Detroit Regional Chamber To Campaign Against Push To Hike State Corporate Tax To Fix Roads; Chamber awards: Barbours are Hancock County's Citizens of the Decade; Paducah Chamber Power in Partnership Breakfast: Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham; 2015 Virginia Peninsula Chamber Government Contracts and Construction Breakfast Seminar Series; Greater Beloit chamber initiative: A gathering of great minds; Chamber sponsor: Wauconda celebrates pets with 'Back to Drool' parade; ICEA Online: Board Orientation Should Stress Governance - 12 Messages To Include;

Detroit Regional Chamber To Campaign Against Push To Hike State Corporate Tax To Fix Roads

From: Crain’s Detroit Business

The Detroit Regional Chamber is challenging a union-backed ballot initiative to raise Michigan’s corporate income tax to pay for roads by discouraging voters to sign the group’s petition.

The chamber’s “decline to sign” campaign is in response to a petition drive by a campaign committee called Citizens for Fair Taxes that would nearly double the state’s flat corporate income tax — from 6 percent to 11 percent — to raise at least $900 million toward road repairs.

Lobbyists for the Detroit chamber say the proposal would create a disincentive for companies to move to Michigan after Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration restructured the state’s business taxes shortly after he took office.

“You can’t fix this (roads) problem by creating a new one,” said Brad Williams, the chamber’s government relations vice president. “This proposal is going to create a huge one.”

Snyder eliminated the Michigan Business Tax in 2011 and replaced it with the flat 6 percent business tax, which is charged only to C corporations and not to small businesses.

Proponents of the tax overhaul say it has improved Michigan’s business-friendly reputation and contributed to the creation of hundreds of thousands of private-sector jobs and a drop in unemployment.

“Businesses have many choices” on where to locate, Williams said. “If this goes through, Michigan’s going to be a less-desirable choice.” Read more: Detroit Chamber

Chamber awards: Barbours are Hancock County's Citizens of the Decade

The Hancock County Chamber of Commerce's annual awards gala attracted a thousand or more people to Hollywood Casino on Thursday evening, where former Gov. Haley Barbour and his wife, Marsha, were named Mississippi's Citizens of the Decade.

The Chamber joined with the Hancock County Port & Harbor Commission to organize the gala, which also commemorated the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and recognized businesses and industries for outstanding achievements.

Attendees included just about everyone, from average citizens to current and former politicians on the local, state and federal levels.

"The people of Hancock County, who of course were ground zero in the storm, have very graciously named Marsha and me as the Hancock County Citizens of the Decade even though we're not Hancock County citizens," Barbour said. "So that's a very special honor."

The former governor said his visit to Bay St. Louis on Thursday let him know the city looks better now than it did before the storm.

"This county is doing very well," he said. "The Gulf Coast is doing very well. Sales tax receipts, I think, are 25 percent higher than they were pre-Katrina." Read more: Sun-Herald


Paducah Chamber Power in Partnership Breakfast: Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham

Date: September 3, 2015

Time: 7:30 am - 8:30 am

Julian Carroll Convention Center

415 Park Avenue
Paducah, KY 42001
United States

Join your fellow Chamber members for breakfast and valuable networking! Our sponsor this month is AT&T and our speaker is KY Supreme Court Justice Bill Cunningham.

Register and pay online here or call/email Cindy Fuller to RSVP - 270.443.1746 

2015 Virginia Peninsula Chamber Government Contracts and Construction Breakfast Seminar Series

Name: Government Contracts & Construction Breakfast Seminar Series

Date: September 10, 2015

Time: 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM EDT

Event Description:

Presented by:
Kaufman & Canoles Newport News Office
                              and 
 The Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
     Bid Protests - September 10, 2015
 
Declining budgets make the bid protests of increasingly scarce government contracts more common. K&C Attorney and Chair of the Government Contracts & Construction team Terry Murphy and  Chris Page will address strategic issues in protests to agencies, the Government Accountability Office and the United States Court of Federal Claims for protestors and the role of awardees in protecting contract awards.

Thursday, September 10, 2015
7:30 a.m. - Registration/Breakfast
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - Presentation n
To register, click  here.

Subcontracts - October 29, 2015

Successful performance on a government contract requires negotiation of a sound subcontract whether from the prime or subcontractor perspective. We will conduct a mock negotiation of key subcontract provisions for federal projects addressing the most commonly negotiated clauses to hopefully avoid future disputes. Join  Terry Murphy and  Chuck McPhillips for information that will help you negotiate subcontracts on federal projects, no matter which side of the table you are on.

Thursday, October 29, 2015
7:30 a.m. - Registration/Breakfast
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - Presentation
To register, click  here.

The cost to register for each breakfast seminar is $25.  The proceeds from the seminars will be matched by K&C and donated to the Virginia Peninsula Chamber Foundation. Please make checks payable to Kaufman & Canoles.

