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June 12, 2025 • 21 mins

This episode takes a closer look at the intersection of business leadership and community engagement with Ryan Parsons, President of the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce in Rochester, Minnesota. Under Ryan's leadership, the chamber is helping local businesses and entrepreneurs navigate a rapidly changing landscape, one shaped by technology, workforce shifts and new ways of connecting. Ryan also shares about the success of Lemonade Day, a powerful youth entrepreneurship program that's helping inspire the next generation of business leaders.

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Episode Transcript

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Bill Von Bank (00:00):
The Growing Destinations podcast is brought
to you by Experience Rochester.
Learn more about Minnesota'sthird largest city, which is
home to Mayo Clinic and featureswonderful recreational and
entertainment opportunities, byvisiting
experiencerochestermncom.

Ryan Parsons (00:15):
What we see in the feedback that we get from
employers is one thing that'slacking at times with some
incoming workforce is softskills and just the ability to
sit down and work a plan, have aconversation, go through these
different details.
That's something we're justbeing in person, be able to talk
through things, get to knowsomebody that can't be replaced.

Bill Von Bank (00:36):
Welcome to the Growing Destinations podcast,
where we take a deep dive intodestination development and
focus on a wide range of topicsfrom tourism and entertainment
to economic development andentrepreneurism and much more.
I'm your host, bill Vaughn Bank.
Today, we're taking a closerlook at how business leadership
and community engagementintersect.

(00:58):
My guest is Ryan Parsons,president of the Rochester Area
Chamber of Commerce in Rochester, minnesota.
Under Ryan's leadership, theChamber is helping local
businesses and entrepreneursnavigate a rapidly changing
landscape, one shaped bytechnology, workforce shifts and
new ways of connecting.
We'll also talk about LemonadeDay, a powerful youth

(01:21):
entrepreneurship program that'shelping inspire the next
generation of business leaders.
Ryan Parsons, welcome to theGrowing Destinations podcast.
Excellent Thanks.

Ryan Parsons (01:30):
Bill, thanks for having me.

Bill Von Bank (01:31):
Well, we've been talking about having you on, so
here you are, I think, to getstarted.
Tell us about your careerjourney.

Ryan Parsons (01:36):
I grew up in Bismarck Mandan, north Dakota,
so not too far from here, nostranger to the winters, grew up
there, went away for college inMinnesota and then I made the
move back right around 2007,.
Give or take.
So in 2008, I joined up withthe Bismarck Mandan Chamber of
Commerce and really had anopportunity to go through all
the different roles and justgain a lot of experience in

(01:57):
different details of life in achamber of commerce.
That was really helpful becauseI really got to learn the
groundwork of what can make asuccessful chamber organization,
and when I mean successful Imean what can have the greatest
impact in a community.
So that's largely, you know,work in advocacy, business
advocacy, workforce strategies,and then the fun stuff that

(02:17):
people tend to think of firstwith the chamber, like
networking, engagement, events,things like that.
So using that experience andhave an opportunity to kind of
really grow through the ranks.
Then, as we were looking for anew opportunity, rochester came
up and here we are.

Bill Von Bank (02:31):
You came to Rochester during the pandemic,
as I recall we did.
How did that impact your life?
Tough times for sure.

Ryan Parsons (02:39):
There's no doubt about that.
The one thing with that is, asan organization, in my previous
location, we were on top of itin terms of COVID, covid,
preparation, precautions, justhow to operate as an
organization in that environment.
So now, coming to a newcommunity, obviously being the
home of healthcare and what haveyou here in Rochester, that

(03:01):
aspect was different.
But in terms of how to operateas an organization, as an
employer, I was ready to go andthere was even some things that
I looked forward to taking onwith that walk that path.
And then here we are today andwe can look back on some lessons
learned here.

Bill Von Bank (03:16):
What drew you to chamber leadership and what do
you find most rewarding aboutthe role?

Ryan Parsons (03:21):
Being able to make a big impact.
That's really important as welook to the work of a chamber of
commerce, and that's reallyunique for a chamber, because
you can really bring together alot of different players.
Focus on some strategies toreally help drive change in a
community, whether that be interms of workforce, business
advocacy or just bringingtogether employers and how can

(03:44):
they improve themselves.

