Good morning #Chamber World! It's going to be a GREAT day!
U.S. Chamber awards Naperville Chamber of Commerce with 5-Star accreditation
The United States Chamber of Commerce awarded the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce with 5-Star Accreditation for its sound policies, effective organizational procedures and positive impact on the community. This marks the third consecutive time that the NACC has received this designation.
"Accreditation validates a chamber as having programs that benefit their local economy and for positively influencing action in their community," said Raymond P. Towle, vice president, Federation Relations and Institute for Organization Management. "We applaud these organizations for advancing the principles of free enterprise."
Accreditation is the only national program that recognizes chambers for their effective organizational procedures and community involvement. To receive accreditation, a chamber must meet minimum standards in their operations and programs, including areas of governance, government affairs and technology. This extensive self-review can take 6-9 months to complete.
Accreditation is the only national program that recognizes chambers for their effective organizational procedures and community involvement. To receive accreditation, a chamber must meet minimum standards in their operations and programs, including areas of governance, government affairs and technology. This extensive self-review can take 6-9 months to complete.
Local chambers are rated accredited, 3-Stars, 4-Stars, or 5-Stars. State chambers are recognized as either Accredited State Chamber or Accredited State Chamber with Distinction. The final determination is made by the accrediting board, a committee of U.S. Chamber board members.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations. Read more: Daily Herald
Fox Cities Chamber highlights successes in 2016
The Fox Cities Chamber recently provided its annual Report to the Community showcasing its successes in 2016.
The annual event featured stories told by Chamber stakeholders in three areas: inspiring community, investing in people and strengthening business.
A few highlights about the Chamber revealed there are 1,014 total members, 75 new members, 32 total Pulse events with more than 6,000 attendees, 39 Leadership Fox Cities graduates in Spring 2016, and 2,600 student attendees and 48 participating businesses at the 10th annual Eighth Grade Career Expo.
Inspiring community: The Fox Cities Chamber recognizes the importance of community-wide initiatives that bring together people, businesses and organizations that positively impact the local economy, and improve the quality of life for everyone. These initiatives include Bazaar After Dark, Octoberfest and YP Week.
Investing in people: The speakers talked about the Chamber’s programming that attracts and retains talent in the Fox Cities. They explained how the Chamber connects young students with local employers, while also providing employers with retention tools that give participants a sense of community engagement. Read more: Post Crescent
Prince William, Greater Reston, Loudoun County and Arlington Chambers Working Together to Produce Northern Virginia Restaurant Week 2017
Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce 2016 Community Profile & Membership Directory
The Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce 2016 Community Profile & Membership Directory is available at the Cottage Grove Chamber today! Thanks to 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.
Prince William, Greater Reston, Loudoun County and Arlington Chambers Working Together to Produce Northern Virginia Restaurant Week 2017
In Partnership with the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association
Manassas, VA – Foodies rejoice! For the second year in a row, four of Northern Virginia’s top business organizations -- the Prince William, Greater Reston, Loudoun County and Arlington Chambers of Commerce -- are collaborating to produce Northern Virginia Restaurant Week, March 20-27, 2017. The Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association (VRLTA) will once again join them as a partner, making it one of the largest dining out celebrations in the state. Northern Virginia Restaurant Week is a week-long, dining experience taking place at a variety of establishments from fine dining to fast casual meaning that everyone can take part. The goal of this event is to draw attention to Northern Virginia’s vibrant hospitality industry, encouraging residents and workers to explore new dining options close to home or work.
“The Prince William Chamber of Commerce is excited to once again be partnering with fellow Chambers on Northern Virginia Restaurant Week,” says Prince William Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Debbie Jones. “It’s a great deal for Prince William, Manassas Park and Manassas area residents. Commuters can find a participating spot for lunch and then something closer to home for dinner. The regionalistic aspect of this partnership perfectly matches the character of the community we serve. I can’t wait to see which of our local restaurants will catch the vision this year.”
In 2016, more than 60 restaurants participated with special menus and pricing at both lunch and dinner. This year the Chambers hope to increase participation. Participating restaurants pay a flat fee of $250 ($500 if you are not a Chamber member) to be included in promotions including logo recognition and having their restaurant week menu posted on www.NOVARestaurantWeek.com. Individual Chambers will also promote local restaurant participants on their websites and social media outlets, collaborating on additional opportunities to reach the entire Northern Virginia region. Restaurants and sponsors can sign up by completing the registration form and returning it to Andrea Short (ashort@pwchamber.org) at the Prince William Chamber of Commerce.
