Crossroads Regional Chamber interviewing couples for Marriage Mill wedding; #BestChamber Practices: Chamber Vision: Beloit 2020; Chamber interest: Pearl Mist cruise ship might not dock in Holland in 2016; Kentucky Chamber event: Gov. Bevin proposes spending $59 million of lottery money on new workforce development scholarship; Community leaders honored at DeKalb Chamber of Commerce annual banquet; Petal Area Chamber of Commerce to hold multiple ribbon-cuttings this week; Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance To Host the Annual Williamsburg Area Career Fair; Town Square Publications Chamber of Commerce Membership Directories, Community Profiles, Re-Location Guides and Custom Maps

Good morning Chamber World! It's going to be a GREAT day!

Crossroads Regional Chamber interviewing couples for Marriage Mill wedding

The Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce hosts the annual Marriage Mill wedding on June 17 and is looking for one couple to get married.

The casual ceremony is at 6 p.m. at the bottom of the stairs in front of the historic Old Lake County Courthouse. The couple is treated to a reception in the rotunda in the lower level of the courthouse, where guests are served complimentary cake and sparkling juice.

The newlyweds receive a one-night stay and breakfast at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza.

Prospective couples who would like to be interviewed for the wedding should contact Lee Hartsell at lee@crossroadschamber.org or call (219) 769.8180. Read more: NWI Times

Good morning Chamber World! It's going to be a GREAT day!



Lake Zurich Chamber of Commerce 2016 Community Guide & Membership Directory

The Lake Zurich Area Chamber of Commerce 2016 Community Guide & Business Directory is available at the Lake Zurich Area Chamber today! Thanks to Dale Perrin and the chamber team for their help and direction putting this together!

Town SquarePublications  (www.townsquarepublications.com) can help you accomplish your chamber's gloss map, directory, community guide or publication needs at no expense to the chamber. Please email John Dussman at jdussman@tspubs.com or call (847)-427-4633. 

#BestChamber Practices: Chamber Vision: Beloit 2020

City Center will become the heart of the Rock River Valley. It is envisioned to be the cultural, social, educational, economic and civic center for the 100,000 people living within a 10-mile radius of the Beloit Visitor Center. The 700 acre area is the historic core of Beloit and South Beloit containing most of these cities’ vital institutions.

In 2004, Beloit 2020 initiated a planning process to develop a vision for what City Center could become in 2020. Public participation has been significant throughout the process. Focus group and community meetings in Spring 2005 were highlights of this informed dialogue about City Center’s future, culminating with unanimous votes in support of the 2020 Vision by the City Councils of Beloit and South Beloit.

Website:  Beloit 2020

Chamber interest: Pearl Mist cruise ship might not dock in Holland in 2016

The Pearl Mist cruise ship has visited Holland for two summers, but its third summer might involve a reduced number of stops, or none at all.

The Pearl Seas Cruises company recently posted the stops for its two Great Lakes cruises, listing Muskegon/Holland as one stop.

Muskegon is working to market itself as the port of West Michigan, and a tourism destination, said Cindy Larsen, president of Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce.

In September 2015, Muskegon’s Mart Dock hosted the Pearl Mist when their was a conflict at Verplank Dock Co., it’s planned port in Holland.

When that occurred, some passengers remained in Muskegon for the day, while others bused to Holland.

“Now that downtown (Muskegon) is put back together, it’s a good time to welcome the cruise ships,” Larsen said. “As we were starting to prep our port for increased vessels — industrial and tourism — it just happened that the Pearl Mist needed a safe harbor last summer, and it was like serendipity.” Read more: Holland Sentinel

Kentucky Chamber event: Gov. Bevin proposes spending $59 million of lottery money on new workforce development scholarship

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/news/local/education/article56892058.html#storylink=cpy

Gov. Matt Bevin got some applause Tuesday night when he proposed ending the legislative practice of diverting millions of dollars generated by the Kentucky Lottery from college scholarships to the General Fund.

