Hello Ames Jaycees!!

Here is your update for the week of Nov. 17.

This week:

Membership 101
Thursday, Nov. 20 – 6 p.m. at Buford’s at the Quality Inn and Suites, 2601 E 13th
Whether you’re a new member, a member who’s been around a while or a perspective member — if you haven’t been through Membership 101, it’s HIGHLY encouraged. You’ll learn about the chapter, its history and what projects we run. You’ll also learn how the Ames Jaycees fit into a world-wide network of Junior Chamber chapters. For more info, contact Terra.

Membership meeting
Thursday, Nov. 20 – 7 p.m. at Buford’s at the Quality Inn and Suites, 2601 E 13th
Membership meetings are a great way to learn about upcoming events, meet new people and socialize. For more info, contact Peggy at pres@amesjaycees.com.

Upcoming events:
Membership meeting
Thursday, Dec. 4 – 7 p.m. at Buford’s at the Quality Inn and Suites, 2601 E 13th
Membership meetings are a great way to learn about upcoming events, meet new people and socialize. For more info, contact Peggy at pres@amesjaycees.com.

Ames Chamber news

As a member of the Ames Jaycees, you are also a member of the Ames Chamber of Commerce. Therefore, please take advantage of the following activities!

Weathering the Storm Workshop: Tuesday, December 2nd, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Mary Greeley Medical Center
Do you know what a first responder expects of you or your agency in a time of disaster?
The information shared in this workshop will present our private sector business partners with information on what to expect from emergency responders during a disaster. It will also empower your staff by providing information on what to look for to help prevent potential threats.
Some of the topics and scenarios covered include:
* Information Sharing
* Protective Measures
* Employee Education
*Asset Protection
*Surveillance Techniques
*State and Federal assets
This workshop is sponsored by Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management Division. If you would like additional information concerning the content of this workshop, please contact August Geisinger at 515-323-4262 or e-mail august.geisinger@iowa.gov.

Business After Hours: Tuesday, December 2nd, 5:00 p.m., 3M Recreation Building
Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, enjoy sounds of the season and indulge in free food and beverages while you kick off the holidays with your friends from the Chamber!
Sponsored by: 3M, Friedrich Iowa Realty, Hy-Vee, Sauer-Danfoss, Ames Tribune and U.S. Bank

Legislative Luncheon: Friday, December 5th, 12:00 p.m., Location TBD
With the 83rd Iowa Legislature General Assembly now in full swing, it’s a great time to attend our Legislative Luncheon to hear from and ask questions of your elected officials. The Luncheon is free to all Chamber members. Please RSVP by noon on Thursday, December 4th.

Professional Development Series Conclusion, Tuesday, December 9, 11:30am, Green Hills Retirement Community
Tuesday, December 9, 11:30am, Green Hills Retirement Community
2200 Hamilton Drive
Sponsored by Manpower and ATW Training and Consulting
Ames business leader Roger Underwood will share his journey in building a world-class business at Becker Underwood.
Series Conclusion fee is $10 for members ($50 for non-members) and includes lunch. To register, click here.

Ames Named one of the Best Place to Raise Kids
According to BusinessWeek, Ames was just named one of the top three places in Iowa to raise kids. West Des Moines was ranked number one in the state, while Ames and Cedar Rapids were runners up on the list.
The magazine and on-line news source ranked their top choices state by state using weighted criteria including school performance, number of schools, household expenditures, crime rates, job growth, diversity and more. All towns considered have at least 50,000 residents and a median family income between $40,000 and $100,000.
This is quite an affirmation for Ames, especially considering the tremendous growth experienced by West Des Moines in recent years.

Quotable.
I never think of the future – it comes soon enough. – Albert Einstein

Peggy Nitchals
77th president
Ames Junior Chamber
Better yourself. Better your community.

Hello Ames Jaycees!

It’s Friday! And that means….. It’s an FAW!!

Here is your update for the week of Nov. 10.

