Iowa Chamber Alliance issue: Keep rail project on track; Chamber Best Practices: MISSION STATEMENT of Virginia's Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce; Helena, Montana chamber: new memberships; Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce announces Leadership Topeka class; Chamber news: Jobs growth outpacing population in Platte County, Nebraska; What does the Waseca (Minnesota) Area Chamber of Commerce do?; Chamber issue: Roads top Michigan Legislature's lame-duck agenda; Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotation: Bill Bailey

Iowa Chamber Alliance issue: Keep rail project on track

The occasionally halting effort to expand passenger rail service in Iowa apparently is progressing again, but it will need more funding to advance.
Iowa transportation officials have forged a cooperative agreement with the Federal Rail Administration to do preliminary engineering work and follow-up environmental assessments for a proposal to extend on to Iowa City the Amtrak service that is in the works to connect Chicago and the Quad-Cities, said Tammy Nicholson, the chief of the Iowa Department of Transportation, or DOT, rail office.
“It doesn’t commit the state of Iowa to implementing service at any point in time, but it does get us very well prepared so that if there (are) federal funds in the future and the state decides to go forward with this, we would really know fully what this means, how it would operate, what the operating costs would be and how we would work with the local railroads and Amtrak,” she said.
“It really positions us in good shape for if and when there are additional federal funds and the state decides to go forward,” she said of the cooperative arrangement whereby Iowa put up $1.2 million in state rail funds and the federal rail authority pitched in $4.9 million for work that is needed if Moline-to-Iowa City passenger service eventually is to become reality...
Members of the Iowa Chamber Alliance, which represents business interests in Iowa’s 16 largest cities, reiterated last week their continued support for the expanded passenger rail service that was envisioned from Chicago all the way across Iowa to Omaha, Neb. Alliance officials said communities are considering creative approaches for raising money to help defray any yearly subsidy. That could include local funding, private support, advertising and corporate sponsorships.
“The alliance remains committed to leveraging federal dollars to invest in passenger rail in Iowa,” said Tara Barney, the president and CEO of the Quad-Cities Chamber of Commerce. Read more: Quad-City Times


Chamber Best Practices: MISSION STATEMENT of Virginia's Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce

The purpose of the Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce is to advance the business and community interests within the trade area of the Mount Vernon and Lee Districts in Fairfax County, Virginia.

The objectives of the Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce are to:

• Formulate and advocate business positions on critical issues;
• Represent the Chamber before elected and appointed governmental bodies and officials;
• Assist in the development of the competitive position of its members through educational, networking and marketing programs;
• Involve business in the wider Mount Vernon-Lee community by stimulating a general awareness of public affairs between its members and promoting a good quality of life. 
• Read more: Mount Vernon - Lee Chamber of Commerce

Helena, Montana chamber: new memberships

I received an email from Patrick McGaughey, noted IOM instructor and chamber consultant, and this section caught my eye...  



How Cassie sold 70 memberships  (Part II from my trip to Helena, Montana in November)

Cassie Parr

Without any Chamber background, Cassie Parr came into the Helena Montana Chamber of Commerce at the invitation of Chamber president/CEO Cathy Burwell who then sold 70 memberships in her first four months. Wait til you see how she did it below.

At a special board planning sessions with a focus on membership and government affairs the board asked Cassie to explain her successful process in recruiting so many members. Here's what she said that floored the board...

"Well first, I don't talk about the Chamber."

Brilliant. Cassie asks the prospective member questions that get them talking about their favorite subject,.. them!  And memberships start coming in. This is classic sales training being proved that it can be implemented in membership development of the Chamber of Commerce.

Potential members don't want to hear about "The Chamber," they want to talk about their business; their strengths, weaknesses, roadblocks and of course the successes they have had. With all that information, it's much easier to align The Chamber's features and benefits with them at the end of the meeting.

Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce announces Leadership Topeka class

The Leadership Greater Topeka program will have 37 participants in 2015.
The program, sponsored by the Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce, brings people from a variety of backgrounds together to learn about applying leadership skills to community problems. It includes a retreat and eight daylong sessions from January to May. More than 200 people applied for the program this year.  Read more: Topeka Capital Journal

Chamber news: Jobs growth outpacing population in Platte County, Nebraska

Statistical snapshots taken from several different angles show the makeup and possible future of Platte County.
Various data about the county and surrounding areas, including population, employment and income trends, were presented Thursday by Jerry Deichert at the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce.
Deichert is the director and senior research assistant with the University of Nebraska at Omaha Center for Rural Affairs Research. He and others put together demographics from the state’s legislative districts, including District 22, which is comprised of Platte, most of Stanton and northwest Colfax counties.
Data are being presented to various communities in the state, and Deichert is encouraging people to digest the information and use it to move toward the future.
“That is the important thing, to figure out where you want to go and what can you do given this information,” he said. Read more: Columbus Telegram

What does the Waseca (Minnesota) Area Chamber of Commerce do?

The Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit membership federation established in 1953 and comprised of businesses, professionals, and individuals. Membership in the chamber is drawn from every sector of our economy – manufacturing, retail and service – including large and mid-size businesses, entrepreneurial and home-based enterprises, as well as retired business professionals.
We at Waseca Area Chamber of Commerce are proud of our strong membership base.

The chamber is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors of leaders representing a cross section of the Waseca community and membership. As a business advocacy organization, the chamber works to promote a better business climate through education, information, consultations, and networking. Its focus is to enhance and promote the economic health and quality of life in the community by serving the best interests of the business community and developing programs to meet the needs of members. The chamber strives to be responsive to the ever-changing needs of the community and membership as expressed through the work of its committees and the decisions of the board. Read more: SouthernMinn.com

Chamber issue: Roads top Michigan Legislature's lame-duck agenda

Michigan lawmakers have three weeks left in their lame-duck session to enact a potentially wide-ranging assortment of bills, topped by the most pressing legislation of all: boosting road funding.
The Republican-led Senate's Nov. 13 approval of a bill to more than double state gasoline and diesel taxes over four years to raise at least $1 billion faces an "uphill climb" in the GOP-controlled House, said Speaker Jase Bolger, who isn't dismissing the Senate plan out of hand. He is, however, floating an alternative — gradually eliminating the state sales tax at the pump and raising fuel taxes by a corresponding amount.
Bolger, R-Marshall, says his plan wouldn't increase taxes while generating more money for road upkeep and addressing criticism that taxes assessed at the pump don't entirely go to the transportation budget. He contends that projected economic growth will increase overall sales tax revenue enough to ensure that schools and municipalities — funded in part by the sale tax on fuel — wouldn't be hurt. Read more: Crain's Detroit Business


Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotation: Bill Bailey

"May 2015 be the best year of your life!" --- Bill Bailey, President Emeritus, Greater Seymour Chamber of Commerce