Hello world, welcome to WFHR's rapid support for this October 28th, 2025, probably brought
to you by Crockett Septick, have your host James here, we're joined by our great friends
from the Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce.
We have Danny in with us, marketing specialist, Danny, how you doing?
Good, how are you?
Doing good, thanks a lot for being here and a great outline, great events to get into
today.
Certainly want to kick off with an event going on today, the business expo, let's get
right into that.
Yes, our business expo is happening today, I'm very excited, it is happening from two
to six p.m. at Bullseye Golf Club and it is going to be Candyland themed, so expect some
great decorations from everybody involved, I know everybody at the chamber has been put
in a lot of work to make sure that it just really embodies that theme.
So again, it's going to be at Bullseye Golf Club and we are doing a business to business
networking session from two to four p.m. where you need a business card to enter and then
once you enter, you're able to communicate with these booths and with other businesses
and it's really just about building up that network and then it's open to the public
from four to six p.m. so it's just going to be a great event, I really hope that everyone
comes out and sees what everyone has to offer for our business community.
It's a very unique opportunity for businesses out there for employees out there, getting
a chance to do one-on-one or face-to-face conversations, you might not get always and it's
a really fun event too.
I don't know if I bring that up enough, but it's such a fun event too.
So even if you are a business and you have all the employees you need or you have a great
job or something, I still think this is a great opportunity, a great event to go to, especially
for what you hit on there with the networking part of it, of being able to connect with
the business that you might not otherwise and you and your business teaming up or anything
like that.
There's so many possibilities when it comes to this and our area is very good at being
creative and finding different avenues for business.
It's a great opportunity to find out more business expo going on today from two to six
over at Bullseye Golf Course.
You should check that out everybody.
Networking exchange for HR professionals, easy for me to read, not as much say, but this
is a fun event also coming up next month.
Yes, our network exchange for HR professionals is happening on November 12th and that is
from 11.30 to 1 p.m.
We're really lucky because we're able to partner with Mid-State on a lot of this more
educational stuff and they really do know what they're talking about.
I think it's a really great way for us to partner with them and also for there to just
be a centralized location where people who are interested in HR or maybe you're starting
a business or looking for employees, it's just a great place for people to come together
and kind of share ideas and kind of collaborate in that way.
Our speaker is going to be Craig Bernstein and he's going to be speaking about HR and
just about innovation within that role and we are taking registration for this event
and it closes on November 5th.
So good idea to get that in right away, get it out of the way, you've got it done, you're
all taken care of and you can be ready for the event itself, especially I don't think
there's a business out there, I don't care how long you've been around, it couldn't
be benefited by this but this is especially beneficial to young businesses out there.
And when you're coming up with your idea for your business, the name for it, how many
employees you're going to need, so many of these things, there's so much to do.
HR tends to be one of those things that's very important but doesn't always get thought
of or get brought up and when you're able to have somebody like Craig who really knows
what he's doing, really is great at this, you've got a great start on this when a good
head start on it because not at all to sound scary here or anything but doing this for
many years, I know of good business ideas, good business models that never got off the
ground or didn't last very long because they didn't take care of the HR end of things.
That's one of those key factors to your business thriving and being successful, showing up
for this event, great way to get a leap on that.
I also do want to mention that we actually have two speakers for this event, I'm not used
to us having two speakers but we do which is awesome.
So we do have Craig Bernstein and he is a workforce and professional development director
but we also have Todd Will who is a teaching and technology innovation specialist so you're
going to be getting those two different perspectives which I think is really important to highlight.
Oh yeah, very much and I appreciate you bringing that up.
With this event, as you mentioned, people need to register for it, we'll let you know
how to register the website and all that before a wrap up.
You can go to WisconsinRavidsChamber.com right now if you want to just go ahead and get
it out of the way.
I don't blame you, I don't blame you, get it out of the way, it's fresh in your mind do
it.