But Bevin is not proposing to put that money back into the need-based financial aid programs for which it was designated. Instead, $27 million in 2017 and $32 million in 2018 would form a new scholarship program to help students attend special workforce programs, said Carl Rollins, executive director of the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority, which would administer the fund.

Need-based aid funds would remain flat.

Bevin also is proposing to issue $100 million in bonds for workforce development construction projects, which he said would allow schools and private industries to partner and create innovative workforce training programs.

The new scholarship fund would “help students pay to attend new programs that would be created by the workforce development fund,” Rollins said. Read more: Lexington Herald-Leader

Community leaders honored at DeKalb Chamber of Commerce annual banquet

Community leaders were honored Thursday at the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce annual banquet at Faranda’s Banquet and Conference Center. 

The DeKalb Chamber of Commerce hosts the event every year to award local business leaders and owners for their work in the community.

This year, First National Bank took the Business of the Year title. 

“Over the last 160 years, First National Bank has been a pillar in Northern Illinois,” said Jill Tritt, 2015 chairwoman of the chamber board of directors. “The bank has donated, pledged and raised millions of dollars that have directly benefited our community.” 

Runners up for the award included Advanced Family Eyecare Center; Family Wellness and Rehab SC; H&R Block Premium; Klein, Stoddard, Buck and Lewis; Midwest Orthopaedic Institute; Ralph’s Car Wash and Detail Center; Studio One Salon and Day Spa; and Unity Hospice of Western Illinois. Read more: Dekalb Daily Chronicle

Petal Area Chamber of Commerce to hold multiple ribbon-cuttings this week.

Speaking of Mount Vernon, the church and the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon-cutting at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The church has been around for about 100 years, but suffered major damage during the February 2013 tornado. Church officials will be dedicating its new worship center that day.

Petal Chamber has two other ribbon-cuttings scheduled for February.

Wings Boutique and More will hold its ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Wings stands for Women in Need of God's Shelter, which is a domestic violence center that serves area women. The boutique is more or less a thrift store that benefits the center. It is located at 404 E. Central Ave. in Petal.

On Feb. 25, Petal Animal Clinic will celebrate its new location with a ribbon-cutting at 11:30 a.m. The clinic is located at 1111 Evelyn Gandy Parkway. Read More: Hattiesburg American

Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance To Host the Annual Williamsburg Area Career Fair

– The Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance will be hosting the Williamsburg Area Career Fair on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Williamsburg from 8:00am to 5:00pm. The Alliance wants to offer the job seekers in the community a chance to find a career path perfect for them. The event is going to include employer booths open all day featuring opportunities for full time and part time employment. Also, the Career Fair will have multiple clinics available. There will be resume clinics to help job seekers spruce up their resume and teach proper format for professional jobs as well as experts to assist with Military Transitional Employment. Mock interview clinics will be available and are a perfect way to learn professional interviewing skills and to help with pre-interview nerves. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear from two career speakers. Thomas Nelson Community College is proud to sponsor the event again this year and will be there with laptops available on site to allow job seekers to search for jobs and apply online. This event is free and open to the public.

Exhibitor space is still open and the Alliance would like to invite any business to take advantage of hours of prime recruiting time and the chance to receive applications from several hundred job seekers. Please visit williamsburgcc.com for more information and to sign up.

Town Square Publications Chamber of Commerce Membership Directories, Community Profiles, Re-Location Guides and Custom Maps 

Town Square Publications, a division of the Daily Herald Media Group, is a national chamber 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.

Town Square Publications parent company, Paddock Publications, has over 100 years’ experience of print product development and dedicated customer service in communities throughout the Midwest. Our experience allows Town Square Publications to offer you attractive royalty and non-dues revenue share streams, provide direct distribution of your custom designed printed publications, including digital and mobile integration, and all with the quickest turn-around times available in the industry. Town Square also offers multi-media maps in both print and online formats, both with our No-Cost guarantee. More information: Town Square Publications

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, To request your publication proposal, Click here