US Chamber: Does Your City Have What it Takes to Become the Next Silicon Valley?
Editor’s Note: The U.S. Chamber’s America’s Small Business Summit starts next week in Washington. Want to attend? Click here to register. Can't make it in person? Follow along on the ASBS homepage and on Twitter (hashtag #IAmSmallBiz) for updates and live-stream events.
Silicon Valley, some have pointed out, was once little more than orchards and farmland, while Detroit, Cleveland and Pittsburgh have each had their eras at the forefront of American innovation. In other words, the national landscape of economic prosperity and technological prowess is ever changing. Today, on the cusp of another technological revolution, many have speculated over which American cities will emerge as the country’s premier innovation hubs in this new digital age.
More from America's Small Business Summit
The 2016 Innovation That Matters report – released last month by 1776, Free Enterprise and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation – examined 25 major American cities and analyzed their readiness to thrive in a digital economy. What we learned through interviews with entrepreneurs in each city was that business leaders in every urban center are making concerted efforts to cultivate startup ecosystems and foster innovation. However, some have had more success than others, and every city still has ample room for improvement.
Some of the most interesting insights we gleaned from the study include:
- Our country’s current technology hotbeds -- Silicon Valley, Boston and New York City -- are still leading the way in terms of overall startup activity, but they have mounting competition from some emerging cities. Denver, Nashville, San Diego and the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina, for instance, all ranked high on our list of the most well-positioned startup and innovation economies, and none of them are showing any signs of slowing down any time soon.
- Being a tech town doesn’t inherently make you a pleasant town. Case in point, we discovered that Silicon Valley remains a draw for tech startups despite its poorly-rated quality of life for residents. Conversely, budding tech hubs like Denver and Raleigh-Durham climbed the rankings in large part because their high quality of life is attracting talented innovators.
- One area where every city can evidently improve: Building relationships between local startups and established companies. In nearly every city the report examined, entrepreneurs lamented the support (or lack thereof) they receive from local companies and civic institutions. In fact, only 32 percent of those surveyed said that they receive support from established companies. Read more: US Chamber
Chamber interest: Plan 2020: This is the key to Indy's future
Turn the clock back 100 years, and more than half the population of the Indianapolis metro area lived within 5 miles of Monument Circle.
Today, Center Township represents less than 8 percent of that 11-county area's population, and its modest recent growth continues to be dwarfed by that of Hamilton County.
With Indianapolis' bicentennial approaching in 2020, area leaders believe the capital city's future increasingly depends on its ability to attract residents back to its urban core. And this week, the city and the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee unveiled what they hope will become a road map to doing just that.
Known as Plan 2020, the city's bicentennial plan is an attempt to stitch together a slew of existing planning documents into a broad vision of the city's future.
It covers a wide variety of issues: transit, parks, economic development, housing and workforce training, to name just a few. But unlike your typical pie-in-the-sky planning effort, it also has real commitments from more than 30 partner organizations to implement a portion of the plan over the next few years. Read more: Indy Star
Lansing Regional Chamber, MSU, Ingham, Eaton and Clinton county leaders expected to show commitment for a regional plan that will address financial issues, other topics.
LANSING -- A regional partnership will be announced Wednesday morning that's expected to mark a first for Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties.
Elected officials, business leaders and academic experts are prepared to team up so they can do a better job addressing priority issues in the Greater Lansing region. Those issues range from transportation and infrastructure improvements to joint purchasing agreements and personnel sharing.
Officials representing all three counties and the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce signed a memorandum of understanding to confirm the initiative and will explain details at a press conference at the chamber's office. An announcement from the chamber also says "the Ingham, Eaton and Clinton County Boards of Commissioners have all accepted a position on the City of Lansing’s Financial Health Team." That group is lead by former Mayor David Hollister.
Hollister told the Lansing State Journal this week the next financial health team meeting with tri-county input will be held 7:30 a.m. July 21 in the Gannon Building, Room 244, at Lansing Community College. The meeting will be open to the public. Lansing State Journal
Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce 2016 Community Profile & Membership Directory
The Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce 2016 Community Profile & Membership Directory is available at the Crossroads Regional Chamber today! Thanks to Sue Reed 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.