More information: Virginia Peninsula Chamber

Greater Beloit chamber initiative: A gathering of great minds

Want to know what the new leaders of the Greater Beloit area have in store for the region?

If so, you might want to attend the Business Education Partnership Summit to hear from new Beloit City Manager Lori Curtis Luther, new School District of Beloit Superintendent Tom Johnson and newly elected South Beloit Mayor Ted Rehl.

The summit will be held from 8 - 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Garden Hotel & Conference Center, 200 Dearborn Ave., in South Beloit. Registration is open to business leaders and educators across the area. The event begins at 8 a.m., and will feature keynote addresses from the three community leaders.

A light breakfast will be served. Registration costs $15 and can be done on the Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce’s website: www.greaterbeloitchamber.org.

The theme for this year’s summit is “Vision & Leadership.” Representatives Amy Loudenbeck and Mark Spreitzer will jointly lead the keynote presenters in a panel discussion. Those in attendance will be given the opportunity to ask questions towards the end of the program.

Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tim Dutter said the summit typically attracts around 200 people. Read more: Beloit Daily News

Chamber sponsor: Wauconda celebrates pets with 'Back to Drool' parade

After children went back to school in Wauconda on Aug. 12, it was time for pets to put on their best back-to-school outfits and walk in the fifth annual "Back to Drool" Pet Parade in downtown Wauconda Thursday.

The furry event, sponsored by Bark 'N' Town, Wauconda Animal Hospital and the Wauconda Area Chamber of Commerce, welcomed pet owners to bring their dogs, cats and other unusual animals to strut their stuff during the Wauconda Farmers' Market.

"We invited people to come out and bring their pets and dress them up in school spirit," said chamber of commerce board member Brian Linning, the master of ceremonies for the show.

"It's a great kind of themed event. We try to get the whole community involved and rallied around creating fanciful costumes," Read more: Daily Herald

ICEA Online: Board Orientation Should Stress Governance - 12 Messages To Include

Guest Article by Bob Harris, CAE While most boards receive an orientation, there is diversity in the content, delivery and frequency. There is even debate as to whether the process is for new leaders or if the entire board should be included. At one association, I noticed that when orientation began the seasoned board members left for the lounge --- leaving the new directors to be briefed by staff. It was a missed opportunity for the seasoned leaders to share their knowledge. Orientation is not simply a “test drive” or a familiarization tour for new directors. The primary purpose is to share information and discuss governance. Annual Orientation Orientation should be conducted annually. An orientation can be held in as little as 90 minutes. Some groups schedule a half day or add team building activities for a day. In addition to providing information, it doubles as an opportunity to document in meeting minutes that volunteers received the governing documents and were briefed on policies, such as confidentiality, who speaks for the organization, antitrust avoidance, and disclosure of conflicts of interest. The importance of training is amplified by the IRS query on Form 990 about disclosing conflicts, as well as the FTC opinion that trade associations should have a measure of antitrust avoidance in place. Noting such lessons in the minutes could bolster a defense if a director, staff or the board were under investigation for antitrust violations. Governance Messaging Plan the orientation to cover four areas: 1) about the organization, 2) director roles, 3) risk awareness, and 4) strategic direction. When communicating director responsibilities be sure to include these governance concepts: 1. Directors are trustees responsible for the corporation (not just volunteers at a table.) 2. Fiduciary duties do not reference only finances but more importantly the legal principles of care, obedience and loyalty. 3. Directors should be intimate with the budget and conversant about resources. 4. The governing documents are critical to read and understand: articles of incorporation, bylaws and policies. 5. Volunteer immunity protects the board if they work within the governing documents; D & O liability insurance covers the legal defense of the board. 6. The board sets the direction --- staff implements the decisions of the board. Directors are not installed for micromanagement nor “snoopervisory” roles. 7. Directors do not comment on performance of staff; the relationship with employees is through the executive director. Utilize an organizational chart to show channels of communication and lines of authority. 8. The board does not do committee work at the board table. 9. Board liaisons attending committee meetings should not usurp the authority of the committee chair; staff liaisons to committees should be positioned as resources, not secretaries. 10. The mission statement should frame nearly every discussion. 11. Board minutes are not a newsletter for members but rather a document to protect the board. 12. The appropriate place for discourse is inside the boardroom, not in the parking lot after the meeting or through an email campaign initiated by an upset director. Conducting Board Training Orientation should be a skillset of the executive director. If the CEO seeks help in communicating responsibilities, rely on a lawyer, CPA or experienced executive. In summary, orientation should be conducted annually with the entire board participating. The process imparts knowledge and protects the organization when documented through minutes and policy. Directors must have access to all the governing documents. Source: ICEA Online Note: Bob Harris, CAE, provide tips and templates on association governance at www.nonprofitcenter.com

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2015/08/27/6386066_barbours-are-hancock-countys-citizens.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy