Kentucky: Congressman Andy Barr speaks before Winchester-Clark County Chamber of Commerce; Michigan: Frankenmuth Chamber gauging interest in shared office space for small businesses; Indiana: Gap between Indiana wages, living costs grows; Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry says State Revenue department has gone too far; Paragould, AR Chamber: City of Paragould, EDC hosts cleanup week; Greater Spokane Incorporated (GSI) Hires Steve Stevens as CEO

Kentucky: Congressman Andy Barr speaks before Winchester-Clark County Chamber of Commerce
The economy and job growth were the focus of a speech by U.S. Rep. Andy Barr at Tuesday’s Winchester-Clark County Chamber of Commerce Public Policy Luncheon at the Clark County Extension Office.
Barr represents Kentucky’s Sixth District, which includes Clark County, and has spoken in Winchester several times.

Without job growth and debt reduction, the economy will never completely recover from the recession that began in 2008, Barr said. While some recent figures have indicated unemployment is actually decreasing, Barr said those numbers are misleading because many people have simply stopped looking for work. Read more: Winchester Sun

Michigan: Frankenmuth Chamber gauging interest in shared office space for small businesses

The Frankenmuth Chamber of Commerce and the Frankenmuth Economic Development Corp. invite area entrepreneurs, small business owners, freelancers and others to discuss the possibility of and gauge interest in a "coworking" space for the region. Read more: M LIVE

Indiana: Gap between Indiana wages, living costs grows

Indiana Chamber of Commerce President Kevin Brinegar acknowledged the tug-of-war between the quantity and quality of positions but noted that jobs are jobs.
“We need to focus on growing and attracting jobs, period,” Brinegar said, “but we also need to recognize we need to maintain a focus on the quality of jobs so we can reverse this trend” of weak wage growth. Read more: Pal-item.com

Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry says State Revenue department has gone too far

The Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) has gone too far in recent audits, said Tracy King, vice president of governmental affairs for the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, during a press conference. The press conference was called by several Missouri lawmakers to highlight concerns about the way the Missouri Department of Revenue is handling small business sales tax issues. During the press conference T.J. Rehak, a small business owner from Lee’s Summit, recounted how an audit by the Missouri revenue department nearly put his gymnastics center out of business.Read more: El Dorado Springs Sun

Paragould, AR Chamber: City of Paragould, EDC hosts cleanup week

Rachel Simpson / Daily Press | Posted: Tuesday, April 15, 2014 

Paragould Mayor Mike Gaskill signs a proclamation Tuesday morning designating the week of April 21-26 as "Clean Up Paragould Week" through a city-wide cleanup effort throughout the week in conjunction with the "Great American Cleanup" and the "Keep Arkansas Beautiful" programs. Local coordinator Harry Truman Moore (left), Main Street Paragould Director Gina Jarrett (center) and Paragould Chamber of Commerce Director of Economic Developement/CEO Sue McGowan (right) were present for the proclamation.

Greater Spokane Incorporated (GSI) Hires Steve Stevens as CEO

The Greater Spokane Incorporated (GSI) Board of Trustees announced today that it has officially appointed Steve Stevens, CCE as the organization’s new President and CEO, effective July 1. GSI worked with Waverly Partners, LLC, which conducted a national search following current CEO, Rich Hadley’s announcement that he would retire on May 9.
Stevens has 30 years of experience in small business management, international trade, state chamber advocacy and bi-state regional chamber executive leadership. He most recently served as President and CEO of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce - a 1,800-member chamber of commerce serving three counties in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky area.

“The search committee strongly feels Steve has the right mix of talent and experience in our highest priority areas.  He rose to the top of the candidate pool,” said Linda Elkin, incoming Chair of GSI and search committee co-chair. “We are looking forward to working with Steve and welcoming him and his family to Spokane.  His level of experience will continue the momentum of moving our community forward, and he will take GSI to the next level.”

“I found the people, communities and businesses of Spokane to be extraordinary as we considered making this our home”, said Stevens.  “It is quite obvious that this is a cohesive community made up of many partners, all willing to work hard to make their region great.  I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be joining this dynamic team of business and community leaders, as well as leading this talented staff, in their work”, he said.

Stevens and his wife Marilyn will relocate to Spokane to begin work at GSI. He has two sons – Stewart is at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and Logan is at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia.