Traverse City Chamber of Commerce Continues Small Business Celebration; Elkhart Chamber's Kyle Hannon: Legislature should fund Regional Cities initiative; Greater Louisville Inc's Kent Oyler returns from India/UAE trip; Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce program: Mississippi DevelopmentAuthority to host customer service workshop; Chamber news: Wood County to host 2018 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days; Geneva (Illinois) Chamber Chat: 50/50 raffle will benefit nonprofit groups; Bedford Area Chamber support: Bedford farmers markets to unite; Prescott-Nevada Chamber (Arkansas) hires new director; Friday: 157 Rules for Executive Success in Organization Management (and your Chamber of Commerce) by Patrick McGaughey

Happy Friday, Chamber world! Today is going to be a GREAT day!

Traverse City Chamber of Commerce Continues Small Business Celebration

Tonight, a nod to a select few small businesses making big waves in Traverse City.

The Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce's Small Business Celebration continues the search for its 'Small Business of the Year'.

The award recognizes organizations that have good employee relations, are involved in the comunity, have good finances and potential for growth... but those are just some of the things judges used to decide who would move on to the second round.

The chamber says, to narrow it down further, judges will have to dig a little deeper.

“They're going to go right on site and get a look at the culture and action, if you will,” said chamber COO, Laura Oblinger. “It really gives the judges a chance to be able to see the company in action. How do these companies do it? How are they so successful... so it encourages others to do the same.” Read more: 9&10news.com

Elkhart Chamber's Kyle Hannon: Legislature should fund Regional Cities initiative

Kyle Hannon, president and CEO of the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce, explains why Elkhart and St. Joseph counties need the state funding.

Take a moment to think of a young person you know, maybe your child or a youth at your church. Now think about that person going away to college. That is not hard to do. Young men and women are making their college choices right now, meaning they will be leaving in August.
Now, think of that person in four years, when they have the degree and will be starting a career and possibly a family. How confident are you that the young professional is coming back to Elkhart?
As someone who moved to this area from somewhere else, I can tell you all the reasons why Elkhart is a wonderful place to call home. I saw it with fresh eyes and have embraced the community. About half the time I have lived here, I have worked for the Chamber of Commerce, which gives me access to even more information about how great it is to live in Elkhart. I can sing our praises all day long.
And yet, how confident are you that the young professional you were thinking of is coming back to Elkhart? Read more: Elkhart Truth

Greater Louisville Inc's Kent Oyler returns from India/UAE trip

Kent Oyler, president and CEO of Greater Louisville Inc., the metro chamber of commerce, has returned from a business and cultural exchange visit to India and the United Arab Emirates.

Oyler, who was among a group of state business leaders who took part in the program, said after returning to Louisville that the Louisville "region competes in a global economic development environment. This trip to India and the UAE resulted in important new relationships with many influential international business leaders and stands to advance the economy of our region and the entire state."

The trip took place April 2-11. Oyler went with chamber executives from Winchester-Clark County, Jessamine County, Murray-Calloway County, Ashland and Madisonville, Ky., and Bartlett, Tenn., as well as representatives from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Executives and World Trade Center Kentucky. Read more: Courier-Journal

Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce program: Mississippi DevelopmentAuthority to host customer service workshop

The Mississippi Development Authority's Entrepreneur Center will hold a customer service workshop from 5:30–7:30 p.m. April 21 and 22 at Stone Pony Pizza, 226 Delta Ave. in Clarksdale.
The workshop, The Customer Connection: Understanding the Importance of Effective Customer Service, will teach participants how to better connect with their customers in order to help their businesses grow and prosper.
"Customer service can be one of the most critical competitive advantages that a business can have in today's highly dynamic business environment," said John Brandon, manager of MDA's Entrepreneur Center. "Our goal in offering this conference is to help small businesses in the Delta area find solutions to increase business locally. It is our plan that attendees leave the event armed with the knowledge to increase their business and better meet the needs of their potential customers."
Topics to be covered include: First Impressions, Perceptions = Reality, Attitudes for Effective Service, Compliant Resolution, Up Selling, Follow Through, Creating Loyal Customers, and Managing Customer Expectations.
"My top priority as president of the Chamber is to increase the bottom line of our valued members through special programs and initiatives. This two-night, customer service workshop is a step towards that direction," says Christopher Coleman, president of the Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce. "Special thanks to the Mississippi Development Authority's Entrepreneur Center for making this program available to the dedicated and hard-working members of the Chamber." Read more: Hattiesburg American