Bill Von Bank (03:45):
For listeners who might not be familiar with the
full scope of what a chamberdoes, how would you describe the
role the Rochester Chamberplays in supporting local
business?

Ryan Parsons (03:55):
For us we really go down to four core functions,
four core pillars.
Tim likes to give me a hardtime on that, but it's a great
way to really organize the workthat we do and know.
And that work includes businessadvocacy.
So that's how are werepresenting businesses on the
local, the state and the federallevel?
And obviously here in Minnesotawe have a lot of work to do on
the state level.
There's no doubt about that.

(04:16):
We're very appreciative of thepartnerships that we have with
legislators, the businesscommunity, all with the idea of
how can we work together to helpdrive some of that change and
benefit not only the employersbut also the teams and the
talent that make them up.
So advocacy is very important.
Growing for us at the RochesterChamber is really our space and
workforce.
A lot of our work right nowrevolves around career

(04:39):
exploration, early careerpathway work.
With that it's all about howcan you start to get that spark
of future career interest instudents much earlier, and we
have some excellent programs inwhich we're bringing teachers
into industry, students intoindustry, as well as some of our
larger initiatives in that,like our STEAM Summit.
So workforce is very much agrowing piece for us.

(05:00):
And then resourcescommunication.
We're very blessed to have1,232 members.

Bill Von Bank (05:08):
That's big.

Ryan Parsons (05:09):
Yeah, yeah, we're the second largest chamber in
Minnesota.
Now, if you count the statechamber, we're the third, but
let's just count the local ones,so we're the second largest in
Minnesota, which is a bigresponsibility and something
that we take very serious and wewelcome the challenge.
When you have that manybusinesses and so many different
businesses whether we'retalking industry size, location,

(05:31):
because we do represent Byronand Stewardville as well as the
Rochester region how do you keepthem on the same page?
That's why the communicationsare so important.
Our team at the chamber does anoutstanding job with that, and
that's never more important thanwhen we get to things like
legislative session or localchanges or even federal.
And then the fourth.
That really is the thing that Ithink some people look at the

(05:52):
chamber first for, but we wantto change that.
We want to make sure that theyunderstand all the work going on
in terms of advocacy andworkforce, but networking member
engagement that's a popularthing that we do put forward.
Big kudos to the team foreverything that we do produce,
because it really is a steadystream of events that are, we
hope, produced in a high qualityfashion and people find

(06:14):
enjoyable.

Bill Von Bank (06:15):
I am impressed by the number.

Ryan Parsons (06:17):
It's a lot of work and it never really ends.
There's no slow season for usin any way, shape or form, and
that really speaks to the ideathat you know back to having you
know the amount of members thatwe're lucky to have.
Everybody's interest isdifferent.
Not everybody is in the chamberfor the same reason.
Some really appreciate, youknow, the different networking

(06:37):
opportunities, things like thatto connect Great, we love that.
But there are a lot of membersthat are with us to support what
we do in terms of businessadvocacy, whether it be local,
state, federal, you name it.
So for us it's just a constantmaneuvering of how do we make
sure that what we're doing as anorganization can meet employers
where they're at?

Bill Von Bank (06:56):
What are some flagship programs or events the
chamber offers that help drivebusiness engagement and economic
vitality?

Ryan Parsons (07:02):
Well, if we're talking economic vitality, the
one I would focus in on thatwould be our economic summit.
So our economic summit reallyhas a couple of different
factors to it.
You have the core event itself,which is great.
We're hearing fromentrepreneurs and small business
industry leaders.
We have a keynote that speaksto the economic picture on the

(07:23):
international and breaks it downto what that means on the local
level.
But the other piece within thatis what we do with our business
outlook survey.
That's what we produce eachOctober and that's really just
getting a gauge with thebusiness community on okay,
where are your priorities?
What's impacting you, not onlyin the year, that is, but what
are you seeing for the yearahead?

