5 Star Rapid City Area Chamber to vote on joining Elevate Rapid City
The Rapid City Area Chamber board of directors will vote Thursday on a resolution to either become a division of Elevate Rapid City, or to retain its independence.
According to a letter sent by Chamber President Linda Rabe to members, Elevate Rapid City was formed in 2016 as a joint venture with the Chamber of Commerce and Rapid City Economic Development Partnership.
The effort was to “bring the business community together around a shared vision of innovative, accountable, and results-oriented economic growth for Rapid City. We felt that by pooling our resources and focusing our efforts we could make real progress for our businesses and citizens,” Rabe wrote.
If the resolution is approved, the Chamber would become a division of Elevate Rapid City, while still representing the business community through current programs and services. Elevate Rapid City board of directors and the Elevate CEO would become the leading authority guiding the combined vision and resources of the larger organization.
The Rapid City Chamber of Commerce would retain its name and identity — Rapid City Area Chamber of Commerce a Division of Elevate Rapid City. Read more: Rapid City Journal
Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce 2019 Business Expo Sponsored by Network Health - January 31st. Book your booth today!
Did you know that the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce Business Expo is one of the only in the area? The Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce Business Expo goes on for one day every January.The Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce Business Expo Sponsored by Network Health goes on for one day every January at the Oshkosh Convention Center. Over 100 businesses set up booths and offer a great way to make new connections, broaden your companies brand awareness, and learn more about area businesses and upcoming job openings. Several activities are offered by exhibitors for attendees throughout the day and the evening finishes out with a social, Business After Hours, from 5:00 pm. to 7 p.m. This is a great networking opportunity for attendees and exhibitors alike!
11:00am-12:00pm: Exhibitor-to-Exhibitor Expo
12:00pm-7:00pm: Expo is Open to the Public
5:00pm-7:00pm: Business After Hours to be held at the Convention Center ·
Exhibitor Activities: Instead of holding various seminars we are allowing all Exhibitors to create their own events throughout the day. These events will be promoted in our e-newsletters, added to the Business Expo Program, and announced throughout the Expo. Must be submitted by December 31 to be included in the program.
“Made Local” Area: We will be featuring local manufacturers, breweries, and wineries at the Business Expo. Attendees will be able to learn and/or see how different products are made in our community!
Video Promotion: All Exhibitors will receive an opportunity to create a 30 second promotional video for the Chamber to share on social media. The video must be submitted by December 14.
Advertise Current Job Openings: If your company will be hiring as of January, 2019 you may indicate this on your Registration Form. When the floor maps are printed your organization’s name will appear in a different color to indicate that attendees may stop by your booth for more information.
Click Here for the Registration Form
Click Here for the Current Expo 2019 Floor Map
Business Expo 2019
Jan 31, 2019
11:00am – 7:00pm
Oshkosh Convention Center
2 North Main Street
Oshkosh, WI 54901
This year’s exhibitor theme is “Classic Board Games.” Time to think back and get creative! Cost to attend is $5.00 or a business card, until 5:00 p.m. At that time the Business After Hours entrance fee, $6, will apply for all attendees.
Booths are available at a cost of $475 for Chamber members and $535 for non-members. Can’t attend? There are also various sponsorship opportunities available! For more information, please contact Amber Thiel at (920) 303-2265, ext. 16 or Amber@oshkoshchamber.com.
General Insurance Services Finds Permanent Home in Downtown Valparaiso
Renovating a hair salon to an insurance office is no easy task, but for General Insurance Services, the task was worth the effort. The company celebrated the opening of their latest endeavor, the transformation of the building on Lincolnway in Valparaiso, which finally brought the company home.
“We’re grateful to be here and to plant our flag,” Craig Menne, President and CEO of GIS, said. “Owning property within the community makes us that much more invested.”
The community gathered on Wednesday evening at the new office building for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“We’ve struggled to find our home here in Valparaiso, and even once we found it, the obstacles of rehabbing an old building came to life,” said Stephanie Domazet, Account Executive at GIS. “The fact that we’re here celebrating this is a testament to our commitment to the growth of this community. We’re so excited to finally find where we belong.”
