Chamber makes winter wonderful

I can’t believe February is already here! Terri Guillemets once said, “February is the border between winter and spring” and I would have to agree. Our Chamber made winter wonderful in January by celebrating the incredible men and women doing great things in our community at our Annual Recognition Gala. In case you missed it, check out the Post Falls Chamber YouTube page for the award presentations.

I hosted the Coffee Connections this month and had great conversation with the members that attended. We discussed the recruitment challenges in our area and each person shared some techniques that they are using to stand out. Some are promoting higher starting pay and that is helping somewhat. One of the ideas we discussed was not only promoting a higher hourly wage but to share the total benefit package and break it down to an annual value so the applicants can understand the full benefit of coming to work for you.

We also talked about things the Chamber can do to be more helpful to our business Community. One idea that came from that was more networking opportunities after work. We haven’t done business after hours in a few years and some of our area chambers are doing them on a fairly regular basis, so we wanted to offer up something different. This year we are going to try a new concept, instead of one business being the host of an after hour event, we will include a whole group of businesses in one area and we are going to call them “After Hours in the Neighborhood,” be on the lookout for the first neighborhood event this spring.

We finished the month with an engaging Lunch and Learn with Andy Shepherd teaching “A New Way of Hiring.” We had a wide variety of businesses attend the program and we look forward to the Lunch and Learn this month where we will hear from Dr. Sam Jennings. He is going to teach us how to predict, prevent and extinguish burnout. We have all been working extra this past year and Sam’s session should help many of us.

Dr. Jennings’ presentation isn’t the only thing that happened in February, we had a lot more going on! The Ambassadors visited Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy and Allegra Marketing Print and Mail. They are both longtime members and the Ambassadors shared our gratitude and learned more about each of these businesses. We had the Joint Chamber Public Policy meetings on Feb. 3 and on Feb. 17. When legislators are in session, we meet every other week in order to stay on top of business related issues and advocate for our business community at the state level. The meetings rotate between us and our friends at the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber and we have a Zoom options as well.

On Feb. 15, we held our first Connect 4 Lunch for the year with Dena Naccarato, Post Falls School District superintendent. She taught us how funding works for public schools in the state of Idaho. JA Bertsch is having a ribbon cutting Feb. 22, and we have Coffee Connections on Feb. 23. Jon Totten with Dogsmile Adventures will be sharing the story and mission of his unique and beneficial nonprofit.

I do want to mention two more BIG events coming up. We are taking registrations and volunteers for both now. The Reverse Job Fair is March 23. The Reverse Job Fair is an annual event that started in 2007. It prepares high school seniors for marketing themselves to potential employers through classroom instruction and real-world interaction with local business professionals. The high school students present themselves to business professionals at a 2-hour event prior to graduation. They come prepared to interview with a resume, cover letter and presentation board. Interview time is approximately 10 minutes. Students are matched to business professionals based on their career interests. The business professionals evaluate each student and feedback is given to the instructors, which is shared with the students. How can you help?

• Volunteer on Wednesday, to interview students.

• Make a donation — dollars are used to pay for student supplies.

• Sponsor a scholarship — “XYZ Company Reverse Job Fair $500 Scholarship”

For more information, please contact Christina Petit at christina@postfallschamber.com or Rana Cantrell at Rana.Cantrell@fib.com.

The next big event is our Annual Community Business Fair on April 26 from 4-7 p.m., presented by Northwest Specialty Hospital. This year it will be in a new location, Real Life Ministries in Post Falls. There will be nearly 100 businesses represented and it’s open to the general public. The parking is free and plentiful. Sign up to be a vendor now at www.postfallschamber.com.

We look forward to supporting our hardworking business community in the coming months. “The greatness of a Community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” — Coretta Scott King

Proudly serving you,

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Christina Petit is the president/CEO for the Post Falls Chamber of Commerce.