The final drawing for the $1,000 Yankton Holly Day Shopping Spree was held Monday evening, December 21 at the Yankton Mall.

If you or an employee of an area company, are new to Yankton in the last year or are ready for

a better connection to Yankton because of a new stage in life, or you’ve been here and you

are ready to meet other women, the Women Community Leaders Committee invites adult

females to attend the “WelcomeLink “Open House, Tuesday, January 12, 2010 between

4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Dakota Territorial Museum located at 610 Summit St.

across from Avera Sacred Heart Hospital. Light refreshments are being provided by

Southeast South Dakota Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SE SD SHRM).

YANKTON, SD Dec. 17, 2009 – The winners of the 2009 Holiday Lighting Contest have been selected.

The Yankton Area Chamber of Commerce will award prizes to the top winner in each category:

The Ambassadors celebrated a “First Dollar” ribbon cutting in honor of a new business, 81 Seafood and Chophouse, 2901 Broadway Ave., Ste. C, Yankton, SD.

81 offers fresh seafood, certified Angus beef meats as well as many other wonderful menu items. The artfully prepared selections will surely delight anyone’s taste buds. Don’t be scared of the French flair – have fun with it! Keep 81 in mind for your next business meeting, celebration or date night! 81 can also provide catering for your private parties –even rent the Chef!

The Chamber Executive Committee is moving forward with its efforts to identify the Chamber's next director of member services. On Nov. 6, Chamber officers and Executive Director Mike Dellinger scheduled interviews with prospective candidates to lead the Chamber into exciting times and new opportunities. According to Dellinger, "We received approximately 24 applications for the position, the committee narrowed the list and after interviews with approximately ten applicants, it was my responsibility to forward a few candidates who could raise standards and expectations. We have candidates who offer various skills and experience, and the professionals on our team are looking forward to a line of succession that will greatly increase the value of Chamber investment and membership."

A character business…

~Focuses on people and their behaviors and attitudes to enhance the bottom line.
~Focuses on creating a workplace environment that raises morale, values the contributions of everyone, recognizes achievement, increases loyalty, and builds a strong team.
~Builds on the positive as it recognizes the good things that are already happening at the workplace.
~Incorporates character into how the company deals with its customers, suppliers and the community.
~Strives to include character values in a variety of ways to create a common language in the workplace.
~Uses character values as a tool to assess strengths, weaknesses, achievements and as a tool to resolve conflict.
~Has leaders who model good character.
~Involves its employees in a collaborative manner to identify the values that are most important to their particular workplace and business.
~Develops and implements strategies that raise awareness about the importance of good character.

The 2009 Chamber Golf Day was a picture-perfect day for over 116 golfers who participated in this year’s outing.  The event, sponsored by the Ambassadors, was held at Fox Run Golf Course on September 9. 

South Dakota Office of Tourism Presents Digital Revolution Program.

Do you want to increase your web presence with the visitors and travelers to South Dakota? Attend the South Dakota Digital Revolution meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 28. Learn about the innovative industry co-op program that provides you the opportunity to place your visitor-related content on the state’s official travel Web site, www.TravelSD.com. That means your business will be connected to over two million annual Internet visitors a year.

The meeting will be held at the Technical Education Center in Yankton on Oct. 28 at 9 a.m. Visit www.TravelSD.com for more information about the program.

Purchase Yankton Chamber Dollars in place of cash gifts or bonuses. Your Chamber members now have the new "I Support Chamber Dollars" stickers on their entry doors or near cash registers.

The Yankton Convention and Visitors Bureau has a new Yankton Trails Brochure available for residents and visitors. Brochures are free for the public.

Yankton offers over 30 miles of trails, through the City of Yankton, Yankton County and along Lewis and Clark Lake. The CVB produced a new trails brochure to help walking, biking and hiking enthusiast, find all of the trail systems Yankton has to offer.

Yankton 101, a new hospitality training program developed by the Yankton Convention and Visitors Bureau will be unveiled May 13 at the Technical Education Center.

Yankton 101 focuses on customer service, hospitality and most importantly Yankton information. The Yankton CVB will hold two sessions of Yankton 101, Wednesday, May 13. One from 10 a.m. - Noon and the other from 1 - 3 p.m. Admission is free to Chamber members and $5 for non-members.