The building features a completely revamped interior that highlights General Insurance Services’ appreciation of Valparaiso’s unique culture. After transforming the spa rooms of the previous hair salon into office spaces for the account executives, General Insurance Services looks to their future within Valparaiso.
“It’s a beautiful space. This building is a commitment to the community,” Menne said. “We wanted to honor what has been here.”“It’s been a long road to find what we like to call our home in Valparaiso,” Kara Moon, Marketing Coordinator of GIS, said. “Valpo is a growing, vibrant area in Northwest Indiana. This is our forever home, and we’re very excited about it.”
With the support of the Valparaiso community and, alongside members of the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce and the Duneland Chamber of Commerce, General Insurances Services and attendees cheered as Domazet cut the ribbon at the new office building.
“I’d like to thank Larsen-Danielson, Burke Constanza, the Duneland Chamber, the Valpo Chamber, my partners, all the employees who put up with so much during this process, and all of you for making the community what it is,” Domazet said. “We are so very excited to be on this journey, and so proud to be part of a community that we want to give back to and that we want to grow our families in.”
The company’s presence in downtown Valparaiso allows them to better pursue their mission in the Region, to secure the future of the communities they serve. Read more: Valpo Life
The 2018 Greater Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce Community Map
The Royal Oak Chamber of Commerce Community Map is available at the Royal Oak Chamber today! Thanks to Shelly Kemp and the chamber team for their help and direction putting this together!
Town Square Publications (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.
Coldwater to coordinate downtown events
After IceFest in January, the Coldwater Chamber of Commerce will return Entertainment Under the Stars, StrawberryFest and AppleFest to the city to run.
With the announcement at Wednesday’s Downtown Development Authority meeting, Mayor Tom Kramer was not happy with the decision after years of transitioning the events from the city to the chamber.
“But here we are,” he said. Chamber Executive Director Cayden Sparks said its board made the decision after a small loss in membership “to focus more on its members” with its very small staff.
Sparks said when looking at the other successful chambers “they do a golf outing and an awards banquet a year and no other events.”
“The Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce will really be focusing heavily on increasing member incentives, networking opportunities and training/workshops going into the 2019 calendar year,” Sparks said.
“With this transition of event administration, we can assure you that we are planning many of new member incentive-based opportunities that will showcase, market, promote and network our members to the fullest,” Sparks said.
City Manager Keith Baker pointed out 20 years ago the Downtown Business Association had a full-time person for events until the organizaiton went away. Later, the city DDA partnered with the Chamber for the events.
Recently, the DDA paid the Chamber $10,000 to put them on when Nicole Steel was executive director.
“We recognize the labor intensity of putting these on,” Baker said, adding the events would transfer to Julie Santure, the city enrichment director to administer and coordinate.
Economic Development Director Lisa Miller remembered when AppleFest first started in fall of 1987.
“Downtown festivals are all part of economic development for downtown. It is our collective responsibility as a community,“she said. “It is very labor intensive, but it is all part of a commitment to economic development.”
Kramer said it is impressive the size of the crowds the events draw to the downtown.
DDA Chairman Brad Rockey said there may need to be a discussion of what funds come from where.
“The Chamber of Commerce wants to make sure that these events hold their stamina and reputation,” Sparks said. ” Also, let’s not forget that the Coldwater Area Chamber of Commerce is its own not-for-profit entity that is a membership-driven organization that is separate from the City of Coldwater and the County of Branch.” Read more: The Daily Reporter
Duane O'Neill steps down from GJCP
Duane O'Neill, who has served as president and chief executive officer of the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership for 25 years, stepped down from his position on Nov. 2. GJCP Chairman Alon Bee will serve as interim president and CEO until the organization formally selects a successor.
#The GJCP is a nonprofit group that originally opened as the Jackson Board of Trade and Cotton Exchange in 1880. The organization changed its name to the Jackson Chamber of Commerce in 1921 and the Metro Jackson Chamber of Commerce in 1993 after expanding its operations to include all of Madison, Rankin, Warren and Hinds counties. The organization took on the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership moniker in 2007.
