|
In This Issue:
Upcoming Events:
La Grande PubTalk and Angel Investor Meeting
Meeting for prospective Angel Investors from 4:30pm to 6:00pm, followed by the PubTalk (open to all!) from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at the Mt. Emily Ale House on Wednesday, October 28th. Click here to read more about this event in the La Grande Online!
Home Energy IQ - Enterprise
Workshop put on by the Energy Trust for all to better understand how energy efficiency works! Wednesday, October 28th from 6:00pm to 8:30pm at the Wallowa Mountain Properties Conference Room in Enterprise. Click here for registration and event details.
Joseph PubTalk and Angel Investor Meeting
Meeting for prospective Angel Investors from 4:30pm to 6:00pm, followed by the PubTalk (open to all!) from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at the Outlaw Restaurant on Thursday, October 29th. Click here to read more about this event on Wallowa County Online!
Baker City PubTalk
"The Use of Social Networking for Business." Thursday, November 5th from 5:00pm to 8:00pm at the Crossroads Art Center at the Carnegie (2020 Auburn Ave). Click here for registration and event details.
To Create a Webpage or Not
The Wallowa County Chamber is presenting a workshop for business owners and individuals who are grappling with the idea of creating a web site. Mark the date: Thursday, November 19th. Keep an eye on the Wallowa County Chamber website here for further details.
Forward this email to a friend
|
|
|
Last PubTalks of 2009 with Angel Investors and Social Media Tips
In the next two weeks, the last PubtalkTM business networking events of the year will be offered in Baker, Union, and Wallowa Counties. NEOEDD, Community Bank, and the Davis, Wright, Tremaine, LLP (DWT) law firm from Portland will be sponsoring PubTalks on October 28th in La Grande and October 29th in Joseph. Ater Wynne, LLP; Oregon Entrepreneurs Network (OEN); Community Bank; and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will be hosting a PubTalk in Baker City on November 5th.
The La Grande and Joseph PubTalks will focus on discovering new opportunities. Gary Rains, an angel investor from the Gorge A ngel Investor Network (GAIN), and Jess Lyon, partner at DWT, will be available to answer questions about forming angel networks and angel investing. There will be meetings prior to the PubTalks for people interested in becoming angel investors. Angel investors are people with a certain financial strength (as defined by the IRS) who are interested in investing directly into local businesses. They are people who are willing to take a larger risk because there is the potential for a greater return. “We are very thankful for the new sponsorship with Davis, Wright, Tremaine and the assistance they will provide in forming the new Northeast Oregon Angel Investor Network,” says Lisa Dawson, NEOEDD Executive Director.
Additionally, Deb Ables of Gravy Dave’s in Union and Marcus Burns of Goebel’s in Wallowa will be speaking at their respective PubTalks about challenges and opportunities they have faced in business. In La Grande, Jennifer Moore (acupuncture and Chinese medicine) and Julie Makinen (Whispering Pines) will each give five minute pitches for their businesses. Moses Frederic (Enterprise Network Solutions) and Eric Gray (Aquarius Spring Box) will give pitches in Joseph. The pitch allows each business owner to present their project to potential investors.
The La Grande PubTalk™ will be held from 6 – 9pm, Wednesday, October 28th at the Mt. Emily Ale House. The Joseph PubTalk™ will be at the Outlaw Restaurant & Saloon, from 6 – 9pm on Thursday, October 29th. Both events cost $5 and offer great appetizers and a no-host bar. Meetings for people interested in becoming angel investors will be held at both locations, before the PubTalk™ from 4:30 – 6pm. Contact Annie Thompson if you would like to register at anniethompson@neoedd.org or 541-426-3598.
The Baker City PubTalk™ will focus on using social networking for your business. A panel featuring Mike Parrott and Ernie Bootsma, of Ater Wynne, LLP; Michael Howe, a Communications Specialist with OTECC; and Jake Jacobs, of the Baker SBDC will use live web access to illustrate how several powerful (mostly free) online media services can assist your business. “If you have you been overwhelmed by Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, or are just interested in learning more, this PubTalk™ is for you,” says Jacobs. The Baker PubTalk™ will be held at the Crossroads Art Center at the Carnegie Library building (2020 Auburn Ave) from 5 – 8pm on November 5th. The Baker event costs $5 for program, food, and beer.
Entrepreneur of the Year - Nominations Opening Soon!
We have started ramping up for our 2010 Entrepreneur of the Year awards. Early next year, we will be presenting our Entrepreneur of the Year award at the annual chamber dinners in Baker and Union counties and discussions are underway with the Wallowa County Chamber about a presentation at their annual event as well. We are thrilled about these new partnerships!
Residents of Baker County can find the award nomination form on the Baker County Chamber website: http://www.visitbaker.com/. Nomination forms for Union and Wallowa Counties will be appearing on our website by the end of November (www.neoedd.org). So start thinking of the favorite businesses you want to nominate and look for nomination forms on the web.
Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)
Have you heard about the best deal in Oregon? Actually, the two best deals in Oregon? As far as helping those of modest means to finance and start or expand a business, we think this is it! The Individual Development Account (IDA) allows low to medium income residents to save up for their businesses in ways they might never have imagined! In the IDA program, every dollar saved is matched by three dollars. That means that if an entrepreneur saves $1,000, those savings will blossom into $4,000! Over 30 people entered into our IDA program in the first half of 2008 alone, using their IDAs to save for a new business, or to expand an existing business. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to move your business forward!