This week:

Friday After Work

Thursday, Nov. 14 – 5-? p.m. at Okoboji Grill. FAWs are informal social gatherings held twice a month. For more info, contact Charby.
Upcoming events:

Membership 101
Thursday, Nov. 20 – 6 p.m. at Buford’s at the Quality Inn and Suites, 2601 E 13th
Whether you’re a new member, a member who’s been around a while or a perspective member — if you haven’t been through Membership 101, it’s HIGHLY encouraged. You’ll learn about the chapter, its history and what projects we run. You’ll also learn how the Ames Jaycees fit into a world-wide network of Junior Chamber chapters. For more info, contact Terra.

Membership meeting
Thursday, Nov. 20 – 7 p.m. at Buford’s at the Quality Inn and Suites, 2601 E 13th
Membership meetings are a great way to learn about upcoming events, meet new people and socialize. For more info, contact Peggy at pres@amesjaycees.com.

Ames Chamber news

As a member of the Ames Jaycees, you are also a member of the Ames Chamber of Commerce. Therefore, please take advantage of the following activities!

Business Improvement Forum
November 20, 7:30am, Somerset Clubhouse
Sponsored by QualityOne Commercial Cleaning
Mark your calendars and join us for the concluding forum of this popular series. It will be held November 20 at 7:30am at Somerset Clubhouse. The final session in our third module is designed to increase your ability to generate interest in your business’s services-in short, how to generate more sales! The forum will be presented by Mike Day, general manager of Dale Carnegie Training. Continental breakfast is provided. Please register no later than November 19, by clicking here.

Get Involved! Business Improvement Council
GET INVOLVED! Ames Chamber of Commerce Business Improvement Council
The mission of the Business Improvement Council is to provide support and resources for the area businesses and organizations as they strive for continuous improvement in their organizations. The Business Improvement Council is responsible for selecting the curriculum for the Business Improvement Forum Series, annual Business Improvement Seminar, and Professional Development Series.
The Business Improvement Council meets on the first Thursday of every month at 7:30am at the Ames Chamber of Commerce. To get involved with this committee or if you would like more information, please contact Crystal Davis(crystal@ameschamber.com) or call at 515-232-2310.

Weathering the Storm Workshop
Tuesday, December 2nd, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., Mary Greeley Medical Center
Do you know what a first responder expects of you or your agency in a time of disaster?
The information shared in this workshop will present our private sector business partners with information on what to expect from emergency responders during a disaster. It will also empower your staff by providing information on what to look for to help prevent potential threats.
Some of the topics and scenarios covered include:
•         Information Sharing
•         Protective Measures
•         Employee Education
•         Asset Protection
•         Surveillance Techniques
•         State and Federal assets
This workshop is sponsored by Iowa Homeland Security & Emergency Management Division. If you would like additional information concerning the content of this workshop, please contact August Geisinger at 515-323-4262 or e-mail august.geisinger@iowa.gov.
To register for this conference, please print the attached PDF file and fax to 515-725-3260.

Quotable.
“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” -Les Brown

Peggy Nitchals
77th president
Ames Junior Chamber
Better yourself. Better your community.

It’s time to look ahead

Great news, Ames Jaycees. You can finally watch commercials again. The political ads are done.

But — our elections aren’t quite done.
This Saturday, you’ll be asked to vote for the 2009 Board of Directors for our chapter.
Inside this newsletter, you’ll find job descriptions for all of the positions available. I strongly encourage you to read them and consider running for office. If you really want to know what it’s all about and what time factors and responsibilities come with the positions, we have plenty of members who have served in these positions that can help give you a true understanding of the job. Please ask me if you have questions about being on a board!

Social hours begins at 5:30 p.m. The election will begin promptly at 6 p.m. You must be there on time — or early! — to part of this important process.

Because timing doesn’t always work out, The Iowa Jaycees’ annual Local Officer Training (which is for 2009 officers, directors and all general members) will be held Saturday, Nov. 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Again, you are strongly encouraged to attend. There’s great training for those interested to serving the Ames Jaycees next year — and there’s awesome general member training.

