Monday, May 15, 2017

Prince William Chamber Seeks Local Help in Developing Statewide Economic Development Plan; Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce 2016-2017 Community Guide & Membership Directory; Joliet Chamber Of Commerce Take A Drive To Springfield To Give Legislators A Reality Check; Downtown Appleton Hosts Craft Beer Week; Indy Chamber team revs up DSM transit efforts; Wine Tasting, Mouthwatering Food and More; Taste of Dearborn Returns June 14; Frankfort Area Chamber concern: Plaza effect undetermined; Chamber partners: Top Jackson County students nab more than $70K in scholarships; Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories and Community Profiles: The best in the U.S.

Happy Monday, #Chamber World! It's going to be a GREAT week!




Prince William Chamber Seeks Local Help in Developing Statewide Economic Development Plan

Manassas, VA- On Tuesday, May 18 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the Prince William Chamber of Commerce will offer a unique opportunity for the people and businesses of Northern Virginia to come together and have their say in what should be included in the long-term statewide economic development plan for the Commonwealth of Virginia: Blueprint Virginia. The Blueprint Virginia luncheon is presented in partnership with the Flory Small Business Center and the Virginia, Arlington, Fauquier, Greater Springfield, Mount Vernon-Lee and Northern Virginia Chambers of Commerce. Northern Virginia Community College’s Regional Center for Workforce Education and Training will host (2645 College Drive; Woodbridge, VA 22191).


Dominion Virginia Power is the event sponsor. Dominion’s Director of State & Local Affairs, Deborah Tompkins Johnson says, “Blueprint Virginia is essentially a strategic plan for the Virginia economy. We all benefit from a more diverse, more vibrant economy and Blueprint Virginia will gather input from every corner of the Commonwealth to show us the way.” Dominion and other members of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce were heartily involved in the first Blueprint for Virginia, which was presented to Governor Terry McAuliffe in 2014. This time around, increased input from across the state is sought, with Chambers across the state hosting similar opportunities for their local interests to be represented.


During the luncheon, Virginia Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Barry DuVal will lead the audience in using interactive online tools to contribute to the development of Blueprint Virginia 2025 in real time. Participants will be able to watch as the results change to better reflect their interest as areas like Culpeper, Hampton Roads, Fredericksburg and Danville have already had their say.


Also speaking at the luncheon will be Stephen Moret, the newly appointed President and CEO of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP). Having been highly successful in his previous position leading economic development efforts for the state of Louisiana, Moret will present on What’s Next for the VEDP and Virginia’s Economy and answer questions from the audience as time allows.


Dr. Scott Ralls, President of Northern Virginia Community College stated, “NOVA is not just a college. We are part of an established and growing community. We are thrilled for the opportunity to partner together with our local chambers of commerce and the critical business partners that make this region one of the most robust economies in the nation. The conversations that develop through initiatives such as Blueprint Virginia help us to ensure that we are providing the most highly-skilled workforce to ensure Virginia continues to thrive.”


All are welcome to attend. Registration for the Blueprint Virginia luncheon is $50 per person and registrants can sign up on PWChamber.org. Members of the media may attend at no cost by contacting Andrea Short at ashort@pwchamber.org for passes.




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.



Joliet Chamber Of Commerce Take A Drive To Springfield To Give Legislators A Reality Check


The Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry will travel to Springfield today to meet with Governor Bruce Rauner and the leaders of both the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives.
Fifteen Chamber members will discuss the State budget and how that situation is affecting so many businesses, education institutions, and social service agencies in the Joliet Region. In addition, topics such as transportation, education funding, pensions, workers’ compensation, taxes, minimum wage, gaming, and employment law will all be brought up during the conversations.
The Springfield drive-down day is hosted by the Chamber Legislative committee and sponsored by AT&T and CITGO. Read more: WJOL.com


