Alexandria Hotel and Hospitality

The Alexandria Hotel and Hospitality (AHH) promotes conference and lodging facilities in Alexandria and the area as well as shopping and entertainment, recreation and sports, boating and fishing and special events that cater to tourists as well as residents.

A partnership with the Lakes Area Marketing Inc. group helps put the Alexandria area on the map though Travel Marketing, USA Weekend, and American Profile magazines and keeps it in the minds of prospective visitors.

AHH partners with other tourism groups to produce and distribute direct mail pieces to encourage travel to Alexandria.

Ambassadors Committee

Chamber Ambassadors perform one of the more visible aspects of carrying out the Chamber’s mission.

With red jackets blazing, the Ambassadors visit new businesses as well as those who have new ownership, moved to a new location, or have expanded or remodeled facilities. The acknowledgement of this kind of growth and development creates good will for business and membership recruitment

Ambassadors typically perform as many as 50 site visits per year and create photo opportunities to share in the Chamber newsletter.

The Chamber Ambassadors consist of up to 20 volunteer members who can perform the duties during daytime business hours.

Beautification Committee

First impressions stick in the mind of visitors creating a basis for judging a community. The Beautification Committee monitors the entrances to Alexandria as well as major points of interest to ensure that aesthetically pleasing settings welcome visitors as well as residents.

The committee presents awards twice a year to local businesses that have been nominated for their beautification efforts with exterior improvements or new construction. These businesses receive an attractive statue engraved with their name and the date the award was bestowed.

Education Committee

This important group performs its own mission statement within the Chamber: “To link business and education for the promotion of innovative programs that support lifelong learning.”

Activities and events sponsored by the Education Committee include:

Career Exploration Day provides opportunities for 11th grade students to receive information on career development. Participants interact directly with professionals to learn how to prepare for career paths in specific fields and disciplines. Speakers and break-out workshops give students individual attention and enhance their knowledge in preparing for their futures.

Students attending come from Alexandria as well as the surrounding communities of Brandon, Evansville, Minnewaska, Osakis and Parkers Prairie.

Alexandria - Customer Service Institute (CSI) provides customer service training to 9th grade students who will be entering the local work force for the first time in the retail and service sectors. The program is offered twice per year and is supported significantly by Chamber members who will become the employers of these young workers.

Junior Achievement utilizes community volunteers to facilitate K-12 programs with age-appropriate curriculum for students about their roles as consumers, workers, entrepreneurs, and business developers. More than 30 classrooms take advantage of this co-sponsored program and include School District 206, Garfield, St. Mary’s School, and Zion School.

Chamber-member businesses and manufacturers play a significant role in the success of the program with funding and personnel support.

The Business/Education Partnership Award goes to a Chamber business member on behalf of schools to publicly express their appreciation of working together with a business.

The Education Appreciation Award goes to Chamber members of the education community itself and is presented to individuals, in teaching or non-teaching positions in public or non-public schools, who have demonstrated a strong business connection in their work.

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee creates and reviews financial policies to insure the chambers continued growth. Continued financial excellence depends on sound fiscal planning which includes measuring internal controls, assisting with reserve and cash management, maintaining proper cash handling at events, monitoring Chamber Bucks policies, and planning audits. Additionally, the group advises the Board of Directors in dues analysis and asset protection.

All these activities are conducted by a highly skilled volunteer group of Chamber members with individual and collective strengths in banking, investments, budget management, financial planning, organizational management, and cost accounting.

Joint Planning Commission

The Alexandria Chamber joins governmental and community representatives to provide the most effective and efficient services to the community and plan for a fiscally responsible future.

The Joint Planning Commission brings together elected and appointed officials with the Chamber for the common goal of improving life in the Alexandria area. This cooperation and collaboration enhances communication and understanding between the power brokers and decision makers of the community.

The overall mission of the Joint Planning Commission ensures that all local entitles share an awareness of community needs and how to meet them through better planning for business and government. This also results in better use of public money and taxpayer dollars.

Organizations or agencies cooperating in joint planning include the City of Alexandria, Douglas County, Alexandria Area Economic Development Commission, School District 206, Lakes Area Recreation, Alexandria Technical College, Alexandria Township, LaGrand Township, Carlos Township, Hudson Township, Lake Mary Township, and Ida Township.

Lakes Area Marketing Inc.

An organization within the Chamber, Lakes Area Marketing Inc. creates and places advertising and marketing pieces throughout the local, regional, and out-state areas promoting Alexandria. Volunteers from local lodging facilities, bed and breakfasts, campgrounds, hotels and motels, and resorts combine efforts to spread the word far and wide about the benefits of visiting Alexandria.

The most visible LAMI product is the Alexandria Area Visitors Guide. This magazine integrates marketing and historical background along with spectacular photographs and advertising to create one of the premier informational pieces in the entire upper Midwest.

The group also promotes the Lakes area by attendance at various sport shows in Minnesota as well as North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska.

In addition to promoting the Alexandria area to visitors, the LAMI advocates for the economic well-being of the local lodging industry to maintain a strong lodging presence so vital to the area and to the state tourism industry in general. Resorts and campgrounds are of particular concern because of their value as lakeshore development and for their presence as a significant factor in attracting tourism to the area year-round.

Legislative Committee

This important function of the Chamber provides a link between business and lawmakers who can effect changes important to the economic vitality of a community and area. The Legislative Committee contains volunteers from a wide range of interest including businesses (large and small) manufacturing, resort owners, city and county representatives, education professionals, and the health care industry.

The committee works closely with local legislators and keeps them apprised of the Chamber positions on proposed laws or their changes. The Chamber also shares its positions on issues with the Minnesota State Chamber of Commerce to provide a voice for the Alexandria area in concerns that affect all residents.

Issues watched closely by the Chamber and the Legislative Committee include economic development, business tax relief, K-12 education, hospital and medical issues, transportation funding, law enforcement and prison expenditures, environmental issues, housing, emergency services, water and lake quality, and resorts preservation.

Membership Team

This group of dedicated volunteers provides the groundwork for growth and retention of Chamber members. They assist by recruitment of new members, attend ribbon cuttings and grand openings, help educate new members about Chamber services and benefits, provide networking opportunities, and facilitate new member orientations held quarterly. Another major goal focuses on membership retention as well as seeking new ways to connect members for mutual benefit.

The membership roster climbs steadily and will reach 700 members in the very near future. This hard-working team boasts a retention rate of more than 90 percent from year to year.