Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Former president to lead Tysons Chamber again; Bowling Green Area Chamber outlines accomplishments; Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce 2016 Business Directory and Resource Guide; St. Joseph County CEO Jeff Rea: Do we expect too much from elected officials? Sycamore Chamber of Commerce honors business leaders at annual meeting; Lansing employs 20 percent of state's insurance industry; #BestChamber Practices - Natchez Adams County Chamber website - Services & Benefits; Chamber Delight: 21st Annual Apostle Islands Sled Dog Race saw increases in attendance; Town Square Publications Chamber of Commerce Membership Directories, Re-Location Guides and Maps




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

Former president to lead Tysons Chamber again




Eleven years after departing as president and CEO of the former Vienna Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce, Francis Gary Powers Jr. on Jan. 15 took over as acting president of the reconstituted group.
Powers, 50, will head the Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce for the next year and may be hired permanently if he boosts the organization’s membership and revenues.
Powers said he would reach out to leaders of other area chambers and work with them on events and projects.
“I have the experience, they know my reputation and I’m sure we’ll be able to do great things for the community,” he said. “I’m a networker, a coalition person. I like to work together with people, not alienate them.”
Powers led the Vienna chamber from 2001 to 2005. He was among those who advocated for adding “Tysons” to the group’s name in 2003. The move signaled a shift away from being just a Vienna-area chamber of commerce, but the real shock came in 2012 when the chamber’s leadership moved the organization to Tysons Corner and dropped Vienna from its name.
Vienna officials did not take kindly to this and several former Vienna chamber members resigned to form the Vienna Business Association, which then took over the chamber’s roles at the town’s Halloween Parade and other events.


From 2005 to 2010, Powers was director of the Cold War Museum. He subsequently served on the advisory board of the museum, which opened in November 2011 in Vint Hill, Va. Read more: Inside NOVA




Bowling Green Area Chamber outlines accomplishments

The Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce released its 2015 annual report, which showed the year included nearly $1 billion in capital investment and the creation of more than 1,000 jobs in southcentral Kentucky.
The chamber received three Awards of Excellence from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and was reaccredited as a Five-Star Chamber by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a designation received by less than 1 percent of chambers across the United States.
The Bowling Green chamber announced $904 million in expansion projects, including the No. 2 and No. 5 projects in Kentucky for capital investment.
The chamber also sold the fifth speculative building in the Kentucky Transpark within three months of completion and broke ground on a sixth speculative building, also in the Transpark. Read more: Bowling Green Daily News



Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce 2016 Business Directory and Resource Guide

The Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce 2016 Business Directory and Resource Guide  is available at the Virginia Peninsula Chamber today! Thanks to Mike Kuhns, Suzy Johnson 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 profile or publication needs at no expense to the chamber. Please email John Dussman at jdussman@tspubs.com or call (847)-427-4633.


St. Joseph County CEO Jeff Rea: Do we expect too much from elected officials?


Our expectations of our elected and appointed leaders are great, and they should be. At the same time, I think those expectations can be unrealistic.
Do more with less. Fix that deficit but don’t cut those important things. Adjust to rising costs, but make sure it doesn’t cost more. Educate our kids. Fix our roads. Keep my neighborhood safe. Provide quality recreational opportunities at little to no cost. Make sure you’re open at hours that are convenient.
We see those expectations playing out in the daily news as the community wrestles with change. The sale of the Elbel Golf Course is a good example. The city has looked to sell the course that is outside the city and has been a drain on the city budget. Opposition has gathered to stop that action and opposes any sale or lease, though no plan includes revenue to fund any different path.

We’ve seen it play out in many other examples, ranging from bus routes to library hours, from after-school programs to vote centers, from police protection to 911 service. We demand great things from our government and from our schools. It costs money to deliver those things citizens demand. Read more: South Bend Tribune



Sycamore Chamber of Commerce honors business leaders at annual meeting


About 375 businesses leaders and community members gathered Thursday to recap 2015 and honor some of the people and businesses who contributed to last year’s success.
The Sycamore Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual meeting Thursday at St. Mary’s Memorial Hall, where four businesses were presented with awards for their role in the Sycamore business community. The business organization also gave this year’s Clifford Danielson Outstanding Citizen Award to Michael Larson.
DeKalb County Circuit Clerk Maureen Josh nominated Larson for the award, saying he “epitomizes the very essence” of an outstanding citizen.
Larson, who has served a number of organizations including the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce and the DeKalb County Builders and Developers Association, didn’t become a model citizen by accident, he said. He has lived by a set of self-prescribed rules that demand he improve upon everything he touches.
“I’m stunned, and appreciative of getting the award,” Larson said. “The people who were there before me are fantastic people, and I’m just glad to be on the list.” Read more: Daily Chronicle



