By dallaschamber DACC • DAVC • General Information • Member News • Uncategorized • Upcoming Events • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Red, White, BOOM! Happy Independence Day!

Independence Day 2018, also known as Fourth of July, is a federal holiday observed yearly on July fourth. It is the anniversary of the publication of the declaration of independence of the United States of America from Great Britain in 1776.

Dallas will once again be celebrating the Fourth of July in a big way; Red, White, BOOM! We invite you to join us Wednesday for a spectacular day and evening for family fun as we recognize our service men and women with a beer garden, vendors, non-profit hosted games, field games, live band, a DJ, food trucks, and of course the first-rate fireworks show at dusk. The celebration will continue on July 6th with the sanctioned BBQ Competition Smoke of the Dragon!

All activities will be held at the Roger Jordan Community Park. Dallas Fire and EMS Department will light off the show from LaCreole Middle School. Citizens are encouraged to grab their chairs, blankets and family for the celebration. Come down early to pick your spot!

If you are headed to Keizer to celebrate this Fourth of July be sure to pick up your ticket to the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 12th Annual Patriotic Tribute baseball game. With his family in attendance, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes will Thank, Honor, and Salute the “Ultimate Sacrifice” of Fallen Marine, Sergeant Ian Tawney of Dallas.  This annual salute to fallen heroes will honor one of our own local heroes.  Tickets may be close to sold out but check for yourself by clicking here.

By dallaschamber DACC • DAVC • General Information • Marketing • Uncategorized • Upcoming Events • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Look At People As People

Our chamber hosts a monthly business education luncheon. This last month brought the owner of Salem company, Bob Dalton of Sackcloth & Ashes, who talked about using Instagram for business growth. He made some excellent points about the value of Instagram as well as some great tips on using it to its fullest potential.

However, what he closed with was potentially the most impactful thing he said. I asked him to give us some parting words of wisdom. What he shared with us had little to do with social media. He said the greatest piece of advice he could give is to begin viewing people as people as people. We must consider their identity, not their role in the community or the struggles they have or even their best qualities, we must consider them as a fellow person.

It may seem like semantics to say, a person who is homeless verses a homeless person. Or, owner of “business X” verses Lisa. Or drug addict versus person with a drug addiction.  Or, Republican verses Joe. But in reality, when we can think of people for who they are, we place a value on them. A positive value. When people have value in others’ eyes aren’t they more likely to respond well when disagreed with? In my experience, they are.

It may sound like I’m trying to portray a “Pollyanna” sort of reality where everyone thinks positive and the world is better. That’s not realism. But we can be real and kind. Next time you’re tempted to sling mud at a person because they differ from you, think of them as a person like you are a person. No better, no worse. Maybe, just maybe, we can take Bob’s second final word of wisdom and “start to focus on promoting solutions rather than just opposing problems.”

By dallaschamber Business Spotlight • DACC • General Information • Member News • Uncategorized • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Dallas School District #2

Dallas School District serves a large geographic area of nearly 250 square miles. The students enrolled in the school system represent nearly half of all students served by Polk County schools. A staff of 169 licensed and 152 classified people work in six schools and one administrative building. The District also sponsors Luckiamute Valley Charter School (formerly Pedee School and Bridgeport Elementary)

They believe the school is one of the major institutions through which our cultural, political and social heritage is transmitted from generation to generation and the means by which the members of our society are prepared intellectually to evaluate and control cultural, political and social changes.

The primary purpose of Dallas School District is to provide opportunities for the full intellectual development of each child. The child has the responsibility to himself and society to purposely pursue the educational opportunities provided him. Dallas School District has a shared responsibility with parents and with other institutions and agencies for the social, physical, and emotional growth and development of the individual child.

It is an obligation to our children, community and country to institute those programs necessary to fulfill the education needs of our children and to provide the facilities, materials, technology, and staff required to do so.

Dallas School District is working hard to shape the future.

https://www.dallas.k12.or.us/

By dallaschamber Business Spotlight • DACC • General Information • Member News • Uncategorized • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Polk Itemizer Observer

If you live in Dallas you are familiar with our trusted news source, Itemizer-Observer. They have been serving Polk County since 1875 and the Dallas Chamber is proud to have them as a Cornerstone Member. We work hard to bring our community great events and the sponsorship and advertisement from the Itemizer-Observer greatly support our efforts. Their support of our community during their time here in Dallas cannot be missed.

Polk Itemizer Observer actively covers sports, events, and works hard to highlight what’s going on in Dallas and give its citizens a voice.

