#BestChamber Practices: Midland Area Chamber of Commerce Newsletter: Speak from the Heart; Annual Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce Gala Thursday; Kernersville Chamber of Commerce 2017-2018 Community Guide; Northern Virginia Chamber to Host 2017 Gov Con: Small Business Summit for Success; MMAC news: Jagler: Construction industry flourishes with downtown boom; Paducah News: DOE Awards $1.4 Billion Contract for Plant Cleanup; Chester Chamber of Commerce meeting highlights; Jasper Chamber Event with Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch; Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories and Community Profiles: The best in the U.S.

#BestChamber Practices: Midland Area Chamber of Commerce Newsletter: Speak from the Heart

From the Chamber Staff: We Have Lift Off

By Diane Middleton

Here's a quirky bit of Chamber staff trivia. We're a staff of 11, and four of us have five kids, total, graduating this year. That's unusually high. Pictures, announcements, gowns, parties, parents heaving big sighs of relief, college tuition checks being penned...all right here.

So, think about what it takes to get kids to this point. From the time they are itty-bitty, you are preparing them to reach this milestone. First, basic social skills: Can they play with others without drawing blood? Can they sit criss-cross applesauce for five minutes while someone reads The Very Hungry Caterpillar (my all-time fave)? Second, academic skills: Do they get the concept of carrying the one to the next column? Can they write an F that doesn't look strangely like a contorted, stick giraffe? Third, career prep: You can't live in our basement, so how do you want to earn your own money, and what kind of training will get you there?

That's oversimplifying it, but you get the drift. You have taken a completely helpless infant and somehow gotten them over to the launch pad. And they are totally ready to be there.

Seeing those kids in their caps and gowns is a great (tearful!) moment. You are happy for them; for all they will be in the future and all they will contribute to society. You are proud that you have successfully accomplished this critical parental task, and somehow retained a few shards of sanity. And we are all happy to eventually welcome these new, young, energetic professionals to our community. It's all good.

Warmest congratulations to the graduates of our own Chamber staff:

- Skyler C. Norbury, H.H. Dow High School 

(daughter of Dave Dauer)

- Stefanie J. Lynch, Midland High School 

(daughter of Tina Lynch)

- Jon D. Lynch, Michigan State University 

(son of Tina Lynch)

- Sydney N. Chamberlin, Hemlock High School 

(daughter of Roger Chamberlin)

- Jamie R. Middleton, Bay City Central High School 

(my daughter)

And congratulations to the entire Class of 2017, wherever they may be graduating from. Parents, congratulations to you, too; job well done. Relax, and commence launch sequence countdown. Your kid has got this!

Diane Middleton is the Vice President of Operations. She can be reached at dmiddleton@macc.org

Annual Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce Gala Thursday

The Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce will literally be rolling out the red carpet later this week for their 75th-anniversary celebration.

The Red Carpet Gala will be held on Thursday at Castle Hill of Oxford from 7 to 11 p.m.

Pam Swain, the Chamber’s Senior Vice President, says that gala began in 2015 and has become an annual event for the organization. Over the past few years, the black tie optional party has been expanding.

This year’s edition will feature live music from Dr. Zarr’s Amazing Funk Monster, nine local chefs taking part in the “Chamber Chef Shuffle” and a red carpet entrance and interviews for all guests. An estimated 400 guests are expected to attend, the biggest turnout yet for the event.

Unique items will be raffled off throughout the evening like a 2-carot diamond bracelet, a one-of-a-kind “Archie” AR-15 rifle and a Johnny Vaught signed Ole Miss football.

“The Gala is truly a celebration of all the successes of our community, our businesses in this beautiful community and our gracious people in this place we get to call home,” Swain said. “We want to encourage everyone to come to the gala to get together and celebrate all the Oxford and Lafayette County is.”

Tickets and more details on the event can be found at www.olccredcarpetgala.com.

Kernersville Chamber of Commerce 2017-2018 Community Guide 

The Kernersville Chamber of Commerce Community Guide is available at the Chamber of Commerce today! Thank you to Chris Comer and the Chamber team for their help and direction putting this together! 

2017-2018 Kernersville Chamber of Commerce Community Guide

Town Square Publications  (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.



Northern Virginia Chamber to Host 2017 Gov Con: Small Business Summit for Success

