One of the great ways we love to promote businesses is through our Ambassadors Committee and ribbon cuttings. We’ve had a busy spring already with 2 of these, and are looking to schedule more. If you are thinking of having an open house or business expansion, or would like to schedule a ribbon cutting, please let us know. We’ve already had great participation from members at these events and remember that you’re all welcome to attend.

We’ve had great success with our first Business B4 Breakfast with 20 + in attendance. The next one is April 26th at Edward Jones Investment. This is a great way to meet members and to network. I received a great referral while attending one of these events already this month! We’re also in the planning stages for 2 great upcoming events: Spring Fling, and our Golf Outing with SDM, Carlisle and East DM Chambers. If you’d like to help, please give me a call.

Don’t forget that the deadline is fast approaching for our Education grants. Please encourage those interested to meet our deadline of April 14th. Contact Lin Phillps for more information, at 285-1240.

I hope that you’re all dealing well with all the local road (especially I-235) construction. Of course, the wonderful “bypass” system offers a great solution for commuters all across the Metro. When construction on I-235 is complete (late 2007), it will have 3-lanes East and West, but until then you can go online to "avoidtherush.org" for the latest road remedies and alternate routes.

One last comment. We’re especially happy to welcome 8 new members since January. Please greet them whenever possible and always remember to BUY CHAMBER!

Craig Krouch, President
222-2377

Join us at the Wakonda Club on April 19, 2005, at 11:30 a.m. Speaker will be Kim Poam Logan, Executive Director of the Iowa Asian Alliance.

20,000 people are expected to visit Des Moines on May 7, 2005, for an Iowa Asian Alliance event. Come hear about this event and how it might help businesses in our community.

The cost is $15 with a reservation or $20 without a reservation payable at the door. Please call Mary at 286-4996 to make a reservation NO LATER THAN FRIDAY NOON, April 15.

It is very important to RSVP by the deadline date, so we may give the Wakonda Club an accurate count. This assists the Club in preparing a sufficient amount of food. Thank you for understanding!

Monday, April 25th, 2005
10:30 a.m.
Refreshments will be provided.
"Join us for a ROARIN' good time!"

Join us on Tuesday, April 26, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. for networking at Edward Jones Investment - Kevin Pearson, 4314 Fleur Drive, Suite 20. Bring plenty of business cards and plan to spend time sharing information about your business and learning about others!

Please RSVP to Mary Knueven at mknueven@desmoinesmetro.com or call 286-4996.

NOTE: There will NOT be a Breakfast B4 Business in May.

WELCOME TO THE CHAMBER!

IF YOU KNOW OF A NEW BUSINESS IN SOUTH DES MOINES, PLEASE CONTACT A BOARD MEMBER! WE WILL FOLLOW UP WITH A "WELCOME" AND RIBBON CUTTING!

Owners are James and Cheryl Taylor, the parents of nine children. The Taylors have lived on the South Side for more than 14 years and wanted to open their business here, because of South Des Moines’ friendly and caring people. Although they have been open for less than 90 days, they are already expanding and taking over more space. In addition to offering gift baskets and balloons for all occasions, the baby gift section is growing, there will be a much larger inventory of religious items, and they will soon have a line of hand-made wood products. They are expanding to include novelty craft items, more bath and body products, a section for home interiors, garden statues, wind chimes, sun catchers, bird baths, bird feeders, bird houses, and too much more to list. You MUST see it for yourself. Desi the Clown will deliver a full balloon bouquet anywhere on the South Side for $25.00. Watch the Shopper for coupons to get an even better deal. All of Desirables balloons are “treated”, so that they remain inflated for at least a week. We are so lucky that they chose the South Side for this wonderful shop. Those of us who have been there keep coming back for more.

Join Chamber members for a South Side Sock Hop (50's - 60's style) and enjoy some south side hospitality and networking. Feel free to dress for the party in your poodle skirts, saddle shoes, ponytails or ducktails.

WHEN? TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2005

WHERE? AIB College of Business - Patio 2500 Fleur Drive

TIME? 5:00 Networking
6:30 Dinner
7:00 Program and Prizes

Proceeds will benefit:
ORCHARD PLACE

Cost: $20.00 per person

*****************************************************************

Menu:

Choice of meat: Grilled Hamburgers ** Breaded Tenderloins ** Grilled Chicken
Shakes, Green Rivers, Fries, Onion Rings, Fruit, Veggies, Brownies & Cookies, Beer and Wine

HOOLA HOOP CONTEST

BUBBLEGUM

HOP SCOTCH

CAR SHOW

PRIZES FOR BEST MALE & FEMALE COSTUME

SILENT AUCTION

Call 286-4996 for tickets TODAY!
RSVP BY MAY 18, 2005!

Join us for Business B4 Breakfast on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Call Cyndi Lorenzen at the Radisson Hotel at 222-1921 to schedule a time to host this great event. Hosts will provide the location, coffee, juice, and rolls.

This will give you a great opportunity to showcase your business!

The Spring Fling Thing will be a 50's Sock Hop on Tuesday, May 24 and the golf outing will be on Friday, July 22, 2005.

Many of you have already graciously donated either cash or prizes for either or both of these events. For those who have NOT signed up yet, we are giving you a chance to do so now. If you are willing to make a contribution, please call the chamber office at 286-4996, designate either the amount of cash and/or the type of item you would like to donate and for the Sock Hop and/or the golf outing.

