Chicago Fed: Midwest Economic Growth Steady in September
The Midwest Economy Index (MEI) edged down to
–0.10 in September from –0.08 in August. However, the relative MEI moved up to
+0.17 in September from +0.13 in August. September’s value for the relative MEI
indicates that Midwest economic growth was somewhat higher than what would
typically be suggested by the growth rate of the national economy. Read more
Download this articleMichigan Chamber support touted as 'breakthrough' on energy bills
A key business group's endorsement is being touted as the "breakthrough" needed to update Michigan energy laws before the legislative session expires in two months.
The Michigan Chamber of Commerce, whose members have been at odds over provisions governing competition in the electricity market, said Tuesday it supports new versions of bills that are pending in the Senate. The Republican-controlled chamber is expected to approve the legislation two days after the Nov. 8 election, and the business lobby is hopeful the GOP-led House will follow suit in the "lame-duck" session so the issue is resolved before new lawmakers take office in January.
The rewrite of 2008 energy laws is one of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder's top legislative priorities. It has been more than 17 months since he outlined proposals to lawmakers.
"This proposed substitute is substantially different. It is a dramatic improvement over the bill that was reported out of committee" in May, Chamber President and CEO Rich Studley told reporters during a briefing that was also attended by two senators sponsoring the legislation and an adviser for a nonprofit connected to Michigan's two major utilities, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy. Changes that would ease utility competitors' ability to submit bids to provide new power were a "very important breakthrough for us," Studley said. Read more: Madison.com
Chamber contest: TrakSafeT is Made in FredVA winner of $10,000 grand prize
FREDERICKSBURG – A panel of three judges had a difficult decision of choosing a winner of the fourth-annual Made in FredVa contest last night. The business idea pitch from the business group of TrakSafeT won the grand prize of $10,000 toward their business startup expenses.
Also, the winner of the People’s Choice was Hapcast, receiving a $500 cash award. The audience liked the business pitch for their mobile messaging app which allows businesses to post events and sales.
TrakSafeT business members: Anthony Worthey, President/CEO, Thomas Stallworth, COO, Tim Berry, CFO, and Mick Schaller, Director of Marketing explained how the array of hardened, reliable sensors mounted at level railroad crossings will provide advance notice to train operators that the crossing is blocked, which enables the train to stop before reaching the crossing and therefore avoiding accidents. The judges remarked, “The presentation and business plan were executed professionally and well thought out by TrakSafeT. This business will have a great future.”
Business members of Hapcast: Steve Labrador, Kris Carter, and Charlie Kaiman launched a beta of the app this past Wednesday and were excited about their start. “It was such a thrill to be a part of this competition,” they said. “By winning the People’s Choice award gives us the incentive to move to the next step with the business.”
There were five finalists selected from 20 entries for the business startup competition, which is patterned after the popular “Shark Tank” television show.
Hapcast, 2 Hearts 1 Dress, Homes and Hounds, TrakSafeT, and The Virginia Divearium were this year’s finalists. Each finalist had five minutes to pitch his or her idea, followed by 10 minutes of questions from the judges: Kevin Fastabend, Senior VP of Virginia Partners Bank, Adam Fried, Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Builders, Ltd., and Catherine Sullivan, Owner of Monkees of Fredericksburg.
This festival will draw thousands to downtown Ocean Springs
Jasper Chamber Recommendation: Connect with Southern Indiana Leadership Program
Explore the region & sharpen your leadership skills with USI's Connect with Southern Indiana program
Connect with Southern Indiana, a regional leadership program managed by USI's Community Engagement, is accepting applications for its 2017 class. The annual program is focused on promoting active citizenship and developing creative problem solving skills for individuals in the non-profit and for-profit sectors across a nine-county region in Southwest Indiana. The program highlights divergent and analytical thinking, idea generation, communication skills, and strategic entrepreneurship from a community development perspective.
The Connect with Southern Indiana program is open to residents from Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties. The deadline to apply is November 21, 2016. If you are interested or know of someone you think would be a great fit for our program, visit our website for additional information and to download an application form:
Chamber 630 Scholarship
This festival will draw thousands to downtown Ocean Springs
The 38th annual Peter Anderson Festival is just a week away.
