After 29 years, WMC leader, statesman, visionary Jim Morgan to step down; EMBDC welcome: Lockheed Martin hosting small business seminar; Michigan Chamber: Proposed car insurance tax hike unnecessary and unfair; Indy Chamber: Selling the $56 million transit tax hike; Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Recognizes Small Businesses in Hampton Roads; Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce 2016 Business Directory and Resource Guide; Chamber news: Habitat for Humanity Wins Kyndle Nonprofit of the Year Award; Town Square Publications Chamber of Commerce Membership Directories, Community Profiles, Re-Location Guides and Custom Maps; City of Carbondale and Chamber team up to award bicycle racks

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



After 29 years, WMC leader, statesman, visionary Jim Morgan to step down

Jim Morgan

Jim Morgan, senior vice president of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce — one of the state’s biggest business associations and most powerful lobbying groups — is stepping down, abruptly, after nearly three decades at the organization.

In an email Tuesday to hundreds of businesspeople and chambers of commerce around the state, as well as to officials of several state agencies and of his own organization, Morgan said he will leave WMC on May 27 after 29 years with the organization “to take a look at one more career change before I ride off into the sunset.”

Reached briefly by telephone on Tuesday, Morgan, 56, confirmed the news. He said he has not accepted another position but wants to continue working in the business and education field, and to “try a new gig.”

WMC officials were mum about the announcement, and Morgan agreed to an interview later in the day but cancelled.

Morgan also is president of the WMC Foundation and serves as secretary-treasurer of the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce Executives association. He oversees the WMC Foundation’s educational programs on economics, business, workforce development, safety and corporate best practices, according to the organization’s website.

Morgan is leading “Future Wisconsin,” a project of WMC and its education and government partners to plan for the state’s future workforce needs. Read more: Wisconsin State Journal

EMBDC welcome: Lockheed Martin hosting small business seminar

Lockheed Martin will host a small business seminar on May 26 beginning at noon at the MSU-Meridian campus. In particular, small businesses will learn how to market their capabilities to become a supplier.

Participants will learn how to do business with Lockheed Martin, one of the largest companies in the aerospace, defense, security and technologies industry. It is the world’s largest defense contractor.

East Mississippi Business Development Corporation President/CEO Bill Hannah and Mississippi Development Authority CAO Manning McPhillips are scheduled to welcome guests and participants.

“It’s going to be great information for small businesses. They will be able to network with large corporations like Lockheed Martin,” MDA Program Manager Natalie Purvis said. “We will have a match-making session where participants can introduce their business services to Lockheed Martin representatives.”

Lunch will be provided free by Lockheed Martin. Lunch is scheduled for 12-12:30 p.m., followed by the welcome. From 12:45-1:45 p.m., Lockheed Martin representatives will answer questions from participants. After a short break, the matchmaking aspect of the program is scheduled for 2-3 p.m.

“We encourage everyone to take advantage of this opportunity,” Purvis said. “A lot of small business will have the opportunity for face to face meetings with large corporations. This will give small businesses an opportunity to sell their services and let corporations know small businesses are ready to do business.” Read more: Meridian Star

Michigan Chamber: Proposed car insurance tax hike unnecessary and unfair

Rich Studley

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce is strongly urging Michigan legislators to support Michigan's motorists and job providers in the insurance industry and reject unnecessary and harmful proposals that will result in a $40 per car tax hike on law-abiding Michigan drivers.

Some Lansing politicians have called for the repeal of a tax credit offset allowed for auto insurance carriers as a way to fund the state budget. This proposal unfairly targets primarily Michigan employers who provide hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs right here in Michigan and will result in a car insurance tax increase on Michigan drivers. Two bills (House Bills 5457 and 5458) recently introduced in the state House would repeal important tax provisions that help offset the costs of providing health care to individuals who have been injured by an uninsured driver.

Michigan’s auto no-fault insurance system provides the most comprehensive medical coverage in the nation, but it comes at a cost. The high cost of auto insurance means that many drivers are either unable or unwilling to purchase coverage yet continue to drive illegally.

When uninsured drivers cause accidents that injure individuals who also have no car insurance, the injured individual is provided the most expensive health care coverage in the nation through the Michigan “no-fault” system. These costs are then distributed among all auto insurance companies in Michigan that then must pass the cost on to the customer in the form of higher rates. Receiving a tax credit for these “assigned claims” allows a portion of these costs to instead be spread among all Michigan taxpayers. Read more:Times Herald

Indy Chamber: Selling the $56 million transit tax hike

Transportation advocates will stress improvements to the entire city bus system rather than development of controversial bus rapid transit lines as they promote a voter referendum to raise taxes for mass transit.

The vast majority of the $56 million generated by the tax would fix traditional problems vexing basic bus service, such as long waits, short hours of operation and unreliability, rather than running the Red Line rapid transit route, said officials with IndyGo and the Indy Chamber, which will push for passage of the referendum on the November election ballot.

