Friday Five: Gubernatorial candidates to meet with business community at Chamber forum

By Doug Loon
President and CEO
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce

 It’s been another busy week at the Chamber. We kicked it off with our inaugural Minnesota Chamber Foundation Leadership Cup at Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove. We had a great showing of golfers and folks coming in to support the Minnesota Chamber Foundation.

The program brought together Leadership Minnesota and Leaders Lab participants, alumni and Foundation board members, investors and other friends of the Foundation.

You know, the Foundation provides some important support for the business community and, in particular, for the Chamber. It’s our economic research engine, providing important reports on our state’s private sector economy and informing our policy work. But it also houses our workforce development programs and our leadership programs.

So, coming together to support the Foundation was terrific, and we want to thank everyone who participated. It was a great afternoon of networking and reconnecting with people who have been part of these important programs over the years.

Speaking of great things happening at the Chamber, and of course we’ve talked about this in previous podcasts, the Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota contest, brought to you by the Chamber, is down to the final eight products this week.

On Monday, September 28, we’ll announce our four finalists, and we’re getting very close to the finish line. Public voting will continue through 11 a.m. on October 6, when we’ll announce this year’s winner at the Chamber’s annual Manufacturers’ Summit.

So, if you haven’t voted yet, head over to coolestthingmn.com and vote for your favorite. There are some really incredible Minnesota made products still in the running to be the Coolest Thing Made in Minnesota.

We’re also getting closer to our gubernatorial forum on October 19 at Madden’s on Gull Lake.

This is the only announced gubernatorial forum that both campaigns for governor have formally agreed to so far, and they’re planning to participate in the Chamber’s program.

The event on October 19 is an invitation only event for members of the Minnesota Chamber and the Brainerd Lakes Chamber. It will bring together the two major party gubernatorial candidates for a conversation with the business community from across the state, particularly around Brainerd.

So, if you’re a member, you should have received an email last week with the details and a link to register. If you’re a member and didn’t see the email, reach out to us and we’ll gladly get you the information you need to register.

And as always, check out the Chamber’s website for all of our upcoming events. But be on the lookout for that email from the Chamber about registering for the October 19 candidate forum at Madden’s for the gubernatorial candidates.

We also want to take an opportunity throughout the year for you to learn and connect, to build relationships through the Minnesota Chamber with other business leaders across the state.

We’re proud of our work to bring members together to tell their story, network and find value in the Chamber experience brought to you by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.

With that, thank you and please have a great weekend! We look forward to catching up with you on next week’s episode of the Minnesota Business Podcast. Have a great weekend!