Virginia Peninsula Chamber President/CEO to Retire Early 2018; Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Profile Guide; #BestChamber Annual Meeting Promotion: Champaign County Chamber: 2017 Chamber Annual Meeting; Chamber of Commerce Serving Lexington, Buena Vista, Rockbridge County 2017 Community Map; Valpo Chamber: Building Powerful Teams - Half Day Workshop; Flint & Genesee Chamber: Save the Date: ‘Art of Achievement Awards’ Scheduled Nov. 9; Annual Jackson County Chamber meeting highlights successes of the county; Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors to Award four $500 Grants--Apply Today!; Tri-City Chamber of Commerce hosting forum on possible merger; 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 President/CEO to Retire Early 2018

Mike Kuhns, Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce President/CEO has announced to the Chamber Board of Directors that he plans to retire as of April 1, 2018. Kuhns, 73, has been the Chamber Executive for the past seven years and has resided in Newport News since 2003.

In his letter to the Chamber Chair Dan Chenoweth, of PBMares, and the Chamber Board, Kuhns said, 

“As this chapter of my life concludes, it is with a great deal of excitement that my wife and I prepare to begin a new chapter – one of travel, of visiting our kids and grandkids across the country, focusing on community service as Vice Chair of the Thomas Nelson College Board and serving other Peninsula-related organizations while continuing our life-long learning experience.

It is also exciting to recall a few of the major accomplishments made possible through the hard work and dedication of the Board and its leadership, the staff, and the entire organization during the past seven years:

·         The creation of a mission which focuses on “Connecting business with Opportunity”; the adoption of the organizational core values of “Integrity, Relevance, Involvement and Sustainability”; and, the strategies of “Facilitation, Advocacy, Communication and Education” to meet our objectives.

·         The transformation from a golf outing, gala, and cookbook Chamber to one which featured Governors, Senators, Legislators, Senior Cabinet Officials, Senior military commanders, Executive Leadership Forums, State of the Cities Series, Economic Forecasts, Seminars and Workshops, etc.

·         Advancing from a history of negative cash balances, current and long-term debt, and negative equity to six months operating reserves, positive cash balances, no debt and positive equity (650% increase).

·         Initiated annual audits with six years of deficiency-free audits.

·         Reorganized staff to match organizational & efficiency needs and maximized the use of leased space to support those initiatives.

·         Increased number of events from 60 with 1850 participants to 135 events with >15,000 participants.

·         Restructured the Military Affairs Council to convene the senior military leaders and installation commanders monthly providing an opportunity for cross-service dialogue and an opportunity to receive briefings from senior civilian leaders who affect their missions.

·         Created the Peninsula Economic Resource Team, a collaboration of the economic development directors from all localities on the Peninsula, including the Greater Williamsburg Partnership.

·         Created an Annual Partnership Program with a strong core of recurring partners.

·         Activated the Virginia Peninsula Chamber Foundation for education, leadership, and fiscal agency purposes in support of local government initiatives and start-up not-for-profit organizations, such as Eustis Civic Leaders Association, Start Peninsula!, the Friends of NNFD, and the NN Citizens Fire Academy Alumni Association.

·         Engaged in support of the Hampton City Schools’ transformative Academies of Hampton and Ford Next Generation Learning Initiative, at all levels from Steering Committee through Tactic Teams important to the development of the future pipeline of a college and career ready workforce for our employers.

·         Restructured LEAD Peninsula into an effective community immersion initiative with impressive participation from Peninsula employers.

·         and the list goes on …

There isn’t enough paper and ink to record my praise, gratitude and admiration for the staff that has served the Chamber over these past 7 years. The organizational accomplishments would not have been possible without my teammate, Suzy Johnson, Vice President of Finance and Operations, who has been with the Chamber for my entire tenure.  She is simply extraordinary!”

Development of a succession process is underway anticipation of onboarding the new executive NLT the end of February 2018. For more information, call 757.262.2000 or email info@vpcc.org.






Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Profile Guide

The Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Profile Guide & Membership Directory is available at the Greater Belleville Chamber! Thanks to Wendy Pfeil and the chamber team for their help and direction putting this together!

Belleville IL Community Profile Guide

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.

#BestChamber Annual Meeting Promotion: Champaign County Chamber: 2017 Chamber Annual Meeting

Submitted for your approval by:

2017 Chamber Annual Meeting

Friday, October 27

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Hilton Garden Inn

It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between business and superstition and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Chamber Zone.

Forget what you thought you knew. Travel through time and space and cross over into the Chamber Zone as we celebrate another year and look forward to our future.

Doors open at 11:00 a.m. The program starts promptly at 11:30. Full lunch and entertainment included. The 2017 Small Business of the Year will be named at the event.

Individual attendance is $39.

To reserve your table or for individual registration, contact Caryn or call 217.359.1791.


