the success of the project.  Chamber membership is not a requirement.

FBLA
Good Beginnings
New Neighborhoods/Rolling Hills Townhomes
Ord Car Club
Ord High School Addition & Renovation
Ord Volunteer Fire Department
Vision Valley County

Interactive Media and/or Website Development Award:
This award is to recognize a business that has taken on the challenges of creating an interactive website(s) or social media site(s) to improve their business.  This business must be a Chamber member.

Family Resources – www.family-resources.net
Ord Public Schools – www.ordps.org
Ord Township Library – www.ordlibrary.org
Sports Shed – www.sportshedetc.com
Valley County Health System – www.valleycountyhealthsystem.org
Wolf Auction & Real Estate – www.wolfnebraska.com

All nominees are very deserving of these awards.  Winners will be announced at the banquet on Saturday, February 25 at the Ord Veteran’s Club.  Social hour will begin at 6:00 pm and dinner and awards will begin at 7:00 pm.  This year’s guest speaker is Aaron Davis, motivational speaker and member of the 1994 National Championship Husker Football team.  Tickets are $30 per person or $50.00 per couple.  Corporate tables, which seat six, are also available for $200.  You can purchase your tickets from the Ord Area Chamber of Commerce, 1514 K Street, or from any Chamber or Economic Development board member.

(Ord, NE) – Fifty-eight students from Valley, Greeley, and Sherman Counties joined twenty area business leaders in a day dedicated to entrepreneurship and business discovery, on Wednesday, January 18, 2012. Guest presenters included Gregg Christiansen, Entrepreneurship Career Education Specialist with the Nebraska Department of Education, Nancy Eberle, Special Projects Coordinator, UNL Extension, and Diane Vigna, Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Textiles and Apparel, UNL.

Students, business leaders, and guest presenters were welcomed to Ord by Derry Trampe, Ord High School Business Teacher and co-author of the UNL Extension 4-H Entrepreneurship Curriculum.  A local entrepreneur, Vicky Hruby-owner of Baking From My Heart made cinnamon rolls for all participants and visited with students about how she started her home-based business through the local Farmer’s Market.

 Then students began the day by learning how to use their unique qualities and strengths to build a successful life and business.  All students completed the Gallup StrengthQuest Survey prior to attending the event and Gregg Christiansen presented an interactive interpretation of the survey results. 

Gregg Christiansen explains to the students the importance of discovering and utilizing their strengths

Next, students worked in teams with their peers and local business leaders to compete in a Whatchamacallit Competition at the CCC Ord Learning Center!  Teams were presented with the challenge of developing a business concept and marketing plan around an unknown object and asked to present their plan to a panel of judges and their peers.  The Best Overall Presentation including business concept and marketing plan was awarded to the team that created the “Energy Saver 3000”.  Team members included Elizabeth Einspahr, Skyler Erickson, Kloreace Pokorny, Kaleigh Koch and Roger Lansman (team mentor).  Each student on this team won a $50.00 cash card and other prizes, donated by Great Western Bank.

Groups developed a business plan during the Whatchamacallit Competition

Lunch was provided by the Country Neighbor. Owner Marcia Vodenhal visited with participants about how she started her restaurant business and her quest for marketing her salad dressings across the nation! 

In the afternoon, students went on guided tours of five local businesses, including Good Life Pharmacy, Valley Cinema, Valley Fire, Anderson’s Pharmacy, and Misko Sports.  Students learned about the components of successful businesses and were given the opportunity to ask local business owners questions about entrepreneurship and effective rural business practices. 

“I was really pleased that we had such enthusiastic participation from Arcadia, Greeley-Wolbach, and North Loup-Scotia students.  I was also impressed with the creativity these students had with their business and marketing plan presentations.  We seem to have tapped into a real interest that young people have in the economy and in rural entrepreneurship.  I am excited for continued activities in engaging our area youth to think creatively about what they want for their futures in rural Nebraska!  Another highlight was the involvement of our area business owners and employees who mentored our youth groups through the activities and business tours.  Exciting and informative tours of Anderson Pharmacy & Gifts, Good Life Pharmacy, Misko Sports, Inc, Valley Cinema, and Valley Fire & Pottery really inspired all participants,” said Lu Lansman, Ord Rural Community Development Regional Coordinator.

Participants toured local businesses around the downtown square.