The festival in downtown Ocean Springs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 5-6 will be mainly on Washington Avenue and Government Street. According to the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce, more than 100,000 people each year attend the festival created to honor master potter Peter Anderson.
Arts, crafts and food will be offered by 400 vendors. Among the arts and crafts will be jewelry, pottery, metalwork, photography, paintings in various media, sculpture, woodwork, ceramics, glasswork, printmaking, furniture, and candle and soapmaking. In addition to packaged foods offered by vendors, several restaurants and other fresh-food vendors will offer goodies such as wood-fired pizza, hot dogs and barbecue. Some of the vendors are Martha’s Tea Room, The Froghead Grill, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Snow Boogers and The Shed.
Festivalgoers who don’t live or don’t have friends who live near downtown are encouraged to use free shuttles to the entrances. Buses will pick up at Ocean Springs Upper Elementary and Oak Park Elementary, both at 2300 Government St., as well as at the Greyhound Stadium parking lot at 1005 Hanley Road. The shuttles will run every 15 minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. both days. Parking on side streets is not allowed, festival organizers caution.
Portable restrooms as well as comfort stations for parents of babies, toddlers or young children or those just needing a rest will be set throughout the festival. Information booths at the four main entrances (Marshall Park on Washington Avenue; corner of Government Street and Denny Avenue; corner of Porter Avenue and Bellande; and Washington Avenue at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church), will have festival guides, official T-shirts and posters. Note: T-shirts are known to sell quickly, and there is a limited supply, so arrive early Saturday to ensure getting one.
Looking for Shearwater Pottery commemorative festival mugs? They’ll be found at the Shearwater Pottery booth in the L&N Depot Plaza, on Washington Avenue near the railroad tracks. Read more: Sun Herald
Jasper Chamber Recommendation: Connect with Southern Indiana Leadership Program
Explore the region & sharpen your leadership skills with USI's Connect with Southern Indiana program
Connect with Southern Indiana, a regional leadership program managed by USI's Community Engagement, is accepting applications for its 2017 class. The annual program is focused on promoting active citizenship and developing creative problem solving skills for individuals in the non-profit and for-profit sectors across a nine-county region in Southwest Indiana. The program highlights divergent and analytical thinking, idea generation, communication skills, and strategic entrepreneurship from a community development perspective.
The Connect with Southern Indiana program is open to residents from Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties. The deadline to apply is November 21, 2016. If you are interested or know of someone you think would be a great fit for our program, visit our website for additional information and to download an application form:
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Chamber 630 Scholarship
Chamber 630 is proud to once again, provide scholarships that will be awarded to a Chamber630 Member or their student, furthering their education.
Any employee (or their student) of any business that is a Chamber630 Member in good standing is eligible to apply. This is a great benefit for anyone
who intends to go to a vocational or trade school, two or four year college or university in 2017.
Scholarship applicants may complete the packet by visiting http://www.chamber630.com/all-posts/scholarship-application or by completing the
document provided with this notice. Please be sure to read full instructions. The deadline for all applications is the end of business, January 27, 2017.
Notification of scholarship recipients will be sent in April.
Funding for this program is through the generosity of Chamber630 Members. If you are interested in contributing, please contact info@Chamber630.com or call 630-968-4050.
Laura Crawford, President & CEO
Chamber support: New Madison songwriting conference, festival unveiled for 2017
Chamber support: New Madison songwriting conference, festival unveiled for 2017
A new music conference and festival on songwriting coming in 2017 could help turn Madison into a "great music city," said organizers at a Tuesday night launch event.
The municipally funded Madison Songwriter Conference & Festival, first teased earlier this month, will be held over four days next June. Its mission, as outlined at the launch party held at the Brink Lounge, would be "to provide songwriters and composers the knowledge to pursue, the expertise to implement and tools to guide their journey to make a living making music."
Roy Elkins, the CEO of the music software company Broadjam and a principal organizer of the conference, said that the "core elements" of a great music city are already here in Madison — performers like the funk and soul drummer Clyde Stubblefield, institutions like the University of Wisconsin School of Music, history like the legacy of Smart Studios where bands like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins would come to record music.
Building off those key ingredients, an annual event like the songwriter conference and festival could put Madison on the map, according to Elkins.
"If we do this right, Madison will be a destination," he said after the event. "If I could visualize a few years out...this is going to be one of the key destinations for sponsors in the industry to go."