"Around the time I came on, the chamber was looking to restructure and broaden from just a chamber of commerce for Jackson into an organization focused on doing economic development work and bringing folks together from across different jurisdiction lines," O'Neill, 64, says. "We also refer to what we have now as the Greater Jackson Alliance because, instead of trying to compete with each other, all the partner regions work in harmony to promote economic development throughout central Mississippi."
#Born in Ipswich, S.D., O'Neill received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of South Dakota in 1975. After graduating, he took a job as a city administrator in Adrian, Minn., and helped set up the city's chamber of commerce. He later worked as an economic development administrator in Poplar Bluff, Mo., Dennison, Texas, and several cities that were part of the Cornerstone Alliance in southwestern Michigan. He then moved to Jackson to serve as GJCP president and CEO in 1993.
#"I had actually been wanting to come back to the South, so when the Jackson chamber reached out to me about the position, I saw a great opportunity to find a new community," O'Neill says. "When I came down to see the area, I felt like it was everything I wanted, and a place where I could fit right in and use my strengths."
#One strength that O'Neill says he is proud of is his ability to reach out to other local leaders, and promote the Jackson metro and GJCP partner regions as a solid economic unit and business community.
#"Cities and counties all have their own pride, but people coming in from the outside looking for a workforce are going to look at those communities as a whole, whether you're talking about car companies like Nissan or other industries," he says. "It takes a strong group effort to win a company's trust in a community being where they want to bring their business, so anything that I've accomplished in my time with the chamber is really a group accomplishment with my whole team." Read more: Jackson Free Press
Quincy Chamber seeks nominations for ag awards
Even though the number of people involved in production agriculture may be small, the industry supporting them with services and education remains large.
The Quincy Area Chamber of Commerce Agribusiness Committee wants to recognize their impact with two awards – the 20th annual Agribusiness of the Year Award and the fifth annual Larry Fischer Ag Educator of the Year Award.
Nominations for both awards will be accepted through 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4, and the winners will be recognized on March 12 at the First Bankers Trust Ag Banquet.
"Many people who aren't in the industry don't recognize the significance and value the businesses bring to all of us from the standpoint of service to agriculture, the standpoint of employment for the communities," said Mike Tenhouse, who chairs the committee. "It's important they thrive and continue to do well because it has a pretty significant trickle-down effect through the whole economy."
The agribusiness contest is open to businesses of any size within a 50-mile radius of Quincy with strong ties to the agricultural community, a record of community involvement, a record of good customer service and modern business practices. The contest is not limited to chamber members.
"Twenty to 25 percent of our population is involved in an ag-related industry, and probably in our mostly rural communities we live in, the percentages are even higher," Tenhouse said. "There's just a lot of really good businesses that have been there to support production ag and are recognized for doing it a long time."
Past winners were Sullivan Auctioneers of Hamilton, U.S. Wellness Meats in Canton, Mo., Quincy Tractor, Professional Swine Management in Carthage, F&T Livestock Market in Palmyra, Mo., Baucom Truck Service in Camp Point, Mast Productions in Payson, Western Illinois Veterinary Clinic in Quincy, B&B Livestock Supply near Camp Point, Bunte Truck Service in Payson, Dearwester Grain Service in Golden, Selby Implement in Quincy, Geo. Keller and Sons in Quincy, Lee Fertilizer in Camp Point, Quincy Farm and Home Supply, Farmers Livestock Sale Inc. in Coatsburg, Ursa Farmers Cooperative, Apple Basket Farms in Barry and Lewis Hybrids in Ursa.
Some of that business success ties to education in understanding agriculture – and the larger industry.
"It is the largest industry basically in the world, so for those who help prepare young people to carry that in the future, it's important," Tenhouse said.
The Ag Educator Award recognizes an educator within a 50-mile radius of Quincy who has strong ties to the ag community. Past or present teachers at the high school and college level, ag literacy educators and professional who work with producers can be nominated. Read more: Herald Whig
NKY Chamber takes on two particular focuses key to area’s economy — transportation and small business
This fall, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce took on two focuses that are key to the area’s economy: transportation and small businesses.
The two go hand-in-hand, according to Brent Cooper, President and CEO of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. He said he sees it as the Chamber’s job to help keep small business owners informed of disruptions, and try to reduce those disruptions.
“We talk about a lot of big transportation projects. Obviously, the Brent Spence Bridge is the mother of all transportation projects, and I always feel like it’s the Mount Everest of our region,” Cooper said. “I feel like once we get that done, so many other things will fall into place, and we’ll be a lot more aligned as a region and a lot more effective.”
While frequently, much of the talk about the region’s transportation needs centers around big businesses, like Amazon, Cooper said he feels the traffic issues impact small businesses and entrepreneurs the most. When there’s a smaller workforce of just a few people, one or two people stuck in traffic have a much larger effect on the day’s productivity.
“Last summer, when the Brent Spence was being worked on for maintenance — this is not made up — it took me an hour and a half to get my kid to the dentist in the middle of the day,” Cooper said. “That’s because of the snowball effect that the Brent Spence has on the region. It’s a key artery, and once it’s clogged, it just disrupts everything.”Of course, Cooper knows well himself the headache that can be Cincinnati-area traffic.
That’s why it’s important not just to look at transportation as a workforce issue, or as a goods and services issue, but rather it should also be examined as a quality of life issue.
“I have a lot of meetings these days where the Brent Spence continuously comes up,” Cooper said. “It continues to be a top issue, not just for our Chamber, but for the Cincinnati Chamber, so I do want people to know, we haven’t forgotten.”
Everything is on the table right now, according to Cooper, and they will continue to have conversations, build community will, and have an open mind about how best to complete the project.
Of course, while it may seem like it at times, the economic focus in Northern Kentucky does not completely revolve around the Brent Spence Bridge.
“We look at things from a macro level and from a micro level,” Cooper said.
On the macro level, there have been some big wins for the region in the last year — for instance, the development in Boone County.
“We just got the money from the federal government, from the state, from the county. Everybody kicked in collaboratively to get this expansion done, which is very exciting,” Cooper said. “We’ve had one of the most successful years we’ve had in the region, in part because of Rep. Sal Santoro. He is chair of the House Transportation Committee, and in that role, he helped lead the charge to try to get as many resources as possible for our region.” Read more: Northern Kentucky Tribune
Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce 2017-2018 Community Guide & Membership Directory
The Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce 2017-2018 Community Profile & Membership Directory is available at the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber today! Thanks to Jon Maynard, Pam Swain, Rosie Vassalo and the chamber team for their help and direction putting this together!
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 Virginia Senatorial Roundtable featuring Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine
Northern Virginia Chamber to Host Virginia Senatorial Roundtable featuring Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine on December 13
The Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce will host a unique roundtable discussion featuring Virginia’s Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine. Julie Carey, Northern Virginia Bureau Chief, NBC4, will act as facilitator.
The dialogue will cover several issues of interest to the regional business community including transportation and infrastructure, cybersecurity, national security assets, tax reform, trade policy, healthcare, and emerging/innovative business sectors where Northern Virginia can take a leadership role.
Registration is available online.
Speakers Include:
Senator Mark Warner
Senator Tim Kaine
Thursday, December 13, 2018 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
George Mason University – Arlington Campus – Founders Hall 3351 Fairfax Drive Arlington, Virginia 22201
More information: Taylor Crabtree at tcrabtree@novachamber.org
#BestChamber practices - Tuesday Tidbits
#BestChamber practices - Tuesday Tidbits - 85 words free about your business every week. Send in your information by Monday at 5PM. It goes into the Tuesday Tidbits Chamber newsletter. Has the highest open rate of any newsletters by the chamber. - From a Wisconsin Chamber Executive
Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories and Community Profiles: The best in the U.S.
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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
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