Good morning #Chamber World! It's going to be a GREAT day!; Flint & Genesee Chamber’s Annual Meeting Highlights a Region Energized for Growth; Birmingham Bloomfield 2017-2018 Membership Directory and Community Resource Guide; Prince William Chamber of Commerce to Host Annual Frostbite Scramble Golf Tournament; Fox Cities Chamber Welcomes UW Badger Football Coaches for Upcoming Lunch ‘n Learn on Workplace Wellness; Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber connects SIUE to community; Plymouth Business Connections April 12, 2018 - 7:15 - 8:30 a.m.; $20M expansion at General Atomics to add up to 60 jobs; New Director Of Military Affairs for Christian County Chamber Announced; 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!


Flint & Genesee Chamber’s Annual Meeting Highlights a Region Energized for Growth

The economic momentum for Flint and Genesee County has taken hold. That was the overriding message from the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 Annual Meeting on March 22.

“Our strategy is working,” said Chamber CEO Tim Herman, to the more than 400 assembled guests. “While the type of change that we need here in Flint & Genesee doesn’t happen overnight, we can look back over the past three years and see that economic momentum has taken hold.”

A solid example of that progress is the decision by Lear Corp. to invest $29 million to build a seat manufacturing facility on a portion of the former Buick City property. It is the first major automotive supplier manufacturing facility built in Flint in more than three decades. Construction is well-underway and the plant will employ around 600 people once it reaches full production.

Jason Scott, global vice president of Lear’s GM Seating Group, addressed the gathering as the keynote speaker. Scott provided an update on the Flint project and talked about the importance of culture, leadership and talent retention.

Talent recruitment, development and retention is a key issue for the region, particularly as the job market continues to improve, Herman added.

“Employers are challenged with finding enough people with the right skillsets, which is an area in which the Flint & Genesee Chamber can assist,” he said. “That’s why talent is a major component of our 2018-2020 strategic plan.”

Herman also shared several data points as evidence of the region’s momentum, including:

• The number of jobs grew by 4,330 in Genesee County over the past five years.
• Total wage growth increased 19.4 percent over the past five years.
• The unemployment rate rose slightly from the previous year, from 5 percent to 5.7 percent, with more people returning to the labor force.
• Home prices rose 14.86 percent in 2017 over 2016.

To learn about the Chamber’s accomplishments related to economic development, tourism and education efforts, download the 2017 Annual Report here.



Birmingham Bloomfield 2017-2018 Membership Directory and Community Resource Guide 

The Birmingham-Bloomfield 2017-2018 Membership Directory and Community Resource Guide is available at the Birmingham-Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce today! Thank you to Joe Bauman and the Chamber team for their help and direction putting this together! 


Birmingham-Bloomfield 2017-2018 Membership Directory and Community Resource 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.

Prince William Chamber of Commerce to Host Annual Frostbite Scramble Golf Tournament

On April 17, 2018, the Prince William Chamber of Commerce, along with the Kodiak Main Event sponsor TML-A Xerox Company and the Northern Lights Sponsor, Apple Federal Credit Union, will host the 23rd Annual Frostbite Scramble Golf tournament at Heritage Hunt Golf & Country Club at 6901 Arthur Hills Drive, Gainesville.   To register, go to PWChamber.org, or call 571.765.1874.

This is a 9-hole, Captain’s Choice tournament, with a maximum of four clubs per player.  Players may arrive for the event at Noon for registration, a pre-event lunch and practice.  The tournament will begin with a Shotgun Start at 1:30.   The event fee is $100 per player, with part of the proceeds going to the Agnes L. Colgan Community Service Award.  Players can expect complimentary range balls, Closest to Pin & Longest Drive Contests, 5 raffle tickets, 2 drink tickets for the beverage cart, and an after-play reception with cash bar.  Prizes for the top teams!

“This tournament is a great way to dust off the clubs and cobwebs in your swing! It’s a fun tournament to kick off the season,” Jim DiModica, Committee Co-Chair. 

Contact: Anita Duecaster, Committee Chair/Chamber Finance Director, Prince William Chamber of Commerce, aduecaster@pwchamber.org, 571.765.1874


Fox Cities Chamber Welcomes UW Badger Football Coaches for Upcoming Lunch ‘n Learn on Workplace Wellness

The Fox Cities Chamber will host its first lunch ‘n learn event of 2018 on Wednesday, April 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in Appleton. Join us for a dynamic presentation by UW Badgers Football Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coaches, Shaun Snee and Kyle Costigan, as they educate guests on the important role of workplace wellness for employees.

The lunch ‘n learn presenters will offer attendees insight into how the Badgers Football organization approaches health and wellness while providing best practices to implement in your place of business.

The April lunch ‘n learn event will be held on Wednesday, April 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel in the Empire Room. This event is open to the public. General Admission is $15. Please register at foxcitieschamber.com or call (920) 734-7101.

For additional news and information, follow Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce on Facebook and Twitter @FoxCitiesChmbr.  

Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber connects SIUE to community

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville plays a pivotal role in strengthening the regional economy. Likewise, the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce, as a member-driven organization, stands as the voice of business by supporting its members’ success and championing community prosperity.

On this week’s episode of Segue, the University’s premier radio show on WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound, SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook, PhD, has a conversation with Desiree Bennyhoff, president and chief executive officer of the Ed/Glen Chamber, about her position and how the organization serves the community.

