Minnesota’s premier website and social marketing team wants to help you Get Social.

From tips to create videos (and posting on You Tube), gaining followers on Twitter or setting up a corporate LinkedIn account, the time investment will be well worth it.  Learn the in’s and out’s of marketing to make your website go from boring to WOW. Register online at vimm.com or click on the links below.  Classes are only $25.

  Upcoming Classes

• Optimizing Images for WordPress:  February 28, 4:00-5:00 PM
• Creating Videos for Your Business:  March 9, 3:30-4:30 PM
• Twitter for Business:  March 20, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM
• LinkedIn for Business:  March 30, 10:30-11:30 AM

 Contact Michelle at Vivid Image at 320-587-8974 or michelle@vimm.com for more information

Clay is fun. Have you ever made your own? Do you want to learn how and then make all kinds of fun things with your clay? Well you come out to Earthrise and we’ll do just that. We’ll play some games and have a very tasty snack before you go home. Tell your friends and bring them along. We’ll have lots of fun!

As always, programs are FREE.
Children of all ages welcome.
Hope to see you there!

MNREM Broadband for Business Webinar Series
Business Texting

Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/310152262

There are 4.2 billion texters worldwide. We’ll talk about how you can use texting to reach potential customers and to communicate with employees. It’s fast and efficient but needs to be channeled to be useful.
Title: Business Texting
Date: Thursday, March 1, 2012
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CST

How can we work together to create a more sustainable western Minnesota where communities maintain control over their own futures? That question will be discussed at a special Land Stewardship Project (LSP) meeting on Monday, Feb 27, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at theFirst Congregational United Church of Christ in Alexandria (221 7^th Ave W.). Admission is free for this public event, but spots must be reserved by contacting LSP’s Tom Taylor at 320-269-2105 or ttaylor@landstewardshipproject.org.

After a free-will donation meal, LSP staff will involve citizens in a discussion of ways to revitalize our communities economically and environmentally, while keeping control in local hands. Presentations and discussions will focus on:

• LSP’s current efforts to build a local foods economy in western Minnesota and what people can do to help advance this important work.
• What is the Chippewa 10% Project all about? LSP, partners, farmers and food and fuel buyers are working in the Chippewa River watershed to improve farm profits and stewardship.
• What is LSP’s Farm Beginnings program doing to help the next generation of farmers succeed in western Minnesota?
• What is LSP doing to create a health care system that is more affordable and sustainable? Come hear about the Federal Affordable Care Act and what we can do to make certain Minnesota’s Health Care Exchange works for the people of Minnesota, not insurance company executives.

LSP is a grassroots, membership-based organization working for economic justice, environmental stewardship, vibrant rural communities, and a healthy and accessible food system that profits farmers and supplies nutritious food to all people. 

We look forward to seeing you there and please remember to RSVP so we can better plan for the meeting and the dinner.

Tom Taylor
Community Based Food Systems Organizer
Land Stewardship Project
Montevideo, MN 56265
320-269-2105 X 10
ttaylor@landstewardshipproject.org
www.landstewardshipproject.org

Partners,

The Private Industry Council (PIC) Youth Programs are getting ready for the upcoming summer portion of our programming.
Thank you for your interest or your past participation as a work site for the PIC Youth Program! We are fortunate to have great supervisors like you to impact our youth and allow them to develop work skills for their future. We are currently seeking work sites that are interested in providing employment opportunities to youth. The program is funded by state and federal funds. All wages, payroll taxes and worker’s compensation costs for the youth worker are covered by the program.
Are you interested in offering a work site to a youth worker this summer? If so, please complete the enclosed Work Site Request Form and mail it back to me by March 13, 2012.

After the applicants’ eligibility status has been determined, those work sites who have requested youth workers may be contacted for an interview by one or more applicants. Final placement is made by PIC staff, with input from the work site.
Not all requests will be able to be filled. It is important that I receive the requests as soon as possible. The summer program will begin in June.

Don’t forget, you can also refer youth to our programs. Have them contact us to see if they are eligible for our services.
Please call with any questions. I look forward to partnering with you in helping youth achieve success.

Thank you for your continued work with youth!
SW MN Private Industry Council Youth Team

MINNESOTA & NORTH DAKOTA PROCUREMENT CONFERENCE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 8:00 A.M. – 4:15 P.M.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 8:00 A.M. – 3:30 P.M.

