FAIRMONT– The Fairmont Area Chamber of Commerce has concluded some of its programs that run in the winter and spring and is ready to launch another season of events and opportunities.

“It’s time to pause and regroup,” said Chamber President, Kandi Menne.

The Chamber’s agri-business and Bureau 14 networking meetings wrapped up in May. Those monthly events take the summer off but will start up again in the fall.

“We started getting momentum at the end because we had some really good speakers,” Menne said.

The Chamber’s young professional group will continue to meet throughout the summer. The goal of the group is to provide networking opportunities to those under 40. It meets the third Thursday of the month at a different establishment in town.

“They’re going to start visiting different amenities like miniature golf and the disc golf course at Cedar Creek Park. They’re trying to do some different things than they do in the winter,” Menne said.

Summer Chamber events kick off this Friday with the annual Chamber Golf Outing, which will take place beginning at 1 p.m. at Rose Lake Golf Club. Typically a Chamber member registers a team, but not everyone needs to be a member to golf. Menne said there are 21 teams registered to play this year.

“People may forget but any profit or proceeds from that will go to our Junior Achievement program. It’s really the only fundraiser we have for that,” Menne said.

This Saturday, the Chamber will have its historic boat float in the Interlaken Heritage Days parade.

“We’ll be giving out our Fairmont Area Life guides and new cards. We also put a map in there and an insert about an event in August that we’re partnering with Project 1590 on,” Menne said.

Fairmont Area Life is a partnership between the city of Fairmont, Fairmont Economic Development Authority and the Chamber. It originally launched thanks to a grant and with a second grant secured last year, a new website was created and with it a renewed focus on the initiative.

“We’re trying to keep it relevant. The website is really cool and interactive. We want our community members to engage with it,” Menne said.

On Tuesday, June 13, there will be a light breakfast at the Southern Minnesota Educational Campus in Fairmont at 8 a.m. and a session at 8:30 a.m. that community members can attend and learn how to engage and submit photos and events to the website and its Facebook page.

“It’s another avenue into us creating positive things in Fairmont,” Menne said.

While the Chamber used to do monthly social media breakfasts, Menne hopes to start putting on quarterly networking opportunities through the Chamber, whether it’s a breakfast or a lunch and learn.

“We’re trying to implement a bunch of things for our members and the community,” Menne said.

As for other Chamber events this summer, there will be the annual Minnesota Pork Masters Golf Outing on July 24 at Interlaken Golf Course.

“People from really anywhere in Minnesota and Iowa come to golf. Most of the sponsors have reps at the holes and they talk about the ag industry and pork,” Menne explained.

Later on in August is the Blue Ribbon Pork Cook-Off, which is held each year at the Martin County Fair. This year it will be on Aug. 16. Menne said tickets are already on sale and that they have some restaurants signed up but are still looking for more to participate.

Both the ticket sales from the pork cook-off and a portion of the proceeds from the Pork Masters Golf Outing go toward two scholarships that are given out annually to Martin County students who are pursing an ag-related college education.

While the Chamber is just about to start with its summer events, Menne said they’re also already looking forward to the fall.

In September, it will bring back Martin County Leadership. It’s a nine month program, held every other year, with a session held every other first Wednesday of the month. Different topics from healthcare to education to government and public safety are discussed by area leaders in those fields.

“We’re looking for applications from people who want to participate. We take 20 applicants. It’s good for even people who have lived here their whole life to go through it. People learn things they wouldn’t have learned. It’s a good experience,” Menne said.

She said the Chamber also has something new and exciting coming in October.

As she’s still new to her role as Chamber President, Menne has been going to a lot of chamber conferences and has also been in an executive leadership program. At a conference she went to in February she heard from Dr. Cindra Kamphoff, an author, motivational speaker and professor of sports psychology at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Menne said she wanted to bring Kamphoff here so she reached out to Sweet Financial, which is partnering with the Chamber to bring Kamphoff to Fairmont on Oct. 10.

“I feel like that’s a good partnership with the Chamber to bring someone for the whole community. She’s also going to be speaking to high school students,” Menne said.

While there are a number of large events coming up, Menne pointed out that a lot of different things are happening, even behind the scenes. She said the Chamber is working on a few partnerships with different organizations on some new events and offerings.

“We’re trying to keep Fairmont in the front of people’s minds and continuing to give value for Chamber members and help our businesses when we can,” Menne said.