Downtown Appleton Hosts Craft Beer Week

More than 20 bars and restaurants in Downtown Appleton will team up to host Fox Valley Craft Beer Week May 15-­‐21. The local event is part of the annual American Craft Beer Week celebration.
The event features tastings of various craft beers and brews, venues offering beer dinners or other specials and beer classes or sessions from local brewery reps.
Participating venues are: Appleton Beer Factory; Bad Badger Sports Bar; The Bar on the Avenue; Bazil’s Pub; The Clubhouse inside Radisson Paper Valley Hotel; CU Saloon; D2 Sports Pub; Déjà Vu Martini Lounge; Flanagan’s Stop & Shop Inc.; Fox River House; Fratello’s Waterfront Restaurant; Good Company; Green Gecko Grocer & Deli; Home Burger Bar; Houdini’s Escape Gastropub; Intermezzo; Jim’s Place; Mill Creek; Mr. Brew’s Taphouse; OB’s Brau Haus; Rookie’s Sports Bar; Rye Restaurant; Speakeasy Ultra Lounge; Tandem Wine & Beer; Vince Lombardi’s Steakhouse; Wooden Nickel
More information is available through the ADI website at appletondowntown.org, direct through the host venues or on Facebook. You may also contact Anne Wiegman, Appleton Downtown Inc., by calling (920) 954-­‐9112, or email anne@appletondowntown.org. Source: Fox Cities Chamber

Indy Chamber team revs up DSM transit efforts
Two leaders of Indianapolis' successful efforts to greatly improve its transit system came to town this week to inspire Capital Crossroads' Transit Future Work Group, which is looking to do the same here.
Michael Huber, CEO, and Mark Fisher, chief policy officer, of the Indy Chamber said the improvements didn't have much to do with traffic congestion. They had more to do with a system that made it very difficult to get anywhere easily or quickly, demand from a diverse array of interests, not just low-income residents, and the promise of economic development.
A broad-based task force similar to one that is working in Des Moines guided the Indy efforts, asking for a 3 percent local option sales tax. What they got instead was a 0.25 percent income tax, approved by lawmakers, voters and finally the City-County Council, that is expected to raise $54 million a year to expand transit, Fisher said.
The plan calls for three rapid transit lines, better buses, routes with service every 10 to 15 minutes instead of 30 to 90, and extended hours. The cost: about $100 a year per $40,000 of income. The Indy team wanted to pursue light rail, but were told, as Greater Des Moines has been, that the market was too small to support it. In fact, the legislation in Indiana prohibited light rail and protected the state against further financial obligations for transit. Huber said residents have loved the idea of bus rapid transit instead.
The plan is expected to bring a boom of development along the core routes, tripling the number of people with regular service. It won't happen overnight.
"You have to be in this for the long haul," Fisher said of the years-long effort to pass the plan.
Huber said a local option sales tax would help Des Moines. That is one of the options that have been discussed, but would need state approval. Jay Byers, CEO of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, said three finalists are expected to visit Des Moines before a firm is picked to complete a study of financing options for an expansion of transit and mobility in Greater Des Moines. The study should be done by September, when the next steps will be discussed. Another panel is working on a new governance structure for the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority, or DART, which is expected to expand suburban representation. Read more: Business Record




Wine Tasting, Mouthwatering Food and More; Taste of Dearborn Returns June 14


DEARBORN, MI- A Metro Detroit favorite, Taste of Dearborn, returns Wednesday, June 14, 2017, from 6-10:00 pm. Attendees experience the delightful offerings of Dearborn eateries at this annual event, presented by Jim Thorpe, Ameriprise Financial, and hosted by the Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dearborn’s annual “Grub-crawl” allows attendees to sample menu items from the bevvy of participating restaurants.  Early bird general admission tickets are available for $25 until June 9, and include appetizers from 20+ participating restaurants in West Downtown Dearborn and the Fairlane Town Center complex. After June 9, tickets are $30.

Les Stanford Cadillac once again serves as the venue for the elegant Wine Tasting Reception. Attendees enjoy appetizers & samples provided by LaPita Mediterranean Cuisine and live jazz entertainment from the Dearborn Saxophone Quartet, 5:30-8:00 pm. A limited number of tickets are available for this exclusive reception for only $40! Pre-registration is required to attend the reception.  General admission and wine tasting tickets are available at www.dearbornareachamber.org or by calling 313-584-6100.

The Chamber provide free shuttles, courtesy of LaFontaine Automotive Group, between downtown West Dearborn and the Fairlane Town Center complex until 9:45 pm. Participants receive a menu and map at registration beginning at 5:30 p.m. in the Bryant Library at 22100 Michigan Ave.