Beyond elections, we must finish this year strong. With that comes a challenge from our 2008 Iowa Jaycees President Mark ‘Goob’ Lowry. It will not be an easy challenge to achieve — but I have faith and confidence that as a chapter we will strive to aim high and achieve these goals.

As of today, the Ames Jaycees have 75 members. When Ames accomplishes the following, the Iowa Jaycees will provide the beverages and munchies for party just for you at All-State to celebrate 2008!

1) End the year with a minimum of 100 members

2) Advance members at least 20 Degree movements.

3) Have at least 8 members attend the Local Officer Training School in Ames on Nov. 8.

4) Make a minimum 2 visitations to other chapters between now and Dec. 15.

5) Have at least 10 members, including two First Timers, attend the Year End All State Convention in Marshalltown, Jan. 31. With your successes, all of you will want to be there to see what Year End awards Ames may receive!!
6) Complete your chapter’s 4th Quarter Evaluation and submit your 2009 Offi cer Roster by Dec. 15.

We can meet these goals and uphold the standings we have on the state and national level.

We have some great projects coming up and I hope to see you all there.

Proud to be
an Ames Jaycee,

From Your Secretary

Degrees of Jaycees? What’s that? Well, I am glad you asked! The Jaycee degree program is an activation tool for our Ames chapter and you, the members. It’s a way to monitor progress and produce well-rounded members. All you need to do to participate in this is go about your Jaycee life. The chapter records attendance at events and participation in the degrees are tracked from that. There are 10 degrees and 3 phases to these degrees. The 3 phases are: Involvement, Experience, and Leadership.

Involvement: This includes degrees 1-3, and helps newer members participate in orientation and community awareness.

Experience: Degrees 4-6 build experience by assisting other members activate and creating a stronger chapter by recruiting new members.

Leadership: Degrees 7-10 require the member to use their experience to help train and lead within the chapter.

Each even numbered degree has a requirement to recruit a new member.
There is another degree program out there that is meant to help activate and bounce those newer members to get involved in the Jaycees; it’s called Springboard! All new members are automatically enrolled into this program. It has a number of requirements that can help new members move 3 degrees within 1 year.

The next newsletter article will show where people are in the program, and recognizing those outstanding members who earned 10th degree! If you have any questions about any requirements, what your degree status is, or what you need to do to move degrees, feel free to contact me at sec@amesjaycees.com.

From Your Membership Director

Crush Party

The Ames Jaycees hosted a very successful Crush Party on Sept. 16. The party was located at Olde Main Brewing Company.

A crush party is a tool for Jaycees chapters to invite prospective member from within our community. It is an evening of socializing and learning. This meeting allowed new people the chance to meet Ames Jaycees. We are able to share our experiences and explain what the Ames Jaycees are doing to better our community.

We sent out 56 invitations to people in the Ames community. There were six prospective members who came out to visit with us. I was also glad that so many Ames Jaycees members came out and shared their experiences as a Jaycee.

At the end of the night, after great food, conversation and door prizes, we signed 4 new members. So please welcome to the Ames Jaycees family, Andrew & Emily Heaton, Maria Salas, and Robert Beyer. Thanks again to everyone who helped make this Crush Party a great success.

The Ames Jaycees Election Committee is pleased to announce the 2009 Board of the Ames Jaycees.

Andy Sturtz, President
Shannon Bardole, Management Vice President
Rosemary Sundberg, Individual Development Vice President
Adam Petersen, Community Development Vice President
Terra Jenson, Membership Vice President
Chris Bennett, Marketing Vice President
Kelly Junge, Treasurer
Grace Aiton, Secretary
Melissa Angstrom, State Director
Peggy Nitchals, Chairperson of the Board

Thank you to all Ames Jaycees who participated in Election Saturday Evening and Congratulations to the incoming team!

Best Regards,
Molly Redenbaugh
Sara Gatchel
Dan Benson
Election Committee

Hello Ames Jaycees!

Happy Election Day, everyone! In fact — Happy Election Week!

