The beginning of the Charter Fishing dream goes back to my grandfather who was a commercial fisherman, as well as my dad.   Watching as they left the dock and set out for a day on the lake,  I made the decision that someday I was going to be out there with my own boat.

That was more than 30 years ago and now The Slammin Salmon Two is a reality.  I can now provide an upscale Charter Fishing experience with a comfortable boat that offers tons of amenities.  The boat fits the needs of young and old, both male and female clientele. Most importantly is the time on beautiful Lake Michigan catching salmon, rainbow and brown trout and spending time with the customers.  I want all my customers to have the best time ever so that the make the Port of Sheboygan and Slammin Salmon a destination to return to over and over.

The primary service That Slammin Salmon provides is sport fishing on Lake Michigan, the latest equipment is provided for your use and to assist you in your adventure.  The unique part of this boat is that it is a very large, comfortable boat that can be used for business meetings, stag parties, a cruise.  It’s pretty versatile.

When you come aboard the Slammin Salmon you immediately can tell that this is not just any charter fishing boat.  The boat is the largest charter in the port and I have equipped it with all of the latest fishing equipment and it is very well maintained.  The Charters are fun and exciting because we work extremely hard to catch fish and to keep you comfortable and that of course equals a very enjoyable experience.

The best part of this job for me is the customers, meeting people, learning about them and what they do.  Watching the customers relaxing and having a great time.  The lure of the lake and the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the fight of the fish on the line, the surprised looks when customers experience reeling in a fish and seeing the size of their catch.

One of my goals for this next season and seasons to come is to continue to book charters and to meet more people each year, to introduce them to our city and all that it has to offer with Lake Michigan being our greatest natural resource, wonderful accommodations, food, shopping and not to mention world class golf courses and the best fishing spot on this side of the Lake

Captain Todd Stapleman

Slammin Salmon Fishing Charter

Learn about all our charter fishing members and their story here.

At the Sheboygan County Chamber on Thursday, March 29, Operations Managers Roundtable attendees heard a very informative presentation from a panel of Youth Apprenticeship experts: Nikki Kiss of LTC, Rick Karstaedt of Curt G. Joa and Eric Haban of LDI Industries.  Nikki manages the Lakeshore Technical College Youth Apprenticeship [YA] program for Sheboygan County schools, Rick mentors the YA students at the Curt Joa operations in Sheboygan Falls and Eric has been involved with YA since his high school days; he graduated in 2000.

The local Youth Apprenticeship program is a part of a statewide School-to-Work initiative. YA is designed for high school students who want hands on learning in an occupational area at a worksite along with classroom instruction.  This one or two year elective program combines academic and technical instruction with mentored on-the-job learning.

New employee recruiting ideas were also discussed at the Roundtable.  Matt Kautzer summarized the Job Seekers Networking Group he facilitates every Wednesday evening at the United Way Building on Erie Avenue from 6-7pm and Sara Suckow, an active member of the Sheboygan Area Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM], provided an overview of the innovative ways area employers are using to attract new employees.

Based on its mission statement, the Chamber’s Operations Managers Roundtable meets “to improve the operations of Sheboygan County based manufacturers through a sharing of strategies and tactics amongst non-competing firms”.  The next Operations Managers Roundtable will be on Tuesday, April 24 at the Sargento Operations in Hilbert. For more information contact John Rogers, Program Director  rogers@sheboygan.org .

Sports teach us a lot about life and business. The competitive nature of the game draws us into cheering for outcomes because of fandom, passion, loyalty and pride among our social circles. Specifically, the NCAA college basketball season which culminates this weekend with the Final Four and National Championship, teaches businesses about the telescope, not microscope, approach to analyzing your businesses wins and losses.

Businesses value and benchmarks should be viewed as a season and not a single transaction or month, good or bad. Falling short on a sales goal immediately after working with a disgruntled client is very similar to a 3-game losing streak. Losing a sales pitch in a hot prospect’s Board room is that tough road game loss. But be certain this happens to all businesses, just like all basketball teams experiencing losses on their journey to success in March.