Emily Mentzer, editor at the Itemizer-Observer had this to say, “We have a renewed focus on serving our readers and our local businesses. We have a lot to offer both in print and online, and we’re taking full advantage of it to keep readers informed and help businesses get their message out.” Don’t just take our word for it, Dallas Residents have this to say about Polk Itemizer Observer: “A great way to stay informed on the happenings in and around Polk County!”

“This is a great small town newspaper. They do a really good job of staying local and reporting on the important things in the community. My kids have been featured many times with sports and different school activities. I’m very glad to have this paper in our small town. Thank you!”

  • Matthew H

https://www.polkio.com/

By dallaschamber Business Spotlight • DACC • General Information • Member News • Uncategorized • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Columbia Bank

Wherever you are headed, Columbia Bank has the people and resources to help get you there. It starts with “Hello.” They never forget a name of a face. Real human beings answer their phones. Their commitment to providing all the services required to help the build strong Northwest communities is firmly rooted in their DNA.

Growth is vital to remaining a preferred option for customers. It advances the services and expertise they provide on their customers’ behalf. Columbia Bank has grown both organically and through acquisition, in cases where they recognized the benefits of a strong fiscal and cultural fit. In the process, they have leveraged their community-minded, locally committed way of doing business from a single branch to a 150+ branch regional footprint throughout Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

They demonstrate this commitment through their comprehensive approach to community engagement, empowering employees to address the unique needs of their communities through four distinct pillars: fundraising, employee giving, volunteerism, and company giving. Providing support through these employee-driven pillars allows them to have the greatest impact in the communities they serve. Because of these efforts, they are deeply woven into the fabric of our communities.

People truly do make all of the difference.

https://www.columbiabank.com/

By dallaschamber Business Books • DACC • General Information • motivation • Uncategorized • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

The Outward Mindset

An outward mindset will greatly impact how we negotiate our world and the impact we will have. An outward mindset helps us to see the world as it is and not how we imagine it to be. An outward mindset doesn’t come naturally though. We have to consciously change how we think about the world and about others.

In The Outward Mindset, the Arbinger Institute reports that “the biggest lever for change is not a change in self-belief but a fundamental change in the way one sees and regards one’s connections with and obligations to others.”

Moving from an inward mindset to an outward mindset is more than a surface adjustment or behavioral change alone. It requires a change in how we see and think about others. How we see and respond to others is not so much about them as it is a reflection of what is going on inside of us. We often fixate on other’s shortcomings so we don’t have to deal with our own.

Arbinger has discovered that those who consistently work with an outward mindset follow a pattern. They:

· See the needs, objectives, and challenges of others (Create opportunities for people to see each other so they can begin to talk.)

· Adjust their efforts to be more helpful to others (“Real helpfulness can’t be made into a formula. To be outward doesn’t mean that people should adopt this or that prescribed behavior. Rather, it means that when people see the needs, challenges, desire, and humanity of others, the most effective ways to adjust their efforts occur to them in the moment. When they see others as people, they respond in human and helpful ways.”)

· Measure and hold themselves accountable for the impact of their work on others (“Measuring one’s impact requires nothing but a willingness to stay in regular conversations with others about whether they feel one’s efforts are helping them or not.”)

An outward-mindset begins with you. “While the goal in shifting mindsets is to get everyone turned toward each other, accomplishing this goal is possible only if people are prepared to turn their mindsets toward others with no expectation that others will change their mindsets in return. This capability—to change the way I see and work with others regardless of whether they change—overcomes the biggest impediment to mindset change: the natural, inward-mindset inclination to wait for others to change before doing anything different oneself.” This of course, is true leadership.

The chamber office is carrying this book. Stop by and purchase your copy today to learn how you and your organization can benefit from building an “outward mindset”.

By dallaschamber DACC • General Information • Marketing • Uncategorized • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Best Social Media Marketing Tips

Ready to get started with marketing on social media? Here are a few social media marketing tips to kick off your social media campaigns.