(07:43):
And that's been very valuableto us because that helps really
direct where we go in terms ofinitiatives, programming,
advocacy, efforts.
That's presented at theEconomic Summit and we're able
to then use that information andthat partnership with the
University of MinnesotaExtension to be able to really
share with employers and thebusiness community on what

(08:06):
others are going through andlet's start talking about what
some solutions can be in thatspace.
So, in terms of economicvitality, economic summit that's
very important for us.
We have ones that really bringtogether those that are closely
tied to what's going on in termsof advocacy policy.
The one I would highlight thereis obviously legislative update
.
It's a very popular one for us.
It's right there in the name,you know.

(08:27):
We're bringing together thelegislators, talk about some of
those policy impacts that arecoming up and, most importantly
in all that, communicating.
Okay, this is what the impactis to businesses.
That's why this is important.
This is really where we're aton it.
So that covers the state side.
That's only half the discussion, though.
You have what's happening onthe local level, too, which is

(08:47):
where we have local governmentconnect.
We're bringing together city,county parks, schools to talk
about priorities and where arethose opportunities for progress
.

Bill Von Bank (08:56):
There's one program that is so impressive
that I've experienced.
I have some team members who'vegone through the program.
It's Leadership, greaterRochester.
Can you tell us more about thatprogram?

Ryan Parsons (09:08):
Yeah, leadership Greater Rochester, we call it
LGR.
If you're in a hurry, that oneis just really important to us
as we look at how can we bestprepare that next generation of
talent to move into leadershiproles and when I say leadership
roles, I'm not just talkingwithin, where they work, I'm
talking within the community,whether that be at the county,
the city, state, you name it.
And LGR does a great job of that, because what we're doing there

(09:31):
is we're bringing a class ofabout 34 or 36, and we're
putting them through a series of10 different sessions in which
they're really able toexperience everything from
economic development to publicsafety, all the different
aspects that go on in acommunity.
But now, a really importantpart of that, especially when we

(09:51):
think about what it means todevelop as a leader, is the
Community Impact Project.
So you got the sessions, theCommunity Impact Project, so you
got the sessions.
But the Community ImpactProject is a great way for those
within LGR to learn how do wewalk that path of creating an
idea and working together withothers, even though we might

(10:12):
have some different viewpointson things, and working that plan
to reach an ultimate goal thatcan have an impact in the
community.
That's been really encouragingto see how that's been received
and how it's grown.

Bill Von Bank (10:23):
And this is a year-long project.

Ryan Parsons (10:25):
Ten months.

Bill Von Bank (10:26):
Ten months.

Ryan Parsons (10:27):
So there's really no downtime from a chamber
standpoint, but from a cohort,from a class side of things ten
months.

Bill Von Bank (10:33):
What unique opportunities and challenges do
you see for a chamber operatingin a city like Rochester,
especially with the presence ofMayo Clinic and the Destination
Medical Center initiative?

Ryan Parsons (10:44):
You know, when you think about that, and for a
community, all the greatpotential that's ahead of
Rochester, it's really amazing.
And Mayo Clinic is a massive,massive part of that.
So for a chamber of commerce,we're really lucky to be in a
community that is home to thenation, the world's number one
health care system, so that'soutstanding.
And with all the excitement ondeck, with Bolt Ford Unbound in

(11:08):
Rochester and so on, for achamber, what that means for us
is how can we support, how canwe help support, mayo Clinic and
, in addition to that, all theneeds of the businesses that are
going to come along with thissignificant development too, and
that includes other industries.
A regional look at it.
How can we not only supportMayo Clinic but support those

(11:28):
partners around and thosebusinesses and talent around?
Now DMC is honestly anexcellent economic development
tool to have in our toolbox.
Not many communities havesomething like that For us to be
able to say that we have thistool at our use and some great
partners within that.

(11:48):
That's outstanding and that'ssomething that can really be
used to push this potential evenfurther along.
And then I think, looking at it, it's exciting times for
Rochester ahead.
We're not going to do it alone.
We're going to need, obviously,rochester as a whole, but then
our surrounding neighbors andour communities.
They're going to be importantin this path too, and it's how

(12:10):
can we all work together in thataspect?

Bill Von Bank (12:11):
too, and they'll see growth.

Ryan Parsons (12:13):
Oh, no doubt about it.
I mean, you just think aboutsome of the projections for
Stewardville and Byron and whatthat means for them too.
Just as it means a lot toeverybody in our region, it
means a lot to them too.