The unique similarity between successful sports teams and businesses is the ability to continuously strive to get back on the winning path with short memories of setbacks.

Keep tally of your business’s key winning streaks. Save that email from your client boasting about your exceptional customer service that went above and beyond expectations. Celebrate your big sales month with your team. When that hot new client from the East coast gives you the handshake and the access to their account, storm the court as if you just beat your conference rival by a 3-day weekend for all participating staff in the contract.

It is vital to not get discouraged after a failed business opportunity. Good coaches care about the season, the big picture, and you should too. Losses hurt. But if you look at your business as operating in a full season of close games, a winning mentality will emerge and your business will be right in place to make a run to the Final Four.

So what’s the deal with all this Chamber stuff? You hear it in passing and see it in the press. There are some events and maybe a few celebrations. Some wine and some elbow rubbing. Maybe a few people here and there tossing around business cards? Not so fast.

Chamber membership is much more and directly impacts your business and quality of life. Being out in Sheboygan County working with business owners, plant managers and hospitality groups, there has been much feedback on why members participate in the Sheboygan County Chamber. “I care about shaping the county and enjoy the special insider information,” said one member. Another member in Sheboygan Falls said “I use the Chamber to gain status and to stand out and be noticed.” One business owner simply stated, “I always am looking for new training and contacts to achieve my dreams.”

Membership is an investment that grows exponentially with participation in events and programs. Just like taking out a membership at a fitness center and hitting the gym frequently, your return will be more significant the more workouts you get in with the Chamber business community. “You hear people say they get nickeled and dimed, well in this organization you are the one receiving the nickels and dimes the more you put in,” said Board Member Craig McFadden.

Even if you have limited or no time, you can still participate:

Only have two hours?

You can…

• Attend a monthly Focal Point Seminar, morning workshops specializing in topics like maximizing business efficiency and building your brand
• Engage in conversation with local, state, and federal officials at First Friday Forums
• Join Deep Dive 1.5, a newly introduced structured networking program

Only have one hour?

You can…

• Stop by a monthly Business After Hours event for complimentary food and beverages
• Promote your business through ads in the Monday Monitor or Member 2 Member discounts
• Be a speaker on a specialized topic

No Time?

The Chamber offers…

• Free promotion of your business news in Member News section of the Monday Monitor (e-communication)
• Place your marketing brochures in the Chamber lobby
• Sponsor events with your business front and center
• Free referrals from the Chamber’s website, Membership Directory, and staff
• Member-only services like discounts on Chamber products and services
• Special event assistance with grand openings and ribbon cuttings

Here’s to a bigger network. Here’s to achieving your dreams. Here’s to your business. Elevated.

Cheers,

Bill Marklein, Community Relations Director

This Thursday, John Wallner of Lakeshore Inventory participated in the “Deep Dive” updating members on his professional home inventory services. Every Deep Dive 1.5 meeting, one new member takes the spotlight to share their passion and services to Sheboygan County Chamber members. The program nurtures understanding of what services are in the region facilitating referrals and key connections.

Deep Dive 1.5, the rapidly growing Sheboygan County Chamber structured referral program, has area business owners actively sharing, learning and promoting the services offered within the program’s list of members. “The phone is starting to ring a lot more than me having to make sales calls,” said Deep Dive 1.5 member David Rispalje.  Members have the opportunity to choose between two meeting sessions per month.  The morning group meets from 7:30am-9:00am on the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesdays of each month while the afternoon group meets from 12:00pm-1:30pm on the 2^nd and 4^th Thursdays of each month.  Direct competitors are placed in different groups and joining is free. To start building more meaningful business relationships simply fax/scan/mail back this participation form.

Did you know that there are more than 80 home-based business members in the Sheboygan County Chamber network? One of the many reasons professionals join a chamber of commerce is to network with other local businesses and build relationships that serve to stimulate our own business. Those businesses that host monthly Chamber networking events gain the added benefit of exposure and familiarity with the people, facility and location of their organization.

Hosting a Chamber networking event is difficult to impossible for a home-based business owner. But think of the exposure and recognition that would be yours if you were able to host an event that might draw the same type of attendance as our office, retail and manufacturing brethren enjoy.

