Hartford, Wis., is host to a number of fun events on Saturday, November 13th and you won't want to miss them! Included, as always, is the annual Hartford Christmas Parade. Dana Osmanski of First Weber Realtors and the president of the Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce joins me to talk about all of the great events going on!
I solve the question on everybody’s mind: Is there a Washington County in Hawaii?
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And I did a bunch of digging. And by that I mean I went to Wikipedia, and Wikipedia says, No, there is not a Washington County in Hawaii. However, Hawaii is one of only 19 states in the U. S. that does not have a Washington County. There are 31 that do. Thank you, Wikipedia. And thank you, Justin, for having me figure that out.
I was, uh, it was five minutes well spent. Uh, this week I'm speaking with Dana Osmanski of First Weber Realtors and the Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce. I know it's only the beginning of November. In fact, this episode's coming out on November 1st, but we're speaking about the Hartford Christmas Parade and all the things happening in Hartford on Saturday, November 13th is a little bit near and dear to my heart because the first parade that I ever rode in was the Hartford Christmas Parade.
I was there with Mike Elliott. We were in a big old Ford van with a picture of Toby Keith on the side, and I have very fond memories from the parades that I attended there over the years and my time. Waving with Mike. And with that, let's speak with Dana Osmanski right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
Dana, thanks for joining me. So you are a member and board president of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, and first and foremost, you're an area business owner. And Realtor, tell us a bit about your business.
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I enjoy working with people and helping them make their dreams come true and find, find the home of their dreams. And I also enjoy helping the other end on the selling side where you You know, people are transitioning and doing that. And so, First Weber and real estate keeps me very busy. Sure,
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And how long have you been doing this now?
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It's, it's been, uh. A whirlwind for the last year and a half here and not too many signs of it slowing much. Sure.
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So I've served in different capacities, just a regular board member. And I've also served as treasurer for the.
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They, uh, add so much value. I feel very strongly that's pretty much the first thing I would do as a business. If I was opening a business or starting my own business, the first thing I would do is go join a chamber. Um, chamber membership gives you credibility. It gives you networking. Availability, it really is a window into what's happening in the community.
Uh, I fully, fully support chambers everywhere. And, and when traveling, it's great. You call the Chamber of Commerce. You can ask a lot of questions. They're going to point you in the right direction. And
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People to bounce questions off of and get answers for and find resources when you need stuff, whether that's finding employees or, or helping to, uh, overcome healthcare issues and all those kinds of things, it's, they're, they're, I am 100 percent with you, the Chambers are great.
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How many communities have two that you can, you know, Check out one's, you know, an evening time and one's a Saturday morning time. We have parades, we have festivals, we have, um, really strong church groups doing lots and lots of good things in our, you know, high school and middle school and elementary schools are always active.
The downtown is incredibly vibrant in Hartford. We have a very strong industrial park. I mean, there's so much to offer in Hartford and it's, There's just always something happening.
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And that whole downtown area is great. And it's certainly come a long way too over the last, I don't know, decade for sure.
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And, you know, as far as recreation, like the aquatic center, we have Pike Lake State Park. We have a multitude of parks throughout our city for being outdoors and walking and trails. Um, it, you know, Pike Lake. You can go boating in Hartford, you're in the town of Hartford on a boat, you know, uh, so there's just so much to offer.
And yet you still have that small town feel where people know one another, people are friendly. The other thing I would mention about Hartford is we are incredibly generous community. The aquatic center was all funded with private donations. Our shower arts center. It's an amazing, amazing community.
Amazing facility. 571 seat theater. It has world class entertainment throughout the year and you can park for free and you can walk in and you can go there and we have a really active rec center. The library, you know, the list just keeps going. And then we have great lodging opportunities and great restaurants in our community.
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It's all right.
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But I was surprised by back then how well attended and how many floats there were and how many people. People came out to watch and all of that. I was also surprised by how stiff my arm was at the end of the day from waving for that. But the Heart for Christmas Parade, is that the first parade kind of in the area every year?
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Right. That's for sure. Right.
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The great thing about Hartford is. You can do that. They will be there when you get there at 3 p. m., you know, that's not something you have to worry about in our community.
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I'm usually in the parade. Oh sure. Yeah. Good call. Um. I think any of the seats, it's right down Main Street. It's, it's a good spot anywhere.
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And so, um, looking forward to that.
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r great thing that happens at:
We are so privileged to have this amazing locomotive engine that makes its home here in Hartford at the Auto Museum. And they pull the train out and Santa will be in the caboose. And so the children are going to be able to bring their kids. Letters to Santa. There's going to be Santa's mailbox is going to be out for that.
And they get to wave and say hello to Santa as they pass through and drop off their letters of what they want for Christmas. Oh,
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We're outside. It's just, it's a great day in Hartford.
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You don't have to worry about it. Don't have to worry about if packages arrive, should be a good deal.
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They're, they're the ones who are donating to the different events at the high school or for the sporting events or for the plays. They're, they're participating in the community. So, it's, it's Just the right thing to do, in my opinion.
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So much going on. And then, uh, at the end of the parade, there's another event going on. Yes,
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The city band is going to be playing songs. They're going to have hot cocoa, coffee, popcorn, and, um, it'll just be a really neat thing to turn those lights on and, um, have that opportunity. The Riverwalk is a neat thing. It's walkable and the lights are just beautiful. So we're excited about that.
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And one, I have to say it, it's hard to believe that we've already mentioned Santa a few times in Christmas this year, but we're looking forward to coming into the holiday season. If someone wants to join the Hartford area Chamber of Commerce, where should they start?
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Sounds like you're going to need some coffee in the morning to get it all in during the day. And we're looking forward to seeing that.
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People giving of their time and the volunteers are really what makes this happen. And they are all community members that care.
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