Tim Skubick: Detroit chamber head names names - including Mark Schauer - in criticisms; Wichita Metro Chamber Event: Job fair will target worker shortage in construction; Minnesota Chamber leads call for immigration reform; New chamber president takes the reins in Lake Geneva; Iowa ranked in top 10 for economic performance; Electric and Natural Gas Buying Group Open for Chamber members in Central and southern Illinois; Kosciusko Indiana Chamber moves to new location; Chamber Newsworthy: Boots to Business Reboot Conference for Veterans, August 13-14, 2014 Livonia, Michigan; La Crosse Chamber (Wisconsin) Selling Current Location and Land; Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotation: (Leadership) Jack Welch

Tim Skubick: Detroit chamber head names names - including Mark Schauer - in criticisms

Many members of the business community are loathe to deal with the news media for fear they might screw up and make some news. As a rule it's only when they are forced to that they submit to media cross examination. Think GM CEO Mary Barra. Sandy Baruah apparently never got the memo. He’s the affable chap who runs the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce and he was making news left and right the other day and was not one bit squeamish. Read more: M Live

Wichita Metro Chamber Event: Job fair will target worker shortage in construction

A recovering, regional construction industry is prompting a number of disparate groups to partner on an event to recruit workers.
Wichita Area Technical College, Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce and Associated General Contractors of Kansas announced Friday they will hold a Construction Careers Jobs Fair. It will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 26 on the WATC campus at 4004 N. Webb. Read more here: Wichita Eagle

Minnesota Chamber leads call for immigration reform

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, as leader of the Minnesota Business Immigration Coalition, today (Wednesday, July 9) urged Congress to respond affirmatively to voters by acting immediately to pass comprehensive federal immigration reform.
Its call for action coincided with the release of a survey by three business advocacy organizations showing strong support for immigration reform among voters in Minnesota and across the nation.  The survey was sponsored by the Partnership for a New American Economy, the Business Roundtable and the National Association of Manufacturers. The findings were released in conjunction with a National Day of Action for Immigration Reform that included a Washington, D.C., press conference and events in more than 60 key districts across 25 states.

 

New chamber president takes the reins in Lake Geneva

It took about six months and dozens of candidates, but now there’s a new president in charge of the Geneva Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. Since the May retirement of George Hennerley, who headed up the chamber for more than 30 years, the chamber search committee had been digging for a candidate who fit the bill. After an arduous search, they came up with Darien Schaefer. Read more: CommunityShoppers

Iowa ranked in top 10 for economic performance

Iowa has one of the highest rates of economic performance in the nation, according to rankings from a U.S. Chamber of Commerce partner.
The state ranked eighth on the list from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, a nonprofit arm of the national business group. Iowa's position is up two spots from the same list a year ago.
The foundation measured economic performance based on changes in employment, growth in gross domestic product and per capita income growth, among other criteria.
Iowa also did fairly well for exports and its talent pipeline, ranking 11th and 16th, respectively. Read more: The Des Moines Register


Electric and Natural Gas Buying Group Open for Chamber members in Central and southern Illinois

Business members of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce is now accepting enrollments to the electric and natural gas buying group which has provided discounts to rates for local businesses.
The Central and Southern Illinois Chamber of Commerce Electricity and Natural Gas Buying Group began two years ago and helped the charter members benefit from large scale buying power by combining into one large pool and bidding the combined load to multiple energy suppliers, according to information from Affordable Gas & Electric.
The group consists of Chambers from Jefferson County, Carbondale, Centralia, Marion, Murphysboro, Herrin, Carterville, Lawrence County, Salem, West Frankfort, Virden, Girard and Beardstown. Read more: Mt. Vernon Register-News

Kosciusko Indiana Chamber moves to new location

The Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce has announced the recent move to a new location. As of Monday, June 30th, the Kosciusko Chamber began operations at its new address; 523 South Buffalo Street, Warsaw. The new location provides increased office room, larger meeting rooms, more parking space and other benefits that allows your Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce to better serve members.
Mark Dobson, President & CEO of the Kosciusko Chamber, said, “The Chamber’s relocation has been a part of our strategic plan for a few years. It is necessary as the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce continues to grow membership and programs”. The Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce currently has over 600 members.

Chamber Newsworthy: Boots to Business Reboot Conference for Veterans, August 13-14, 2014 Livonia, Michigan

The program is available to all honorably discharged veterans and their spouses. Veterans are natural entrepreneurs. They are disciplined, goal-oriented self-starters. Accustomed to accountability, they know the value of being decisive and flexible. There are approximately 22.5 million veterans who have served in our armed forces. With the jobless rate persistently high, and unemployment among veterans outpacing the national average, training in entrepreneurship makes sense. Leveraging the talents of veterans will promote self-employment and will help stimulate the economy. Read more: SBA.gov

La Crosse Chamber (Wisconsin) Selling Current Location and Land

The La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce’s current location at 712 Main Street and our three empty lots at the corner of 7th and La Crosse Streets went on the market the week of June 16.
With the lot being the only shovel-ready land in downtown La Crosse, we have high hopes for this property, particularly because it neighbors our newly purchased building. The asking price for the building is $285,000. The land is $495,000. 

Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotation: (Leadership)

“I was never the smartest guy in the room. From the first person I hired, I was never the smartest guy in the room. And that’s a big deal. And if you’re going to be a leader – if you’re a leader and you’re the smartest guy in the world – in the room, you’ve got real problems.” ~ Jack Welch