Chamber
Executive Wisconsin Digest February, 2016
MMAC Report: Number of positive economic
indicators for area ticks upward
The number of improved economic indicators for the metro Milwaukee
area showed a small uptick with 14 positive indicators, up from 13 positive
indicators in November, according to the monthly economic trends report from
the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce.
“The aggregate total of positive indicators has remained fairly
stable in 2015’s second half but across industries job growth has become
less broad-based,” said Bret Mayborne, the MMAC’s economic research
director. “Nonetheless overall strength in the local economy continues to
show through, particularly in unemployment and housing and real
estate indicators.”
Highlights of the MMAC report:
·
Nonfarm employment numbered 856,600 in December, a 0.8 percent
increase from one year ago.
·
The number of unemployed fell 11.8 percent from year-ago levels to
36,500 while new unemployment compensation claims numbered 5,679, a 15.8
percent decrease from one year ago.
·
Metro Milwaukee’s seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate fell 0.5
percentage points from year-ago levels, to 4.5 percent in December.
·
The length of the workweek for manufacturing production workers
averaged 43.5 hours in December, up 3.1 percent over year-ago levels.
·
A small gain was recorded in average weekly earnings, up 0.3 percent
(to $847) while average hourly earnings fell 2.7 percent (to $19.47).
·
Existing home sales in the metro Milwaukee area registered a 14.5
percent increase in December over year-ago levels.
·
Air passenger usage of Mitchell International Airport rose 0.4
percent in December, to 502,372. Read more: Biz Times
Beloit Chamber Announces keynote speaker for Annual Dinner
Phil Keiser, president and chief executive
officer for the Culvers Franchising System, will be the keynote speaker at the
Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce 89th Annual Dinner, set for March 8 at the
Eclipse Center.
Keiser has over 35 years of experience and expertise in strategic
restaurant management in the food industry. He joined Culvers Franchising
System in 1996 and was named President in 2003.
Before joining Culver’s he held various management positions with Burger
Chef and Hardee’s from 1978 to 1996.
He has been a driving force in the development and expansion of this
franchise-model restaurant chain. Since 1996, Culver’s has grown from 44
restaurants to over 550 in 22 states. Moreover, the restaurant support team has
grown from 14 to over 100 members. Culver’s was ranked first in franchisee
satisfaction by Franchise Business Review in 2015.
Registration for the chamber dinner will be open
soon on the Chamber’s website at www.greaterbeloitchamber.org.
Fox Cities Chamber Survey:
Companies optimistic about 2016
The head of the Fox Cities Chamber
of Commerce says companies are more optimistic than they've been in
years. The group released its annual economic outlook survey this morning.
Seventy-five percent believe their
sales will increase in 2016, 68 percent expect their profits will rise, and 62
percent think the local economy will grow.
President Shannon Full says the
results are the most positive they've seen, in at least a decade.
Eighty-eight percent of companies
think the local economic vitality is good or average, compared to 84 percent
for the entire country. Read more: WHBY.com
Lake Zurich Chamber of Commerce
2016 Community Guide & Membership Directory
The Lake Zurich
Area Chamber of Commerce 2016 Community Guide & Business Directory is
available at the Lake Zurich Area Chamber today! Thanks
to Dale Perrin and the chamber team for their help and
direction putting this together!
Town SquarePublications (www.townsquarepublications.com)
can help you accomplish your chamber's gloss map, directory, community guide or
publication needs at no expense to the chamber. Please email John Dussman
at jdussman@tspubs.com or call (847)-427-4633.
Famous Wisconsin Brewer Dick Leinenkugel to speak at Forward
Janesville’s Annual Dinner
This year’s Forward Janesville Annual Dinner could be a bit of a beer bash. The business membership organization’s president John Beckord announced through a video presentation during today’s awards luncheon, Wisconsin brewer Dick Leinenkugel will be the keynote speaker. Beckord says they’ll turn the banquet hall into a Leinenkugel lodge on the night of April 5th, complete with beer tasting. Registration begins Feburary 8th. More Information: Forward Janesville
East Troy
Railroad Christmas train rides set records
The East
Troy Railroad experienced record crowds in 2015 for holiday train rides.
More than
3,700 people enjoyed a ride aboard trains running from East Troy to Santa's
Workshop at the Elegant Farmer. Those passengers also donated 536 pounds of
food, which was shared with the East Troy Food Pantry to help families in need
this winter. Both numbers were records for the railroad, which enjoyed
considerable growth this past year.
The annual
"Santa Train," held this year on Dec. 5, was also a big success,
according to Ryan Jonas, president of the East Troy Railroad Museum.
"More
than twice as many people were able to take the train bringing Santa to the
tree lighting in East Troy," Jonas said. "We used three of our
historic interurban railroad cars, so we could offer more seating than in past
years. We also added some dynamic lighting effects, which added to the
excitement of spectators along the railroad."
The Santa
Train is presented in conjunction with the East Troy Area Chamber of Commerce
and Mukwonago Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Center. Read more: Lake County Now
Bailey Harbor Community Association event: Pond
hockey headlines Winter Carnival in Baileys Harbor
The Baileys Harbor Community Association holds its third
annual Winter Carnival from Friday through Sunday, Feb. 5-7, in Baileys Harbor
and on the ice of Kangaroo Lake.
Most of the fun will take place right on Kangaroo Lake on
Saturday, with the spotlight throughout the day on the Door County Pond Hockey
Tournament. It features 32 men's, women's and youth teams from across the state
and Midwest playing 30-minute games with no goalies on 10 rinks from 8 a.m. to
4 p.m. The winning team gets the Stanley Thermos trophy, along with prizes and
bragging rights. For more, go to doorcountypondhockey.com.
Other icy fun includes games like kickball and Hungry Hippos
on the lake. The Logan Creek Sled Dog team will give rides on the ice from 9 to
11 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m. and be available to meet visitors between rides. Food
and drink will be available throughout the day, and visitors can buy a s'mores
kit from the Baileys Harbor Community Association's Snow Bar (which also will
have beverages) and make their snacks over Papa Joe's Bonfire. Read more: Green
Bay Press-Gazette
Optimism
abounds at Portage Area Chamber of Commerce banquet
Optimism
filled the Ballroom in downtown Portage with an evening of congratulations and
looking forward to impending accomplishments Wednesday night during the Portage
Area Chamber of Commerce 2016 Awards.
Despite
running into an acquaintance he has known for decades, Rick Dodd was answering
the question of why he was running for mayor and what he would do with the
position.
At one of
the front tables, Mayor Bill Tierney welcomed the evening’s guest speaker, Kurt
Bauer, president and CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. With the
curiosity of an outsider’s questions, conversation went to all of the most
pressing questions that Portage leaders are facing in the next year.
Bauer
asked Portage School District Superintendent Charles Poches what challenges the
district faces, which naturally led to the short list of funding, funding and
funding. This lead to the topic of schools being tied to the demand of local
real estate and the local tax base, when lead to questions to Tierney of how
Portage aims to make the city more attractive for new residents. Given the
average age, one of the few conclusions was that much has to do with kids’
attachment to video games and cell phones.
Once
everyone had gotten through their dinners, Portage Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director Marianne Hanson invited Bauer to the stage to deliver his
keynote address.
“We’re a
bastion of free enterprise in the heart of enemy territory,” Bauer said of his
Madison-based organization. Describing Wisconsin’s political heritage as “100
years of progressivism” to be largely overcome, he went on to lay out a
economic state of the state, based on some of the recent data and polling of
their association members. Read more: WiscNews
December 18, 2015
John, I want to thank you for an outstanding map which you produced for our Valpo Chamber.
In my 43 years as a CEO in the chamber field, it was the smoothest project I have ever seen done. You made all the deadlines, your print quality and cartography were second to none. And of course you paid us in exactly the time frame you said you would so we could count the Royalty Check towards our current year revenues.
Life is very good when dealing with Town Square Publications.
You have the right of first refusal on our next map. You are a great partner for our chamber, We are living proof that a printed map is still very much in demand by both advertisers and consumers.
It would be my pleasure to recommend Town Square Publications as a firm Chambers and Tourism Bureaus should use when considering a printed map or other print publication.
Sincerely,
Rex G. Richards CCE
President, Valparaiso
Chamber of Commerce
Chamber Delight: 21st Annual Apostle Islands Sled Dog Race saw
increases in attendance
The parking lot was not
enough for the well over a thousand people convened at the Echo Valley Gravel
Pit - about 15 miles north of downtown Bayfield - for the 21st Annual Apostle
Islands Sled Dog Race held this weekend.
Over 400 spectator
vehicles filled the parking lot and spilled out onto Highway 13 around 10 a.m.
on Saturday morning.