This episode of Segue will air at 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 1.

An SIUE alum, Bennyhoff earned a bachelor’s in liberal arts and a master’s in speech communication (now applied communication studies). As president and CEO, she oversees the strategic direction of the 500-member organization. She is credentialed by the Institute for Organization Management, a premier nonprofit development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and is also an Accredited Chamber Executive through the Illinois Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. She presents frequently at conferences, and as a guest speaker and panelist in several SIUE classes. In her spare time, she volunteers as a mentor in the Illinois Regional Office of Education #41’s Give 30 program and the Illinois Metro East Small Business Development Center.

Pembrook starts their conversation by asking Bennyhoff what drew her to civic work.

“It was completely by accident,” Bennyhoff explains. “I used to work for a local media establishment, and they had classified ads. I wasn’t looking for a change, but a co-worker suggested that I take a look at an ad for a communications director position with the chamber.

“I thought it sounded interesting, so I sent in my resume and other materials. The moment I walked into the interview, I knew it was a perfect fit. Nine years later, here I am.”

Bennyhoff joined the organization in 2009 as its communications director. By early fall 2012, she was promoted to the position of interim director. In January 2013, she became the Ed/Glen Chamber’s president and CEO. Read more: The Intelligencer

Plymouth Business Connections 

April 12, 2018 - 7:15 - 8:30 a.m.

Marshall County Historical Museum

123 N. Michigan Street, Plymouth IN

The Marshall County Historical Museum is the location for the April 12th meeting of Plymouth Business Connections. From 7:15 a.m. - 7:30 a.m., enjoy breakfast, socializing and networking with area business leaders. 7:30 a.m. the meeting begins with a brief tour of the Museum, followed by the meeting where each attendee has a minute or so so promote their business. Breakfast is provided. All businesses are invited to attend. See you there! Call the Plymouth Chamber if you have any questions 574-936-2323 or would like to host.

Upcoming locations:

May 10th, - TCU on Plymouth Goshen Trail in Plymouth.

June 14th, - Plymouth Chamber location TBD.

More information: Plymouth Chamber

Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber map: Town Square Publications: Promises Made, Promises kept!

The Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber of Commerce recently worked with Town Square Publications on the production of a map. Town Square Publications provided all the map design and cartography for the product and sold the sponsorships, so there was no cost to the chamber. The chamber provided local content and photos that showed our organization’s focus on promoting our communities and helping our businesses to thrive. Town Square Publications provided the chamber a proof before going to print. The result was a top quality map. We were especially pleased with the quality of the printing and the paper.

The chamber works hard to identify programs that will be of benefit to our chamber members, such as the 28th Street Metro Cruise program that draws over 200,000 to our area and the annual Santa Parade. The Wyoming-Kentwood chamber map is another great example, and the chamber received the additional benefit of non-dues revenue.

Your company delivered on your promises. We appreciate our partnership with Town Square Publications and will call on them again for the next project.

Bob O’Callaghan

President

Wyoming-Kentwood Chamber

$20M expansion at General Atomics to add up to 60 jobs

Very few people will get to see inside the new addition that will be built at General Atomics other than the 256 employees now working at the sprawling facility, plus another 60 who will get that opportunity once the expansion is complete in about a year.

The $20-million project adds another 128,000-square-foot building to General Atomics’ operations, which have already expanded nine times in the Tupelo Lee Industrial Park South since 2005.

About 35 new employees have been hired, and the remaining positions should be filled within three years, if not sooner.

Few would have thought the company would grow and expand as it has done. Just a decade ago, the company had only three full-time employees and 15 contract employees who were flown in to work here. But one expansion followed another, and there’s still room to grow on another 14 acres it acquired for future use.

“What I love about General Atomics is that you surprise me; you’re a surprising company,” said Community Development Foundation President and CEO David Rumbarger. “It’s kind of like Mississippi – we’re a surprising group of people to do the things that we do.”

When General Atomics first opened here, its main mission was to help design and build its Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or EMALS, which replaces the steam-powered launching system once used in U.S. Navy aircraft carriers. The newest carrier to the fleet, the $13 billion U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford, is equipped with EMALS, as well as the arresting gear made by General Atomics.

That work will continue, as three more carriers will be built. It takes about seven years to build each system. Read more: Daily Journal

New Director Of Military Affairs for Christian County Chamber Announced

Hopkinsville, KY- The Christian County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the hiring of Mrs. Lindsey Geraci as Director of Military Affairs. Geraci comes to the Chamber as a 10-year Army Civilian, Spouse and Volunteer. 

"We are very excited to have Lindsey join our Chamber team” said Kelli Pendleton, President/CEO of the Chamber of Commerce”. “She possesses a passion for working with the military and has experience working with the Army in a number of ways which gives her a well-rounded perspective.” 

Geraci’s experience includes operations and logistics management at both Fort Lee, Virginia and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. She holds a Master of Science Degree in Acquisition and Contract Management, and a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies from Indiana University. 

“I am honored and excited to be taking over the Director of Military Affairs position and am looking forward to meeting and collaborating with the Christian County community,” said Geraci, “I know we can work together to make positive changes for our military service members, families, and veterans, and I can’t wait to get started.” 

Lindsey’s first day as the Director of Military Affairs will be Wednesday, April 11. 

More information: Contact Kelli Pendleton, President/CEO at 270-885-9096. 

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