Virginia Peninsula Chamber: Nonprofits and Service Organizations: Young Professionals Sign Up Today! Marion Chamber celebrates 2016; Mayor Costas: Vision, trust make Valparaiso vibrant; Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce 2016-2017 Community Guide & Membership Directory; Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber joining in economic development effort here in a big way; Paducah Chamber Celebrates at Annual Meeting; Janesville jobs market brightest in Wisconsin; Bourbina and Lyons join Midland Chamber staff; Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories and Community Profiles: The best in the U.S.

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

Virginia Peninsula Chamber: Nonprofits and Service Organizations: Young Professionals Sign Up Today!

Is your Nonprofit or Service Organization looking for Young Professionals to join your board, help coordinate a annual event, or become regular volunteers? Well on March 23, 2017 Bridge is hosting a "Get Connected" Speed Networking Event to connect local organizations to local Young Professionals looking to get plugged into the community! Sign Up Today to have a chance to introduce your organization, program, or community event to our emerging community and civic leaders.

To sign up please submit the Name of Your Organization, Name of a Representative, Logo, and short summary of your organization's/event's history and needs to bridge@vpcc.org.


Jemal Harris
Director, Economic Advancement
Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce
Virginia Peninsula Chamber Foundation

Program Manager
YEA!/YLA Virginia Peninsula

Direct: 757-325-8157

Marion Chamber celebrates 2016

Business leaders and members of the Chamber of Commerce gathered on Friday night to celebrate the accomplishments made in Marion in 2016 at the 96th Annual Chamber of Commerce Banquet.

Incoming chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, Kenya Garner, praised the membership, saying, “The Chamber benefits the entire community. It doesn’t matter if you’re a business member or not. Everyone goes to the Chamber for guidance and leadership.”

Garner also drummed up support and enthusiasm for the coverage of the total solar eclipse that will happen in August.

“I know it’s not something that everyone can get accomplished, but I really wanted to do something for Marion and Southern Illinois,” she said.

Mayor Robert Butler also spoke at the banquet, after receiving a surprise birthday cake and rendition of “Happy Birthday” from the crowd, in advance of his 90th birthday.

“This evening, I can report without equivocation that the hub of the universe is on track to see bigger and better things. If the fiasco laughingly called state government in Springfield can get out of the way, there’s no limit to what Marion can achieve.”

Festivities for the evening included a cocktail hour where guests could bid on silent auction items, including vacations, gift packages from area businesses, and autographed athletic memorabilia.

The gala banquet marked the beginning of the term of the Chamber’s newly-elected executive board: Chair Kenya Garner, First Vice Chair Janet Jensen, Second Vice Chair Gail Barger, Secretary Ashlee Church, and Treasurer Kimberly Walker. The executive board joins the Chamber’s Board of Directors: Cindy Gibbons, Ashley Gott, Deborah Hogg, Dr. Jim Parker, and new member, Jared Garrison. Read more: Daily Republican

Mayor Costas: Vision, trust make Valparaiso vibrant

Vision and trust are the key components to this city's success, and Mayor Jon Costas called on local business leaders Tuesday to turn vision into action to leave a vibrant community to the next generation.

Costas presented the State of the City speech at the Greater Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce's 104th annual meeting at Valparaiso University.

Trust, he said, is the cornerstone of building communities. It helps foster prosperity, progress and peace.

He cited the recent presidential election, after which some questioned democracy itself while others clinged to "cautious optimism." He said public trust is in short supply, but the best place to rebuild that trust is at the local level, where residents have a greater chance to be heard.

Costas said he and his leadership team established five core values when he first took office — being accountable, responsible, frugal, compassionate and proactive.

"Improvements were made possible by the support, engagement and goodwill of the citizens of Valparaiso," Costas said.

He said government officials must work together with the public to preserve "this fabric of trust." Read more: NWI Times




Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce 2016-2017 Community Guide & Membership Directory

The Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce 2016-2017 Community Profile & Membership Directory is available at the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber today! Thanks to Pam Swain, Rosie Vassalo 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.

Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber joining in economic development effort here in a big way

For an organization that has been around for more than 100 years, the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce has remained relevant, supportive and driven.

All of those characteristics were on display Tuesday during the chamber’s annual luncheon, in which it not only honored individuals and businesses of note from the previous year, but also laid out a plan of action for Vicksburg’s future.

Incoming Chamber president Mark Buys has said he wants the Chamber to help lead the effort to find property for the Port of Vicksburg to expand, likely finding a spot south of the I-20 bridge to increase Vicksburg’s impact on shipping and navigation along the Mississippi River.

The plan is bold, but the Vicksburg-Warren County Chamber of Commerce is good at big plans.

From the very beginning, the chamber has been focused on not only building business in Vicksburg, but also being a catalyst for needed changes and improvements.

