Tuesday, May 16, 2023
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sheridan College, Whitney Center for the Arts
ABOUT: The Sheridan County Chamber of Commerce Business Retention & Expansion Committee hosts the Ignite Conference to provide the opportunity for professionals at every level to gain innovative ideas, learn about best practices and acquire vital information to spark their professional development and business growth.
SESSIONS: The Ignite Conference allows you to choose the seminars that best fit YOUR professional development needs. Choose from seminars on marketing, human resources, business growth, customer service, and more. Plus, enjoy a BONUS Lunch Session and a BONUS Wrap-Up Session to help pull it all together and take your learning to the next level!
VIEW SEMINAR DESCRIPTIONS
VIEW PRESENTER BIOS
COST:
CHAMBER MEMBERS: $175 each; $165 for each additional company employee; NON-CHAMBER MEMBERS: $210 each; $200 for each additional company employee
REGISTRATION: Your registration includes 4 seminars, lunch and 2 bonus sessions! Register here: https://sheridanwyomingchamber.chambermaster.com/events/details/ignite-conference-05-16-23-1289
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Register by Sunday, May 14.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
7:30 AM Check In and Packet Pick Up
8:00 AM Welcome and Announcements
8:30 AM Session I
9:45 AM Refreshment Break & Networking
10:00 AM Session II
11:30 AM Lunch and Keynote Presentation
1:15 PM Session III
2:30 PM Refreshment Break & Networking
2:45 PM Session IV
4:00 PM Refreshment Break & Networking
4:15 PM Wrap-Up Session
5:00 PM Conference Ends
THANK YOU TO OUR 2023 IGNITE CONFERENCE SPONSORS!
2023 IGNITE CONFERENCE SEMINARS:
(E) = Entrepreneurial Track by IMPACT 307
SESSION I
UTILIZING STAY INTERVIEWS TO BOOST EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND RETENTION
Stacia Skretteberg, Peak Consulting
Stay interviews can be a useful engagement strategy because they help us identify what’s working and not working in our organizations currently. They can assist with identifying areas we need to address proactively before they become full-blown problems. Stay interviews can help build trust in the employment relationship and improve our work environments to retain great employees.
STEAM+ A METHOD THAT WORKS
Sarah Reish, S² Creative Marketing
This course will help attendees understand each social media platform and their specific marketing purpose, trends and statistics. We’ll deep dive into how to use the platforms strategically as a business and not a consumer and how to implement marketing content and storytelling. Tips and tricks will be featured for efficiently managing digital marketing without it being a time-consuming task as well as how to overcome algorithms that constantly impact reach and engagement. This course is hands-on, so bring phones and laptops to follow along.
10 GOOD RULES FOR LEADERS
Stuart J. “Stu” McRae, COL (Ret., U.S. Army) and City of Sheridan
Following a 30-year career in the U.S. Army and rising to the Top 1% of its leadership, Stu McRae led nearly 9,700 soldiers and often found himself intersecting with military and civilian leaders from the highest levels of government. Through this experience, McRae gleaned great life lessons, of which he will share with “10 Good Rules for Leaders.” Participants will take away ideas and practices that they can apply to their work life and create more effective means for communicating, being more efficient with time and preventing burnout.
USING A BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS TO FRAME A NEW BUSINESS IDEA (E)
Scot Rendall, IMPACT 307
Many early-stage entrepreneurs believe they need to have a full business plan created before initiating a business. There’s a much better way to evaluate a business idea! The Business Model Canvas is a visual representation of key building blocks that form the core foundation of successful businesses. This course will provide an overview of how to analyze the merits of business creation or new product line ideas without having to get lost in the details of a cumbersome business plan.
SESSION II
CULTURE: WHAT IS IT AND HOW DO I GET IT?
Laura Lehan, Peak Consulting
Building a strong organizational culture in your organization is no longer an option if you want to attract and retain the best staff. In a tight labor market, having a strong culture is a critical element in how you set yourself apart from other organizations who are competing with you for staff to effectively carry out the day-to-day operations. This session will focus on the best practices used by highly recognized companies who have great cultures —learn how they do it.
