02.a FLACC Overview_Scandia City Council_6_7_2023Physical Location: 838 Lake Street S • Forest Lake, MN 55025-0474
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 474 • Forest Lake, MN 55025-0474
651-464-3200 • www.forestlakechamber.org
Forest Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
(serving Scandia, Columbus, Stacy, Lent Township, Linwood, Forest Lake & Wyoming)
Introduction Scandia: Top Needle Movers History of Membership
RELATIONSHIPS
Community: Government – Schools – Businesses/Organizations
Partnering in community development
Chamber visits to local businesses/organizations
Chamber referrals to your organization
RESOURCES
Promotion of new to the area and existing businesses in a variety of ways
Forest Lake Area Chamber Website Key Pages
Community Events
Community Links
Jobs
News
Business Directory
Education
Optimize Your Business Summits
Lunch & Learns
Chamber U/101
Leadership
Additional Partnerships
Open to Business, Biz Recycling, Next Step CEO, Washington County CDA
Mental Health Resources, SHIP
MN Chamber of Commerce
North Star Media Partners
City Councils/Economic Development Authorities
RESULTS
Stronger Businesses
Collaborative Efforts
Economic Growth
Business Sustainability & Longevity
Thriving Communities
Dear Nannette,
Thank you for the opportunity to partner with the Forest Lake Area Chamber and for
assisting us in reaching out and connecting with the small businesses within the
county to be able to help with technical and financial resources whenever possible.
Washington County’s economic backbone is made up of small businesses. In fact,
95% of all the businesses in Washington County have fewer than 50 employees.
86% of all the businesses in Washington County have fewer than 20 employees.
There are 18,000 non-employers (sole proprietor owned business that don’t have
employees). If each of these non-employer businesses added just one employee,
we would be adding 18,000 new jobs in the County.
The partnerships between the County, the CDA and the local Chambers of
Commerce are important to us and continue to get stronger. Our Chamber
membership is a great resource for assisting with business growth, learning about
the needs and challenges our businesses are experiencing. Our Chamber
membership is also incredibly important to us for networking, visibility, and credibility
within the business community.
The Washington County Coalition of Chambers, which you are a valuable participant
of, and which also includes the CDA and Workforce Development Manager (Rick
Roy), has been instrumental in providing the Optimize Your Business Summits and
is a really good resource for small businesses who have workforce and growth
challenges.
The Washington County CDA recognizes the importance of small businesses and
has made significant investments in helping small businesses through the economic
development initiatives administered through the CDA. Our Chamber membership
allows us to better connect with small businesses to provide the Open to Business
Program resources that are made available at no additional cost to assist small
businesses with technical assistance and financing.
We greatly appreciate your partnership and look forward to continuing building our
professional relationship with the Forest Lake Area Chamber.
Sincerely,
Chris Eng
Chris Eng, Economic Development Director