The chamber kick started the Leader in Me program in area schools and has played an active role in the planning for the implementation of the Ford Next Generation curriculum in our high schools.

The chamber, early in the 20th Century, helped find and secure land for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, now the county’s largest employer.

Changes are coming to the structure of the Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce. Executive director Jane Flowers is leaving the chamber to spend time with family, and business and community leaders are currently working to restructure how the chamber will be managed, along with the Port Commission and other economic agencies. Read more: Vicksburg Post

Paducah Chamber Celebrates at Annual Meeting



The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting and Business Celebration sponsored by Lourdes and CSI was held at the Julian Carroll Convention Center on January 27 with a record crowd of more than 800 attendees.
Outgoing board chair Bruce Wilcox, President of Henry A. Petter Supply, officially passed the gavel to Tammy Zimmerman, President/CEO of Payment Plus, as the board chair for 2017. The Chamber also honored several area businesses and individuals with their annual awards:

Young Leaders of Western Kentucky – Ed and Meagan Musselman. This award is selected by the Four Rivers Business Journal.

Leadership Paducah Alumnus of the Year – John A. Williams, Jr. This award is selected and presented by the Leadership Paducah Foundation.

Chamber Volunteer of the Year – Tonya Goodale with Midas Hospitality

Non-Profit Organization of the Year – Merryman House

Entrepreneur of the Year – VUE with owners Carolyn Raney and Maggie Armon

Small Business of the Year – Stone Lang Co. and owner Mike Stone

Business of the Year – HealthWorks with owner/founder Dr. Kyle Turnbo


The theme for the evening was Making a Difference with guest speaker Steve Gilliland. Recognized as a master storyteller and comedian, Gilliland focused on how to positively influence people in every imaginable way. His message focused on three empowering dynamics: Purpose - It drives you!; Passion - It fuels you!; and Pride – It defines you!

As a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on only 227 men and women worldwide, he can be heard daily on SiriusXM Radio’s Laugh USA. He is a prolific, accomplished author, evidenced by four of his books, including Making a Difference, perennially making the publisher’s bestseller list and his being named Author of the Year. He was named one of the Top 10 Motivational Speakers in 2015 by espeakers. He built a multimillion-dollar company from the ground up, which the Pittsburgh Business-Times named one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the region.

Suzanne Farmer (Lourdes) and Mike Mallory (WPSD Local 6) served as the emcees for evening.
The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce is the region’s largest business advocacy organization with more than 1,000 member firms and is the fifth largest Chamber in the state. The Chamber was named “2011 Chamber of the Year” by the American Association of Chamber Executives, is 4-star accredited by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is a Kentucky Certified Chamber. Read more: West Kentucky Star

Janesville jobs market brightest in Wisconsin

The Janesville area closed out 2016 with unemployment falling and new jobs popping up at a clip greater than any other metro area in Wisconsin, according to state data released late this week.

Year-end employment numbers showed that between December 2015 and December 2016, the Janesville-Beloit metro area had a net gain of 2,400 jobs.

That's a year-over-year gain that surpasses activity in job markets in all 12 metro areas statewide—including neighboring Dane County, according to a monthly labor report from the state Department of Workforce Development.

Overall, the Janesville area's jobs gain between December 2015 and December 2016 made up for just under 10 percent of overall job growth statewide during the same period, according to data in the labor report.

And the unemployment rate here fell nearly 1 percentage point between December 2016 and a year earlier—from 4.6 percent to 3.8 percent.

Unemployment here edged up marginally from 3.8 percent in November to 3.9 percent last month.

Still, it was the fourth straight month with Janesville area unemployment under 4 percent. That's a continued trend of local joblessness not seen since 2000. Read more: Gazette Extra

Bourbina and Lyons join Midland Chamber staff

Mallory Bourbina has joined the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce as an information specialist. Bourbina will work in a shared role with responsibilities to include customer service and coordination of office manager duties.

Bourbina comes to the Chamber with a background in office management, customer service and bookkeeping services. She has a bachelor of science in history from Central Michigan University, and has recently moved to Midland. She can be reached at chamber@macc.org or (989) 839-9901.

Emily Lyons has joined the Midland Area Chamber of Commerce as a program specialist. Lyons works in program and event planning for the Chamber, including Partnerships for Education (Reality Store; Young Entrepreneur’s Academy; Career Search, Business/Education Forums), and she will assume the Farmers Market manager role.

Lyons comes to the Chamber with a background in banking, education, farming and horticulture. She was one of the first people to help implement the token program at the Midland Area Farmers Market. Lyons has a bachelor of science degree in horticulture from Michigan State University and lives in Midland with her family. She can be reached at elyons@macc.org or (989) 839-9901. Read more: Midland Daily News

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.

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 chamber publication or map proposal, contact Town Square Chamber Proposal