Beloit Area Chamber of Commerce
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
The Beloit Area Chamber of Commerce has the best members and we are excited for a chance to spotlight them! Every month we will highlight two members and share what makes them so special. Our hope is that you will visit their businesses and find out in person why they are an invaluable part of our community.
Given Grace
How long have you been in business?
We have been open for 4 years.
Tell us a little about your business.
At Given Grace, we offer fresh and silk flowers. Green and blooming house plants. Trendy decor. Gifts for all occasions. Local vendor talent, signs, jewelry, ceramics, macrame, crochet, and more!
What will people get from your business that they won't get anywhere else?
I can't say that you won't get what we offer anywhere else in town...but we do take pride in friendly compassionate customer service, professionalism, creative trendy floral designs, long-lasting flowers, fair pricing, and unique vendor items.
What are your biggest challenges as a business owner?
It depends on the day, each day holds new lessons to grow as a business owner and person. COVID for sure has brought on a lot of lessons...
What are the biggest rewards?
The community, our community continually comes out to support Given Grace and its vendors. The connections I have made, the relationships that have been formed, the people I have met, that is where the reward is, friendships.
Why belong to the Chamber? In your opinion, why is Beloit Area Chamber of Commerce important to our community?
We have to be a destination shopping area to compete with larger cities. The more Beloit has to offer, the more people will come and the longer they will spend time and money in our town. Come to town for the doctor, each lunch, grab your prescriptions, do a little gift shopping for an upcoming friend's birthday party, hit the grocery store, fill up with gas on your way back out of town. The more we offer as a community the stronger we are.
Nichell Lowery, Owner
Central Valley Ag
How long have you been in business?
Central Valley Ag has been in business in Mitchell County since 1911 when its predecessor cooperative, Farmway-Co-op, was first formed in Beloit. CVA was formed by farmers, and is owned by farmers, for the benefit of farmers and that is simply why we exist.
Tell us a little about your business.
Central Valley Ag is a farmer-owned cooperative headquartered in York, Neb. CVA has locations in Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. In Mitchell County, Kansas, CVA has locations in Asherville, Beloit, Cawker City, Glen Elder, Hunter, Scottsville, Solomon Rapids, and Tipton. CVA is an innovative leader providing products and services in grain, agronomy, feed, and energy.
As a cooperative, we are governed by a Board of Directors. The Central Valley Ag Board of Directors is made up of local, agricultural leaders, who are recognized for their industry expertise, as well as economic and community development skills. The Board of Directors' mission is to provide leadership of Central Valley Ag's current direction and initiatives, in addition to positioning the organization for future success and profitability for members.
You can find more information about Central Valley Ag by visiting www.cvacoop.com
What will people get from your business that they won't get anywhere else?
At Central Valley Ag, we take our mission seriously. Every single day we aspire to provide innovative solutions that yield a profit for you, our customers. The agricultural world is changing all around us, and we must look toward the future to continue to provide the best agronomy, energy, feed and grain products and services. CVA remains committed to being a leader in the cooperative world and will continue to keep a financially strong balance sheet to ensure long-term success for our employees and customers.
We look forward to serving you, and future generations at our locations across Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa.
What are your biggest challenges as a business owner?
The potential turnover in key positions at Central Valley Ag is very real- whether it is retirement or our employees being recruited by other companies to higher-level positions. It is an important challenge to CVA. For CVA to continue its success, we think promoting from within is by far the best. We have been encouraging all of our supervisors to understand one of their key roles as a manager of people is to develop their people -either to be able to move up when the opportunity arises or be better in their current position.
With that challenge in mind, CVA is always looking for talented individuals to join the cooperative family so that we can strengthen the culture of success as we remain committed to delivering value to our members.
Ready to join the cooperative family? View open career opportunities at www.cvacoop.com/careers
What are the biggest rewards?
The biggest reward for Central Valley Ag is to be cooperative. We believe that the cooperative business model requires a balanced approach; balancing service, profit, patronage, equity redemption, and reinvestment. We are proud of our performance in each of these areas. It is our goal to focus on customer needs and the processes that improve our customer's experience and to do these things in a manner that is World Class.
We also believe that true success comes from not only serving our members but also returning profits to our owners.
Looking ahead, your cooperative will continue to invest in assets to improve our ability to serve customers. We will continue to focus on our core businesses of Grain, Agronomy, Energy, and Feed; with emphasis on you our customers, innovation, and value-based programs, while constantly reviewing and improving our efficiency.
Why belong to the Chamber? In your opinion, why is Beloit Area Chamber of Commerce important to our community?
As a cooperative, being part of the community is an important part of our foundation. One visible way to be part of the community is to belong to the Beloit Area Chamber of Commerce. It's a great partnership between the cooperative and the Chamber.
Central Valley Ag celebrates National Co-op Month. Back row, left to right: Riordan Caldwell, Mallory Shoemaker, David Edwards, Chris Falloon, Casey Henk, and Ashley Dean. Front row, left to right: Tracy Haller, Ron Clark, Bailie Hennes, Rhonda Lindsay, Kendall Hostler and Julie Harrison.
© 2023 Beloit Area Chamber of Commerce
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