Fort Smith Chamber Day 2015 - Friday, February 27 - Fairfax Chamber News: 2015 Greater Washington Innovation Awards Finalists Announced; Southwest Indiana Chamber Launches Family Business Alliance; Naperville (Illinois) chamber panel: Diversity brings 'something amazing' to business; Chamber beatification: New visitors center opens in downtown Chippewa Falls; Chamber's Dave Adkisson: Bill would make Kentucky more competitive; Michigan Chamber appreciation: Governor's Budget Focuses on Skilled Trades; The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership February WIN Meeting; Rapid City Chamber interest: - The Social Media contest for the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Expansion has begun; Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotation: (Attitude)

Good morning Chamber world! Today is going to be a GREAT day!



Fort Smith Chamber Day 2015 - Friday, February 27

The Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce 2015 Member Directory, Community Profile, and new Membership Plaques will be available on Friday, February 27. This day has become known as CHAMBER DAY, where members/volunteers help us distribute these items to our members all over the region. 

Last year, over 900 membership plaques and directories were delivered by volunteers!! In addition to being FUN, this day is also a great way to get out into the community and network with other members. We will have snacks and prizes for our volunteers as well.

If you would like to volunteer anytime on Friday, February 27, please email our office by clicking HERE or call 783-3111.

Fairfax Chamber News: 2015 Greater Washington Innovation Awards Finalists Announced

Winners to be Announced Live at Inaugural Awards Gala April 20^th

Tysons Corner, Va. –The Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce (Fairfax Chamber) has announced the finalists for the 1^st Annual Greater Washington Innovation Awards, the premier event celebrating the thought leadership, innovation, and creativity of the individuals and organizations in select industries in the Greater Washington metro area. The winners will be announced live at an April 20^th awards gala at the Hyatt Regency Reston.

In addition to recognizing the most innovative organizations in the region, the awards will also honor an Innovator of the Year and a Lifetime Innovator. Honorees will be announced prior to the April 20^th awards gala.

“The 2015 Greater Washington Innovation Awards Finalists represent the most innovative companies in our region,” said Jim Corcoran, Fairfax Chamber president and CEO. “This was a highly competitive process and those companies that emerge as finalists have a great deal to be proud of.”

This year’s finalists are:

Tech Innovator of the Year

·         AES Energy Storage

·         Clarabridge

·         The George Washington University

·         Leidos

·         Protenus, Inc.

·         Qore Performance

Public Sector Innovator of the Year

·         Fairfax County Office of Public Private Partnerships

·         Northern Virginia Community College

·         Transurban

·         Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

Professional Service Innovator of the Year

·         Cordia Partners

·         Cove

·         FSR

·         Wells+Associates

Hospitality, Tourism & Entertainment Innovator of the Year

·         Founding Farmers

·         Hilton Worldwide

·         Kalibiri Labs

·         Washington Nationals Baseball Club

·         Wolf Trap Foundation for Performing Arts

Health & Life Sciences Innovator of the Year

·         Children’s Science Center

·         Inova Fairfax Hospital

·         Kaiser Permanente

·         MARS Symbioscience

·         Origent Data Services, Inc.

Marketing & Advertising Innovator of the Year

·         AOL

·         InGo, LLP

·         Leidos

·         Reston Limousine

More information about the Innovation Awards can be found at www.fairfaxchamber.org.

Southwest Indiana Chamber Launches Family Business Alliance

The Southwest Indiana Chamber today announced the launch of its new Family Business Alliance. The initiative, which is targeted toward family-owned businesses in Southwest Indiana, is a partnership between the century-old regional chamber of commerce and the Southwest Indiana Small Business Development Center (SW-ISBDC).
Check out the Family Business Alliance page>
“In Southwest Indiana, we are known for our industriousness and innovation. Family businesses in our region are key drivers in both areas,” said Southwest Indiana Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Christy Gillenwater. “Our new Family Business Alliance provides an infrastructure that will simplify access to the unique resources needed by family enterprises.”
With a goal of supporting the prosperity and growth of family enterprises, the Southwest Indiana Chamber Family Business Alliance will host events featuring both nationally recognized and local industry experts. Family Business Alliance-hosted seminars and workshops on topics of common interest will provide education, build awareness, provide networking and encourage dialog among leaders of family businesses.
Greg McCann, founder of the Family Enterprise Center at Stetson University, will speak at the first Family Business Alliance event. An innovator in the field of family business, McCann will present “Developing a Plan for Your Family Enterprise: A New Way of Looking at Your Family Business and Managing Change” on Wednesday, April 8 from 8 a.m. to noon at Evansville Country Club. The cost to attend the event is $75 per person, or $60 per person for two or more guests from the same company. Register for the event online (here) or by contacting Karina Hampton, Southwest ISBDC office coordinator, by email or phone at 812-425-7232.

Naperville (Illinois) chamber panel: Diversity brings 'something amazing' to business

Diversity can come in any number of forms -- race, age, gender, religion, nationality, sexuality, politics, perspective -- and panelists at a Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce event Monday encouraged business people to embrace them all.

Welcoming diverse characteristics among employees and business partners brings a variety of ideas, which leads to success, panelists said.