The three day long event
kicked things off with a Meet the Mushers Spaghetti Dinner on Friday night at
the Bayfield Lakeside Pavilion.
Racers, volunteers and
spectators all converged on the race site in staggering increments - arriving
in that order - with the first racers crossing the starting line at 10 a.m. on
both Saturday and Sunday.
There were two main races,
a 10-dog, 80-mile race and a 6 dog, 60-mile race plus a 40-mile Sportsmen’s
Race, a 6 to 8-mile Family Race and a 6 to 8-mile Youth Race (16 and under).
The Bayfield Chamber of
Commerce and Visitor Bureau’s Executive Director David Eades said this is his
favorite event put on by the Chamber. Read more: Ashland Daily Press
“It’s just so fun — the
dogs, the energy, the people, it really brings the community together,” he
said. “So many people from all over the region come just to have fun … I’ve
been coming with my daughter for years. We have a blast. I just love this event;
I can’t say that enough.”
Chamber Chuckle - Wacky Wednesday Weirdest Chamber Requests
“Where do I buy
goldfish?”
#BestChamber Practices:
Chamber Vision: Beloit 2020
City Center will become
the heart of the Rock River Valley. It is envisioned to be the cultural,
social, educational, economic and civic center for the 100,000 people living
within a 10-mile radius of the Beloit Visitor Center. The 700 acre area is the
historic core of Beloit and South Beloit containing most of these cities’ vital
institutions.
In 2004, Beloit 2020
initiated a planning process to develop a vision for what City Center could
become in 2020. Public participation has been significant throughout the
process. Focus group and community meetings in Spring 2005 were highlights of
this informed dialogue about City Center’s future, culminating with unanimous
votes in support of the 2020 Vision by the City Councils of Beloit and South
Beloit.
Top Five Daily Postings in the last month at Midwest Chamber of Commerce
blog – click to go there or Google search “Midwest Chamber of Commerce blog”
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Jan 20,
2016
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137
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Feb 5,
2016
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98
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Jan 21,
2016
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83
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Feb 8,
2016
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79
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Feb 12,
2016
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76
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Last Month’s Stories
Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce Executives put Phil Fritsche, Bob
Moses and Shannon Full in executive roles; announces board changes, adding Jim
Ladwig, Guy Gryphan, Nancy Smith, and Marianne Hanson The
STAR
Chamber interest: Charles L. Evans, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago speech at the Wisconsin Economic
Forecast Luncheon before the Wisconsin Bankers Association in Madison, WI. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Chamber delight: An Epic impact on Madison
Forward Janesville names Blackhawk Technical College its educator
of the year for 2015 - Gazette Extra
Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce can now process
Electronic Certificates of Origin Metropolitan
Milwaukee Association of Commerce
WMC initiative: Corporate Safety Award nominees sought by
Wisconsin Safety Council HNGNEWS
Greater Beloit Chamber sets workshop on regulation changes greaterbeloitchamber.org for
more information.
Chamber Executive Ongoing Education Weekly New Idea: Get
Out of Your Own Way by Robert Cooper Barnes & Noble
Chamber interest: Forward Janesville Names Data
Dimensions 2016 Business of the Year BusinessWire.com
Chamber Initiative: Promoting Sheboygan County as
"Someplace Better" WHBL.com
157 Rules for Executive Success in Organization Management (and
your Chamber of Commerce) by Patrick McGaughey -- RULE #122 Think of
inactive members as Patriots.
Chamber Partnership: Discover Wisconsin
episode featuring Hudson is re-airing Rivertowns.net
WMC Foundation Education Event: Business Day in Madison
Feb. 24
If you would like
delivery of a 2016 chamber directory, community profile or map in
August/September of 2016, please contact me at your earliest convenience, or Click
here
John
John Dussman | Chamber Managerjdussman@tspubs.com | 847-427-4633 | Town Square Publications
Daily Herald Media Group
155 E. Algonquin Road | Arlington Heights, IL 60005
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If you know of a chamber news item that you would like to be included in the CHAMBER EXECUTIVE INTELLIGENCE REPORT or the MIDWEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE blog, please email me at jdussman@tspubs.com or call me at (847)-427-4633. Thank you.
If you know of a chamber news item that you would like to be included in the CHAMBER EXECUTIVE INTELLIGENCE REPORT or the MIDWEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE blog, please email me at jdussman@tspubs.com or call me at (847)-427-4633. Thank you.
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