131. The Value of a Small-Town Chamber with Kausha Magill

"Are Chambers of Commerce even relevant anymore?" In our humble (but not too humble opinion:) YES ABSOLUTELY. While the idea of a Chamber of Commerce is an old one, an active, progressive Chamber can be an enormous benefit to small towns. We brought our very own Chamber Director to talk about everything she does and the benefits of an active, involved Chamber. About Kausha: Kausha lives on her family's farm and ranch about 15 miles north of Oakes. She and her husband Chuck have been married for 30 years and have three children: Dalton, who is married to McKinzee, and their daughter Nellie Mae; Addison and her husband Parker; and their youngest son Garret. They are so proud to say that their sons are part of the family farm/ranch and so that legacy will continue for the Magill homestead. Their daughter is also involved in agriculture and has started her own Ag Marketing business where she designs and produces bull sale catalogs along with other creative advertising for ag-related businesses. Kausha was an English Teacher in her early days then worked side by side with her husband for several years until their sons were able to be involved in the day-to-day operations. Then, the wonderful opportunity to become the Oakes Area Chamber of Commerce Director became her part-time job, and she's been serving in that capacity for nearly four years! She can honestly say that she's never had a day where she dreaded coming to work and finds her job to be incredibly rewarding. She get excited thinking about the fact that there are young people who are coming back to Oakes because it's a thriving small town! "We can actually boast that we don't have an empty building on Main Street even though we aren't immune to the challenges that come with being a rural community." She loves being able to help our chamber membership promote what they have whether that is merchandise, services, opportunities, or events for the public, as well as just promote Oakes as a whole. In her free time, she likes to spend time with her family (especially her new granddaughter!) and work on puzzles and read in the winter. Her summers are usually filled with outdoor activities along with riding horses as much as she can! In this episode, we cover:

• What a Chamber of Commerce is, and how they're funded
• What Kausha does to help local businesses and events
• Why seeing things through the eyes of a newcomer can be so helpful
• The power of being helpful and welcoming
• Why we should never discount the passion of transplants

Links and Resources Mentioned: Oakes Chamber Website: https://oakesnd.com/chamber Oakes Chamber Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oakeschamber/ NDSU Extension Community Impressions: https://www.ndsu.edu/agriculture/extension/extension-topics/leadership-and-civic-engagement/programs/community-impressions Irrigation Days: https://oakesnd.com/irrigation-days