Bill Von Bank (12:25):
What are some of the biggest challenges facing
Rochester's business communitytoday, and how is the chamber
responding?

Ryan Parsons (12:32):
That goes right back to that business outlook
survey that I mentioned.
For about the last three years.
With that business outlooksurvey, every year what's came
back is workforce challenges.
So when I say that, to be morespecific, the top three, they're
always kind of rotatingdepending on the year.
You have talent attraction, youhave hiring talent, which goes
into the idea of beingcompetitive in terms of how you

(12:53):
pay and compensate and so on,and then also retaining talent.
So in some shape, way or formthose are always rotating in the
top three.
So workforce is number one andthat's why for us, especially in
recent years here, we'vestarted to put even more focus
on workforce initiatives.
Yes, on the policy side, but,like I shared earlier, we're

(13:14):
looking at it from a long game.
It's not just about somethinginstant.
It's how can we start some ofthis career work and encourage
student success early on,because student success is going
to be employer success.
Let's be real about it.
So we can encourage that earlyon.
We're going to hopefully beable to see those returns later
on, not only positive foremployers, but we're going to

(13:35):
have some outstanding talentthat's really prepared to
contribute right off the bat.

Bill Von Bank (13:40):
We've seen technology transform how
professionals connect withplatforms like LinkedIn, playing
a growing role.
How is the chamber adapting tothe digital shift in networking
and information sharing?

Ryan Parsons (13:53):
With that, I think it's just making sure that
we're ready for it.
So, with that, ourcommunications team does an
outstanding job with that,especially making sure that we
have a significant presence.
Online social media you name it.
But I think the part I'd focuson with that is that, yes, with
the social media, the onlineopportunities all growing, that

(14:16):
never makes the in-personopportunities that we provide
more important.
I mean, they're more importantnow than ever to create those
in-person connections and startto put a face to the name and
develop those relationships inperson instead of everything
being done via social media.
I know that might make me soundlike a guy just kind of

(14:36):
grumbling on and on about stuff.
Just kind of grumbling on andon about stuff, but it's true,
because what we see in thefeedback that we get from
employers is one thing that'slacking at times with some
incoming workforce is softskills and just the ability to
sit down and work a plan, have aconversation, go through these
different details.
That's something we're justbeing in person, be able to talk
through things, get to knowsomebody.

(14:57):
That can't be replaced.
So we take advantage of theopportunity social media
presents.
There's no doubt about that,especially in terms of marketing
and highlighting the Rochesterregion, but when it comes to
development and creatingconnections, you can't beat in
person.

Bill Von Bank (15:11):
How do you determine the kinds of
programming or resources yourmembers need most?

Ryan Parsons (15:15):
Listening to members, that's number one.
Listening to the businesscommunity when are the things
that are impacting them?
And that's why that businessoutlook survey is so important
to us.
It really kind of gives us thatinside look into what is
impacting employers.
We can then make our shiftsfrom there on where we need to
maybe put a little more emphasisor make some adjustments.
So that's really important.

(15:36):
But then we have a reallytalented team and they do a
great job of making sure thatthey're always listening.
But then we have a reallytalented team and they do a
great job of making sure thatthey're always listening.
They're aware, as they're goingthrough contacts with members

(15:56):
county officials, city officials, state, you name it of what's
on their minds and plan.
I think every organizationshould have one.
You need one.
That's our blueprint, that'swhat guides us on where we go,
and you mix that with thefeedback we receive in real time
and that's how we make ourplans year to year.

Bill Von Bank (16:10):
How has member feedback influenced perhaps new
initiatives or changes at theChamber?

Ryan Parsons (16:15):
The career pathways piece that I mentioned
earlier.
That's a perfect example ofthat pathways piece that I
mentioned earlier.
That's a perfect example ofthat.
So that's something as we wentthrough discussions and with
some of our partners in K-12, aswell as higher ed and then
industry.
There's all these greatopportunities, but if we don't
start working towards that now,it's going to be a missed
opportunity.
So that's a great example of,as we listen to employers, where

(16:37):
were the gaps in the community,what was not happening or where
was our opportunity to havefurther impact?
That's where we just left thechance to be a part of that and
we got some great programs thatwe have within that umbrella,
which I'm happy to share aboutanother time, and we're going to
grow it because it's not goingto go away.
Workforce is going to be achallenge throughout the years

(16:57):
ahead.