Lansing employs 20 percent of state's insurance industry



Michigan’s insurance industry had a $37.1 billion economic footprint in 2014, according to a new report on the industry.
The industry spent $16.4 billion in the state that year, including $3 billion in wages to its more than 41,000 direct employees, and supports a total of 114,000 jobs in the state, the report said. It paid $500 million in taxes to the state and local governments.
The report, paid for by several business organizations and insurance advocacy groups, including the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, was released Monday at the chamber's downtown offices.
Conducted by the Anderson Economic Group, the study measured the economic footprint of the sector including both direct spending and taxes paid to the state and the indirect effect of insurance companies' economic activity.
“This industry is a huge part of the local economy and state economy,” said Bob Trezise, president and CEO of LEAP. “This report helps shape the understanding of the insurance industry and shifts its image.”
Lansing’s insurance industry accounts for nearly 20 percent of the sector’s workforce in the state, employing roughly 7,300 people of the total 41,000 direct jobs, the report said.  Together with the local financial industry, which is in the same sector, there are nearly 10,000 employees in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties
Lansing is expected to pass the 10,000-worker milestone this year as Jackson National Life Insurance Co. adds 350 employees to keep up with its growing customer base. Jackson National employs 2,600 people locally. This fall, it opened a $60 million expansion to its Alaeidon Township headquarters to house 800 information technology and legal associates. The new building was part of a $100 million investment by the company to expand and update its facilities. Read more: Lansing State Journal

#BestChamber Practices - Natchez Adams County Chamber website - Services & Benefits

Join Hands With Your Fellow Businesses
Your Chamber of Commerce serves as your spokesperson in local, state, and national affairs, your business recruiter and promoter, and your good will ambassador. The Chamber is the central organization in which you and your fellow business people join hands to promote projects and goals that benefit you, your family, your business and your community.

Identification
Your membership decal identifies you as a leading local business and establishes credibility with customers inside and outside the community.

Chamber Brochure Rack
The brochures and flyers of member businesses are distributed to visitors, newcomers, and businesses who inquire at the chamber office.

IRS Tax Deduction
Your investment in the chamber may be deductible as a business expense. The chamber is not a charity, but a nonprofit corporation.

Networking
Your best opportunities to meet business people like yourself are the chamber-sponsored Business After Hours, Legislative Forums, and Membership Luncheons.

Resources
Updated traffic counts, demographics, and a variety of other information is at our fingertips and just a phone call away for you.

Legislative Forums
Speak directly to your state representatives to find out from them what important legislation is in the works.

Chamber Business After Hours
Well-attended social mixers, sponsored by chamber members, providing opportunities for members to network in a relaxed atmosphere.

Annual Chamber Awards Dinner
Special awards are given to honor outstanding businesses, business leaders, and educators, and members are brought up to date on the past year's activities.

Membership Referral Service
The most successful and beneficial service offered is our Membership Referral Service. This service has become an even bigger advantage with the move to the Natchez Convention Center.

Sponsorships
Get recognition for your business by sponsoring luncheons, mixers, and a wide range of chamber-sponsored community events.

Quarterly Chamber Membership Luncheons
Quarterly luncheons are held for members and prospective members, featuring speakers on timely topics. Read more: Natchez-Adams County Chamber


Chamber Delight: 21st Annual Apostle Islands Sled Dog Race saw increases in attendance



The parking lot was not enough for the well over a thousand people convened at the Echo Valley Gravel Pit - about 15 miles north of downtown Bayfield - for the 21st Annual Apostle Islands Sled Dog Race held this weekend.
Over 400 spectator vehicles filled the parking lot and spilled out onto Highway 13 around 10 a.m. on Saturday morning.
The three day long event kicked things off with a Meet the Mushers Spaghetti Dinner on Friday night at the Bayfield Lakeside Pavilion.
Racers, volunteers and spectators all converged on the race site in staggering increments - arriving in that order - with the first racers crossing the starting line at 10 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
There were two main races, a 10-dog, 80-mile race and a 6 dog, 60-mile race plus a 40-mile Sportsmen’s Race, a 6 to 8-mile Family Race and a 6 to 8-mile Youth Race (16 and under).
The Bayfield Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Bureau’s Executive Director David Eades said this is his favorite event put on by the Chamber. Read more: Ashland Daily Press
“It’s just so fun — the dogs, the energy, the people, it really brings the community together,” he said. “So many people from all over the region come just to have fun … I’ve been coming with my daughter for years. We have a blast. I just love this event; I can’t say that enough.”




Town Square Publications Chamber of Commerce Membership Directories, Re-Location Guides and 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. Town Square also offers multi-media maps in both print and online formats, both with our No-Cost guarantee. More information: Town Square Publications

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

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