Good morning Chamber world! Today is going to be a GREAT day!
Indiana Chamber March 11 Dinner Features Former White House Correspondent, Governor, Legislators
David Gregory knows the political scene at the highest level. He was the White House correspondent for NBC during the George W. Bush presidency. More recently, he was host of Meet the Press for six years (2008-2014).
Gregory brings his insights to Indiana on March 11 as the keynote speaker at the Indiana Chamber’s 2015 Legislative Dinner. Opening remarks will be presented by Gov. Mike Pence. The Indiana Roof Ballroom in downtown Indianapolis is the location for the event.
Networking with legislators and others will also be front and center. The Legislative Dinner annually brings together more than 400 of Indiana’s top business leaders as well as many of the state’s elected officials and agency heads.
The Legislative Dinner offers an opportunity for “the business community to come together with lawmakers and policymakers and let them know about the important issues that impact their organizations every day,” says Indiana Chamber President and CEO Kevin Brinegar. Read more: Indiana Chamber
Traverse City Area Chamber endorses sales tax bump for roads
The Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce supports a sales tax increase to fix Michigan’s roads. That’s good news for the plan that has lost some key support in recent weeks. The higher tax would raise more than a billion dollars a year for transportation spending.
Critics say there was another option, one that did not involve new taxes. But Doug Luciani, President and CEO of the Traverse City chamber, says they looked at that plan too.
“It didn’t address the full load of the transportation needs,” he says. “It fell far short of what the transportation needs are.”
And Luciani says without new taxes, the cuts required in other parts of the state budget would have been too painful.
Luciani says chamber officials are not excited about higher taxes, but something needs to be done and this is the only plan in sight. He says they like the fact that many of the dollars raised would go directly to cities, villages and counties to fix their own roads.
Luciani says the chamber will not campaign for the proposal, as they have for school bonds in recent years.
“We are endorsing this,” he says, “and trying to provide some guidance for our members ... to assure them that we have looked at it and we do believe that this is the best option right now.” Read more: Interlochen Public Radio
Chamber news: Charlottesville, Albemarle County 2014 Retail Sales at Record Levels
According to a report released by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, Albemarle County and Charlottesville saw record retail sales in 2014.
The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce has released new numbers that indicate sales climbed to $2.5 billion in 2014, making it a record year in retail sales since the last solid year before the recession.
Revenue was $142 million higher in 2014 than it was in 2007, which was the previous record high year in retail sales.Since the 2008 - 2009 recession, the Charlottesville - Albemarle economy had been in a bit of a slump.
The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce says now we can expect to see a lot of excitement about this upward trend. Read more: NBC29.com
Greater
Springfield, IL Chamber: Community Development Corp. focusing on downtown
Moving Forward with the Downtown Community Development
Corporation
The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and its Quantum
Growth Partnership (Q5) are continually working to better the community and economy,
and revitalization of Springfield’s downtown can work to accomplish that goal.
This is why a Community Development Corporation (CDC) is crucial to making
real, long—lasting change.
What is a Community Development Corporation?
Community Development Corporations (CDCs) are
community-based organizations focused on revitalizing the areas in which they
are located, typically in areas that have experienced significant
dis-investment. They can be either for-profit or not-for-profit. While CDCs are
most commonly celebrated for developing housing, and/or mixed use housing, they
are often times involved in a range of initiatives critical to community health
such as economic development, sanitation, street-scaping, neighborhood planning
projects. Sometimes they even provide education and social services to
community residents.
Why is the formation of a CDC important to Springfield, the
Chamber, and Q5?
As a result of our economic development efforts, a focus on
downtown revitalization and redevelopment, results of our downtown housing
study in 2013, and the SDAT report (Sustainable Design Assessment Team), it was
determined that a CDC would be a very helpful tool in our tool belt to
facilitate downtown redevelopment.
It’s important on many levels. The CDC can be used to kick
start much needed redevelopment in the heart of our downtown community. The CDC
will help us meet a need for downtown housing, keep our talented young people
in Springfield (77 percent of millennials are looking for a vibrant downtown
community and prefer to live downtown), promote economic development, and
attract new businesses.
- See more at: State
Journal-Register
Chamber Free Entry: White Deer Triathlon coming to Vilas County in May
If you're looking to race in the new White Deer Triathlon, which comes to Boulder Junction on May 16, the Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce has you covered.The Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce this week launched the White Deer Triathlon Giveaway, which will award one winner a free entry into the triathlon. The winner will also receive a $50 gift certificate to Coontail and $50 in chamber bucks.
The giveaway runs through April 24, and one grand-prize winner will be selected at random from all entries before May 1. If the winner has already registered for the White Deer Triathlon, they will receive a reimbursement for their entry fee.
Wisconsinoutdoorfun.com: More extreme outdoor event coverage
"We're thrilled with the interest we've seen so far in the White Deer Triathlon," said Theresa Smith, director of the Boulder Junction Chamber of Commerce. "This giveaway is a great way to get more people excited about this fun, new event coming to the Northwoods."
Triathlon includes canoe/kayak/paddleboard leg - Read more: PostCrescent.com
Chamber Tweet of the Day: Mississippi Economic Council
MS
Economic Council @MECStateChamber ·
9h 9 hours ago
The MS Scholars
program pairs local business leaders with eighth graders in need of
inspiration. Learn more: http://atjo.es/2f9D
0 replies 1 retweet 1 favorite
What is Mississippi Scholars?
The Mississippi Scholars Initiative is an education program managed
by the Public Education Forum of Mississippi, which utilizes business
leaders to motivate students to complete a rigorous course of study in
high school. This course path gives students a boots – not just for
college but for life. The Initiative pairs trained local business
leaders with classes of 8th grade students. These leaders present the
students with a powerful presentation, which provides the rationale for
the recommendation that students take more rigorous courses. Click Here for More InformationMission Statement
To encourage and motivate all high school students to complete a defined, rigorous academic course of study that prepares them for successful transition to college, university coursework or vocational and technical training necessary to enter today's competitive job market. Read more: Mississippi Economic Council
Chamber speaker: Hope/Hempstead Chamber banquet to get wild
The Hope/Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce is “Wild About
Hope” this year as its annual awards banquet approaches March 16.
Focusing upon the theme “Wild About Hope,” the annual
gathering will bring the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's own “wild man” to
Hempstead Hall on the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope campus
for the evening.
Steve “Wild Man” Wilson, a 35-year veteran of the AGFC, will
keynote the event, which begins with a silent auction and evening meal at 6
p.m.
A key advocate of conservation education, Wilson was
nicknamed the AGFC “Wild Man” in 1984, when he spearheaded Project WILD. He
began his career at the agency in 1978 as a hunting safety training officer,
later becoming head of the agency's information and education division in 1987.
Wilson currently serves as the public affairs coordinator for the agency.
- See more at: Hope
Star
Lee S. Lingo, President of the Madisonville-Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce, has been appointed to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s International Policy Committee
According
to the U.S. Chamber’s web site, the International Policy Committee
develops the U.S. Chamber’s policy positions regarding international
trade and investment and makes recommendations to the Chamber’s board of
directors. The committee operates under the direction of the U.S.
Chamber’s International Affairs Division, which has policy experts and
advocates in Washington D.C., Belgium, Brazil, China, Ghana, India and
Korea.This is Lingo’s second U.S. Chamber committee appointment. He was named to the Transportation, Infrastructure and Logistics Committee in September 2014. He earned certification as an International Commerce Specialist in 2013 through World Trade Center Kentucky. Read more: surfky.com
Famous Chamber of Commerce Quotation: (Leadership)
"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way". —John Maxwell
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