By 2021, buses on a dozen lines would run every 15 minutes daily, compared with two lines on weekdays now; service hours would increase 70 percent; and the number of routes that run every hour would be reduced. The buses would operate 20 hours a day, starting earlier and ending later, said Bryan Luellen, a spokesman for IndyGo.

Marion County voters will be asked to raise personal income taxes by 0.25 percent to improve bus service. The increase would cost a worker making $50,000 annually $130 a year and supplement IndyGo's budget, which was $69.8 million this year. The added revenue also would be used to operate the Red Line — the all-electric route with dedicated lanes stretching from Broad Ripple to the University of Indianapolis — and would fund sidewalk construction and shelters at bus stops.

While IndyGo plans more buses on popular routes, it will reduce service on less frequently used routes on the southwest and southeast sides.

Sean Northup, assistant executive director for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Planning Organization, said budget restrictions forced planners to make a choice between increasing frequency and increasing coverage area. A transportation consultant hired by IndyGo studied ridership trends and surveyed passengers about their preferences.

“By a 90-10 (percentage) margin, they wanted more frequent buses,” he said.

Northup said efficient transit systems help a city's business, housing, economic development and health. Housing values increase along reliable transit lines, employee turnover and lost work hours decrease, business development spikes, and people using transit walk more than people who drive, he said. Read more: Indy Star

Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Recognizes Small Businesses in Hampton Roads

Virginia Beach, VA -- The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with The Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads (SBDC) is proud to present The Small Business of the Year Awards on Tuesday, May 24 at noon at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.   One business will be recognized as Small Business of the Year from each city (Chesapeake, Norfolk, Peninsula, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach) along with the G&W Leadership Award honoree and the Young Entrepreneur Award (YEA!) honoree. The overall Hampton Roads Small Business of the Year Award will be announced  from the city contenders. 

This year’s city winners include:

·         Chesapeake:  Retnauer Baynes Associates, LLC.

·         Norfolk:  Mid Atlantic Maritime Academy

·         Peninsula:  Commonwealth Exterminating

·         Portsmouth:  Smiley’s Heating and Cooling

·         Suffolk:  Suffolk Eye Physicians & Surgeons

·         Virginia Beach:  Image Business Interiors

·         G&W Leadership Award:  Shannon Kane, President/Chief Marketing Partner, EWR Management Group

·         Young Entrepreneur Award (YEA!) finalists: 

·         Max Greenhood, President/Creative Director, RocketBike

·         Zack Miller, Founder, Hatch

Date:               May 24, 2016

Time:              12 Noon (please arrive by 11:30 am)

Location:         Virginia Beach Convention Center

            1000 19^th Street

Virginia Beach, VA 23451

Contact:  Priscilla Monti (757) 470-6805 Visit hamptonroadschamber.com  

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.

Chamber news: Habitat for Humanity Wins Kyndle Nonprofit of the Year Award

Last week, Kyndle celebrated their second annual Nonprofit Awards Breakfast, and Habitat for Humanity of Henderson came out on top.

Habitat for Humanity won the Nonprofit of the Year award. Executive Dir. of Habitat for Humanity Britney Smith, who has been with Habitat for almost two years, said she was honored to receive this award.

“I was really excited that we won this year,” Smith said. “My staff was really happy and our longtime volunteers, including one that has been with Habitat for almost 14 years, were thrilled.”

Smith said winning the award means more to her and her staff because it has been a long and hard road to get them to this point.

“It has been a lot of hard work,” Smith said. “In 2012, we had to step back from building and realign our goals to make sure that all of our energy was being spent towards our mission. We wanted our goals and our mission to align. This (award) really showed us that we think we have done that and we got ourselves to a place that we need to be.”

Board of Directors member Eric Shappell said the organization is flourishing because Smith was hired.

“The people who run Habitat on a daily basis, Brittany (Smith) and her staff, have done an amazing job,” Shappell said. “They have pulled Habitat out the slump they were once in. They have made it a wonderful and vibrant nonprofit, helping people in Henderson.” read more: SurfKY.com

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

City of Carbondale and Chamber team up to award bicycle racks

Two Carbondale Chamber of Commerce member-organizations are the recipients of new bicycle racks for their locations thanks to a partnership between the Chamber and the City of Carbondale.

City leaders partnered with the Jackson County Health Department to form the Jackson County Healthy Communities Coalition, which was recently awarded a Plan4Health Grant by the American Planning Association.

As part of the grant, the City was able to donate two bicycle racks to the Chamber that were to be given to Chamber members.

Through a very simple essay application process, the Chamber has chosen First Mid-Illinois Bank and Trust and Good Samaritan Ministries as recipients of the free bicycle racks. Read more: KFVS TV