Indiana has best Midwest business climate, chamber says; Rochester Regional Chamber: Leadership Greater Rochester; Falls Church chamber luncheon: Saslaw, Simon Report on Virginia Economic Bounce; Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber event: Bryan Hayes Brings Summer Sunset Series to a Close This Sunday; State won’t be able to just fund its way out of pension crisis, Kentucky Chamber explains on KET; Greater Beloit Chamber Executive Timothy Dutter: Wisconsin needs Export-Import Bank for international sales; Chamber excitement: Galesburg Ranked Among Top 20 Small Cities in the Nation; Free mixer set for Monday night hosted by Venture Center, Little Rock Chamber

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

Indiana has best Midwest business climate, chamber says

Indiana has the best business climate in the Midwest and sixth best in the nation, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce says.
But the state still faces major challenges to future growth — the fallout from the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a perception of violent crime and a lack of entrepreneurism, the business group said Thursday in its Indiana Vision 2025 report.
Indiana has improved in 33 "raw" metrics out of a total of 59, said Kevin Brinegar, president and CEO of Indiana Chamber of Commerce. That includes "significant improvements" in reading and math in the 4th and 8th grades, he said.
There's a different story for higher education, he said. The state is mired at 45th nationwide for the number of its residents with associate's degrees and 42nd for those with bachelor's degrees.
Cameron Carter, the chamber's vice president of economic development policy, said the state has worked to increase entrepreneurial activity, but overall growth remains low with the state ranking in the bottom fifth in that category. Read more: Indy Star

Rochester Regional Chamber: Leadership Greater Rochester

The mission of the Leadership Greater Rochester Program is to build a broad-based network of community leaders who enhance their leadership abilities and skills through continuing education, shared perspectives and community involvement in order to enable them to work toward solutions in the public interest. LRG offers area businesses or relocations a chance to become acquainted with the communities and a variety of regional leaders, and employees to make connections and continue their involvement in our area's unique history, needs and activities.

Download the PDF application linked below or contact the Chamber office at 248-651-6700 or info@rrc-mi.com for more detail on joining this year's Leadership Greater Rochester class which begins September 2015.
 

Leadership Greater Rochester 2015-2016 Class Application

Read more: Rochester Regional Chamber

Falls Church chamber luncheon: Saslaw, Simon Report on Virginia Economic Bounce

The $422 million surplus over expectations in the $20 billion Virginia state budget reflects a combination of a mild economic recovery here, in spite of federal government spending cuts, but also the aggressive pro-business efforts of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Falls Church’s State Senator Richard Saslaw told the monthly luncheon of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce here Tuesday.
Saslaw, the veteran Democrats’ leader in the state senate, and State Del. Marcus Simon, completing his first term, provided a comprehensive briefing to the Chamber members present, and noted that despite a lopsided Republican control of the State House of Delegates and marginal control of the State Senate, McAuliffe’s aggressive pro-business efforts and sharp veto pen have put the state in a better place than when he took office 17 months ago.
“This governor has done more in 17 months to bring new business to Virginia than the last three governors combined have been able to do,” Saslaw said of McAuliffe’s seemingly tireless efforts to bring new commerce here.
“He works 24 hours a day,” Saslaw mused. “He fell off a horse he was riding on a business trip to Africa, and didn’t realize until he got back and was making business deal-related phone calls that he had a pain in the side that turned out to be seven cracked ribs. He went in the hospital for surgery that night and he started sending out e-mails from his hospital bed at four in the morning.” Read more: Falls Church News-Press

Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber event: Bryan Hayes Brings Summer Sunset Series to a Close This Sunday

This Sunday evening brings a close to the annual Summer Sunset Series during the month of June. As a Blues musician, Bryan Hayes will take the Grove stage for a free concert beginning at 7 pm.
Hayes is from just up I-55 in Memphis, Tennessee. His self-published songs describe his own personal feelings, and you can really hear the lyrics come to life in “Let’s Ride,” “Small Town Amazing Grace” and “Father Down the Line.”
Throughout this month, different departments on campus and the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber and Economic Development Foundation have brought these  entertainers to the community and university. Read more: HottyToddy.com

 

State won’t be able to just fund its way out of pension crisis, Kentucky Chamber explains on KET

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce noted Monday on KET that examining projections for the state’s woefully underfunded retirement systems shows that funding alone will not solve the pension problems and additional reforms will have to play a role in any fix in order to shore up the systems.
Kentucky Education Television’s “Kentucky Tonight” host Bill Goodman hosted state Sen. Joe Bowen of Owensboro and state Rep. Brent Yonts of Greenville, co-chairs of the Public Pension Oversight Board, Jason Bailey, executive director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy and Kentucky Chamber Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Bryan Sunderland on Monday night to discuss the woes facing the state’s retirement systems.
The Kentucky Chamber has expressed the urgency needed to address the persistent problems in the Kentucky Retirement System (KRS) and the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System (KTRS), noting that the funding woes are the most significant financial threat to the state.
After years of underfunding KRS by governors and legislators coupled with economic downturn, less than stellar investment returns and changing landscape in retirement ages and life spans of retirees hurting both systems, the state has found itself with a dangerous shortfall in the retirement systems and a debate over how to fix the problems through funding, reforms, or a combination of both. Read more: Kentucky Chamber

Greater Beloit Chamber Executive Timothy Dutter: Wisconsin needs Export-Import Bank for international sales

Nearly 26,000 Wisconsin jobs are directly tied to a federal agency called the Export-Import Bank.
But these jobs will soon be put in jeopardy. The bank is set to shut down at the end of June unless Congress steps in.
Founded in 1934, the Export-Import Bank offers insurance and credit guarantees to American businesses dealing in markets overseas. The bank also provides low-interest loans to foreign companies looking to purchase U.S.-made products.
Without the bank, many of the Wisconsin businesses and jobs that rely on Export-Import Bank financing would suffer dire economic consequences.
Now, it’s up to Wisconsin lawmakers to push for a quick renewal of the bank and ensure that our local business community continues to receive the support it needs to flourish in the international market. Read more: Madison.com



Chamber excitement: Galesburg Ranked Among Top 20 Small Cities in the Nation

NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy website, recently conducted a study to find the best small cities in the nation – and Galesburg ranked 18th.

To find the best communities for individuals and families alike, NerdWallet evaluated over 1,300 cities with fewer than 75,000 residents and examined the following variables:

·         Affordability

·         Economic health

·         Quality of life

Galesburg’s place among America’s top 20 small cities was supported by its high quality of life and affordability metrics. This thriving community includes a diverse job market and a progressive economic development focus for business owners. Galesburg has a low unemployment rate of just 4.8%, and the city remains affordable, with a median home value of $70,700 and median monthly rent of $569. Workers enjoy an average workweek of 36.5 hours and a short commute of just 15 minutes, leaving ample time to enjoy the natural beauty and recreational opportunities found nearby.

The full report can be seen at http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/cities/best-small-cities-america-2015/. For more information about NerdWallet, visit nerdwallet.com/cities.

Free mixer set for Monday night hosted by Venture Center, Little Rock Chamber

The Venture Center announced that it is co-hosting a casual mixer with the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce to celebrate Little Rock as a developing technology center.
Attracting and retaining knowledge-based, technical talent in Little Rock is a key goal of the Chamber as well as the Venture Center, so the event will also include a high-energy speed mixer to allow participants to connect.
Local technology companies, along with professional, technical talent and technology startups will be represented at the event.
Attendees will engage in a spirited Q&A with Little Rock real estate developers Jimmy Moses and Rett Tucker. Read more: THV11