Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County Names Mark Dobson as President/CEO; Chamber Best Practices: Not-for-Profit Annual Breakfast-Creating Synergy with Your Board; Heart of Wisconsin chamber event: Grand Affair going strong after 15 years; Ocean Springs Chamber partner: Blue Moon sponsors $2,000 art contest; Chamber Best Practices: Commerce Lexington Leadership Visit; Big Rapids Chamber Hosts Annual Craft Festival During Labor Day Holiday; Tourism Revenue Increased by 3% in Greater Williamsburg in 2014; Chamber Best Practices: from Pat McGaughey (www.chambermentor.com)

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

Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County Names Mark Dobson as President/CEO

The Economic Development Corporation (EDC) of Elkhart County today announced Mark Dobson as its new President/CEO, following an intensive two month long nationwide search. Mark, age 53, has over 30 years of economic and community development experience in both the private and public sectors in Indiana. He most recently worked as the President/CEO of the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, which has grown to over 600 members and is listed as the second largest Chamber in the Northeast Indiana region. He will take over as the EDC President/CEO on October 14, 2015.

“Mark has the experience, accomplishments, skill set, work ethic and vision for the EDC of Elkhart County to strengthen our current business base and help attract new business to the area,” said Jim Dague, EDC Board Chair.

The EDC Search Committee, comprised of Board Officers, worked hand-in-hand with The Pace Group, a leading executive search firm specializing in economic development. A top-notch pool of candidates was developed and the Search Committee interviewed three finalists.

“We had a very diverse group of statewide and nationwide candidates who all possessed unique skill sets that could have benefited the EDC of Elkhart County. The caliber of the applicants we interviewed was very talented and really speaks to highly of the EDC and Elkhart County,” said Ken Julian, EDC Board Vice-Chair.

Dobson spearheaded numerous successful projects during his 5+ year stint at the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce. He was named Indiana Chamber Executive of the Year in 2014 for implementation of the Chamber’s Strategic Plan. He was instrumental in raising the funds needed to support Elevate Indiana in the North Central Region. And he oversaw the absorption of Warsaw Community Development into the Kosciusko Chamber’s mission. Read more: Economic Development Corporation of Elkhart County


Chamber Best Practices: Not-for-Profit Annual Breakfast-Creating Synergy with Your Board

Date: 9/18/2015  Time: 7:15 AM TO 9:00 AM

White Eagle Golf Club, Inc.

Every not-for-profit is striving for the same thing - a highly effective Board of Directors that increases the organization’s rate of success in accomplishing their mission while positively impacting the balance sheet.

On Friday, September 18, the Not-For-Profit Network invites Board members and staff to attend one of their most popular events AS A TEAM. Think of this as the perfect opportunity for that Board/staff retreat you’ve been talking about but can’t quite fit into your hectic schedule.

In two, fast-paced, highly interactive hours you’ll have the unique opportunity to discuss Board development as a team and participate in tabletop exercises to build relationships and enhance communications. The morning will also feature a panel discussion highlighting the importance of Board synergy.

Our panel will feature:

-Sandy Benson, Former Director of Community and Government Relations for Edward Hospital
-Peggy Frank, Former President & CEO of Naper Settlement/Naperville Heritage Society
-Tom Carroll, Executive Vice President/Chief Human Resources Officer at RR Donnelley
-Steven Pratapas, President and Owner of Pratapas Associates, LLC

The panel will be facilitated by Ray Kinney, Owner & President of Blooming Color.

Your Board may be large or small, you may have one staff person or 30, it doesn’t matter. You’ll walk away with information about industry best practices as well as practical tactics you can use immediately to make your Board a major asset of your organization.

Get your Board team together and join us on September 18. Think of this as a smart investment in your organization. More information: Naperville Chamber

Heart of Wisconsin chamber event: Grand Affair going strong after 15 years

Fifteen years after the city's City Centre Committee started the Downtown Grand Affair to draw attention to the downtown businesses, the event is still going strong and accomplishing its goal.

The event makes people aware of businesses within the city, said Krista Coon, director of programs and events for the Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce, which took over the Grand Affair six years ago. Clear skies and temperatures in the 60s Sunday brought hundreds of people to the city's center to look at the 160 entries into the car show, check out the dozens of craft vendors and eat food ranging from pizza to gyros. New this year were two beer tents with large-screen televisions that allowed Packer fans to keep track of the game.

The Wisconsin Rapids Riverking Hockey Team was on hand to let children — and a few grandparents — try their hand at shooting a hockey puck. It's nice to see all the people from the community gather in the downtown area and enjoy what the city has to offer, said Reed Kaiser, 18, a member of the team from Cody Wyoming who has been in Wisconsin Rapids for about two weeks. Read more: Wisconsin Rapids Tribune

Ocean Springs Chamber partner: Blue Moon sponsors $2,000 art contest

Mississippi artists are invited to paint their interpretation of Blue Moon Brewing Co.'s craft beer for a chance to win $2,000 and to showcase the art during the 37th annual Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival Nov. 7-8 in Ocean Springs.

