Create an Entrepreneur! Arlington Chamber - YEA! - Meet the Leaders Behind the Businesses; Debbie Arell-Martinez, Desiree Bennyhoff to serve as Mentors; Muskego Area Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Resource Guide & Business Directory; Southwest Indiana Chamber names new CEO; Innovate Mississippi’s Third Annual Discovery Luncheon Oxford to Highlight Local Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship; Fox Cities Chamber Introduces Executive Roundtables; I-69 Thumb Region Issues RFP for Connecting Workers to Jobs; Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Map; Christian County Chamber: Soldiers To Be Counted From Duty Station During Deployment; Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories, Maps and Community Profiles: The best in the U.S.

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


Create an Entrepreneur! Arlington Chamber - YEA! - Meet the Leaders Behind the Businesses

Join the Arlington Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, February 28 for the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) CEO Roundtable - a fun and exciting event that is sure to leave a significant, and long-lasting impact on the lives of budding entrepreneurs. This event is perfect for people of ages, from kids to more established business professionals. Formatted as an interactive panel discussion, the CEO Roundtable will help the leaders of tomorrow connect the dots between local businesses and the entrepreneurs and CEOs who lead those businesses to success. YEA! students and audience members will hear from a panel of local top CEOs, who will share their inspiring start-up stories and answer questions including: What do you love about your role as CEO? What did you do as a kid or young adult that helped you get to where you are today? What's the best advice you ever received? REGISTER! Registration and more information can be found here. For questions, contact Alex Held at aheld@arlingtonchamber.org or (703) 525-2400. Admission is $20 for adults and FREE to middle and high school students and their teachers who register before 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 28.

Debbie Arell-Martinez, Desiree Bennyhoff to serve as Mentors

The St. Louis Business Journal has selected 38 women as mentors for the fifth annual Bizwomen Mentoring Monday event.

The event will take place Feb. 12 at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Fairview Heights, Illinois.

The distinguished group of mentors represents a variety of industries, from professors at local universities to executives and directors at some of the region's most successful organizations.

More than 10,000 women are expected to participate in 43 cities across the country.

Scroll through the gallery above to meet the mentors participating in St. Louis. Register for Monday's event here. Source: St. Louis Business Journal





Muskego Area Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Resource Guide & Business Directory  

The Muskego Area Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Guide & Business Directory   is available at the Chamber of Commerce today! Thank you to Krisann Durnford and the Chamber team for their help and direction putting this together! 

Muskego Area Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Resource Guide & Business Directory

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.


