Good morning #ChamberWorld! It's going to be a GREAT day!
ACCE: 2019 Chamber of the Year finalists: Effingham County (IL) Chamber, Murray-Calloway County (KY) Chamber, Greater Louisville Inc (GLI), Bowling Green Area (KY) Chamber, 8 others
The Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives today announced finalists for the 2019 Chamber of the Year competition, sponsored by MemberClicks.
Finalists for 2019 Chamber of the Year are (sorted by category):
Category One:
Murray-Calloway County Chamber of Commerce
Murray, Kentucky
Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce
Wooster, Ohio
Effingham County Chamber of Commerce
Effingham, Illinois
Category Two:
Kalispell Chamber of Commerce
Kalispell, Montana
Longview Chamber of Commerce
Longview, Texas
Grapevine Chamber of Commerce
Grapevine, Texas
Category Three:
Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce
Asheville, North Carolina
Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership
Ocala, Florida
Category Four:
Salt Lake Chamber
Salt Lake City, Utah
Greater Louisville Inc.
Louisville, Kentucky
Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce
Irving, Texas
n the final phase of the competition, a judging committee conducts in-person interviews with leaders representing each finalist chamber. One winner from each category will be named at the 2019 ACCE Annual Convention in Long Beach, California.
Learn more about Chamber of the Year here.
Mclean County COMPACT summer intern program: Becoming BN: RSVPs are due TODAY!
Becoming BN is a 10-week summer program, specifically designed for ALL summer interns in McLean County to learn more about the wonderful attributes Bloomington-Normal has to offer.
Each week participants will engage in activities and experiences that introduce them to our thriving community, while they have opportunities to network, meet local CEO’s, and pick up a few professional development tips along the way. The Becoming BN is a program of McLean County COMPACT, a subsidiary of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce.
#FamousChamber of Commerce Quotations: (Be happy!)
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” Thich Nhat Hanh
Rochester Regional Chamber President and RRC Foundation Board Member Participate in Michigan Chamber’s Chamber Day
Rochester Regional Chamber (RRC) President, Alaina Campbell, and RRC Foundation board member, Cheryl Bida, participated in the Michigan Chamber of Commerce “Chamber Day” last Tuesday, May 21. Chamber Day gives chambers of commerce from across the state the opportunity to speak with elected officials about pressing issues facing the business community. Panel discussion topics included filling the talent gap, Michigan roads and the legalization of marijuana. The auto insurance reforms and the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is an update to NAFTA, were also points of discussions. Additionally, participants had an opportunity to hear directly from the Governor regarding her proposed budget and then meet with elected officials.
“The panel discussions were informative and enlightening. It’s crucial to understand the funding history, or lack thereof, and how Michigan compares to neighboring states. When you realize that our infrastructure has been severely underfunded for the past 40 years and that neighboring states spend $1 billion more per year on their roads, you can understand how our roads came to be in this condition” said Campbell.
South Suburban Chamber of Commerce 2018 Community Resource Guide & Business Directory
The South Suburban Chamber of Commerce 2018 Community Guide & Business Directory is available at the Chamber of Commerce today! Thank you to Barbara Wesener and the Chamber team for their help and direction putting this together!
South Suburban Chamber 2018 Community and Visitor 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.
LEAD 2.019 recognizes graduates, unveils project
Greensburg, In. — In a room filled with varying perspectives, backgrounds, experiences, and occupations, this years LEAD 2.019 class stepped up to make the first public presentations of their chosen community projects. The LEAD acronym represented the opportunity to Learn, Experience, Apply and Demonstrate and the presentations fulfilled their last class requirement for graduation.
Thats just what the group did on Tuesday during lunch at the Decatur County REMC. The leadership program was adopted by the Greensburg/Decatur County Chamber of Commerce and facilitated by Effective Advancement Strategies of Greensburg.
According to Chamber Executive Director Jeff Emsweller, LEAD 2.019 was described as the next version of the former Leadership Decatur County program, which hadn't existed for over a decade. The need for the program was highlighted in the Community Vision and judging by the response, all in attendance were impressed with the efforts of the class.
The class of 14 started their journey in October 2018, meeting 11 times for three and one-half hours over that span and culminating with Tuesdays required presentations.
The class started with learning more about themselves and how their friends and colleagues viewed their leadership style,” Effective Advancement Strategies CEO David Fry said. Fry served as the facilitator and trainer of the program. Over the next few months they had several unique opportunities to learn more about the public, private and nonprofit sectors in the community.
Several speakers shared their perspectives on leadership and during one session the class visited Honda Manufacturing of Indiana to tour the facility and gain insight into their leadership culture, Fry said.
