Milwaukee Chamber goal: 20,000 high-performing students by 2020; Benton Arkansas development director to head county development group; Chamber Education: Apply Now for Leadership Missouri 2015!; New Ferndale, Michigan chamber director hoping to continue growth for local businesses; Champaign County Chamber of Commerce receives ACCE Award; Nebraska State Chamber makes a stop in North Platte; Tweet of the day: Michigan Chamber Rich Studley ‏@rstudley; Altus, Oklahoma Chamber President: $400 million ‘retail leakage’; Chamber Home Business Training/Education: Free IRS Webinar - Business Use of Your Home; Chamber Directory RFP; Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotations: (Attitude) Bruce Lee

Milwaukee Chamber goal: 20,000 high-performing students by 2020 - it's enough to fill an arena

By MMAC President Tim Sheehy

Imagine 50 high-performing schools serving 20,000 low-income, minority students in the City of Milwaukee who are reading and doing math at or above their grade level. Students who are prepared to take on high school, who are prepared for two and four year colleges, or ready to start apprenticeship programs. It's enough students to fill an arena.
Today, fewer than a dozen schools are meeting these standards, with a student population that would fill less than half the lower bowl of the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Read more: Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce

Benton Arkansas development director to head county development group

Lamont Cornwell has started to clean out his office at the Benton Municipal Complex on South Street, where he has worked for the past four years, but he will probably not throw a lot of stuff away.
On Sept. 5, Cornwell will no longer be the director of economic and community development for the city, but he will move to an office at the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce on Market Street and take on the new challenge as executive director of the Saline County Economic Development Corp., replacing Eddie Black, who recently retired from the post. Read more: Tri Lakes Edition


Chamber Education: Apply Now for Leadership Missouri 2015!

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is now taking applications for Leadership Missouri. Founded in 1990, Leadership Missouri aims to identify current and emerging leaders throughout the state, enhance their leadership skills, and deepen their knowledge of the state's opportunities and challenges. In April of each year, the selected participants begin a series of seven monthly, two-day sessions.

Through the sessions, participants will tour various businesses and hear from Missouri's leaders. They will explore the state's opportunities, needs and resources through these tours, panel discussions, presentations and relationship building. Leadership Missouri provides a thought-provoking experience focusing on the attributes of the state, and what it means to be a leader. By visiting various regions, participants develop an enhanced view and a new meaning to the word community that spans the entire state.

For an idea of what to expect in the program, take a look at the 2015 schedule. Scholarships are available through Leadership Missouri Alumni and Northeast Power Cooperative.

Leadership Missouri Alumni Scholarship 

Limited partial scholarships for candidates representing non-profit organizations or agencies. If your participation hinges on availability of such scholarships, please fill out this Leadership Missouri Scholarship application and submit with your Leadership Missouri application.

Northeast Missouri Power Cooperative Scholarship

Provides one matching scholarship.  To view the requirement and fill out the application click here.

Apply now online! Or, if you know someone who would be a candidate for the program, please invite them to apply. 

New Ferndale, Michigan chamber director hoping to continue growth for local businesses

In the past year, the Ferndale Chamber of Commerce has grown its membership base, expanded services to Oak Park and been named Outstanding Chamber of the Year by Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals.
Heading into the next year, the chamber will look to continue to grow, albeit under new leadership. On Aug. 18, Marina Glagolev officially took over the executive director position.
“I am really excited, the board is very engaged and forward-thinking, and there is a huge, great vision for this chamber as it has grown,” Glagolev said. “I think this chamber could fill a niche, and as this city moves toward the future, so many Americans are becoming hopeful entrepreneurs, and that is a huge industry for this country. We will embrace new businesses and, hopefully, be able to provide networking and educational support.” Read more: candGnews.com

Champaign County Chamber of Commerce receives ACCE Award

Chamber receives awards. The Champaign County Chamber of Commerce won a grand award and "best of show" award in the American Chamber of Commerce Executives' 2014 Awards for Communications Excellence.

The awards were given for the chamber's Business Emergency Relief Campaign, launched in the wake of the Nov. 17 tornado that hit the Gifford area. Read more: News-Gazette

Nebraska State Chamber makes a stop in North Platte

North Platte was the first stop for representatives of the Nebraska State Chamber of Commerce and Industry to begin the annual tour of the state for a look at community business, education, demographics and other trends.
One of the issues reported by North Platte and area businesses is a lack of available, qualified workers.

Jamie Karl, a state chamber lobbyist, said over 52 percent of the respondents to a chamber survey in 2013 reported they had difficulty finding employees. Karl gave several reasons for this: Low unemployment in Nebraska, a lack of skilled labor and out migration of college graduates to other areas over the last two years. Read more: Lexington Clipper Herald

Tweet of the day: Michigan Chamber Rich Studley ‏@rstudley Sep 1

MI taxpayers have a lot to celebrate on Labor Day: state deficit eliminated, budget balanced, $500M rainy day fund. Detroit News

 

Altus, Oklahoma Chamber President: $400 million ‘retail leakage’

Approximately $400 million dollars per year is “leaking” from local retailers and is being spent in other towns, Altus Chamber of Commerce President Brian Bush said as the guest speaker at the Southwest Oklahoma Republican Women meeting on Thursday, Aug. 28. That is potentially $14 million annual that could go to City services and infrastructure based on the city tax of 3.5 percent, he explained. Read more: AltusTimes.com

Chamber Home Business Training/Education: Free IRS Webinar - Business Use of Your Home

Date: September 10, 2014
Time: 2:00 p.m. (ET); 1:00 p.m. (CT); 12:00 p.m. (MT); 11:00 a.m. (PT)
Location: Your office or home
Contact: SB/SE Webinars; Email: sbse.webinars@irs.gov
Event Information: This FREE one-hour broadcast is for:

• All Tax Professionals
• Bookkeepers
• Small Business Owners
• Small Business and Industry Organizations

Topics include:

• Simplified and regular option for claiming the home office deduction
• Requirements for qualifying to deduct expenses
• Types of expenses you can deduct and how to figure the deduction
• ... and more
• Plus a live Q&A session with a Subject Matter Expert

Certificates of completion are being offered. Earn 1 CE credit – Category: Federal Tax.

To register for the event, visit the Internal Revenue Service Webinar Registration website.

Chamber Directory RFP

Get a free estimate for a chamber map, community profile or membership directory, call John Dussman at (800)-600-0134 or email jdussman.vp@villageprofilemail.com. If your chamber has 500 members or more, please ask about our no-cost option.

Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotations: (Attitude)

“If you want to learn to swim, you have to throw yourself in the water.”

~Bruce Lee