Our idea is to create a home-based business networking event for the Sheboygan County Chamber membership. Those home-based businesses willing to share the costs of the venue, food and drink for the evening would be exposed together in an exhibit format where each host would have a table to present their marketing materials highlighting their product or service. Guests would be encouraged to visit every table of the hosts, perhaps with the use of a card marking those tables visited, which could be used to win prizes for guest participation. In this way, host networking would be enhanced, giving all of us the chance to show that our home-based business is relevant and helpful to the community. Think also of the attendance that could be generated if hosts invite people from their individual contact lists, to come together to network with other home-based business owners they might not be aware of in the community.

If you’re looking for a new and inexpensive marketing event in 2012, please let us know if you’d like to learn more about how you can participate in this type of Home-Based Business After Hours event. Please email Jerry Baltus from the Sheboygan County Chamber Business Assistance committee at jkbaltusgroup@wi.rr.com your interest to participate. Jerry can also assist you in entering the Chamber structured networking program Deep Dive 1.5.

Does safety play an important role in your organization’s mission and in your clients share of mind? Many of you have requested information for partnering with the Sheboygan County Chamber in the 16th Annual Safety Conference to be held June 6 at Lakeshore Technical College. Here is your opportunity and have fun! Sponsorship opportunities are available until April 12, 2012.

Sponsorship Opportunities Here.

Cheers,

Bill Marklein, Community Relations

Although Ebert & Roeper were not present at the Chamber Champions Awards Gala and Johnny Depp didn’t step out of the limo onto the red carpet, membership sang praises of the show and gave it two thumbs up. 41% said it was an excellent event and 43% said it was very good. One member said, “Excellent networking opportunities even though this wasn’t strictly a ‘networking’ event.” Another member added, “The before program reception and the awards themselves were great. Staying focused and keeping the program on time was the best part!” One attendee noted the appreciation of the assigned seating, “I liked the assigned seating. The program was very entertaining and moved along at a good pace. I thought the evening was very well planned out. Thank you for all your efforts! Excellent job!”

For next year’s gala, attendees encouraged to strive to keep the program short, especially on a weeknight. One attendee concluded, “Repeat what you did this year.”

The awards gala experienced a record attendance of 487.

Full Gala Recap Here

We now introduce the foundation of the Chamber, members for more than 25 plus consecutive years. They were proud members of the Chamber when Ferris Buehler was skipping school, MC Hammer was telling the world “You Can’t Touch This” and when Rockin’ Robin Yount and Paul Molitor were starring in the old Milwaukee County Stadium. They put into motion a lot of the quality of life and business initiatives we now enjoy and celebrate in Sheboygan County. Thank you for your commitment and support to Sheboygan County.

The 25+ Club:

The Kohler Waters Spa invites all Chamber members to attend the March 14 Business After Hours. Enjoy complimentary spa cuisine along with beer, wine and a signature drink all set at the beautiful Kohler Waters Spa, one of only 30 Forbes Five Star spas in the world.  This is an evening for networking and wellness among Kohler Waters Spa staff and industry experts in the areas of skincare, makeup, hair care & nail care.

Tour the spa including its four signature wet treatment rooms and register to win raffle prizes.  Sign up to experience mini spa treatments including chair massage and chat with representatives from Kerstin Florian Skincare, La Bella Donna Mineral Makeup, Moroccan Oil and SpaRitual Nail Care to learn the tips, tricks and techniques to look and feel your best.

Learn about the upcoming Wellness Week Celebration (March 19-25) with select spa services at 50% off.  Kohler Waters Spa will be closed to the public for this private event.   Chamber members will have the opportunity to win:

Kohler Waters Spa Gift Basket

Craverie Gift Basket

$50 gift certificate from Shops at Woodlake

Woodlake Market Gift Basket

2012 U.S. Women’s Open Gift Basket

Spa Ritual Nail Care Gift Basket

Moroccan Oil Hair Care Gift Basket

La Bella Donna Makeup Gifts

Kohler Golf Academy Lesson

Register Now