A small sample of confirmed restaurants include Andiamo-Dearborn, Zaza’s Italian & Mediterranean Cuisine, Bailey’s Pub & Grille, Bangkok 96 Thai Restaurant,


Lazeez Burgers & More, bd’s Mongolian Grill, Brome Burger, Guilio & Sons, Buddy’s Pizza, Buffalo Wild Wings, Detroit Pizza Factory, Frida’s Mexican Cuisine, PF Chang’s, Big Fish, Famous Hamburger, La Fork (Putin & Crepes), Lue Thai Café, Matador Mexican Restaurant and Yogurtopia. Additional restaurants are joining daily!

For More Information, Contact: Zach Hayward, Director of Events & Media Relations, Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce, Tel: 313-584-6100, E-mail: zhayward@dearbornareachamber.org






Frankfort Area Chamber concern: Plaza effect undetermined


As the clock ticks toward demolition of Capital Plaza Tower, Fountain Place shops and the Frankfort Convention Center as early as Nov. 1, many questions remain throughout the county and city on the fiscal impact once the dust settles.
Developers have a little more than two weeks to inform state officials that they are interested in receiving the state’s request for a proposal in order to bid on the redevelopment project, which will be the most significant facelift for downtown Frankfort in the last 40 years.
According to the Finance and Administration Cabinet’s timeline, a developer will be selected and awarded the contract by Aug. 29, and the project will be executed in phases. Phase one, according to Pamela Trautner, spokeswoman for the cabinet, will be the build-to-suit project, which includes razing the Capital Plaza Tower, Fountain Place, convention center, overpasses and parking garages.
Improvements will be made to the facades of Capital Plaza Hotel where the overpasses existed, and hotel parking will be diverted to the 300-plus parking garage also used by the YMCA. The awarded developer will ultimately return the area under the convention center to green space that will be shovel-ready for a potential public-private-partnership project.
The proposed specifications drafted by the Department of Facilities include construction of a five-story office building, allowing 257 square feet for each of 1,500 state employees expected to work in the building. The tower once housed about 750 workers.
Where those state employees will come from and from which state agencies hasn’t been determined, Trautner said.
Franklin County Judge-Executive Huston Wells told The State Journal he is concerned about the impact it could have on property owners in the county who have leased buildings to the state for office space.
“What is going to happen to these people that have made this commitment with the state counting on this for a number of years and now it’s going to pulled out from under them,” Wells said. “Then the property taxes they pay. It goes down as the value goes down because they can’t rent it. It’s another part of this.”
Finance and Administration Cabinet Sec. William Landrum told Kentucky Today website that the 1,500 employees relocating to downtown Frankfort would “create payroll growth to the city of approximately $7.8 million.” Read more: State Journal


Chamber partners: Top Jackson County students nab more than $70K in scholarships




Jackson County’s top high school seniors were awarded more than $70,000 in scholarships May 2 at the 27th annual Explosion of Excellence Scholarship Program.
The program is designed to encourage top high school students to stay in Jackson County after their college education is complete.
The entire top 10 percent of graduating seniors in the county, 168 students, received a $250 book scholarship. There was also random drawings for $1,000 and $5,000 scholarship checks totaling $25,000.


Trevor Perry of Pascagoula High School also received a $5,000 scholarship from the McDonald’s Descher Organization.
“This is such an important program — showcasing the support of the community encouraging our youth to further their education,” said Yvette Barr, director of membership communications for the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce and former scholarship recipient herself. “We hope that one day they will work here and continue to grow Jackson County and the Gulf Coast.”
The Explosion of Excellence program is jointly sponsored by the Jackson County chamber, the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce Main Street Tourism Bureau and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
More than 100 contributors and volunteers make the program possible, the Jackson County Chamber said in a news release.
Scholarship donations come from area businesses and residents. Anyone can donate to students by mailing a tax-exempt contribution by check to the Gulf Coast Community Foundation/Explosion of Excellence it to Explosion of Excellence, P.O. Box 480, Pascagoula MS 39568-0480.
Contributors are recognized on the scholarships, in the event program and on the Jackson County Chamber website. Sun Herald


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


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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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

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