Mississippi chamber issue: Bryant wants to divert $50 million from unemployment fund to workforce training; Chamber interest: Sheboygan employers make their pitch; Grand Rapids (Michigan) Chamber Announces Two Staff Promotions; Share Your Indiana Chamber Story; Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce: Sharing Success...a Conversation with Kevin Brown of Lettuce Entertain You; Chamber Tweet of the Day: Kentucky Chamber; Chamber donation: Tazewell students help visitors center; Magnolia-Columbia County (Arkansas) Chamber Business of the Week: Smiles of Arkansas Dental Center; Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotation (Attitude): Teresa Reed Bohnen, President, St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota

Mississippi chamber issue: Bryant wants to divert $50 million from unemployment fund to workforce training

Call it the “Two-Cars-And-A-Boat” initiative.
Gov. Phil Bryant Friday morning briefed business leaders on a workforce development proposal that calls for pulling $25 million each of the next two years from the state’s unemployment compensation reserve fund. The money would be used to step-up the state’s efforts to train workers for advanced manufacturing jobs and to create a future generation of Mississippians with paychecks sufficient to afford “two cars and a boat,” Bryant said.
In a morning address of members of the Mississippi Economic Council, the state’s chamber of commerce, the governor said the unemployment compensation fund has built up the reserves as the jobless rate declined from 9.8 percent three years ago to today’s 7.2 percent. Read more: Mississippi Business Journal

Chamber interest: Sheboygan employers make their pitch

When Kohler Company and Lakeshore Technical College set up a job exploration fair recently at Sheboygan Falls High School, they modeled exactly what economic development leaders have been talking about for the last year — a carousel of jobs that were available to those who were interested.
Of course, with the target audience being freshmen, the students weren't always brimming with enthusiasm. Several students in one of the groups of 15 said they hadn't seen anything that piqued their interest and the one student who showed off his knowledge of certain Kohler equipment (he was the first student of the day to correctly identify a pneumatic piston) was fairly noncommittal to any of the various trades on display.
It's early for these students and they'll have plenty of time to sort out the options, but employers in Sheboygan are wrestling with similar issues — highlighting the number of open jobs and getting people to actually see the benefits and appeal of those jobs. Read more: Sheboygan Press

Grand Rapids (Michigan) Chamber Announces Two Staff Promotions

The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce two staff promotions. Kim McLaughlin has been promoted to Vice President of Member & Community Enrichment, a new role in which she will be responsible for developing and overseeing the Chamber’s numerous events and programs. McLaughlin will continue to provide executive supervision and strategic oversight of the Chamber’s Center for Community Leadership (CCL), a role she began nearly three years ago. In addition to CCL programs like Leadership Grand Rapids, Leadership Advantage, and the Emerging Leaders Series, she will now also lead the Chamber’s events team in delivering over 100 outstanding business, community, and membership-focused events, programming, and awards celebrations each year.Latricia Trice has also been promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Communications, where she will continue to expand the strategic direction of Chamber marketing and communications while managing the marketing department. A seven-year veteran of the Chamber, Trice has overseen and significantly grown the department since its inception five years ago. She currently directs the award-winning, day-to-day marketing and communications operations for the Chamber and supervises a Communications Specialist and Graphic Designer. Previously, Trice served on the Chamber staff as the Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator. Read more: Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce

Share Your Indiana Chamber Story

The Indiana Chamber partners with 17,000 members and investors – representing three million Hoosiers – to achieve the mission of “cultivating a world-class environment which provides economic opportunity and prosperity.” Are you included? We want to hear your story. Maybe you’re reaping the rewards of sponsoring training seminars and major events. They boost your visibility by reaching thousands of potential customers statewide. Perhaps you are more productive than ever after attending a conference or reading a publication and applying the knowledge learned.
Maybe you saved time and money by calling the helplines or utilizing the Business Research Center. Or you’re a big fan of BizVoice magazine or the monthly Policy Issue Conference Calls.
We want to know how you’ve maximized your membership investment! Share your story by contacting Symone Skrzycki and providing a testimonial.

Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce: Sharing Success...a Conversation with Kevin Brown of Lettuce Entertain You

Name: Sharing Success...a Conversation with Kevin Brown

Date: February 10, 2015

Time: 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM CST

Website: http://www.lincolnparkchamber.com

Register Now

Event Description:

Join us for “Sharing Success,” a new LPCC event. Lettuce Entertain You’s CEO Kevin Brown will share his advice and experience on staying fresh and true to your brand while planning for future growth. This breakfast event will provide LPCC members with access to the ideas and expertise of an established company both in Lincoln Park and across the country.

Chamber Tweet of the Day: Kentucky Chamber

Kentucky Chamber @KyChamber  ·  Jan 29 

 

Building support for #P3 jobs bill. Many thanks to @combsleslie for her leadership and support. #kyga15

Chamber donation: Tazewell students help visitors center

An observation concerning the need to make information easier to access, gave the students of the Tazewell Career and Technical Center an opportunity to demonstrate their skills.
“Some years ago when we built the Tazewell County Visitors Center in Bluefield, Va., the Greater Bluefield Chamber of Commerce donated a card rack for us to display brochures concerning area attractions,” David Woodward, Tazewell County tourism coordinator said. “We appreciate the gift and were glad to have it.”
However, Woodward said that the office has a limited amount of display space, and as he was watching older people look for brochures, he observed that they were having trouble getting down to the slots holding the information. “We really needed to replace the card-holder, but one like the chamber gave us would probably cost us as much as $6,000 and we really needed two of them,” Woodward said. “One day, it dawned on me that I should go to the Tazewell Career and Technical Center and see what their carpentry and cabinetry class could do,” he said. Read more: Bluefield Daily Telegraph

Magnolia-Columbia County (Arkansas) Chamber Business of the Week: Smiles of Arkansas Dental Center

Smiles of Arkansas Dental Center, 301 E. Stadium, Magnolia, is the Magnolia-Columbia County Chamber of Commerce Business of the Week. The company was established in July 2010 and is owned by Robert Carter and Reese Shuffield. Smiles of Arkansas offers general dentistry for the entire family. The telephone number is 870-901-7645. CLICK THE LINK BELOW to see the website.http://www.smilesofarkansas.com

More information: MagnoliaReporter.com 


Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotation (Attitude): Teresa Reed Bohnen, President, St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota

Greatest Lesson Learned: "Optimism is a Super-Power."