In the second phase, the class sought out community projects, issuing calls for proposals and building on the multiple assessments they had access to review. Those included City and County comprehensive plans, a Community Health Needs Assessment, the vision plan and others. In the end, three projects were chosen, and all aligned with the community vision.
Those projects and the team members that chose to help advance them were: Raising ARTisTREE District Awareness Angel Hocker, Terrah (Annie) Nunley, Vanessa Martin, & Andrew Oaldon. The group will work with the Arts & Cultural Council of Decatur County to raise awareness of, and sense of place, in the ARTisTREE District, which is less than a year old. Read more: Read more: WRBI.com
Portage County Prosperity 2040 Launches 7 Innovative Projects
(Amherst, WI) On Tuesday, May 14 over 60 local leaders, activists, young professionals and change agents gathered at the Lettie W. Jensen Center, Amherst to identify and launch projects to support Portage County Prosperity 2040, a county-wide initiative for future economic and community development.
Prosperity 2040 is co-sponsored by the City of Stevens Point, Portage County, the Village of Plover, and the Portage County Business Council, with support from the Portage County Towns Association. The initiative was co-funded by a grant from the Local Government Institute of Wisconsin.
The focus of the third and final workshop on May 14 was “Strategic Doing,” a method developed at Purdue University that helps broad stakeholder groups identify high impact projects to support their long term vision. At the Jensen Center, meeting participants represented a cross-section of small businesses, nonprofits, the social sector, education, agriculture, and government. Each participant selected one strategy (see list below) critical to the County’s future success, as identified through the previous two workshops.
Prosperity 2040 Strategies
Protect and diversify funding for infrastructure, e.g., roads, alternative transportation options
Protect and diversify funding for environmental needs, e.g., water, natural resources, recreational opportunities
Increase opportunities for residents to live healthy lifestyles, including access and affordability of fresh foods, prevention of chronic diseases, and improved mental health
Attract and retain young people and young families
Improve the economic ecosystem of family-supporting wage jobs
Promote and adopt practices that enable our community to live in balance with our natural resources, e.g., agriculture, groundwater, climate change mitigation
Create an educational system pre-K through 16 that produces a diverse skilled workforce to enhance fiscal growth in the community
By the end of the evening, seven pathfinder projects were launched to begin the “doing”. Projects ranged from a neighborhood vegetable sharing program to promote healthier lifestyles to an electric car-buying cooperative to a community awareness campaign focused on increasing funding for roads and infrastructure.
Sarah Agena, Flexible Nutrition Solutions said, “Last night was an exciting first step to take action on the issues we know will be critical to our region’s success. This is really about doing and community engagement. It is great to see the Business Council, municipalities and all the community involved. I met a lot of new, engaged people through the process.”
The next steps in the process include:
● The seven workgroups have committed to meet again in the next month and are invited to invite other enthusiasts or stakeholders who can help implement their projects. It is not necessary that participants were involved in the previous labs.
● Co-sponsors will meet monthly for the next six months with LGI and the consulting team from NEXT Generation Consulting to roll-up the previous meetings’ outcomes into a community-wide prosperity plan that can be implemented by stakeholders and partners.
Portage County residents who want to get involved can contact Todd Kuckkahn, Executive Director, Portage County Business Council at tkuckkahn@portagecountybiz.com; 715-344-1940. Residents are also invited to weigh-in on priorities for the future by logging onto Polco.us and search for “Portage County Prosperity 2040.” Registration is free and participants can respond to several polls to guide priorities.
Murray-Calloway chamber named finalist for ’19 Chamber of Year
For the second time since 2012, the Murray-Calloway County Chamber of Commerce knows it is a finalist for a prestigious national honor.
Tuesday afternoon, the chamber’s office broke into celebration after learning that it had been selected as one of the three finalists for the National Chamber of the Year award in its division by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. Murray-Calloway County officials are hoping for the same result as ’12, when the chamber not only was named a finalist but went on to win the title.
“I jumped up and down. Our staff all started jumping up and down. It’s just incredible,” said Murray-Calloway President and CEO Michelle Bundren. When she was named president a little over a year ago, Bundren was already saying the chamber would be making a run at this honor again.
“I wanted to wait, though, until I had about a year under my belt because applying for this requires a lot of time and effort,” she said. “So it’s only been, really, since the beginning of the year that the application process started for us.”
Two of the three steps in that process have been completed. The final step will be taken soon in Long Beach, California when Bundren and Murray-Calloway Chamber Board of Directors Chair LaCosta Hays participate in an interview session that will account for two-thirds of the final score toward determining the winner.