HILTON GARDEN INN
4351 17TH AVE S, FARGO, ND 58103
SPECIAL ROOM RATE OF $99; PH 701-499-6000

Registration:
$50.00 in Advance
$60.00 Day of Event

Keynote Luncheon Speaker:
ND Senator John Hoeven
• Representatives of government agencies
• Commercial/prime contractors & non profit organizations
• Technical assistance and training
• Upcoming contracts
• Matchmaking with a government or corporate buyer who may be interested in your product or service

For More Information or Matchmaking Appointments:

Tom Linnertz at SBA: 701-239-5131 ext. 215 or Thomas.Linnertz@sba.gov

Conference Flyer and Agenda

Friday, March 2 – 7:30pm
Featuring local student & community musicians
*Funded by Chamber Music America Residency Partnership Program
Event Sponsors: John & Effie Deno
*The Residency by the Dawson-Boyd Arts Association organized in partnership with the Artaria String Quartet, Dawson-Boyd High School and Johnson Memorial  Health Services has been made possible with support from the Chamber Music America Endowment.

Please Consider Being A CERT Steering Committee Member!

Hello West Central Clean Energy Resource Team (CERT) members and friends: It is that time of year when we recruit folks who would like to help serve on our citizen-led Steering Committees. We have five positions available, and we’d love to hear from you!

What does a Steering Committee member do?

In general we rely on our Steering Committee members to help give us and the regional teams direction. Specific duties include:
• Participation in four conference calls a year to help plan regional team meetings and attendance at those meetings.
• Review of the text and process for our “Seed Grant Funding” request for proposals.
• Review of seed grant funding proposals to allocate project funding. We’ll ask you to read proposals and vote on their funding.
• Assistance with outreach on projects, events and funding opportunities to make sure that community members are connected with the resources and opportunities available to them. Essentially we ask you “spread the word” about CERTs and our resources within your existing networks.

What makes a good Steering Committee member?

CERT steering committee members are volunteers dedicated to helping their communities identify and implement energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. They are a great group of people, a pleasure to work with, and we consider them colleagues and friends. We hope their time serving on a CERT Steering Committee is an enjoyable experience and broadens their knowledge and network of fine people working around energy issues. With that in mind, we think that a good Steering Committee member is essentially someone with an interest in clean energy issues and projects and someone who wants to share that passion with others.

What do I do to throw my name in the hat?

If you or someone you know might be interested in serving on the CERT Steering Committee in your region, please let us know by Friday, February 10th, 2012. Please send us:
• your name and complete contact information (address, phone, e-mail)
• your volunteer/professional affiliations (if any, this is not a requirement)
• a brief bio that explains your interest in clean energy issues and what you think you’d add to the group

Send those details to either Joel Haskard or Lissa Pawlisch (contact info below).

What happens next?

We will send candidates our Operating Procedures document and answer any of your questions as best as possible to confirm your interest. Then we’ll review your materials and submit them to our existing Steering Committee members for review and approval. We have a limit of 16 members on the WC Steering Committee, so if we get too many nominations, we’ll have to do a bit more due diligence. Finally, we send the nominees recommended by the steering committee out to the list serve, and unless we hear opposition from a large segment, you’re in!

Contact info:
Joel Haskard
haska004@umn.edu
612-625-8759

Lissa Pawlisch
pawl0048@umn.edu
612-624-2293

Hope to see you there.

Saturday, February 11 – 10AM – 5PM
Sunday, February 12 – 12Noon – 4PM

Location: LqP Valley High School

Storytime on the Farm: Saturday, February 11, 10am – 11am
Theme: A Valentine to Earth!
Story: “Dear Children of the Earth: A Letter from Home”

Join us to read a beautiful letter from Mother Earth herself! In her own words, and with all of her heart, she enfolds children with love and entrusts them with her protection. She writes to “express her love for each and every child and ask for their love and appreciation in return.” We will then create a Valentine to Mother Earth using natural materials, sending her love and our deepest thanks for all she provides. A healthy Valentine’s day snack involving some real homemade strawberry jam, made with the only the sweetest of Earthrise strawberries, will round out our program.