HOW TO HANDLE RESISTANCE
Scott Lee, Scott Lee Leadership Consulting
If you’ve ever been a parent you understand resistance. If you’ve ever been a leader you understand resistance. When geese fly it’s the lead goose that gets the resistance. One fundamental law of physics says that movement creates friction. Resistance is inevitable in leadership. Handling resistance is a skill you can learn and apply in your personal, professional and family relationships. How do you leverage your team through resistance? The ability to handle resistance as a leader is a major determining factor in reaching your full potential. In this workshop, Scott will share highlights of some of the principles and practices necessary to develop the crucial skill of handling conflict.
COMMUNICATING YOUR VALUE TO CUSTOMERS
Matt Melinkovich, Timberline Training
Increase revenue by helping leadership, salesmen and customer service representatives understand how to really communicate your value to customers and how to fully embrace the value added philosophy. Learn how to develop and communicate your value added selling points and your value proposition to your customers. Practice new techniques for selling on value, leveraging existing customers, moving the conversation away from price and responding to price objections. Satisfy your customers with a total value-added solution, not a cheap price.
BRANDING ESSENTIALS (E)
Sarah Reish, S² Creative Marketing
Branding Essentials is a hands-on workshop that is geared to creating your business’s brand foundation. More than a logo, colors and fonts, your brand should be the foundation for business operations, brand experience and be a part of your entire marketing strategy. This course focuses on the creation of a brand foundation and how to integrate it into your business and marketing strategy.
SESSION III
DEVELOPING YOUR TEAM
Matt Melinkovich, Timberline Training
Develop an effective team that meets deadlines and achieves results. Learn how to develop a highly functioning team with accountability, collaboration, purpose, cohesiveness and high energy. Fine tune listening and communication skills to reduce tension and conflict within a team. Learn how to identify and work with different personality styles.
THE SCIENCE OF BRANDING: LEVERAGING ADVANCED MARKETING ANALYTICS TO STAY AHEAD IN TODAY’S COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Brittney Thomas, L&H Industrial, Inc.
In this session, attendees will explore the crucial role of brand strategy in today’s competitive business environment. The key elements of a successful brand strategy, including brand positioning, messaging and visual identity will be discussed as well as the importance of marketing analytics, providing insights on how to track and measure the effectiveness of your brand strategy and marketing tactics.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AS A FORCE MULTIPLIER TO SUCCESS IN THE WORKPLACE, SCHOOL AND LIFE
Dr. Bobbie Murray, Heimdallr Research and Consulting Group
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to perceive, interpret and use emotions to communicate with and relate to others effectively. Understanding and growing EQ can be beneficial in the workplace, school and life, especially when it comes to managing stress and working with others. High emotional intelligence may be particularly helpful for those in leadership roles who manage others. During this session, participants will have the opportunity to focus on the relevance and development of a learned set of foundational emotional intelligence skills that will allow them to succeed in work, school and life.
BUILDING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH YOUR MARKETING MESSAGE (E)
PJ Burns, Wyoming Small Business Development Center Network
Marketing is more than creating eye appealing ads that sell your products or services. Marketing can be used to build relationships with your customers and communicate your company’s brand. Whether you are marketing on social media, through direct mail or email, on a website or face to face at trade shows and conferences, what you communicate to your customers matters. This presentation will cover how to change your marketing message to build your brand, keep your business top of mind when your customers are ready to buy and increase your customer base.
SESSION IV
MAXIMIZING WORKFLOW FROM IDEA TO COMPLETION
Camden Easterling, Peak Consulting
Want to maximize the process of taking an idea from that first “a-ha” moment all the way to the finish line? This session will introduce Patrick Lencioni’s model for “The 6 Types of Working Genius.” Participants will learn about the three critical phases of any workflow plus the six geniuses that support them. By understanding the three phases and six geniuses, you’ll gain insight into how a team can improve the clarity and efficiency of how we get work done.
GENERATIONAL MOTIVATION
Allen Thompson, WYLE Consulting
This is the first time in history where five generations make up our workforce, and employees in each generation bring different perspectives, experiences and skills to the workplace. Each generation has defining characteristics and experiences that lend to certain behaviors. Generational diversity is important to understand and embrace. The purpose of the course is to discuss what is known about generational differences in the workforce and how to use that information to guide leadership. Participants can use the knowledge gained to shape motivation and work performance based on the needs of the employee AND the needs of the company.
BRAND STORYTELLING IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
Kristen Czaban, The Sheridan Press
No matter how small your business may seem, it can have a global reach if you want it to. Too many small business owners, though, believe having a Facebook page or Instagram feed is enough. How do you tell your story effectively, in a way that attracts new customers and in a way you can afford or maintain? This session will offer best practices for digital marketing and storytelling for small businesses, leaving attendees with tangible to-dos they can take back to their staff or do themselves.