"The world is changing and requiring us to embrace perspectives different from our own," said Mario Lambert, director of sales for a contract employee management company called Populus Group and former president of the DuPage County NAACP. "It's hard to do that if you don't have the right diversity of perspective and thoughts and creativity." Read more: Daily Herald

Chamber beatification: New visitors center opens in downtown Chippewa Falls

The brand-new Visitors Center at 1 N. Bridge St. in Chippewa Falls has had its doors open for only a short while and the beautifully designed building still has that just-moved-in-smell – a smell of hope, happiness, and prosperity.
The Chippewa Falls Area Chamber of Commerce began the process of creating a new space as part of the Chippewa Falls Downtown Riverfront Plan, an expansive community initiative set to bolster the downtown area with a beautiful riverfront park. “Since 2007, the city has been working on the redevelopment of the downtown riverfront area,” said Mayor Greg Hoffman. “I see the Chamber and Visitors Center relocation as the next step in a process that will further enhance the new entrance into the downtown. The council and the community are excited to see this happen.”

“I see the Chamber and Visitors Center relocation as the next step in a process that will further enhance the new entrance into the downtown.”  – Chippewa Falls Mayor Greg Hoffman

The new 5,000-square-foot Visitors Center – which is located kitty-corner from its predecessor – was designed by CBS Squared and built by Heartland Contractors. The welcoming building, with its beautiful wall fountain and simple elegance, boasts multiple meeting spaces for Chamber members and will hold a plethora of information for the 15,000 visitors who are expected to pass through the center in the coming year. Read more: VolumeOne

Chamber's Dave Adkisson: Bill would make Kentucky more competitive

Kentuckians should support Local Investments for Transformation

The global competition for talent is fierce. The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is committed to improving the commonwealth to attract top talent. One way to do that is to give local communities tools to invest for their future opportunities and growth.
Over the past several years, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and over 45 other civic, government, economic development, and other business organizations have been championing an initiative called Local Investments for Transformation (LIFT) or Local Option. This would bring Kentucky in line with some 37 other states that allow for greater local control when it comes to investments.
Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo and House Republican Floor Leader Jeff Hoover are leading a bipartisan effort to enact this important legislation. There is growing bipartisan support for LIFT in Frankfort, which was evident when the House voted to pass the bill.
Very simply, LIFT would allow citizens to invest in specific hometown capital projects. It would give voters a say on whether they want to pay for new community infrastructure and economic development. It would be the right to vote—up or down—on those projects and their costs via referendum. If the voters say “yea”, the project moves forward. A temporary local sales tax of no more than one percent would be instituted, and then would expire once the project and its costs are paid for. If local voters say “nay”, the project and the levy does not happen. Lane Report

Michigan Chamber appreciation: Governor's Budget Focuses on Skilled Trades

Governor Snyder’s Fiscal Year 2016 budget proposal includes nearly $36 million in new investments for skilled trades training, enhanced educational opportunities and college and career planning. Combined with existing programs, the Governor’s proposed budget would include more than $83 million for career and technology education and skilled trades initiatives.

The budget focuses on three primary opportunities: 1) Increasing opportunities for students to pursue career choices via a five-year high school program that allows students the opportunity to earn a high school diploma and either an associate degree, technical certification, transferable college credits or participation in a registered apprenticeship; 2) Providing individuals with opportunities to improve existing skills and learn new in-demand skills, matching individuals with apprenticeships and potential employees; and 3) Improving access to planning tools and information about career planning in Michigan’s high schools.

The Michigan Chamber appreciates the Governor's focus on closing the skills gap by developing a new generation of graduates with a technical education or skilled trade and we look forward to diving deeper into the budget details as they are released and considered by the Legislature. Read more: Michigan Chamber

The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership February WIN Meeting
The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership is pleased to announce that our February WIN meeting will feature guest speaker, Terry Sensing, RN with St. Dominic’s Hospital & Coordinator for Healthy Heart.    
Terry will be discussing “Women and Cardiovascular Disease" and the risks related to women in particular and ways to prevent heart disease.  Terry will be challenging women to take an active role in promoting heart healthy lifestyle changes in their own lives, as well as the lives of their family and community.  Terry discovered her passion for educating people about heart disease at St. Dominic’s, where she has been employed for the past 15 years.
WIN is a professional network group that advocates and encourages women to take advantage of the many opportunities available to today’s professional woman.  The cost to attend WIN is $18 and can be paid via credit card by pre-registering at the chamber office OR by cash or check on the day of the event. More information:  Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership


Rapid City Chamber interest: - The Social Media contest for the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Expansion has begun.

Social Media Contest  The Social Media contest for the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Expansion has begun. The contest is posted on the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Expansion  Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Please share the poster and list of themes below to anyone who you think might be interested in participating. Let's have some FUN and get our voices out there! Jump on social media and use our hashtag #takethetownrc to participate in our photo/video contest. Check out the themes below, and add your voice to the movement.   1: Why will you "VOTE YES" on March 10th for the new Civic Center Expansion? Post a photo or video with your answer, and nominate 3 people to share the same. 2: Show us your best group photo with a "VOTE YES" sign or logo. 3: Spell out "YES" to show us how you will vote on March 10th. Get creative!! Use people, graphics, objects, whatever you can find! 4: Who / What do you want to see at the Civic Center? Dream big! Post photos or videos of events you have been to or events you want to see in our town. 5: What do you love about Rapid City? Post photos or videos of the things you love most about our town and the surrounding Black Hills. 6. Show us you voted today (early voting now or up until up March 10) Post your photo to TAKE THE TOWN RAPID CITY! Rock a selfie that shows us that you want your voice to be heard! Be sure to include the hashtag #takethetownrc in order to enter the contests! The entries with the MOST LIKES by March 10 will be awarded prizes! To check out all the entries on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, pop over to our  page! http://takethetownrc.com/social-media-contest-takethetownrc/  Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotation: (Attitude) "Being willing makes you able."  - Rhonda Britten