“This is a huge honor for our community, just to be nominated. Obviously, though, we want to win it,” Bundren said, expressing confidence in the fact that the Murray-Calloway chamber has won this before. “In fact, one of the other two finalists was a finalist also in 2017, so that tells you that having success in this before does help.”
Bundren also said Murray-Calloway is one of four chambers from Kentucky to be finalists for national awards this year. She added that if the Murray-Calloway chamber does repeat its success from 2013, the timing could not be much better. The notifications of the winners, including the Chamber of the Year, will be made about a week before the Murray-Calloway chamber hosts its annual Business Celebration (formerly known as the Chamber Dinner).
“That would be the most amazing thing,” Bundren said. “In just being nominated, especially this year, we’ve really done something I think.(Wednesday) I was told that the number of applicants had increased by 20 percent this year, so that tells you that a lot of places around the country think a lot of their communities and are wanting to promote them as much as possible.” Read more: Murray Ledger and Times
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!
Greater Royal Oak Chamber 2018 Map
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.
Sibonie Swatzyna named Hernando Chamber director
There’s been a new face at the Executive Director’s desk of the Hernando Main Street Chamber of Commerce.
As of Monday, Sibonie Swatzyna began her new position in promoting the business community and the DeSoto County seat in general as the new Chamber Executive Director. It’s appropriate she started this week, since it was National Small Business Week.
Swatzyna arrives after former Executive Director Jessie Dement took on a new position with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital/ALSAC in Memphis.
For the past seven years, Swatzyna has been the Executive Director of the Home Builders Association of North Mississippi, a trade organization is support of area home builders.
But now, she gets to work with the entire business interests of Hernando.
“When this position opened, it became another opportunity to build and be challenged with different things to do,” Swatzyna said. “With the Home Builders, you’re just working with a distinct industry, but here you get to work with all kinds of businesses; retail, nonprofit, people just starting their businesses. It’s just exciting.”
Swatzyna and her husband Roger have rooted themselves in the Hernando community and in DeSoto County. Sibonie is a native of Horn Lake, Roger is an officer with the police department in Hernando and they have lived in Hernando since marriage.
They also a pet rabbit, which Sibonie calls “Thumpman,” who she counts as part of the family.
Prior to her start with the Home Builders Association, Swatzyna worked with the Southaven Chamber of Commerce for five years handling administrative duties there. But she believes her overall experience will help in her mission to now promote business in Hernando.
“We try to find ways to help businesses connect, because that’s really what a Chamber is all about, helping them grow their business, which in turn, helps us because we get new members,” Swatzyna said.
The advantage Hernando has, she feels, is that the city remains an attractive, growing place to live and do business, but holds onto its small, intimate atmosphere. Read more: Desoto Times
Renovated Tazewell railway station opens, houses new Chamber of Commerce
For the first time in 60 years, the former Norfolk & Western Railway station in Tazewell was open for public business. The Restoration and Repurposing Committee, in cooperation with the Tazewell County Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Tazewell, the Board of Supervisors, the Tazewell County Historical Society and the Tazewell County Tourism office, among others, welcomed an estimated crowd of more than 300 to the gala grand opening Saturday.
“We had hoped to fill the 120 seats in the station, and we did,” said Tazewell town council member and committee chair Dr. Terry W. Mullins, who added in opening remarks, “our hearts and this historic building are overflowing on this wonderful day.”
Mullins, who organized the team formed in March 2014, has worked tirelessly with local, state and federal officials along with spirited community support and volunteer efforts to make the dream of opening the station a reality. The 30 members of the team were recognized for their “thousands of volunteer hours” as noted by Mullins.
A mural representing the noted work of outstanding artists Don and Ellen Elmes was unveiled. Architect Barry Rakes spoke and N & W Historical Society representative Tishia Boggs presented Mullins an historic railroad book. Cumberland Plateau’s Jim Baldwin lauded the group’s achievement.
Not only is the station open, but it has become the home of the newly reorganized Tazewell County Chamber of Commerce.
“We are so excited to be here,” said C of C interim Director Pam Meade, who has led the Tazewell Chamber for five years. “We will continue to work on behalf of Tazewell County, and will also be a satellite office of the Tourism Committee. We hope to extend our hours to better serve visitors from far and near and we welcome volunteers to help us do that.”
Rusty Hatfield, whose father, Major, was the last N & W station agent in 1978, gave the invocation and benediction.
He said, “This (restoration) is fantastic. We can all be thankful for what it meant to shoppers, local business, passengers, the soldiers who used it over the years and hopeful for the opportunities now open for the future.” Read more: Bluefield Daily Telegraph
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
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