Caleb Pollard, who served as a team mentor and tour guide stated, “Business Discover Day offers our area young adults a chance to see what real opportunities look like in our community. We want our youth to go out, get a worldly education and experience, and bring that home to run successful businesses in the future. Students learned from our local business owners that it IS possible to return home and be successful. I’m very hopeful this message has a strong impact on our future, and I believe it will.” Caleb Pollard is the Executive Director of the Valley County Economic Development and Ord Area Chamber of Commerce. 

The day concluded with a challenge to all participating students to get involved in their communities by working with local business leaders, becoming active members of FBLA, and promoting recycling from Jennifer Remmereid, Ord FBLA Coach.  Mark Hagge, Ord High School Principal, presented awards and prizes to students and offered students this quote from President Calvin Coolidge, “The business of America is BUSINESS!”  Mr. Hagge encouraged students to develop a competitive zeal and embrace the spirit of entrepreneurship throughout their lives.

 The Business Discovery Day was hosted by the Ord High School, Ord Future Business Leaders of America Chapter (FBLA), Valley County Community Foundation Fund, and Central Community College/Rural Community Development Initiative Grant-Ord Learning Center. The hosts of this event would like to extend sincere appreciation to all schools, area businesses, entrepreneurs, and community leaders who supported the Business Discovery Day.

There are still seats available for the Business Plan Basics Workshop but space is limited so register today.  Valley County Economic Development and the Ord Area Chamber of Commerce is collaborating with Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP) to host the workshop that will illustrate the importance of creating an effective business plan.  Topics will include marketing, promotions/advertising, financial management, customer relations, and goal setting. 

This workshop is available to anyone in the area, including current business owners or entrepreneurs who wish to start their own business.  The class will meet every Wednesday for five weeks beginning January 18 until February 15 from 4:00-7:00 pm at the Ord Learning Center.  The registration fee is $79 and includes all course materials.  Scholarships are also available.  To register, contact Kristina Volf at the Valley County Economic Development office at (308) 728-7875 or by email at kvolf@frontier.com. 

Happy New Year!  The first monthly newsletter of 2012 contains information on several upcoming events and projects.  You can download the January newsletter here to find…

-Information on the 2012 Annual Banquet
-News from the Valley County Community Foundation Fund and Central Community College’s Ord Learning Center
-Information on the Business Plan Basics Training  
-Ord Area Option updates

…and much more.

We are excited to announce the details and guest speaker for the 2012 Annual Valley County Economic Development and Ord Area Chamber of Commerce Banquet.  Join us for an exciting social hour, delicious banquet dinner, presentation by Aaron Davis, awards ceremony, and much more on Saturday, February 25. 

The final Ord Area Option drawing for $500 in Ord Area ChamberBucks will also take place at the banquet.  The more Ord Option cards you fill before the banquet, the better your chances of winning! 

Contact the Ord Area Chamber of Commerce for infomration on the Ord Area Option or to purchase your advance tickets. 

Congratulations to the two winners of the final photo contest of 2011.  Megan Kallhoff received 1st place and $200 in Ord Area ChamberBucks for her photo, Winter Serenity.  Katharine Schudel received 2nd place and $100 in ChamberBucks for her photo, A Puppy’s First Snow. 

All photos from the 2011 Photo Contest are posted on Flickr.  Thank you to all participants who submitted photos and to those who voted for their favorites!  Photos will be used in various online and print tourism publications in order to promote our area. 

Winter Serenity, 1st Place, Photo by Megan Kallhoff

A Puppy's First Snow, 2nd Place, Photo by Katharine Schudel

Over the past two years we’ve blogged about two special places (here and here) in the Loup Valley that I call gems: special places of respite that offer the wary traveler (or local resident) a place to unplug. The Loup Valley is a series of braided rivers that flow from the northwest to the southeast, eventually emptying into the Platte River, then the Missouri and finally on to the Mississippi and out to the Gulf of Mexico. In Ord, the North Loup River flows directly through town on the eastern edge of the community. The Loup River system is called the “ladder of rivers” and offers a really nice introduction to the Nebraska Sandhills.

Red Tail Lights - Ord @ Sunset

The white-sand bottomed river is one of my personal favorite slow meanders through life and offers a perfect example of why a former city dweller (me) loves living in the Loup Valley. The Valley itself is a microsm of the great things afforded by slowing down and living deliberately. I, along with my wife and two boys, have spent many hours on the river canoeing, swimming and just lazily loafing as the water flows past, as it has for thousands of years. The river’s flow is like the beauty of our area; subtle, expansive and quiet.