So what’s the s econd best deal in Oregon? If you donate to the IDA program, you will be eligible to receive a 75% tax credit for your donation! You can help us to share this incredible IDA opportunity with more people in our region and receive one of the highest tax credits available in Oregon. For every dollar you donate (up to $100,000), you’ll receive a 75% credit that you can take directly off your state tax bill. That’s like paying only $25 to give a $100 donation. And the more you donate, the lower your tax bill!
When you donate to the IDA program, more than 95% of your contribution will go to hard working Oregonians to help them:
- Launch new businesses that create jobs for them AND for others.
- Get the education and training they need to qualify for better jobs.
- Build new homes and better lives. Create neighborhoods that will draw more services, more businesses, more career opportunities.
- Turn Oregon’s negative cash flow into a flood of new revenue!
By now, you’re probably asking, “How can I take advantage of this amazing offer?!” Find out more by visiting the donor link at http://ida.neighborhoodpartnerships.org or contact us at the NEOEDD office. We look forward to hearing from you!
Final Report Available for Wallowa County Grass-Fed Beef Research
For the past year, NEOEDD staff have been investigating the grass-fed beef market and opportunities for Wallowa County local ranchers to enter those markets. Ranching has long been an important part of NE Oregon’s economy. As consumer demand for safe, healthy, locally raised meat has grown, many meat producers have seen an opportunity to supply this demand, but questions remained. A group of Wallowa County ranchers asked the NEOEDD to try to determine the quantity and type of USDA inspected meat products that they could sell cooperatively. Ranchers also wanted to research the possibility of increasing USDA-inspected processing in the region. The research was funded by NEOEDD with matching funds from USDA Rural Development and support from Wallowa Resources and local ranchers. A link to the final report of our research is available on the NEOEDD website at www.neoedd.org or through the NEOEDD office.
Rural Tourism Development Moves Forward
The Rural Tourism Studio workshops last spring are continuing to bear fruit in Wallowa County. Sponsored by Travel Oregon, NEOEDD, the Wallowa County Chamber and Wallowa Resources, the workshops helped local businesses and community members evaluate sustainable niche tourism assets and goals, and plan for how to leverage resources to develop those assets. In Wallowa County, bicycle tourism, heritage/agritourism, and events/festivals projects are currently raising matching funds to leverage a $10,000 grant from Travel Oregon. The funds will be used to develop and print cycling route maps and information kiosks for road and mountain biking routes, implement a living history brochure featuring reenactments of life in the historic Maxville logging community, screen the recently premiered local food film, Ingredients, and host business networking and training events for agritourism businesses, and implement a social media networking platform for tourism projects in Wallowa County.
The power of local volunteers and partners is key to developing these tourism markets. In the cycling tourism project alone, local volunteers and NEOEDD staff (with support from a USDA Rural Business Enterprise grant) have invested many hours to build relationships and get activities underway. In the past year, together we have:
-
Developed a list of possible projects, activities and resources
-
Developed a network of regional and state cycling contacts and partners
-
Participated in bicycle transportation planning
-
Participated in the Oregon Bike Summit
-
Raised funds to purchase and install a bike rack on the public transit van
-
Participates in the Rural Tourism Studio bicycle tourism workshops
-
Researched Rails and Trails best practices and lessons learned
-
Supported Rails and Trails project development for the Minam-Elgin corridor
-
Worked on mapping and trail development of single-track cycling trails and public road routes
-
Raised funds for route maps and information kiosks for mountain biking and road routes
-
Fostered a county-wide bike rack project through the Ford Leadership Development class
-
Volunteered for the 2008 Cycle Oregon signature ride
-
Created an informal website where interested local cyclists can share information
-
Organized informal group rides
Introducing: NEOEDD’s New RARE Intern
We are happy to announce that we have another RARE participant with us this year! Annie Thompson comes to us from Northwest Montana, a native of the northwest, but a newcomer to Orego n. Annie has a background in land use planning (private, non-profit, and public sectors) and is thrilled to be moving into the economic development field. She says, “I think that economic development can allow you to address many of the same issues that you might address with planning (quality of life, economy, a community’s vision for its future, etc.), but because you are addressing them from an economic viewpoint, you have the potential to deal with people on a different (perhaps less emotionally heated) level. This is my first foray into the field and I am excited to be working with entrepreneurs and improving opportunities for people and quality of life in rural areas.”
Annie also loves skiing, backpacking, and listening to classic country music! Annie is working with entrepreneurs in all of our various forms of outreach. Annie will also be taking another look at implementing a community endowment in Wallowa County. “Thanks for giving me the opportunity to come to the beautiful Wallowa Valley,” says Annie. “I look forward to meeting and working with you all!” Welcome, Annie!
The RARE (Resource Assistance for Rural Environments) program is a partnership between the University of Oregon, Americorps, the State of Oregon, USDA, and the Ford Family Foundation which places graduate-level volunteers in rural communities throughout Oregon. The 11 month placements focus on community planning and development, economic development, food security, and/or natural resources planning.
|
|