  • Social Media Content Planning — Building a social media marketing plan is essential. Consider keyword research and competitive research to help brainstorm content ideas that will interest your target audience. What are other businesses in your industry doing to drive engagement on social media?
  • Great Social Content —Make sure you post regularly and offer truly valuable information that your ideal customers will find helpful and interesting. The content that you share on your social networks can include social media images, videos, info-graphics, how-to guides and more.
  • A Consistent Brand Image— Using social media for marketing enables your business to project your brand image across a variety of different social media platforms. While each platform has its own unique environment and voice, your business’ core identity, whether it’s friendly, fun, or trustworthy, should stay consistent.
  • Social Media for Content Promotion — Social media marketing is a perfect channel for sharing your best site and blog content with readers. Once you build a loyal following on social media, you’ll be able to post all your new content and make sure your readers can find new stuff right away. Plus, great blog content will help you build more followers.
  • Sharing Curated Links — While using social media for marketing is a great way to leverage your own unique, original content to gain followers, fans, and devotees, it’s also an opportunity to link to outside articles as well. If other sources provide great, valuable information you think your target audience will enjoy, don’t be shy about linking to them. Curating and linking to outside sources improves trust and reliability, and you may even get some links in return.
  • Tracking Competitors — It’s always important to keep an eye on competitors—they can provide valuable data for keyword research and other social media marketing insight. If your competitors are using a certain social media marketing channel or technique that seems to be working for them, considering doing the same thing, but do it better!
  • Measuring Success with Analytics — You can’t determine the success of your social media marketing strategies without tracking data. Google Analytics can be used as a great social media marketing tool that will help you measure your most triumphant social media marketing techniques, as well as determine which strategies are better off abandoned. Attach tracking tags to your social media marketing campaigns so that you can properly monitor them. And be sure to use the analytics within each social platform for even more insight into which of your social content is performing best with your audience.
  • Social Media Crisis Management— Things don’t always go swimmingly for brands on social media. It’s best to have a playbook in place so your employees know how to handle a snafu.
By dallaschamber DACC • General Information • Marketing • Networking • Uncategorized • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Don’t Be Vague

“I want to go back to school … maybe do something in the business world.”

Networking isn’t like the movies. Nobody is going to listen to some important-sounding core values and sea stories you tell, then immediately offer you an awesome job. Good contacts will want to know what you can offer, specifically. Specific skills, experiences and characteristics. What’s bad: “I want to go back to school. Something in business.” This is vague and could mean anything. What’s better: “I strongly believe in good products, which means good quality control. I did that in the military, and I’d like to do that in the civilian world. I’d also like to go to school to learn quality systems.”

The reason why that second phrase is better is that it initiates conversation. Whoever hears it can ask you about your work in the military, your thoughts on certain jobs in the civilian world and what schools you want to attend. Also, it invites the listener’s opinions on what you’ve talked about. It starts a conversation. And it doesn’t have to be your life’s dream, just pick something that interests you, research it enough to be specific and bring it to the networking event. Maybe you’ll find out it is your dream; maybe you’ll learn about something that becomes your dream later on.

By dallaschamber Business Books • Business Spotlight • DACC • DAVC • General Information • Marketing • Member News • Uncategorized • Upcoming Events • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

Dallas Area Visitor Center

Introducing the 2019/20 Dallas Area Chamber of Commerce Directory and Visitors Guide!

This publication is full of resources for residents, visitors and businesses alike. This directory will be distributed locally, regionally and nationally. Our national and regional focus is on chambers of commerce, visitors centers, hotels, information centers and transit stations and airports.

 

Locally, we will put several copies in our area doctor and dentist offices, restaurants, hotels, retail businesses and local attractions.

We will be delivering throughout the next couple weeks. If you’d like yours right away, please feel free to swing by the office and pick up a stack!

See you soon!

By dallaschamber Business Spotlight • DACC • General Information • Member News • Uncategorized • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 0 Comments

West Valley Hospital

West Valley Hospital has been serving the community form more than a 100 years. It is the home of Polk County’s only 24 hour emergency department and it offers a wide range of services including imaging, surgery, and rehabilitation.

They have offered tremendous services in health fields we have needed in our community for more than a century when it was first founded in 1907. West Valley Hospital works with Polk County Public Health, Capitol Dental, and Polk County Behavioral Health to provide care and access to students in the Central School District. They further that community spirit by providing a Service Integration program to match families in need with local resources.

“To improve the health and well-being of the people and community we serve.” Their mission expressed their purpose for existing as a tax-exempt health care organization. “Exceptional Experience Every Time.” Their vision describes where they want to be – it’s aspirational. They strive to achieve their vision every day, with everything they do and say.

One patient said “They have gone out of their way to see to my comfort and care. The nurses, the x-ray techs, the phlebotomy staff, all helpful, gentle and kind.”

Next time you need them, take comfort in knowing you’re in good hands at West Valley Hospital.

http://www.salemhealth.org/services/salem-health-west-valley