For 2017, Northern Virginia Restaurant Week will once again be working with OpenTable.com to provide participating foodies a chance to make stress-free reservations. Restaurants who are already on Open Table will be featured on a special NOVA Restaurant Week page, making it simple for consumers to find convenient options throughout the seven-day event.
Registrations will be accepted until the beginning of Restaurant Week, but registering early will ensure participants maximum exposure. Signature sponsors to date are Upper Crust Pizzeria-DC Metro, One Loudoun, Reston Town Center and Potomac Mills; several opportunities remain. Platinum Partners include Arlington Economic Development, Bistro 360 and Historic Manassas, Inc.
For more information about Northern Virginia Restaurant Week, sponsorship opportunities, or the collaboration between the Prince William, Greater Reston, Loudoun County and Arlington Chambers, please contact Andrea Short, Director of Marketing & Communications for the Prince William Chamber of Commerce, 571-765-1876 or ashort@pwchamber.org. NOVA Restaurant Week also has a Facebook page where interested foodies can stay up to date on participating restaurants and news: https://www.facebook.com/NoVARestaurantWeek. Diners are encouraged to use #NOVARestaurantWeek when dining at a participating restaurant.
Frankfort Area Chamber assistance: Get to know entrepreneur Jonathan Gaby
Since high school, Jonathan Gaby has pursued careers in just about every field but health care.
After graduating from Western Hills High School in 1999, Gaby pursued a theatre degree from Northern Kentucky University but ended up graduating from Campbellsville University with a degree in theology.
Not knowing exactly what he wanted to do after college, Gaby said he considered that time in his life to be the “perfect opportunity to experience all the things life has to offer.”
He worked in a factory, did a semester of seminary, decided that wasn’t a good fit, and went into politics.
“I got involved in all levels of politics from city council to president,” he said. “I moved to New Hampshire to work on a campaign in 2008. That was a blast. I tell people that was the best/worst decision I’ve made in awhile.”
Gaby also worked in the legal field as an assistant at a law firm. Most recently, however, Gaby has started a new career with the help of Downtown Frankfort Inc., the Frankfort Area Chamber of Commerce and other agencies.
In October, Gaby was accepted into the EntrepreViewer Project and has received assistance from local business promoters in launching his company SummitSocial.Co. Through the company, Gaby aims to help small businesses in Frankfort with web development, social media and marketing. Gaby is also the only certified Evernote consultant in the state, he said.
“I’m working with Kim Strohmeier with Downtown Frankfort and utilizing his business coaching skills,” Gaby said. “He’s helped other businesses get off the ground and put a good plan in place. The chamber has been great in providing the desk space that I have.”
“Being able to sit in the front window of the McClure building helps a lot,” he said. “(A guy) came in and said, ‘Is that your sign? Got business? Need more?’ I started a conversation about helping him start his business.”
Gaby said through the project, he will be allowed to stay in the office space for six months and he plans to take advantage of all of the resources being provided to him through DFI and the chamber.
“I’ll get to do some lunch-and-learn sessions,” Gaby said. “I’ll get to share my expertise in this field and help other businesses get going too.”
State Journal: Why did you start this company? Where did you get the idea?
Gaby: I have always been a geek at heart. When I was in high school, there was this website called GeoCities.com and way back in the day, the late ‘90s, they gave you free web space for you to design a website.
So, I signed up and I still remember my web address. It was geocities.com/stage/broadway/1440. I remember staying up late at night and my parents yelling at me to go to bed and get off the computer. I was trying to design a web page devoted to the Phantom of the Opera, because that was my favorite musical at the time.
I remember learning how to code through that exercise. HTML and CSS wasn’t a real thing back then. The site was called the Persians Chamber. It may have had two or three differentpages on it and that was about it.
It was really the start of my interest in the web and how it worked and how you could design it in a certain way, and how you can structure it to be usable.
I liked the fact that I have the curiosity to not only visit a webpage and see how it’s designed on the front end and how it looks to the viewer, but also the geekyness to download the source code and figure out how it works.
The business is an outflow of being curious and being able to make something look good on a computer, and helping people grow their business and bottom line through those things. Nowadays in business, it’s fine that you have good signage and things like that, but you need a great website to create a really great first impression of somebody on their mobile device or on their computer.