26th Annual Taste of Reston Voted Northern Virginia's Best Food Festival for the Fifth Year in a Row
Taste of Reston, recently voted 2016 Best Food Festival of Northern Virginia by Virginia Living, is expected to draw record crowds to Reston Town Center. Produced by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, this event features the region’s best cuisine, family activities, live entertainment and a Wine ‘n Dine section with cooking demonstrations from local chefs and a Family Fun Zone!.
Beginning on Friday at 3:00 PM, restaurants and vendors will line the streets of the Reston Town Center. Live music will fill the air with favorites such as 3 Sense Shy, Laura Lea & Tripp Fabulous and Orlando Philips. On Saturday enjoy live performances from Darcy Dawn and Co, Delta Spur and The Reagan Years and that’s just naming a few. From 12 PM – 8 PM on Saturday, guests can sample their restaurant favorites as chefs from prepare food on our culinary stage in the Wine ‘n Dine section. Guest will also be able to learn more about wine and participate in tastings from Paradise Spring Winery and other local wineries. Also, from 12 PM – 8 PM ,YMCA Fairfax Reston will offer games and prizes, and entrainment from Adrenaline Studio Dance Performance and Bach to Rock Music School Performance at the Family Fun Zone! Stage.
Taste of Reston event admission is free. Food tickets are $1 per ticket or $20 for 24 tickets. Advance tickets are on sale online, at http://www.RestonTaste.com . Read more: PRWeb.com
#BestChamber practices: The 2nd annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Summit
The 2nd annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Summit will be held on Friday, August 26 at 11:30 a.m. at Kokopelli.
The event will include a buffet-style lunch (cost $15 to Kokopelli), updates by your Legislators, each followed by a Q&A session moderated by a member of your Legislative Affairs Committee, and networking.
Deadline to RSVP is August 19.
RSVPs are required.
The Legislative Affairs Committee meets on the third Thursday of each month at 8 a.m. at South Porte Bank in Marion. The Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Affairs Committee serves as a research and advisory committee for the Chamber's Board of Directors. The goals of the Legislative Affairs Committee are to monitor governmental matters that could impact the community or local business, present recommendations to the Chamber's Board of Directors, and to assist in the initiation of the appropriate action. The Legislative Affairs Committee is a non-partisan organization and shall neither endorse candidates for public office nor political parties. More Information: Marion Chamber
Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber, County pursues infrastructure grant
Three roads in Industrial Park No. One that are in desperate need of repair may get that facelift if a grant comes through to pay for it. The Board of Supervisors discussed a grant opportunity that would provide the county with the funding during Monday’s board meeting.
Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce executive director Garrick Combs told the board that he and county engineer Ryan Holmes have diligently worked on a Delta Regional Authority grant application. Holmes received permission from the board to begin the process last month.
“Ryan and I are finished with that application,” Combs said. “We worked through it during a good bit of the month of May for transportation infrastructure. We’ve had a growing issue in industrial park No. One for several years — meaning specifically Manufacturers Boulevard east and west and Fender Trail.”
The grant application will target those three roads due to the amount of traffic they experience every day, Combs said. More than 1,500 direct jobs are serviced by those roads each day, along with 340 commercial truck loads a day. “We’ve had discussions about the deterioration of those three roads and it’s something that I think this board has targeted over multiple years with MDOT and trips to our congressional delegation,” Combs said.
“We’ve had an opportunity to put this application together in order to receive assistance for the community to try to make upgrades to those three roads, and to support that many jobs and those many commercial trucks a day.” The job will consist of 2.62 miles of road and Holmes estimates it will cost approximately $2.75 million, Combs said. Read more: Daily Leader
Honoring 100 years of Chamber of Commerce's time in the area, Kyndle had its centennial celebration dinner on Thursday night at Henderson Community College.
With Henderson County Attorney Steve Gold as master of ceremonies for the event, volunteers played the parts of influential members of Henderson's history. Adorned in period garb such as fedoras, the speakers spoke as past community leaders including educator Thelma B. Johnson, Audubon advocate Susan Towles and newspaper tycoon Leigh Harris. Each re-enactment outlined the figures' most important accomplishments and contributions to Henderson.
The featured speaker of the night was past Distinguished Citizen recipient and economic development specialist for Kyndle Chuck Stinnett, who has spent countless hours poring over the tomes of Henderson's past. In his speech, he highlighted the ups and downs of Henderson's economic history to the present.
