Community showcase to be held Saturday April 30 at Park High School

Posted 4/27/22

For the April 2022 Council update, Council member Steve Dennis and Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Laurie Levine shared in part that a Community-Showcase event will be held …

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Community showcase to be held Saturday April 30 at Park High School

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For the April 2022 Council update, Council member Steve Dennis and Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Laurie Levine shared in part that a Community-Showcase event will be held Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Park High School Activity Center. With food vendors, booths, a Red Cross Blood Drive and even a job fair, the upcoming Community Showcase is a free event open to the public, with the first 500 families through the door receiving a bag of goodies with items from local businesses. The event will also have a kid’s area.

As to the more long-term, an explanation of the Chamber of Commerce and what it does for the community on a larger level was given as well. Council member Dennis leads the discussion out.

“One of the things that really drives me as a point of passion in my service to the community is economic development,” Dennis says in the monthly update, “especially as it relates to business structure in our community.” Then saying that bringing businesses to town is about both attraction but also retention, Dennis introduces Cottage Grove Area Chamber of

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND ITS ROLE EXPLAINED IN APRIL COUNCIL UPDATE Commerce executive director Laurie Levine, who goes into what the Chamber does and the area that it covers.

“Our chamber is an organization of local businesses,” Levine shares, going on to share that the Cottage Grove Area Chamber covers Cottage Grove , St. Paul Park, and Newport, being made up “of about 180 businesses.”

“And we’re an organization that helps businesses we’re a resource for them,” Levine says. By having events and newsletters, the Chamber helps local business owners meet and network with each other more easily,” she says in the update. Levine then goes on to share about the 2022 Connect magazine, a guide she says “goes out once a year” to each and every address in the coverage area of Cottage Grove, St. Paul Park, and Newport.

“Every address in Cottage Grove, St. Paul Park, and Newport gets the city’s information, the business information, in their mailbox every year,” she says. A digital version of the magazine is also available online at the Chamber’s website at www.cottagegrovechamber. org/, a link being located on the lower lefthand side of the homepage. The discussion then shifts to Council member Dennis, who notes that of the many chambers he’s been a part of over the years, Cottage Grove gives the best return.

“You always get more than you put in,” he said of the local Chamber of Commerce.

Shifting from an explanation of the Chamber to the upcoming community showcase, Dennis shared that it sounded “like a great event.” Then thanking Levine for appearing, the following handles were shared for Chamber social media:

• Facebook: cgareachamber • Instagram: cgacoc

• Twitter: cottage_of Finally in pertinent updates, the St. Paul Saints Community Night put on through the Chamber and Discover Cottage Grove is still on at the St. Paul Saints baseball field this summer. With business opportunities to advertise and community fun in store, mark those calendars for June 11 and the Cottage Grove Community Night with the St. Paul Saints—but also the April 30 Community Showcase event at Park High School.


Council member Steve Dennis (left) appeared with Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce executive director Laurie Levine in the April Council update, to highlight what the Chamber does for local business and residents.Image from CottageGroveMN YouTube channel.