Chamber of Commerce Serving Lexington, Buena Vista, Rockbridge County 2017 Community Map


The new Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Map is available at the Chamber today! Thanks to Tracy Lyons, Chrystal Lee and the chamber team for their help and direction putting this together!

Chamber of Commerce serving Lexington, Buena Vista, and Rockbridge County Community Map

Town SquarePublications (www.townsquarepublications.com) can help you accomplish your chamber's gloss map, directory, community guide or publication needs at no expense to the chamber. Please email John Dussman at jdussman@tspubs.com or call (847)-427-4633.

Valpo Chamber: Building Powerful Teams - Half Day Workshop

Thursday, November 09, 2017 8:00 AM - 12:00 Noon CST

Valparaiso University Harre Union
1509 Chapel Dr
Valparaiso, IN 46383

Join us at the joint workshop with SCORE, to...Develop Your Leaders. Inspire Your Teams. Build Our Community.

Building Powerful Teams is a half day community leadership event designed to equip teams and individuals in your community with 7 Practices that Determine Team Success. Future generations are dependent upon the success of every team in every community. We aim to teach, challenge and inspire your people to not only learn 7 Practices, but apply this learning to improve the teams you serve on...which ultimately lifts your community to new levels.
- Learn 7 Practices That Determine Team Success
-Practical take-aways your team can implement immediately
-Great networking with Community and Business Leaders

Register and Learn more: Valpo Chamber

Flint & Genesee Chamber: Save the Date: ‘Art of Achievement Awards’ Scheduled Nov. 9

The Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce and the Convention and Visitors Bureau will recognize business excellence and community leadership with the fourth annual Art of Achievement Awards on Nov. 9.

“Art of Achievement is a great way to celebrate the businesses, organizations and individuals who are doing outstanding work and helping to move Flint & Genesee forward,” said Chamber CEO Tim Herman.

The gala will be held at the Flint Institute of Arts and will feature three new awards this year. They include:

·        Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) of the Year

·        Economic Development Project of the Year

·        Entertainment Venue of the Year

Tickets are $25 per person, with cash bar and hors d’oeuvres provided, and may be purchased online here.

For more information, including sponsorship opportunities, contact Steven Elkins in Member Services at (810) 600-1419 or selkins@flintandgenesee.org. 

Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 25 by 5:00 p.m.

Annual Jackson County Chamber meeting highlights successes of the county

Jackson County Chamber of Commerce held their annual meeting of the minds on Tuesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Pascagoula.

Lee Bond, Chairman of the Board (2016-2017) with Singing River Health System, passed the gavel to the 2017-2018 Chairman of the Board, Amy Brandenstein, Public and Government Affairs Community Affairs Representative at Chevron Pascagoula Refinery. 

Bond has worked with the Chamber's Issue Manager Groups (IMG) on many opportunities for the business community throughout the year. 

Bond also announced the 2017 Small Business Grant recipients. There were five companies presented with one hundred percent, corporate privately funded grants valued at $2,500 per business, benefitting the sustainability of their business.

The grants are available to increase revenue for development and expansion of small businesses through investing in sustainable marketing which includes marketing materials (including websites), storefront and/or customer area improvements, display for merchandise and other ways that can grow businesses.

The recipients of this year's Small Business Grant were Community Care Network, Inc.; Family Frozen Foods, Inc.; Nura Juice; Dr. Jeffrey L. Knight Family Dentistry; and Home of Grace. Read more: Gulf Live

Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors to Award four $500 Grants--Apply Today!

Interested groups must parallel the purposes of both the club and Chamber.

The criteria for the grant request are that the organization:

• Has 501c/3 status
• Be a Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce Member
• Helps promote a prosperous business environment in the Stateline area.
• Supports activities that enhance the quality of life in the Greater Beloit community.

Click here to access the application.

Tri-City Chamber of Commerce hosting forum on possible merger

The Tri-City Chamber of Commerce is hosting a community forum looking to get proper information out about the proposed merging of the three cities they cover.

The forum will be held on October 23rd at 6 p.m. at the Betty Howard Coal Miner's Memorial Theatre in Benham.

The purpose of the meeting is to get rid of rumors among people who live in the three cities.

Through a grant, the chamber has hired the Kentucky League of Cities to be an independent group that shares the information, good and bad about the merger.

We wanted it to be a professional study that would detail all the facts and details of the merger from all three cities and present it to the citizens so a detailed and informed decision could be made,” said Jeff Wilder the President of the Tri-City Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber is not trying to sway the people in any direction, they are wanting the people to make up their own mind based on the facts presented by the KLC.

They're simply going to explore all the pertinent facts and present this to the people and the city councils before they make a decision,” said Dr. Bruce Ayers the Tri-City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director. Read more: WYMT.com

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.

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