"Leaders of the day felt that a new organization needed to be established to take charge of this (drop in population)," said Stinnett. "According to the Henderson Daily Gleaner in October 1916, the belief was that Henderson had all the pieces it needed to succeed, they just weren't organized quite right." Read more: The Gleaner
Eagle River Chamber interest: Up North Beer Fest draws large crowd of beer lovers
EAGLE RIVER - Wisconsinites love their beer.
And what better way to bring beer lovers together than to hold a beer fest.
People from all over Wisconsin sampled beer from more than 30 brewers at Up North Beer Fest in Eagle River Saturday.
And while they might disagree on which is beer is better, they can all agree on one thing.
"Beer is Wisconsin," said Eagle River Chamber of Commerce Director Kim Emerson.
The fest proved that beer has the ability to bring people together.
"Beer brings people together. It really does. I mean if you look at the crowd here everybody's having a good time, it's just a big party," said Tribute Brewing Owner Bill Summers.
More than 900 people came to sample beer at the Up North Beer Fest
"This event is a chance, again, to showcase the brewers, have people try the many different craft beers that are out there, and give people the opportunity to do something they've never tried before," said Emerson.
People could sample beer from more than 30 different breweries from Titletown brewery in Green Bay to Tribute Brewing right here in Eagle River.
"Tribute the local folks here, they make a great blueberry beer and it's wonderful," said Ted Gruhn. This was Gruhn's third year attending the beer fest. Read more: WJFW.com
LANSING -- A regional partnership will be announced Wednesday morning that's expected to mark a first for Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties.
Elected officials, business leaders and academic experts are prepared to team up so they can do a better job addressing priority issues in the Greater Lansing region. Those issues range from transportation and infrastructure improvements to joint purchasing agreements and personnel sharing.
Officials representing all three counties and the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce signed a memorandum of understanding to confirm the initiative and will explain details at a press conference at the chamber's office. An announcement from the chamber also says "the Ingham, Eaton and Clinton County Boards of Commissioners have all accepted a position on the City of Lansing’s Financial Health Team." That group is lead by former Mayor David Hollister.
Hollister told the Lansing State Journal this week the next financial health team meeting with tri-county input will be held 7:30 a.m. July 21 in the Gannon Building, Room 244, at Lansing Community College. The meeting will be open to the public. Lansing State Journal
Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce 2016 Community Profile & Membership Directory
The Crossroads Regional Chamber of Commerce 2016 Community Profile & Membership Directory is available at the Crossroads Regional Chamber today! Thanks to Sue Reed 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.
26th Annual Taste of Reston Voted Northern Virginia's Best Food Festival for the Fifth Year in a Row
Taste of Reston, recently voted 2016 Best Food Festival of Northern Virginia by Virginia Living, is expected to draw record crowds to Reston Town Center. Produced by the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, this event features the region’s best cuisine, family activities, live entertainment and a Wine ‘n Dine section with cooking demonstrations from local chefs and a Family Fun Zone!.
Beginning on Friday at 3:00 PM, restaurants and vendors will line the streets of the Reston Town Center. Live music will fill the air with favorites such as 3 Sense Shy, Laura Lea & Tripp Fabulous and Orlando Philips. On Saturday enjoy live performances from Darcy Dawn and Co, Delta Spur and The Reagan Years and that’s just naming a few. From 12 PM – 8 PM on Saturday, guests can sample their restaurant favorites as chefs from prepare food on our culinary stage in the Wine ‘n Dine section. Guest will also be able to learn more about wine and participate in tastings from Paradise Spring Winery and other local wineries. Also, from 12 PM – 8 PM ,YMCA Fairfax Reston will offer games and prizes, and entrainment from Adrenaline Studio Dance Performance and Bach to Rock Music School Performance at the Family Fun Zone! Stage.
Taste of Reston event admission is free. Food tickets are $1 per ticket or $20 for 24 tickets. Advance tickets are on sale online, at http://www.RestonTaste.com . Read more: PRWeb.com
#BestChamber practices: The 2nd annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Summit
The 2nd annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Summit will be held on Friday, August 26 at 11:30 a.m. at Kokopelli.
The event will include a buffet-style lunch (cost $15 to Kokopelli), updates by your Legislators, each followed by a Q&A session moderated by a member of your Legislative Affairs Committee, and networking.
Deadline to RSVP is August 19.
