Greetings NWMBA members,
When I first joined NWMBA in 2006, I was just starting a not for profit gallery and saw the potential benefit right away of becoming a member. As a gallery in the business node of 44th and Penn, I knew that there would be challenges to attracting people to the Warren. Some of these challenges are: traffic patterns, pedestrian challenges, and just being a new face. When the Workhouse Theatre Company moved in, the challenges became theirs too.
Being part of the NWMBA has helped the Warren get recognition, helped me network, and build partnerships with area businesses. For the future, I would like that to continue not only for my business but for all members.
The executive committee has been working very hard to implement new ways to help the NWMBA itself to get more recognition and to provide members with new benefits of membership. In the past year, we had a successful fundraiser and secured a grant that has allowed us to move forward into the future with real benefits such as the new website, a new directory for 2008, to do more things for the communities in which we reside, and to provide an advocacy for issues involving businesses in North Minneapolis.
Of course, the future of the NWMBA also lies with all of you as members. All the wishing in the world won’t increase business to your door. As the world gets faster paced by the millisecond, and more web driven, small neighborhood businesses lose everyday. The importance of having an organization where 40+ diverse business members can meet to pool their ideas, energies, and resources becomes more important as consumer spending becomes more discriminating!
We all have our home lives and businesses to worry about, but think about it, if you had one hour or so a month to give your input and/or time and it would help your business be more successful, wouldn't you do it? As money becomes tighter for all of us, I think you can all agree that the NWMBA and a strong united presence can be a tool for keeping more of that money in our communities, to be a great resource for our customers, attracting new customers and home buyers in our area, and have a united front to help city officials know of our challenges.
I am proud to be your newly elected President of the Northwest Minneapolis Business Association. Along with Brock Hanson- the new VP, Amy Luesebrink-Secretary, Danette Hoffstrom-Treasurer. We hope to continue to build the NWMBA into something that can benefit all of us as members.
I would also like to thank our past president Vivienne Williamson for her hard work and dedication to NWMBA for the last 3 years. With her leadership and involvement we have moved into an era that I believe will be one that will benefit all of our members into the future.
Thank you,
Duane A. Atter, NWMBA President