Happy Friday, Chamber world! Today is going to be a GREAT day!
Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce earning state, regional recognition
The Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce/Main Street has been racking up awards and accolades of late.
Last week, the chamber was the winner of the Best Special Event award during the annual Mississippi Main Street Association awards luncheon in Jackson.
The chamber was honored for its "Snow Day" event, held on January 8. Chamber personnel turned the parking lot at the L&N Depot in downtown Ocean Springs into a snow village, complete with real snow and characters from the Disney movie "Frozen."
Children spent the day making snow angels, having snow ball fights and building snowmen.
"This year's award winners reflect the commitment of many individuals and groups who champion what Main Street is all about - developing the heart of our communities, our historic downtowns, and enhancing quality of life for everyone," said MMSA Executive Director Bob Wilson.
Other accolades earned by the Ocean Springs chamber of late include recognition of the Peter Anderson Festival -- staged annually by the chamber in downtown Ocean Springs -- as one of the Southeast Tourism Society's Top 20 events.
The festival annually draws in excess of 120,000 people to Ocean Springs for the two-day event and, according to a study by the John C. Stennis Institute for Government and Community Development, has an economic impact of $23 million on the local economy.
In addition, the Mississippi State University Extension Service has chosen the Ocean Springs chamber to be spotlighted as an example of how to methodically create sustainable community development and establishing the community as a tourism destination.
The Ocean Springs chamber will be featured in a "toolkit" MSU is developing to provide to other communities seeking information on best practices for community and tourism development. Read more: GulfLive.com
Indiana Chamber leaders visit area, discuss Vision 2025 report card
Members of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce were in Fort Wayne Monday to meet with business, community, and education leaders, and talk about results from the Vision 2025 report card.
Released last week, the report card compares Indiana's standing and progress in a series of metrics to the other 49 states.
Out of 59 metrics, Indiana improved its ranking in 28 and remained the same in 12.
One strong point includes the state's ability to attract new business.
"We've always been strong in that area. Since we unveiled the plan, we've gotten stronger. Our business climate, as ranked by COO magazine ranks sixth best in the entire United States, number one in the Midwest, and the only state in the Midwest in the top 10 states nationally. Indiana is a place where businesses want to locate to, and in GM's case, expand," said Kevin Brinegar, president and CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. Read more: 21 Alive
Kentucky Chamber Study shows employment exceeding pre-recession level
The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce recently released an analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment Wages. The analysis, conducted by the Chamber’s Senior Economic Advisor Dr. Paul Coomes, shows Kentucky’s statewide employment level, for the first time, is now back up above the pre-recession level. Click here to download the study.
Overall, the study shows that Kentucky as a whole has added jobs at a rate of 7.5 percent, on par with the national average. The Lexington, Louisville and Bowling Green-Hopkinsville areas had job growth rates above the national average. All areas except the Paducah-Purchase Region continued to add manufacturing jobs, with five regions growing faster than U.S. manufacturing as a whole.
The largest amount of job growth statewide happened in just two Kentucky counties with 45 percent of the growth coming from Jefferson and Fayette, according to Coomes. In percentage terms,, the greatest growth was in Bullitt County—just south of Louisville—as its wage and salary job base grew by 40 percent (from 15,900 to 22,300 jobs) over the last five years. Read more: Kentucky Chamber
Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce honors local business, industry leaders
The Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce its annual Economic Development Outlook Breakfast at the Holiday Inn Staunton Conference Center on Wednesday.
The Chamber presented awards to three area business and industry leaders, and this year renamed the awards in memory of Dennis Burnett, the former economic development director in Augusta County and former executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Partnership, who passed away last year.
Three years ago, the Chamber created the Community Excellence awards as part of the breakfast; adding momentum to the Virginia Chamber’s Blueprint Virginia. The state program, facilitated by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce in 2013, was a comprehensive effort to provide business leadership, direction and long- range economic development planning for Virginia. Burnett was the first recipient of this award. Read more: Augusta Free Press
Fort
Smith Regional Event: U.S. Rep Steve Womack: Federal Programs On Road To
Insolvency
U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Rogers, said he is willing to
risk his political future to make what could be some unpopular decisions that
solve a number of serious economic issues that require long-term solutions.
Several instrumental government
programs that aid the nation’s health and infrastructure institutions are
headed down a path of insolvency by the year 2032 with about $800 billion in
interest on debt alone by 2025, he told the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of
Commerce Friday.
“Autopilot” spending for government
programs like social security, Medicare and Medicaid exceeds all revenue
projections for the early 2030s. And the Highway Trust Fund, which pays for 70
percent of road projects in Arkansas, is in a continual state of short-term
patchwork repair.
“We’re indeed facing a ticking time
bomb,” Womack said. “I think the single most domestic threat facing America
today is its inability to solve for those particular problems, and Congress is
going to have to come up with solutions for them and they’re not going to be
politically doable for a lot of people.”
The chamber held its monthly First
Friday Breakfast at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Womack has
represented Arkansas’ Third Congressional District since 2011.
Midland (Michigan) promotions, employment announcements from the Chamber...
The Midland Area Chamber of Commerce welcomes four new staff members.
• Stephanie Kolodziejski is the Farmers Market master. Kolodziejski is responsible for all the on-site management of the Midland Area Farmers Market.
• Melissa Eigner is a program specialist. She has a bachelor's degree in communications and public relations from Michigan State University.
• Diana Butler is the director of membership. Butler has an extensive background in community relations, sales, management, nonprofit work and event planning.
• Amy Berry is a part-time information resource specialist. Her responsibilities include all front-line customer service relations with chamber members and the general public, as well as coordination of office manager duties. Read more: M LIVE
Chamber partner: Wisconsin Rapids Rafters Positively Impacting Bottom Line for Businesses
For nearly the last five summers the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters have been getting families together for evenings of family fun
.
The team is part of the Northwoods League which is comprised of teams
of the top college players from the Midwest and across the nation.But there are more benefits than just getting the family
together.“When people are coming into town for the games, they're eating at local restaurants, they're staying at the local hotels, and checking
out different areas, gasoline, everything is always affected by anytime
there's a huge event going on anywhere,” Rafters General Manager, John
Fanta.Fanta said the community has been very supportive and they want to invest
in their community, team, and facilities. "We've tried to improve the
stadium in some capacity each season we've been here,” he said.Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce President
said partnerships with the team have benefited area nonprofits organizations."They support our nonprofit community also and that's what's really important is their partnerships that they give other nonprofits the opportunity to make money
,
to provide impact, to show off their programs, they are just a great
community partner,” explained Melissa Riechert. Read more: WSAW.comPaxton Area (Illinois) Chamber of Commerce seeks new part-time executive director
The Paxton Area Chamber of Commerce is searching for a new part-time executive director.
Executive Director Kristina Phelan is resigning, and the chamber is accepting resumes through Friday, June 26, for candidates interested in filling her role.
The executive director position is for 10 hours a week. It involves maintaining the chamber’s office on Market Street, planning chamber events and continuing the chamber’s vision to support local business.
Applicants must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Power Point, Excel, email, social media and marketing. Knowledge of Microsoft Publisher is a plus. Excellent customer service skills are required. The applicant also must possess leadership skills, be a self-starter and be comfortable working alone.
Cover letters and resumes can be sent to: Andy Hudson, c/o Chamber Hiring Committee, P.O. Box 70, Paxton, IL 60957. More: Paxton Record
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