RSVPs are required.
The Legislative Affairs Committee meets on the third Thursday of each month at 8 a.m. at South Porte Bank in Marion. The Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Affairs Committee serves as a research and advisory committee for the Chamber's Board of Directors. The goals of the Legislative Affairs Committee are to monitor governmental matters that could impact the community or local business, present recommendations to the Chamber's Board of Directors, and to assist in the initiation of the appropriate action. The Legislative Affairs Committee is a non-partisan organization and shall neither endorse candidates for public office nor political parties. More Information: Marion Chamber
Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber, County pursues infrastructure grant
Three roads in Industrial Park No. One that are in desperate need of repair may get that facelift if a grant comes through to pay for it. The Board of Supervisors discussed a grant opportunity that would provide the county with the funding during Monday’s board meeting.
Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce executive director Garrick Combs told the board that he and county engineer Ryan Holmes have diligently worked on a Delta Regional Authority grant application. Holmes received permission from the board to begin the process last month.
“Ryan and I are finished with that application,” Combs said. “We worked through it during a good bit of the month of May for transportation infrastructure. We’ve had a growing issue in industrial park No. One for several years — meaning specifically Manufacturers Boulevard east and west and Fender Trail.”
The grant application will target those three roads due to the amount of traffic they experience every day, Combs said. More than 1,500 direct jobs are serviced by those roads each day, along with 340 commercial truck loads a day. “We’ve had discussions about the deterioration of those three roads and it’s something that I think this board has targeted over multiple years with MDOT and trips to our congressional delegation,” Combs said.
“We’ve had an opportunity to put this application together in order to receive assistance for the community to try to make upgrades to those three roads, and to support that many jobs and those many commercial trucks a day.” The job will consist of 2.62 miles of road and Holmes estimates it will cost approximately $2.75 million, Combs said. Read more: Daily Leader
Kyndle reflects on its past at centennial
In order to celebrate its present, Kyndle took a long look at their past.Honoring 100 years of Chamber of Commerce's time in the area, Kyndle had its centennial celebration dinner on Thursday night at Henderson Community College.
With Henderson County Attorney Steve Gold as master of ceremonies for the event, volunteers played the parts of influential members of Henderson's history. Adorned in period garb such as fedoras, the speakers spoke as past community leaders including educator Thelma B. Johnson, Audubon advocate Susan Towles and newspaper tycoon Leigh Harris. Each re-enactment outlined the figures' most important accomplishments and contributions to Henderson.
The featured speaker of the night was past Distinguished Citizen recipient and economic development specialist for Kyndle Chuck Stinnett, who has spent countless hours poring over the tomes of Henderson's past. In his speech, he highlighted the ups and downs of Henderson's economic history to the present.
"Leaders of the day felt that a new organization needed to be established to take charge of this (drop in population)," said Stinnett. "According to the Henderson Daily Gleaner in October 1916, the belief was that Henderson had all the pieces it needed to succeed, they just weren't organized quite right." Read more: The Gleaner
Eagle River Chamber interest: Up North Beer Fest draws large crowd of beer lovers
EAGLE RIVER - Wisconsinites love their beer.
And what better way to bring beer lovers together than to hold a beer fest.
People from all over Wisconsin sampled beer from more than 30 brewers at Up North Beer Fest in Eagle River Saturday.
And while they might disagree on which is beer is better, they can all agree on one thing.
"Beer is Wisconsin," said Eagle River Chamber of Commerce Director Kim Emerson.
The fest proved that beer has the ability to bring people together.
"Beer brings people together. It really does. I mean if you look at the crowd here everybody's having a good time, it's just a big party," said Tribute Brewing Owner Bill Summers.
More than 900 people came to sample beer at the Up North Beer Fest
"This event is a chance, again, to showcase the brewers, have people try the many different craft beers that are out there, and give people the opportunity to do something they've never tried before," said Emerson.
People could sample beer from more than 30 different breweries from Titletown brewery in Green Bay to Tribute Brewing right here in Eagle River.
"Tribute the local folks here, they make a great blueberry beer and it's wonderful," said Ted Gruhn. This was Gruhn's third year attending the beer fest. Read more: WJFW.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
RULE #5 When people complain, it’s a compliment.
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
Friday: 157 Rules for Executive Success in Organization Management (and your Chamber of Commerce) by Patrick McGaughey
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