Danny, we have Networking and Night coming up next month as well with some of our new
friends around here, we've been working with Evolution Throwing a little bit here and
there and stuff, have a lot of fun, big shout out to them.
They're going to be hosting this one.
Yes, I'm super excited about this one.
My first time going to Evolution Throwing was actually, we filmed a business spotlight
video a few months ago with them and going in there, it was just awesome, like the amount
of things that they really have to offer there and it's just such a great event space and
I think it's going to be a different location for us to hold it at and I think it's going
to be a very dynamic fun event.
It is happening on November 17th from 5 to 7 p.m., again, it is just a night of networking
and getting to know people within the WisconsinRavids business community.
We are going to have food and also raffle prizes and I know everyone really loves prizes.
It is open to members, future members, potential members.
If you're curious about the chamber, this is a great event to get out to because you
meet a lot of people who are super directly involved with the chamber and I think getting
their perspective on what it means to be a member of the chamber or just a member of the
WisconsinRavids business community is really important when making a decision like that.
They've been around for a little bit, but a bit of a newer business and so when it comes
to that, not everybody gets a chance to see or stop by, so not only do you have a chance
to do that, but also, of course, as Danny was saying, the connections you can make have
a good time and enjoy yourself and maybe make some connections for you and your business
that you wouldn't have had otherwise.
Great stuff going on over there.
A great opportunity to check it out.
Networking and night, evolution at Evolution Throwing November 17th, 5 to 7, going to be
a real fun time.
Going to be a blast.
Coffee with the chamber, one of my favorite events you guys do, is coming up on November
19th.
Yes, it is.
So our coffee with the chamber that is happening again on November 19th is happening from 830
to 930 AM and it's happening at the city hall council chambers.
This one is free for our chamber members.
If you are an member, it is $10, but I really do think it's worth it because it is such a
great way to learn what's going on in the community and as not only a business member,
like a business person, but also just like a member of the WisconsinRavids community,
I really do think it's some great insightful information.
Our discussion topic is going to be related to economics.
It's going to be the economic development update on the general community, paper mill,
factory site, downtime master plan and more, which is just like so all encompassing of
everything that the city has to offer.
Our two speakers are Kyle Kerns and then the mayor, Matt Zucker, and this event has been
very generously sponsored by paper savings or paper city savings bank.
Appreciate them sponsoring this one.
You got two incredible speakers right there, both Kyle and Mayor Matt, really good to talk,
really good talkers, but also really down to earth easy to talk to people.
So having an event like this is perfect for them and a perfect opportunity.
Like you said, a really just one-stop shop kind of thing for you.
If you're interested in the area, you want to know more about what's going on in your
area to discuss some of these things and the economic development, every one of those updates
has a ton of information in it.
I get to talk to Matt once a month and everything and I cannot tell you, but on air, off air,
all excitedly is about that impact and what's going on in that and the work that's being
done to build our economy even stronger in this area and you could be a part of that conversation
by being apart and get some great coffee at the same time.
I like where it's being hosted at too.
That's a great spot.
Yeah, I think it's very indicative of what the topic is going to be.
It's very fitting.
Yeah.
Make sure to make plans for that one, everybody, market on your calendar.
And as we are getting closer to November at, of course, the holiday marathon that is going
on.
We get ready for some of our favorite events and one of the signature events in our area
rekindle the spirit, the parade's coming up.
Yes, I'm super excited for this one because I'm not from this area so it'll be my first
year kind of being around for it and so I'm super excited to see what it's all about.
But what I do know is that it's on November 26th, it's starting at 5.45 pm and it's going
to be on Westcreen Avenue.
It's going to start by near City Hall and end kind of past hotel meet and the library.
We're taking registrations for float entries right now.
So if you're interested in that, please call Lacey at 715-423-1830 for an application
form.
Or if that's too much and you want to come say hi to our faces here at the chamber to
stop in and grab an application form.