The event, as the name suggests, will apparently feature two different components: a conference with education and networking, and a festival with live music.
Speakers on Tuesday said the conference will include panels, workshops, and training sessions on different elements of songcraft, as well as on skills like career management, licensing, and "how to make a living through music." Among the confirmed speakers at the conference are Garbage drummer and Nirvana producer Butch Vig, along with rocker Kip Winger.
The festival will feature musical performances at venues like the High Noon Saloon and the Brink Lounge. Elkins said the lineup would primarily be focused on local musicians, and likely wouldn't feature national headlining acts — although he said he wouldn't rule it out "if McCartney calls and says he wants to play the festival."
The conference and festival will at least partly be funded by money from the City of Madison, joining other musical events like the one-day citywide event Make Music Madison and Bandswap to get municipal funding.
In addition to presentations from Elkins, the musical entrepreneur and fellow festival organizer Corey Whitmore, and Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce president Zach Brandon, the launch party also featured close to 30 different musicians and figures in the local music scene who came to endorse the event. Read more: Madison.com
Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber Sponsor: Chris Knight will be featured at Harvest Moon Festival
Usually, the moon comes out at night. This Thursday, Knight will come out for the Moon. The Harvest Moon Festival, that is.
Now in its third year and ever-growing in popularity, the 2016 Harvest Moon Festival will once again be held at the Pulaski Judicial Center Plaza in downtown Somerset on Thursday, October 27, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. And just like the simple pleasures of looking up at a big, beautiful orb in the clear autumn sky, it’s free.
This year’s featured performer is Chris Knight. A native of western Kentucky’s Webster County, Knight has become a Somerset staple nonetheless with multiple appearances at the Master Musicians Festival over the years. That’s something that has become commonplace with the Harvest Moon Festival — whether acts like Tyler Childers, Kevin Dalton, and Kelly Rae Burton the first year, or the raucous Sundy Best last time around.
Considering it’s Tiffany Bourne — who both serves as community development director for Pulaski County Government and president of the MMF board — behind both events, the crossover feel should seem elementary.
“It started three years ago after MMF, and I was sad that MMF was over,” said Bourne. “I remember walking by the judicial plaza one day and wondering why we weren’t utilizing that space more.
“We don’t have a lot of fall festivals going on in town, (we didn’t have) that one signature fall event for the town,” she added. “We kind of threw it together that first year. I was able to use my experience from MMF to be able to put on a festival for Pulaski County government in my actual day job.”
Knight, an Americana-style singer-songwriter, is known for songs like “It Ain’t Easy Being Me” and “Down the River.”
“After coming off last year, with Sundy Best being so popular, we had to bring in a crowd favorite,” said Bourne. “People in this town love (Knight) through MMF. We feel like he’s one of ours, even though he’s from Slaughters, Ky. We do take ownership of him since he’s been here so many times.”
Knight isn’t the only one appearing, however. Other acts MMF fans might recognize will also be on hand: Elvie Shane, Kites, Will Muse, and Kevin Dalton and the Tuesday Blooms.
Music is just one part of the equation, however. The Harvest Moon Festival is one final hurrah in the calendar year for Market on Main, the popular outdoor farmers market that’s typically found on the judicial plaza in summer months.
“That’s how we started the first year,” said Bourne. “They wanted to end their season with a bang. Bring in a bigger band and do things on a little bit bigger scale.”
The normal Market on Main vendors will be on hand, about 25 regular booth spaces reserved, but special for the event will be several more food and beverage providers, including:
Baxter’s Coffee; Station 211 Coffee; Tacos Tanaco; Get UR Smoke On BBQ; Ruckel’s; Mill Springs Pizza; R&D Ribbon Fries and Funnel Cakes; Beaux BBQ; and cotton candy from the Somerset Junior Woman’s Club.
Bourne thanked all the sponsors for making it possible, including the City of Somerset Tourist & Convention Commission; Lake Cumberland Tourism; Don Marshall Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Nissan; the Downtown Somerset Development Corporation; A1A Communications; County Attorney Martin Hatfield; Woodson Bend; Jim Muse Dentistry; Jeremy Bartley; Cricket Wireless; Frei Plumbing; First & Farmers Bank; and the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce. Read more: Commonwealth Journal
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