Friday, January 30, 2015

Multi-chamber luncheon: Cubs owner Tom Ricketts says World Series prediction not 'completely crazy'; The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce Plans 14th Annual Educators of the Year Awards Event; 2015 Boyne Area (Michigan) Chamber of Commerce award winners; Chamber interest: Leadership Arkansas Class IX Will Continue with Session IV; Chamber news: Best Places to Work in Kentucky winners announced; Charlottesville Chamber issue: New Bill Proposal Aims to Help Businesses Keep Track of Taxable Items; ALAN TURNER: Former Chamber president: Tulane’s Sherry Chance has a passion for education; Chamber inspiration: Thirty-foot-tall snowman returns to Minocqua; Friday: 157 Rules for Executive Success in Organization Management (and your Chamber of Commerce) by Patrick McGaughey


Multi-chamber luncheon: Cubs owner Tom Ricketts says World Series prediction not 'completely crazy'


Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts said Tuesday that a national sports publication's prediction of his team winning the World Series may not be that far off.
And unlike previous years' prognostications, Ricketts brought a PowerPoint presentation to his address to suburban business leaders that explains why he thinks the Sporting News isn't "completely crazy."
"We don't like the 'predict, predict, predict' stuff, but I'm telling you that it's been several years in the making," Ricketts said during a multi-chamber luncheon at the Avalon Banquets in Elk Grove Village.
"We've built a very strong foundation for our team, and we're going to keep getting better and I do believe we're going to win our division and get to the playoffs this year.
"We'll be saying, 'Cubs win' a lot more." Read more: Daily Herald

The Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce Plans 14th Annual Educators of the Year Awards Event

The recipients of the 14th Annual Educators of the Year awards were announced today by the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce’s Franklin Initiative.
This year, ten individuals and one educational program will be honored at the community celebration which recognizes the best teachers and programs in accredited schools across Monroe County. The awards dinner is scheduled for February 18 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Presidents Hall in Indiana University’s Franklin Hall.

Since 2001, The Chamber’s Franklin Initiative has supported excellence in education with the annual awards ceremony. In addition to nine educators who will receive an Outstanding Educator Award, Bloomington High School North’s Pat Wilson will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding longtime commitment to education. Wilson, Department Chair for Social Studies, was awarded an Outstanding Educator Award in 2011. Read more: Greater Bloomington Chamber

2015 Boyne Area (Michigan) Chamber of Commerce award winners


The Boyne Area Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting was Thursday Jan. 22 at Boyne Mountain.
During the annual banquet gala, Boyne Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jim Baumann announced this year’s chamber award winners.

Volunteer Award

The Volunteer of the Year award goes to Nancy Cunningham. Nancy’s patient determination over several years on behalf of the Friends of the Boyne River has given the community the new Boyne River Nature Area, which can be accessed from Lexamar Drive in the Boyne City Industrial Park.

Nancy found grant funds to construct a beautiful hiking trail, complete with boardwalks and an erosion-prevention rain garden.

Community Pride Award

The winner of the Community Pride Award is the Boyne Thunder Committee.

Over the last 10 years this committee, through organizing and managing this July event, has raised more than $300,000 for Camp Quality and more recently Challenge Mountain.

Boyne Thunder has become the third largest boating poker run in the nation and one of the greatest summer tourism events in Northern Michigan. Read more: Boyne City Gazette

Chamber interest: Leadership Arkansas Class IX Will Continue with Session IV

Class IX will continue with Session IV – South Arkansas Economy, on January 15-16 in Texarkana Other planned sessions include: Session V – Northwest Arkansas Economy/Education, March 19-20 in Fayetteville Session VI – Northeast Arkansas Economy/Agriculture, May 13-15 in West Memphis/Blytheville Session VII – Education/Central Arkansas Economy/Leadership Arkansas Class IX Graduation, June 18-19 in Central Arkansas Leadership Arkansas Class IX, a program created and operated by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, is presented by ARcare. Class IX sponsors include Southland Park Gaming & Racing and Walmart Stores, Inc. If your company or organization is interested in sponsoring any of the planned Leadership Arkansas Class IX sessions, please contact Bill Watson at 501-802-1740 or bwatson@arkansasstatechamber.com. For more information on Leadership Arkansas, contact Susie Marks at smarks@arkansasstatechamber.com or 501-210-4206.

Chamber news: Best Places to Work in Kentucky winners announced

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Kentucky Society for Human Resource Management (KYSHRM) announce the companies that have made the 11th Annual Best Places to Work in Kentucky list, presented by Kentucky Career Center and the State Information Data Exchange System (SIDES). The winner rankings will be announced at an awards dinner Tuesday, April 14, 2015, at Heritage Hall in the Lexington Convention Center.
Winners from across the state have been selected in three categories: small companies of 15-149 employees, medium companies of 150-499 employees and large companies consisting of more than 500 employees (categories based on number of U.S. employees, only Kentucky employees surveyed). The selection process, managed by Best Companies Group, is based on an assessment of the company’s employee policies and procedures and the results of an internal employee survey.
The competition is a multi-year initiative designed to motivate companies in the Commonwealth to focus, measure and move their workplace environments toward excellence. Numerous studies show a strong correlation between profitability and creating a good place to work. The Best Places to Work in Kentucky initiative is based on FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work for in America” list.

 

Charlottesville Chamber issue: New Bill Proposal Aims to Help Businesses Keep Track of Taxable Items



A new bill is moving forward in the Virginia General Assembly that aims to make it easier for businesses to pay their personal property taxes. Supporters of the bill say it will save businesses lots of time in tax preparation.
The bill would allow businesses to estimate the value of items they own, rather than having to itemize each one.
Delegate Steve Landes, who represents Virginia's 25th District, said that the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce has brought the issue to his attention. Read more: NewsPlex.com

ALAN TURNER: Former Chamber president: Tulane’s Sherry Chance has a passion for education

Sherry Chance was born in Florida and spent several years in Alaska, which is probably about the biggest contrast one can imagine.  It wasn’t until she arrived in Mississippi, though, that she finally felt she had “come home,” and she’s lived in the Magnolia State for the past 24 years.
In her role as director of Tulane University’s Madison campus, Sherry has seen the enrollment grow to over 300 students, most of whom are working people in the 29-39 age range.
“But we’ve had students as young as 18, all the way up to 81,” she said with a smile.  “About 60 percent of our students are women, and almost all work and attend evening sessions.”
She points out that one important goal of Tulane in Madison is to provide an affordable and convenient opportunity for working folks to go back to school and complete their education.
“Actually, our tuition here is roughly a quarter of what it would cost to attend the university in New Orleans,” she said.
What she loves is making a difference in the lives of her students. Read more: Mississippi Business Journal

Chamber inspiration: Thirty-foot-tall snowman returns to Minocqua

According to the Minocqua Chamber of Commerce, building giant snowmen is a Minocqua tradition.
"The snowman had been built for a number of years, dating back to the sixties, I believe," said Krystal Westfahl, the executive director of the Minocqua Chamber of Commerce.
But last year, the snowman wasn't built because of weather and several other factors.
"We've had a lot of people say, 'Will you please bring back that big snowman? It's so cool'," explained Westfahl.
So when snow fell this year, the Minocqua Chamber of Commerce got busy.
"We had a little bit of a challenge trying to find a spot this year. We have a bunch of events happening downtown so the chamber decided, let's just do it," Westfahl said. See picture & read more: ABC 9 WAOW.com


Friday: 157 Rules for Executive Success in Organization Management (and your Chamber of Commerce) by Patrick McGaughey
    

RULE #49      Avoid being the last to leave

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