Southwest Indiana Chamber names new CEO

The Southwest Indiana Chamber Board of Directors Thursday announced the hiring of Tara Barney as president & CEO. Barney was CEO of the Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce from 2010 through mid-2017. The Quad Cities metropolitan area consists of a region comprised of Clinton, Muscatine, and Scott counties in Iowa; and Henry, Mercer and Rock Island counties in Illinois. Barney resigned from her former position in July, according to the Quad Cities Times. The newspaper's report said she left to "pursue other opportunities." In Evansville, she replaces Christy Gillenwater, who left to lead the chamber in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “I am excited to move to Evansville and begin this next phase of my career in serving such a well-established Chamber and a vibrant community that is southwest Indiana,” Barney said in a news release issued by the local chamber. “The Southwest Indiana Chamber is clearly an extremely well-run organization, having recently won Chamber of the Year nationally in 2016, and I’m proud to join the talented and capable staff. I look forward to getting to know all of our members to best serve their business needs and continue to build upon the prosperity and vision of this local economy.” In Quad Cities, Barney led a chamber with a $6 million budget that worked effectively with more than 30,000 local businesses. Read more: Courier-Press Innovate Mississippi’s Third Annual Discovery Luncheon Oxford to Highlight Local Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (Jackson, Miss.)- Innovate Mississippi and the Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation announce that they will host a Discovery Luncheon in Oxford on Friday, February 16, 2018, at The Powerhouse from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. Discovery Luncheons, a program of Innovate Mississippi, are community-based events held throughout the state designed to spotlight Mississippi’s rich entrepreneurial culture. The Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation joins Innovate Mississippi to host the Oxford based Discovery Luncheon sponsored by C Spire. The agenda begins at 11:30 a.m. with registration and networking. The lunch program starts promptly at 12:00 noon. Josh West, founder of Blue Delta Jeans, will serve as the featured speaker and share his inspiring journey and plans to transform a forsaken garment operation into the best Bespoke Denim in America. The entrepreneur speaker will be Lee Ingram, founder of Collegiate Tutoring, a peer-to-peer tutoring network that launched at the University of Mississippi and is continuing to expand to college campuses nationwide. There will be time for Q&A with the speakers, and the event will conclude at 1:00 p.m. “Oxford’s entrepreneurial scene is as vibrant as any community in Mississippi,” said Tony Jeff, President and CEO of Innovate Mississippi. “We are excited to hear Josh and Lee’s success stories and plans for future development. We also hope to uncover some other great entrepreneurs in the community and to help connect the community to statewide innovation activity. “We are excited to partner with Innovate Mississippi and CSpire on the upcoming Discovery Luncheon. Oxford is known for its innovative culture and long list of successful entrepreneurs ” said Allen Kurr, vice president of the Oxford-Lafayette County Economic Development Foundation  “We are proud to highlight Josh West and Lee Ingram not only for their businesses achievements, but also for their efforts in encouraging new startups in the Lafayette-Oxford-University Community.” To register or for more information, visit www.innovate.ms or contact Allen Kurr at the Oxford-Lafayette County EDF at allen@oxfordms.com or 601-234-4651. Fox Cities Chamber Introduces Executive Roundtables New program will provide like-minded executives with a confidential network to share perspectives APPLETON, Wis. (February 15, 2018) – The Fox Cities Chamber is excited to announce the launch of its newest program, Executive Roundtables. The program will provide business leaders across the Fox Cities Region the opportunity to create a confidential and professional network of like-minded peers who share a desire to overcome challenges and a willingness to share best practices. Applications for the Executive Roundtables program are available online at http://bit.ly/FCCroundtable. These Roundtables will act as an advisory forum, providing a confidential environment for discussion of critical business issues, experience-sharing and problem solving. Groups will be professionally-facilitated and consist of eight to twelve executives from non-competing industries with no competing interests. Cheryl Good, President of Performance Solutions & Consulting, Incorporated and Patrick Minskey, Financial Advisor from Edward Jones, will facilitate the program and provide guidance to the discussions. The Roundtable groups are comprised of business owners and c-suite decision makers from diverse industries to provide participants with the unique opportunity to hear ideas and suggestions from different perspectives. A one-year commitment is requested for participants and monthly topics will be discussed by the group. It is requested that each participant have a business case available for the program discussion. Executive Roundtable applications are open now through April 15, 2018. Applications will be reviewed and the group will be selected in May 2018. A program orientation will occur in June, followed by the program’s kick-off in August which will culminate in June 2019. “Our recent survey indicated a need for executive-level programming to allow participants the opportunity to improve their companies and share solutions. This professionally-facilitated Executive Roundtable program will provide CEO’s and executives from our member businesses a confidential platform with peers to discuss and solve business challenges that help participants manage and grow their business,” shared Bob Mundt, Fox Cities Chamber President/CEO. For additional program information, please contact Beth Haase, Director of Membership at the Fox Cities Chamber, at (920) 734-7101 or bhaase@foxcitieschamber.com. You may also visit foxcitieschamber.com to learn more and submit an online application.  I-69 Thumb Region Issues RFP for Connecting Workers to Jobs The I-69 Thumb Region is seeking proposals for ways to improve the regional workforce supply in 2018 and beyond. Specifically, the Request for Proposal (RFP) should address one of two key areas: Underemployment – Assist residents working part-time and/or at low wages with strategies to advance them into higher paying, full-time jobs with benefits. Retirement/Succession Planning – Help employers manage an aging workforce, plan for succession, and encourage apprenticeships and other job skills training that utilizes the expertise of those approaching retirement. A $38,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. will be used by the partnership to fund the winning proposals. The RFP builds on the momentum of the recent I-69 Thumb Region Talent Forum, which was held Jan. 24 to address workforce supply issues, as many employers in the I-69 Thumb Region are in a hiring mode. “We want to connect more workers to good paying jobs that are available in our region,” said Janice Karcher, Senior Vice President of Economic Development at the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce. “Openings are occurring in the skilled trades, supervisory, and technician levels in various industries as older employees near retirement. “The Thumb Region partners are seeking the best thinking and strategies on how we can close this gap for the benefit of our local employers and workers.” Proposals are due Feb. 13 by 12 p.m. (noon). A conference call for those with questions on the RFP and/or potential projects will be held Feb. 1 at 4 p.m. Complete details about the RFP and conference call are available online at I-69ThumbRegion.org/talent-rfp. The I-69 Thumb Region is a partnership of the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce, Shiawassee Economic Development Partnership, Lapeer Development Corporation, Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County, Sanilac & Huron County Economic Development Corporation and Tuscola County Economic Development Corporation. Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Map The new Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce 2017 Community Map is available at the Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber today! Thanks to Bob O'Callaghan and the chamber team for their help and direction putting this together! Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber 2017 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. Christian County Chamber: Soldiers To Be Counted From Duty Station During Deployment Chamber's efforts to change the way soldiers are counted during deployment pay off The U.S. Census Bureau finalized a rule change proposed for the 2020 census that would impact our region. The updated policy would require the Census Bureau to count all deployed service members at the base or port in which they resided prior to deployment instead of by their home of record, an address they gave when they enlisted. The Bureau’s previous method resulted in 2010 census data that improperly represented areas including Fort Campbell, Kentucky. While the region around Fort Campbell had grown greatly since the 2000 census, the 2010 census did not accurately reflect this growth due to the Bureau’s policy on counting deployed service members. The Christian County Chamber of Commerce has been advocating for this change for several years and it has been a priority for the Chamber’s Military Affairs Program. "Today's announcement is a victory for our region and our state,” said Kelli Pendleton, President and CEO of Kentucky’s Christian County Chamber of Commerce. “To have our soldiers counted at the installation where they are stationed during a deployment has a large economic impact on our region. This is an effort we have worked tirelessly on for several years, and we are thrilled with today's decision. We are grateful to have legislators who listen to our concerns and really work to address these types of issues. “Kentucky is proud of our service members and their families, and I applaud the Census Bureau for following through on a change that will ensure our military communities are properly represented and have the resources they need to continue supporting our military. Every service member deserves to be counted, and today’s action proves concerned citizens can make a difference,” said U.S. Senator Rand Paul. After hearing from local officials and community leaders about the inaccurate reporting, Dr. Paul worked to enact change, including contacting the Bureau directly and introducing the “Service Members and Communities Count Act” to ensure the correct reporting of all deployed service members. “We are excited that the Census Bureau has decided to count military personnel where they live prior to deployment,” said Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Mayor Carter Hendricks. “This simple change ensures military families are counted in the communities, like Hopkinsville, that work tirelessly to support soldiers and their families. The final rule creates one consistent and logical method for counting service members overseas. Until now, the method for counting service members during a deployment varied between branches of service. Media Contact: Kelli Pendleton, President/CEO, Christian County Chamber of Commerce kpendlton@christiancountychamber.com - 270-885-9096 Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories, Maps 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