Blue Moon is teaming up with the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce-Main Street-Tourism Bureau on the promotion. Artists must be living in Mississippi and at least age 21. The deadline is Oct. 16 at 3 p.m. The winner of the People's Choice Award during the festival will win a $500 cash prize.

Applications can be downloaded at peterandersfestival.com under the Blue Moon logo.

Details: 875-4424. Read more: Ocean Springs Chamber

Chamber Best Practices: Commerce Lexington Leadership Visit

Commerce Lexington's annual Leadership Visit has helped expose Central Kentucky's leaders to the best ideas of model communities throughout the United States, yielding valuable lessons that have been applied to the improvement of the Bluegrass Region. This three-day trip has become the most valuable opportunity to bring community leaders, decision makers and ideas together in order to make positive changes in our community. It's a very unique program that includes the foremost business, education, government and community representatives of Central Kentucky. Commerce Lexington

Big Rapids Chamber Hosts Annual Craft Festival During Labor Day Holiday

In Big Rapids, thousands of people are celebrating the Labor Day holiday by getting creative. 

The Chamber of Commerce organized the 47th Annual Arts and Crafts Festival on the Riverwalk.

Thousands of people are there, from wood-workers, to jewelers and other artists.

Vendors come from all over the country to share their passions.

The Chamber says it's great to see everyone's hard work pay off.    

“It's a really good feeling to see it come together. We work on this all year round, when it's finally done it's just a breath of fresh air to see everyone enjoying the show, happy and seeing all the fun crafts.”

The event is expected to bring in close to twelve thousand people. Read more: 9and10news.com

Tourism Revenue Increased by 3% in Greater Williamsburg in 2014

All Virginia regions saw increased tourism revenue while State topped $22 billion

Williamsburg, VA (September 15, 2015) - Data released by the United States Travel Association (USTA) reveals that every region in Virginia posted an increase in tourism revenue last year.

According to the US Travel Association, tourism in Virginia generated $22.4 billion in travel spending. Tourism also supported 216,900 jobs in the Commonwealth and $1.5 billion in local taxes, an increase of 5.6 percent compared to 2013. The increase is largely attributed to Virginia’s authentic, local travel experiences and surging culinary scene.

Tourism was again an important contributor to the local economy in 2014. Tourism revenue for Greater Williamsburg (James City County, York County and City of Williamsburg) reached $1,150,963,752, a 3.0% percent change over 2013. Local tourism-supported jobs totaled 11,341, while local tourism-related taxes were $ 41,576,840.  All data was received by the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) from US Travel Association and is based on domestic visitor spending (travelers from within the United States) from trips taken 50 miles or more away from home.

“We are pleased to see an increase in tourism revenue, payroll, employment and local tax receipts for the full year 2014,” said Karen Riordan, President  & CEO of the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance. “Visitors are enjoying the full range of vacation experiences we have to offer from the arts to ecotourism to culinary to theme parks and water parks, as well as our world-class living history museums.” 

Love is at the heart of every Virginia vacation. Go to http://www.virginia.org/ and start planning a trip or call 1-800-VISITVA to request a free, Virginia is for Lovers Travel Guide. 

Chamber Best Practices: from Pat McGaughey (www.chambermentor.com)

Don't let an empty chair stop meetings.

The most effective lesson I ever learned in meeting management as an executive and especially as a facilitator is to...

..never punish the punctual.

Always start on time and end on time. Here's the deal; most if not all organizations are defined by how they meet. In essence we are how we meet.


"But we can't start until Bob gets here!" Really? Why not? Who is more important than the people that are there? The only way to get "Bob" to be on time is to start without him, every time.



This is a discipline that the highest performing organizations always follow. Start your meetings when you say you are going to start them. Yes, there are special weather or traffic circumstances that may be used to delay a meeting but an empty chair should never be the reason.


Town Square Publications

Town Square Publications, a division of the Daily Herald Media Group, is a national custom publishing group that specializes in developing partnerships by producing high-quality print and digitally integrated publications along with other added value programs dedicated to creating relevancy for local chambers of commerce and other membership focused organizations interested in raising non-dues revenues.

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Chambers of Commerce and member focused organizations serve as a valuable resource in the local marketplace. The networking opportunities and representation with a wide variety of diverse businesses in your community is the catalyst of a successful organization. For further information about Town Square's publishing partnership with chambers of commerce and our No-Cost guarantee and Earned Revenue Share Program, contact John Dussman directly at the Town Square Offices at 847-427-4633. Mailing Address: 155 E. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights, IL 60005.  Email address: jdussman@tspubs.com