I strongly encourage you to get out and vote today. Polls are open until 9 p.m. To find out more about your polling location and what’s exactly on your ballot, visit: www.storycounty.com.

Also, we will be closing nominations for the 2009 board of directors at Thursday’s meeting. The election will be Saturday evening. It’s a great night for our chapter and always a good time — please plan to attend.

Here is your update for the week of Nov. 3.

Junior Chamber News:

Membership meeting
Thursday, Nov. 6 – 7 p.m. at Buford’s at the Quality Inn and Suites, 2601 E 13th
Membership meetings are a great way to learn about upcoming events, meet new people and socialize. Additionally, this is the last week nominations for the 2009 board of directions will be held. For more info, contact Peggy at pres@amesjaycees.com.

Elections for the 2009 Board of Directors
Saturday, Nov. 8 – Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. at Prairie Moon Winery. Elections will begin promptly at 6 p.m. Attire is business casual. Light snacks and wine will be furnished. For more info, contact Peggy at pres@amesjaycees.com.

Local Officer/General Membership Training from the Iowa Jaycees
Saturday, Nov. 8 –  10 a.m. to 4 p.m., DMACC building in Ames. 2009 local chapter officers, prospective officers, directors and general members are highly encouraged to attend! Take the excitement and momentum you have now and apply it to your 2009 Board of Directors and local chapter members! We’ve got a great day of training and fantastic speakers lined up to help jumpstart your chapter in 2009!
The agenda for LOTS is here. We’ve got some excellent trainers coming in to share their knowledge and experience! Featured speakers include U.S. Junior Chamber Chief of Staff Cindy Sabourin, National Vice President Ben Sabourin, 78th Iowa Junior Chamber President Chris Wand and Certified Business Coach Shelly Koch of ActionCOACH. We’re excited to have these great individuals commit to helping train the future leaders of our organization!
- Dress is casual, so feel free to wear your logo apparel to show your chapter pride!
- Items you might want to bring: notebook, pen, business cards, calendar
- Lunch is on your own.

Ames Chamber News

As a member of the Ames Jaycees, you are also a member of the Ames Chamber of Commerce. Therefore, please take advantage of the following activities!

A Passion for Customer Service-Part 2: November 11, 11:30am, ISU Foundation
Tuesday, November 11 (part 2), ISU Foundation, Lepke Community Room, 2505 University Boulevard
Sponsored by: Manpower and ATW Training & Consulting, Inc.
There is only one reason to be in business and that is to have customers. In this program we will draw out what it means to be truly passionate about serving your customers, and we will explore the impact of customer service on growing your business. This program will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and is presented by November guest speaker Tom Gard, Hy-Vee.
Registration for Part 2 of the program is $15 for Chamber members ($25 for non-members) and includes lunch. To register, click here.

Business Improvement Forum: November 20, 7:30am, Somerset Clubhouse
Sponsored by QualityOne Commercial Cleaning
Mark your calendars and join us for the concluding forum of this popular series. It will be held November 20 at 7:30am at Somerset Clubhouse. The final session in our third module is designed to increase your ability to generate interest in your business’s services-in short, how to generate more sales! The forum will be presented by Mike Day, general manager of Dale Carnegie Training. Continental breakfast is provided. Please register no later than November 19, by clicking here.

Get Involved! Business Improvement Council
GET INVOLVED! Ames Chamber of Commerce Business Improvement Council
The mission of the Business Improvement Council is to provide support and resources for the area businesses and organizations as they strive for continuous improvement in their organizations. The Business Improvement Council is responsible for selecting the curriculum for the Business Improvement Forum Series, annual Business Improvement Seminar, and Professional Development Series.
The Business Improvement Council meets on the first Thursday of every month at 7:30am at the Ames Chamber of Commerce. To get involved with this committee or if you would like more information, please contact Crystal Davis(crystal@ameschamber.com) or call at 515-232-2310.

Quotable.
Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody. – Franklin P. Adams

Peggy Nitchals
77th president
Ames Junior Chamber
Better yourself. Better your community.