If they can’t get into your business to buy your product when you’re open, they should be able to buy that online. How do you get customers there? Social media is the word of mouth these days. That’s a way you can use those tools to attract new customers and keep customers coming in.
SJ: Why did you go into theater at NKU?
Gaby: I’ve always been a creative person. I decided to go into theater because I guess I had thoughts that I would be a performer on stage. Things I gravitated toward were the creativity and desire to perform and desire to do excellent work.
Those kinds of skills translate to any kind of business that you might endeavor at some point. I bring a lot more creativity on a website or social media platform to get your message out.
SJ: Why did you decide to earn a degree in theology at Campbellsville?
Gaby: At Northern I believe I was transformed to a Christian at that time, so I got the calling to go study more about the Bible and the religion. I couldn’t get that at Northern.
I never considered a pastor of a church. I wanted to go into the mission field. I went to Romania five times in the span of four years with Buck Run Baptist Church and the Romania-American mission they had.
I loved getting to know people you might not ever get to know, and helping them and becoming a part of their world for awhile and improving their life.
SJ: Why did you decide to stick around Frankfort to start your business?
Gaby: My house and my wife and my dog all live here, so I figure I should stay here. I think that as I look at the market, I have a better opportunity to grow as a business here than I do in a place like Lexington, Louisville or Georgetown.
I say that because I find that the cost of living is very low and it’s very easy to live here. I have everything I need. I have my house, a great place to buy bourbon, like Capital Cellars, and a great grocery store, a place to sleep — that’s all I need. And, maybe a place to buy office supplies.
Frankfort is home. Frankfort is where I go to church. Frankfort is where I have my friends and my colleagues. Read more: State Journal
Mayor Walters to give Battle Creek State of the City address
Battle Creek Mayor Dave Walters will give an annual State of the City address next week.
The event is from 7:30-9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, at the Kool Family Community Center, 200 W. Michigan Ave. It is hosted by the Battle Creek Area Chamber of Commerce.
Walters is expected to present the city's accomplishments over the past year and officials' plans for 2017. The event is open to the public, but an RSVP is required. A hot breakfast will be served.
Those who wish to attend can call the Chamber at 269-962-4076. Read more: Battle Creek Enquirer
Coast Chamber has crisis planning session for business leaders
This business event was about saving lives. On Thursday, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce meeting featured a not so cheerful presentation on crisis planning.
The message: A good safety plan is a great business plan.
“I think that I find that most people…have a general understanding of what an active shooter event is,” said Max Feen, protective security adviser with the Department of Homeland Security. “But, it’s getting them to have the presence of mind and fortitude to respond appropriately and do the right things.”
Feen had a two-part presentation. The first part was on the Hometown Security initiative connect, plan, train, and report. The second part described how to survive an active shooter.
It was a good message for the group, considering 37 percent of all active shooter situations are in the work place.
“At Center Stage, we have things going on all the time, and we don’t know some of the people who come in either, so we want to be prepared for no matter what,” said Ginny Russum, of Center Stage Theater in Biloxi. “The chamber gives us a great opportunity to have these little small meetings that we can really learn from them.”
More than 50 business leaders came to hear the message at the Knight Nonprofit Center. Even if they’ve heard it before, it’s good to hear again.
“We have a lot of contacts and relationships along the coast to help guide us in this direction,” said Angela VanErp, security supervisor at Boomtown Casino. “A lot of this just reinforces some of the things we already do.” Read more: WLOX
Monticello Mayor Ken Houston delivered his 2017 State of the City address during a Tuesday Monticello Chamber of Commerce meeting, and he had no lack of good things to say about the men and women of the community who work to keep the city ticking.
“It is the people and continues to be the people of our community and those people that work for the people of our community that make Monticello the great place that it is,” Houston said.
The mayor told the community officials in attendance that this greatness is clearly illustrated in the many partnerships the city has with surrounding organizations, such as the Greater Monticello Chamber of Commerce & White County Visitors Bureau, the Streets of Monticello Association, the Monticello Redevelopment Commission, Twin Lakes School Corporation, Ivy Tech Community College, CDC Resources and many more.
“I think you get the idea: we are all in this together,” he said. Read more: Herald Journal
“I think you get the idea: we are all in this together,” he said. Read more: Herald Journal
Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories and Community Profiles: The best in the U.S.
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.
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