DETERMINING BUSINESS VALUATION: BUSINESS CREATION TO EXIT (E)
Patrick Suchor, Harker Mellinger CPAs, LLC
Every business has value. Business owners need to know not only how to gauge the value of their enterprise but more importantly, how to maximize the value of their investment. This is equally important for early-stage businesses as well as those that have operated for many years. This course will address how valuation is determined and suggest ways for business owners to avoid mistakes and missteps that can adversely impact the value of their life’s work.
BONUS SESSIONS
KEYNOTE LUNCH SESSION
MANAGING CHANGE WHEN CHANGE KEEPS COMING
Stacia Skretteberg, Peak Consulting
We’ve said for years that change is the only constant. If so, why does it continue to be so hard? This session will explore our natural responses to change and how understanding our responses can help us better navigate and even lead through it. Presenter Stacia Skretteberg will dive into the awareness of our natural responses to change, the understanding of the stages of change from the Bridges Transition Model, best practices for supporting each other and managing change ourselves and suggestions on what to do at each stage of the transition.
WRAP-UP SESSION
MOVING FROM IDEA TO ACTION
Laura Lehan, Peak Consulting
Many times, we attend a conference or training, and we are inspired by a concept or idea we learned but lose sight of it as soon as we return to work. As we wrap up our day of learning, we are setting aside 30 minutes to help you take a beat, think through something you would like to integrate or implement, and walk through a process to move you from idea to action. We hope you’ll join us!
2023 IGNITE CONFERENCE PRESENTERS:
PJ BURNS, Wyoming Small Business Development Center Network
P.J. is a Wyoming native and is passionate about helping small business succeed. She has spent the majority of her career advising and advocating for small business in her roles at chambers of commerce and economic development organizations. She has a background in marketing, human resources, strategic planning, leadership, and management. PJ holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organizational Management.
KRISTEN CZABAN, The Sheridan Press
Kristen currently serves as the publisher of The Sheridan Press, where she works with clients daily to help get the word out about local businesses and happenings – both through advertising and news. In the past, she has presented at the Sheridan County Chamber’s Ignite Conference as well as the Inland Press Association’s annual meeting in Chicago. Both sessions focused on digital marketing and social media presence. Kristen holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism, an MBA from the University of Wyoming and a digital marketing certificate from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
CAMDEN EASTERLING, Peak Consulting
Camden has 20 years of experience in communications and marketing along with expertise in leading teams. She has worked with organizations ranging from local startups to national companies, serving in roles ranging from strategist to project manager. She thrives on seeing teams functioning seamlessly. As a member of Sheridan’s Peak Consulting, she offers group training on a range of topics, such as performance management and works with clients to facilitate strategic planning or provide career coaching.
SCOTT LEE, Scott Lee Leadership Consulting
For 28 years Scott’s passion has been to assist individuals, businesses and churches with leadership development. He has held trainings across the U.S. as well as in Cameroon, Africa, and several regions of India. Nothing impacted Scott as much as the John Maxwell Leadership Laws that he is now certified to teach…laws that helped Scott recognize the greatest gap in the world is the gap between knowing and doing. Scott sincerely believes that he is now adding value to the leaders he serves and that he is fulfilling his purpose in life.
LAURA LEHAN, Peak Consulting
Laura’s corporate career began at Patagonia, where she managed a human resources office that carried-out employee relations and cultural assessment for over 500 retail and corporate staff. She then worked as a consultant for Drake, Beam, Morin, Inc., a Seattle-based global consulting firm specializing in change management. She then started her own consulting firm providing team building, executive coaching and strategic planning. Laura’s clients have included Nordstrom, Microsoft, Starbucks and Philips Medical Systems. In 2008, Laura moved back to Wyoming and expanded her consulting practice to deliver services to non-profit and for-profit organizations across Wyoming.
STUART J. “STU” MCRAE, City of Sheridan
Currently the City Administrator for the City of Sheridan, Stu retired from the U.S. Army in 2017 after 30 years of service in Europe, Asia, and across the United States. He holds an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Montana State University-Billings and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College. Stu’s Army career included extensive experience in intelligence, logistics, aviation and installation management. He served three years as garrison commander for Fort Rucker, Alabama, and another two years as the Deputy Regional Director supervising 13 Army garrisons across the Pacific.