VisitValleyCounty.com

This installment of “Gems in the Valley” is our attempt at celebrating the valley itself. One of the first projects in 2012 is the official launch of our new travel website, www.visitvalleycounty.com. Our hope is that travelers use the website to navigate the special wonders found in our area; our primary focus is not to tell you about our special place but to show you with photography. In 2012 our contracted professional photographer will be back to help us document our natural splendor. That pesky Nebraska weather threw a monkey wrench in our plans last year. That’s why we’re also holding a photographer’s online showcase that will give our local professional photographers a place to promote their work and also help us celebrate the natural wonder of the place we call home.

The new site is soft-launching as a beta version early as we work out the kinks and also update photography over the next year, which means it is a bit incomplete. We wanted our online readers to have the first look. So please be patient as things begin to roll-out over the next year. If you have time, please give us feedback on our new website. How do you like it?

Until then, Happy New Year! ~ Caleb

The Mira Valley, south/southwest of Ord

How much good news can you handle? How about more evidence of strong economic growth in Valley County? Today we release our quarterly report which details the past three months of economic development, Chamber and tourism promotion activity in Valley County. We have helped guide strong economic growth into 2011 and have detailed the year-end expenditures of the economic development fund. A few key projects we’re proud of include:

– $7,500 in economic development loans to two businesses ($2,500 for start-up; $5,000 for facade improvements)

"Thankful for the Opportunity to Raise Our Kids on a Farm" photo by Angie Scheideler

– New Neighborhoods: Phase I infrastructure has been completed. Phase II homebuilding has commenced with one market rate home currently being constructed. One home has been contracted to begin, weather permitting, in early 2012. The second home constructed by New Neighborhoods Developer, LLC will call for bids in March 2012.

– Vision Valley County 2020 Plan Completed: Valley County Economic Development and UNL’s College of Architecture have completed project development recommendations for local leaders. Among the proposed projects include Downtown Revitalization Phase II, riverfront development along the North Loup River, green seams safe walking paths, Anderson Island improvement and countywide tourism development along the North Loup River. VCED will meet with leadership in January 2012 to begin strategic planning for suggested projects.

– VisitValleyCounty.com Website Update: A new tourism website for Valley County has been completed and will launch 1/3/2012. The redesign effort has moved the website to a content management system and is built to sell the Loup Valley’s beautiful physical attributes to potential travelers. In addition, primary emphasis was placed on the local hospitality industry and retail so travelers are aware of the options available in the local business community.

A Moonlit Harvest, 1st Place Photo by Megan Kallhoff

– A refund claim of $198,977.62 was approved by the Nebraska Department of Revenue for a qualified Nebraska Advantage economic development project. Nebraska Advantage, a statewide incentives program, makes available tax incentives for business development projects that meet certain employment and investment thresholds. The amount will be subtracted from monthly sales tax collections for economic development until paid in full.

You can also see how we use our economic development fund (made possible by a 1% sales tax levy) to grow the local economy. In 2011, 93% of the $838,295 has been spent on project-specific outcomes. Those expenditures include direct loans to businesses, economic development site improvements and marketing/promotions. Only 7% of program expenditures support staff salaries at VCED and the City of Ord for program administration. Have a peek for yourself (the full report can be found here):

2011 Sales Tax Fund for Economic Development Expenditures

As always, we love to hear back from you: what questions do you have about our programs?. Do you agree with how we use our fund for economic development?

Until then, Happy New Year!

The Economic Development Board meeting will be meeting this evening (Wednesday, December 28) at 7:00 pm at the Valley County Economic Development office.  Some of the topics on the agenda for today include:

-Strategic Planning
-Vision Valley County 2020
-Community Needs Assessment

Feel free to download the full agenda and the minutes from last month’s meeting.

The final survey for the 2011 Photo Contest has arrived.  December’s contest theme was Snowy Days.  You can vote for your favorite photo by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post.  The first place winner will receive $200 in Ord Area ChamberBucks and the second place winner will receive $100 in ChamberBucks.  Voting will end Friday, December 30 at 5:00 pm.  Stay tuned for more photography contests that showcase Valley County in 2012. 

A Puppy's First Snow

All Bundled Up

 

Morning Take Off

 

Sledding Fun in the Hills

 

Winter Serenity

 

Vote for your favorite Snowy Days photo HERE.  Thank you to all of those who have submitted photos for the 2011 Photo Contest.