It's such a fun event, encourage everybody to be a part of this one.
We will be.
We're going to get to broadcast live for this one, well, we're going to be broadcasting
and talking about the parade itself and getting it to our listeners and everything.
We've got to do this a couple years ago, it's so much fun, it's a blast.
We cannot wait to be a part of this one and it's really one of the signature events
in our community.
People look forward to this one all year long, it's going to be a blast and you can be a
part of it, everybody.
Be sure to.
Reach out to Lacey for that if you want to be a part of this or if I have a float
and enter to it.
Or you can stop into the chamber and we have applications there and we can answer any
questions you might have.
Be sure to stop by and be a part of this one.
So every business, L, the business, everybody be a part of this one, it's going to be great.
It's going to be a good time.
And as we're wrapping up, Danny, did want to take some time to talk about small business
showcase that is coming up.
Another great event in our area that you guys host.
Yes, I'm super excited about this one because I know we had talked about this last time
but I do really think that this is a way to not only promote shopping local and really
promote our small businesses in this area but also to build a community around that
shopping.
So it's going to be taking place from November 29th to December 12th and it's just a
really great way to promote your business, get some really good exposure for yourself
or also kind of building that community and then anticipation around what you sell.
So we are taking 45 small businesses for our passport and the way it works is that our
community members can stop into your shop and get a stamp on their passport when they
shop at your business and then after they have a certain amount of stamps, they're able
to be eligible for a prize and we are also taking raffle baskets for that.
So to participate for a non-member, for a non-chamber member, it is $100.
For a member, it is $50 plus a raffle prize.
We are taking registrations no later than October 31st so that deadline is coming up.
I really do think this is one that as a business, you do not want to miss out on.
I think it's just such a great way to not only get your name out there but to build that excitement
around what you do.
All the things you just said are second that wholeheartedly and it's such a fun event
too and it's such a great event to be a part of and I know I've mentioned it being fun
or being a part of it, that's part of community and when you do that, you all businesses out
there spend a lot of money on advertising and it's very important to your business.
Think about yourself as a consumer.
How often you see a name of a business on something like maybe you go to a high school
baseball game or one of our many baseball games our kids have and you see on the backfield
outfield walls and stuff of businesses name, things like that.
That is the kind of marketing, that kind of a promotion that we're talking about with
events like this or rekindle the spirit or a lot of the things that Chamber does.
It's getting your name out there, it's putting it out in front of people's eyes and whether
they know of your business or not, it's an opportunity for them to learn about it and
then there's something like this where with the passport, all this fun stuff, you're
really directed to the business, you're really going right to that and everything and you
could be one of those businesses.
I don't know anybody in town that whether you're doing amazing or you could use more people,
everybody could benefit from this one because it's so much fun and you're showing you're
a part of the community.
Of course and I really do think it's just such a great way to build that kind of like
word of mouth marketing which as a marketing student you do kind of learn that word of
mouth is the most important, impactful, personal type of advertising and so being a part
of the small business showcase, physically having your name out there and having people
talking about what you do, it's amazing, you can't beat that.
Right, right, it's good stuff Danny and a great episode as always, you've been really
just killing it, it's getting better and better at this, nice work.
Danny, if people have thought questions you want to know more about some of the things
we've talked about today, where's the best place to send them?
You can reach us at WisconsinRapidsChamber.com or you can call us at 715-423-1830.
Yeah, that website Danny mentioned is fantastic because keep in mind while we talked about
a lot today, there are so many other great events and so many great resources for you
at the website, WisconsinRapidsChamber.com, community resources, workforce, economic development,
so many other things over there for you, head on over, bookmark the page and be a part
of all of these events everybody and be sure to follow the Chamber on social media, share
their posts on your page, you just never know who might see it otherwise.
Danny, we'll talk again real soon, thanks for the time.
Awesome, thank you so much.
Thank you everybody for joining us for another edition of WFHR's Rapids Report.