Bill Von Bank (16:58):
You just spoke about LGR as one of your key
programs.
Another program that's reallyexciting and I'm glad we get
some time to talk about it isLemonade Day.
It's a great initiative and,for those who don't know what it
is, tell us about it and whyit's important to the chamber.

Ryan Parsons (17:15):
Lemonade Day.
That's something that webrought about four years ago.
That's a program I had anopportunity to work with prior
and it does a really great jobof encouraging financial
literacy, promoting youthentrepreneurship, bringing about
soft skills in youth, and so webrought that here about four
years ago and it's growing eachand every year and it really
hits the mark on all thosepoints that I mentioned there.

(17:37):
That's important for us becauseas we look to that future,
talent growth in the area andbusiness growth, having that
awareness and that familiarityin that very young age, that's
important.
And to see how excited theyouth gets with a program like
Lemonade Day and the creativitythat they bring forth, that's

(17:58):
been outstanding to see andespecially how it's growing each
and every year.

Bill Von Bank (18:02):
As the name implies it's.
Lemonade Stands in thecommunity.

Ryan Parsons (18:06):
Yeah, lemonade Stands.
Young entrepreneurs areencouraged to bring forward
their business.
They get all the resources thatthey need.
They get a workbook to createtheir business plan, their
budget, their marketing strategy.
Then they need to come up,obviously, with what their
recipe is and what else theywant to sell, and just the level
of creativity that comesthrough in all of this is just

(18:28):
outstanding.
I mean, yeah, you could just bethere and sell lemonade, that's
great.
But you see, some get socreative with what they do, like
they're developing braceletsand stuff to sell, and they just
get really creative with it.
I always appreciate that and Iappreciate the support
throughout the community too tobring something like that
forward because it's growing.
First year in, we had, I wantto say, around 250 registered.

(18:50):
This year at our fourth year,we have 500-plus registered.
We've expanded our reach toByron and Stewardville as well
as the Rochester region.

Bill Von Bank (18:59):
And, yeah, this past Saturday, it was just
really exciting to see everybodyout and about.
As you think about the role ofchambers in communities and you
look about the future of theRochester Chamber, or maybe your
colleagues around the country,what does the future look like
for chambers, or successfulchambers?

Ryan Parsons (19:15):
More important than ever.
I'll get that out right off thebat, especially in Minnesota.
You know you need a businessorganization that can represent
the employer and the businesscommunity and the talent within,
so that's critical.
So chamber is never moreimportant than today, especially
in Minnesota.
And I think what can lead tosuccess for a chamber is, number
one, listening to your members.

(19:37):
How can you best impact thecommunity that you're within and
the state that you're within?
And I think a lot of that comesdown to the idea of where is a
chamber of space within advocacy.
You know, where can a chamber,even if you are a two-person
operation or a one-personoperation, because that's a real
deal, there's a lot of chambersthroughout Minnesota that are
one-person shops.
How can you still have animpact on that side?

(20:00):
And really the space for impactin that is leaning on your
partners throughout the state.
Minnesota Chamber does anoutstanding job on the state and
even to the federal level, andyou have the US Chamber on the
federal level and then you haveorganizations like the Rochester
Chamber and Mankato who dogreat work on the local side and
the state side.
So it's really leaning intoyour partners as maybe smaller

(20:23):
chambers, on how you can bringforward impact.
But now to your question ofwhat means a successful chamber.
Yeah, it's that idea of how doyou find that balance to meet
member needs and impact yourcommunity and advocacy is at the
fore.

Bill Von Bank (20:36):
Ryan Parsons, we appreciate your time today and
all of the great work you'redoing with the Rochester Area
Chamber of Commerce.
Thank you for being our gueston the Growing Destinations
podcast.

Ryan Parsons (20:46):
Thank you, thanks for having me.

Bill Von Bank (20:48):
Thank you for tuning in to the Growing
Destinations podcast and don'tforget to subscribe.
This podcast is brought to youby Experience Rochester.
Find out more about Rochester,minnesota, and its growing arts
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