Chamber news: Wood County to host 2018 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days

It’s been 55 years since Wood County hosted what was then called Wis­con­sin Farm Progress Days, a farm show that has since been con­verted to Wis­con­sin Farm Tech­nol­ogy Days.
The cen­tral Wis­con­sin county will be the site of the show again in 2018, af­ter the WFTD board of di­rec­tors voted unan­i­mously April 1 to ap­prove Wood County’s ap­pli­ca­tion to host the event.

The show in Wood County will fol­low the 2015 FTD event in Dane County, 2016 in Wal­worth County and 2017 in Ke­waunee County. Rep­re­sen­ta­tives of all the fu­ture host coun­ties as well as the most re­cent show in Portage County pro­vided up­dates on their shows at the WFTD an­nual meet­ing.

A six-mem­ber con­tin­gent of po­ten­tial Wood County show or­ga­niz­ers made a pitch to the WFTD board of di­rec­tors Wed­nes­day morn­ing be­fore the an­nounce­ment was made in the af­ter­noon. Matt Lip­pert, Wood County agri­cul­ture agent, led the group that also in­cluded rep­re­sen­ta­tives of the Heart of Wis­con­sin Cham­ber of Com­merce in Wis­con­sin Rapids, the Wis­con­sin Rapids Area Con­ven­tion and Visi­tors Bureau, the Marsh­field Area Cham­ber of Com­merce and In­dus­try and the Marsh­field Con­ven­tion and Visi­tors Bureau. Read more: The Country Today

Geneva (Illinois) Chamber Chat: 50/50 raffle will benefit nonprofit groups

Wednesday was the dreaded April 15 – also known as tax day. However, this year the Geneva Chamber or Commerce is putting a positive spin on tax day – it’s the kick-off to our 50/50 raffle.

We are partnering with eight different local nonprofits (CASA Kane County, the Geneva Academic Foundation, Geneva Community Chest, the Geneva History Museum, Geneva Lions Club, Geneva Music Boosters, Rotary Club of Geneva and TriCity Family Services) in this five-month long raffle. A minimum of $5,000 is guaranteed to a single winner.
Tickets are for sale at $5 a ticket, $20 for five tickets and $100 for 30 tickets, and can be bought at the Geneva Chamber office, 8 S. Third St., Geneva, or by contacting a member of any of the above organizations. In addition, quantities of 30 for $100 can be bought at www.genevachamber.com. Select Geneva businesses also will have them for sale. Read more: Kane County Chronicle

Bedford Area Chamber support: Bedford farmers markets to unite

The two farmers markets in the town of Bedford will unite this year when the Bedford Area YMCA takes over management of the Friday Centertown market.
The merger includes cooperation between the Y, which started a market on Tuesdays last year, and the Farmers Market Management Team, which formed this winter to improve the town market held for years at the Centertown pavilion.

“Actually, we’re really creating a multi-party partnership, which is really interesting for us,” said Assistant Town Manager Bart Warner, a member of the management team.

The Y brings with it resources and staff, in particular Paul Stern, who helped build the Y’s first-year market from scratch, and the integrity of an established community organization. The management team, which includes community members and representatives from Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce, Bedford Main Street and the town, brings a cross-section of the community, business and arts along with volunteer manpower. Read more: News & Advance

Prescott-Nevada Chamber (Arkansas) hires new director

Jamie Hillery is the new director of the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce.
She assumes duties Monday, with a reception scheduled in her honor from 10-11 a.m. Tuesday at the Nevada County Library.
Hillery was raised in Austin, Texas, where she attended school. She moved to Dallas for five years before moving to Texarkana, where she met her husband, Cole. Prior to taking the director’s position with the Chamber, she worked in sales, selling everything from medical equipment to credit card processing machines. Read more: MagnoliaReporter.com


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

RULE #77      Put a Locator Map on the (chamber) home page