Please specify your business name, contact name, address and phone number when calling.

We thank all of you for your generous contributions to these two events!

Opportunities for hole sponsorships are available. More information will be sent very soon.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW & GET YOUR FOURSOMES TOGETHER!

If you find an error in your information, or if information has changed, please call the chamber office at 286-4996. We apologize in advance for any errors occurred.

The following items are changes/additions to the membership directory. Please mark them accordingly in your directory.

West Bank Contacts: Craig Krouch, Gena Adamovich, and Bobbi Jo Kelly. (Please remove Mandy Parton from this account).

We discussed setting time lines around RDG (consultant selected for improvements along a 10 mile stretch on SE 14th St. and Army Post Rd) and making it a pay as you go until completion. This project will also focus on economic development.

The goal of this volunteer group of business owners and citizens is to enhance aesthetic, construction requirements, tax abatement for new and existing businesses along these 2 corridors. SSRP wants to bring positive economic growth to the South Side and keep the attention of local developers, city staff, and small businesses moving in our direction.

SSRP has been successful in providing:

1. Tax Abatement to local business on SE 14th and Army Post Road via building requirements.
2. Setting building standards to improve aesthetics on South Side main streets.
3. Providing the outlay and design of future plans of a South Side Bike Trail with the help of the City Park & Recreation Department coordinator Richard Brown.

SSRP meets the first Wednesday of each month at 7:30 AM in South Ridge Mall on the West end of the mall next to Shoe Carnival. Please call David Harkin CFP, CLU at American Express Financial Advisors at 974-8528 with any questions.

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Identity theft is a serious crime. People whose identities have been stolen can spend months or years, and their hard earned money, cleaning up the mess the thieves have made of their good name a credit record. Just today alone there was 27,123 identity theft victims. In our country last year there were over 9.9 million victims. Unfortunately, if you become a victim, identity theft restoration is time consuming, expensive and unpleasant. Each victim will spend an average of $1,495 and 600 hours getting his or her finances straightened out, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. And that’s not counting lawyer’s fees.

Five years ago identity theft was not even considered a crime. Today there are over 27 million victims, with less than 5% of the criminals getting caught. No one is exempt from it, no one can stop it, and it is not going away. This is the crime of the future. Making smart decisions every day with our personal information is a must to minimize the chance of being hit.

Take the first step as an individual

Today there are over 2.36 billion errors on our credit reports. Starting March 1st, Iowans can order one free credit report per year under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. The FACT Act has set up the centralized service from the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. For your free credit report, call (877) 322-8228 or visit www.annualcreditreport.com. You can also mail a request to Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. Even if you have perfect credit, you should review your credit report for errors. The Federal Trade Commission FTC believes 25% of all current credit reports have at least one error on it. Review your report carefully.

Take the first step as a business owner

The FACT Act was passed in December 2003, but rules were written just recently on the disposal provision. The law requires the destruction — "shredding or burning" or "smashing or wiping" — of all paper or computer disks containing personal information "derived from a consumer report" before it is discarded.

That means that if you do a credit check on one employee before you hire them, or you get private information from a service that came originally from a credit report, you fall under the rules. The disposal provision goes into effect June 1. By then, all businesses, whether employing one worker or 1 million, will be responsible for private information regarding employees and potential employees.

FACT Act is just one of many recent laws aimed at protecting consumer and company privacy, including medical records, credit information and corporate trade secrets. If you do not destroy and information gets out, there are penalties, according to National Association for Information Destruction (NAID):

• Civil liability. An employee could be entitled to recover actual damages sustained if his or her identity is stolen as a result of your inaction. Or you could have to pay statutory damages of up to $1,000 per employee.
• Federal fines. The federal government could fine you up to $2,500 for each violation.
• State fines. States can fine up to $1,000 for each violation.

Additional steps to minimize your risk – Keep personal information private

• Never give your credit card number or other personal information over the phone unless you initiate the call and know you can trust the business.
• Shred or tear up papers with your personal information, such as bill statements and mail solicitations for credit cards. Always take your ATM and credit card receipts.
• Remove extra information from your checks, such as SSN, date of birth, address, and middle name. Checks can be lost or stolen, or information copied.
• Memorize your social security and PIN numbers and passwords. Don't carry extra credit cards, Social Security card, birth certificate, or passport, unless essential.
• Choose an "assigned" driver's license number from the DOT. (Don't use your SSN.)
• Don't reveal financial or unnecessary personal information on sweepstakes entries, prize offers, warranty cards, subscriptions, city directories, etc. Information often is sold and circulated -- increasing your junk mail and the risk of Identity theft.
• Ask the national credit reporting agencies NOT to give your name to solicitors. (Credit reporting agencies sell lists to credit card marketers and others.) To remove your name, call 888-567-8688 (888-5-OPT-OUT.) You may request to be removed for two years, or you may request permanent removal.
• Examine your account statements every month to prevent unauthorized charges.

If your identity’s been stolen – Act immediately

1. Place a fraud alert on your credit report and review your credit reports.
2. Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
3. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.
4. File a complaint with the FTC.

Information from the FTC can be found at:
www.consumer.gov/idtheft
FTC ID Theft Hotline: toll free 877-IDTHEFT

Article submitted by Dave McClannahan of First Bank - 3401 SW 9th Street, Des Moines, IA