Tysons, Va. – The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce (Northern Virginia Chamber) will host Gov Con: Small Business Summit for Success on Monday, June 5, 2017 from 12:30 PM – 5:00 PM at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner. This unique conference will help small business owners learn how to optimize opportunities through informative workshops, panel discussions, and ample networking with decision makers. Attendees will experience hands-on learning to help navigate the government contracting landscape. Panels and facilitated workshops featuring federal agencies and large contractors alongside attendees will discuss the latest forecasts and share expert insight on upcoming hurdles, generating candid dialogues. Jackie Robinson-Burnette, Deputy Associate Administrator, Office of Government Contracting & Business Development, U.S. Small Business Administration, will present a keynote address. Summit Workshops include: How to Succeed at Government Contracting: Securing government contracts can be highly profitable for small businesses, but navigating those opportunities can be daunting for even the most seasoned business owner.  Discuss the dos and don'ts of perfecting your plan—straight from experienced contractors who have been through. Panelists Include: Raza Latif, President, NuAxis Innovations Mike McDermott, President, InquisIT LLC Phil Panzarella, Partner, 5th Grade Simple, LLC Staci Redmon, President & CEO, Strategy & Management Services, Inc. Collaboration Works: Subcontracting. Teaming. Partnering. All of these relationships can be mutually beneficial to primes and your small business. Dive into each of these collaborative opportunities to learn how, when and why to get involved to open up greater opportunities for your business – plus the dos and don’ts of each relationship. Panelists Include: Stephanie Alexander, Founder, Govmates Ben Edson, President & CEO, VariQ Andy Smith, Principal, The McLean Group Growth Strategies for Small Contractors: Launching a successful small business was just the first step. How can you grow your business even further? Learn about from experts the tried and true ways to expand your already thriving small business such as transitioning to prime status, organically growing market share and creating new lines of revenue. Panelists Include: Satya Akula, President & CEO, Amyx, Inc. Cynthia Castillo, President & CEO, CSSI, Inc.  Cosmo DiMaggio, Founder & CEO, The Tauri Group Sumeet Shrivastava, President & CEO, Array Information Technology, Inc. Registration is available online. Entry is $80 for Northern Virginia Chamber members and $100 for non-members. Follow the event on Twitter @NOVAChamber and #GovCon. Members of the media who plan to cover the event should contact Northern Virginia Chamber Director, Communications and Marketing, Alex Thompson, athompson@novachamber.org, to register. MMAC news: Jagler: Construction industry flourishes with downtown boom They’re in the right industry at the right place at the right time. The industry is construction, the place is downtown Milwaukee and the time is now. An unprecedented commercial building boom is reinventing downtown, spanning from the Couture high-rise at the lakefront and two new towers being built by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. to a new arena for the Milwaukee Bucks. The momentum is continuing with even more construction around the former Pabst brewery that will extend the downtown’s footprint to the west. The historic downtown construction renaissance is reflected in the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s 2017 Future 50 list of some of the region’s fastest growing companies. The 2017 list includes 12 companies in the construction industry. To put this year’s list in perspective, consider that construction companies occupied just three spots in the Future 50 class of 2014. The construction industry companies on this year’s list include: Allcon LLC; Bliffert Lumber and Hardware; Breckenridge Landscape Design, Construction & Maintenance; Capital Heating and Cooling; Coates Electric; Gustave A. Larson Company; JCP Construction LLC; Lange Bros. Woodwork Co. Inc.; Lemberg Electric Company Inc.; Moore Construction Services LLC; Roofed Right America; and Weather Tight Corp. Read more: Journal Sentinel

Paducah News: DOE Awards $1.4 Billion Contract for Plant Cleanup


The U.S. Department of Energy has announced the award of a contract to Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, LLC for the continued deactivation and remediation of Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant facilities in Paducah.

According to a press release, the total estimated value of the contract is about $1.49 billion. The period of performance includes a base period of five years, including a transition period of 120 days and two option periods (3-year and 2-year).

The services to be provided under the contract include facility characterization and stabilization (deposit/hold-up removal, removal of all fire loading, isolating systems and facility from utilities), groundwater remediation, waste operations, utility operations and Surveillance & Maintenance (S&M).

In a joint press release, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell, Senator Rand Paul and Congressman Jamie Comer all applauded the decision.

“Today’s announcement by Secretary Perry regarding a new long-term contract is welcome news for the community and the employees at the Paducah DOE site. I applaud the Department for taking this important step which will benefit Paducah workers and I look forward to continuing our joint efforts to support workers and vital cleanup operations at the site.” McConnell said.

"This is wonderful news for the Paducah DOE site, their workers, and the surrounding western Kentucky communities. I look forward to continuing to work on behalf of the community on this issue and support job creation throughout the Commonwealth.” Paul said.

“The Paducah DOE site is vital to the economy of western Kentucky and has been one of my top priorities. I’m pleased the Department of Energy, under Secretary Perry’s leadership, has awarded a long-term contract that will bring stability to the site, workforce, and community. I look forward to working with Secretary Perry, Senator McConnell, and Senator Paul to see that this important cleanup work continues in a timely and efficient manner.” Comer said.

Sandra Wilson of the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce said engineering company C2HM Hill is the lead company in Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, with BWX Technologies and Fluor Corporation as partners. Read more: West Kentucky Star

Chester Chamber of Commerce meeting highlights

The Chester Chamber of Commerce board recently met at Reid's Harvest House for its May meeting.

Directors elected to serve a three-year term were Nick Burch, Robert Gross, Bruce Luthy, Tom Welge, Don Stallman, Robert Schremp and Dr. Larry Soellner.

Officers serving are President Jason Coffey, Vice President Gwendy Garner, Treasurer Bruce Luthy and Executive Director Linda Sympson.

Plans are under way for the chamber's annual dinner at the Chester Country Club on June 16. Social hour will be from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15, followed by the Citizen of the Year announcement and other special recognitions.

Local musician Shane Wager will provide music throughout the evening. Dinner tickets must be purchased in advance at either Buena Vista National Bank, Chester National Bank, chamber directors, or the chamber office.

Tickets are $25 each and the dinner will be catered by Reids' Harvest House. Citizen of the Year nominations must be turned in by June 2.

The chamber's annual scholarship selection was a tie, resulting in two recipients. The committee awarded Logan Colvis and Ellen Blechle $500 each to help with their tuition or school expenses.

Both young ladies were chosen for their academic achievement, school activities and community involvement. Read more: Randolph County Herald Tribune

Jasper Chamber Event with Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch

You are invited to have lunch with Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch. Join the Jasper Chamber as we welcome the Lt. Governor to Jasper on Monday – June 19th – 11:30 a.m. – KlubHaus 61

Suzanne is from southern Indiana and we felt it is fitting to invite her to Dubois County to meet the business community here – and welcome her in this new position.

$25 per person - - please RSVP no later than June 12 to 812-482-6866 or chamber@jasperin.org

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