MATT MELINKOVICH, Timberline Training
Matt initiated Timberline Training to educate and empower people with tools for success. As a certified Innovation Growth Coach, a level two Family Business Advisor and an accredited trust facilitator, Matt brings a wealth of knowledge and business experience on the topics of efficiency, innovation, leadership, trust, team building, customer interaction and value-added sales. For the past 11 years he has been using his entrepreneurial skills and business experience to help small businesses become more efficient, grow their operation and increase profits. From owning a wireless ISP start-up business and being the owner of a restaurant, a flower shop and a satellite TV installation business, Matt has learned firsthand the dedication and hard work it takes to be a small business owner.
DR. BOBBIE MURRAY, Heimdallr Research and Consulting Group
Bobbie is the founder and CEO of Heimdallr Research and Consulting Group. A retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and practitioner in the field of industrial-organizational psychology, Bobbie has worked with the U.S. Air Force as a human capital optimization consultant immersed in organization culture change, strategic planning and leadership. PHR, SHRM-CP, EQ and Strong certified, Bobbie holds undergraduate degrees in German and international business as well as graduate degrees in finance and psychology as well as a Ph.D. in industrial-organizational psychology. For the past 18 years she has taught graduate courses in finance and economics for an online university and recently served as an executive scholar in leadership and marketing/sales for Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.
SARAH REISH, S² Creative Marketing
Sarah is the founder of S² Creative Marketing. Sarah grew up in a small business family and has spent over a decade working in marketing and sales in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. After seeing a lack of professional high-quality marketing resources, training and support for entrepreneurs and small business owners, Sarah determined she needed to step-up and be the change in an industry that often left businesses overwhelmed and frustrated with their marketing and branding. Sarah chose to create an agency with an approach focused on the business and client. With a unique approach, Sarah’s goal is to help you get in front of the people who matter most and be memorable through a strong brand identity.
SCOT RENDALL, IMPACT 307
Scot is the Director of IMPACT 307, Sheridan’s start-up business incubator. In this role, he advises entrepreneurs and early-stage companies on business planning and how to increase the chances of success in their ventures. Prior to this role, Scot held various financial and accounting roles for a wide variety of companies, from Fortune 100 tech firms (Intel and HP) to privately held small and mid-sized businesses. Scot holds a degree in economics from UCLA and a master’s in business administration (MBA) from the University of California, Berkeley.
KEYNOTE PRESENTER
STACIA SKRETTEBERG, Peak Consulting
Stacia has over 20 years’ experience in the human resources field. Over the past 13 years she has been providing consulting to both for profit and non-profit organizations. She has held human resources and management roles in industries spanning retail, communications, hospitality, and food and beverage. She provides clients with innovative HR solutions that are easy to implement. Her passion for human resources is clear, as is her down-to-earth realistic approach to assisting clients in solving their workplace issues.
PATRICK SUCHOR, CPA, CVA, Harker-Mellinger CPAs, LLC
Patrick is a partner at Harker Mellinger, LLC, a local firm specializing in business advising, customized accounting solutions, business valuations, and tax planning/preparation. He received his bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University in 2009 and became a CPA in 2012. Patrick’s passion lies in providing critical insights to entrepreneurs and established business owners to streamline operations, improve bottom line and attain maximum tax efficiency.
BRITTNEY THOMAS, L&H Industrial, Inc.
Brittney Thomas is the Marketing Manager of L&H Industrial, Inc. a third-generation family-owned business that provides Engineering & Design, Manufacturing & Repair and Field Services to heavy industries around the world. Brittney leads L&H Industrial’s marketing strategy in building the brand globally. She and her team plan and execute the brand’s corporate communications, experiential designs, social and digital platforms, and end-to-end branding. Brittney studied International Business and Marketing Management at the University of Wyoming prior to joining L&H Industrial.
ALLEN THOMPSON, WYLE Consulting
Allen is a retired sheriff and current county commissioner in Sheridan County. He is a lifelong student of leadership, which has spanned his careers in the US Army, National Guard, Sheridan Police Department and the Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office. He has completed the Army Primary Leadership Development Course, the inaugural FBI National Command Course and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Leadership Academy. Allen also completed the Wyoming Law Enforcement Academy Leadership Development course and has been an adjunct leadership instructor at the academy since 2009. He credits the experience of learning from those students as his most successful leadership growth.
