Chamber’s Efforts Help Secure $2 Million in State Bonding for St. Cloud Civic Center Expansion.
During the 2008 Legislative Session Chamber President Teresa Bohnen was immersed in issues surrounding the expansion of the St. Cloud Civic Center.Here are some highlights of what was accomplished:
- We developed a well-oiled grassroots and grasstops movement that has worked tirelessly to deliver our message to statewide legislators through emails and telephone calls.
- We formally trained more than 80 volunteers about the details of our effort.
- We rallied the broadest coalition of support for the expansion that I have ever seen in Central Minnesota.Public and private interests, local governments, business associations and labor unions came together in an unprecedented show of support and partnership.
- We had a Chevy Tahoe wrapped in our logo to transport volunteers and staff back and forth to the Capitol in style.We always parked in highly visible places and often received comments from legislators about “being in town.”Thanks to Dan Pearson, Pleasureland RV and Truck Center, who made that possible.
- We delivered materials and personally visited with every legislator or staff member.No state elected official was left untouched by our message.
- We sat down with dozens of legislative and committee leaders to explain our program in individual meetings.These meetings extended to the House and Senate Capitol Investment Committee leaders, Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, and Senate Majority Leader.
- We testified at many project-relevant House and Senate committee hearings.
The success of these accomplishments was built on the actions of a very important group of people – our local legislative delegation.We owe them a big thank you for all the attention they paid to this important Civic Center Expansion.
This is only one step in the effort to expand the Civic Center.We need to keep the light on this critical economic development effort so when we return to the Capitol in 2010 we have the enthusiasm and infrastructure to secure the remaining $13 million for final construction.
For information on how you can help, contact Teresa Bohnen, at 320-656-3804 or tbohnen@StCloudAreaChamber.com.