Neighbors helping neighbors

By Greg Bowen, 2019 President, Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber Board of Directors

    The Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce has strived to support our thriving community for an amazing 112 years. This commitment has in no small part helped shape and develop the opportunities and advantages Alexandria sees today.  
    The incredibly apt theme for 2018 was “Committed to Excellence.” The Chamber staff, board of directors, and the many committee members embraced and strove to continually uphold this theme throughout the year. Processes, procedures and strategies were tweaked and improved, and more than 600 Chamber members benefited from this commitment. We worked hard, and succeeded in deepening our levels of cooperation with local entities and organizations...YES WE DID!!  We are seeing results from these efforts, and the commitment to this GREAT theme will continue into the future.
    The theme chosen to guide the Chamber of Commerce in 2019 is ‘Neighbors Helping Neighbors.’ This is a concept that resonates on many levels!
    It is about caring individuals lending a hand when needed, or providing a shoulder to lean on, an ear to listen, or a heart to understand.
    It is about employers and business leaders setting good examples for their employees, for the students of our community, and for the customers that utilize their goods and services.
    It is about local businesses supporting one another and recognizing that a community thrives when all the diverse sectors are successful.
    It is about our community reaching out to other communities, and supporting them by sharing our successful strategies and programs, so that they may share with us their successes...that together we can work as a whole to better Minnesota.
    Collaboration is such an important missive, one that should always be at the forefront of our priorities.  There are so many people, committees and organizations that care and contribute, and do their best to see that Alexandria thrives.  We are lucky to have this incredible array of people that take the time to do the best they can for our City! ‘Neighbors Helping Neighbors’...I hope you all join in!