A passion for the community; Chamber VP plays important role in recovery; Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce Celebrates 75 Years with an Anniversary Gala on September 19th; Virginia Peninsula Chamber, Hampton Roads Chamber: Envision 2020 Regional Branding Initiative Survey; Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Membership Directory and Business Resource Guide; Marion Chamber: Upcoming City Council Discussions on Sales Tax/Property Tax & Vision 2020 for Marion; WELCOME HOME - The Nation's Premier New Resident Marketing Program for Your Chamber Members; Plymouth Chamber of Commerce celebrates 95th Anniversary with Wednesday open house; South Mississippi Strong: Bay businesswoman a driving force behind Coast tourism for 40+ years; Bullitt County, Ky.: Sustainability, beauty and wildlife; Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories and Community Profiles: The best in the U.S.

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

A passion for the community; Chamber VP plays important role in recovery

It will be a while before Wisconsin Rapids area forgets about the damage done by the July storms. Fortunately, thanks to the help of the entire county, the city will not soon forget about its impressive recovery efforts either.

Krista Coon, vice president of the Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce, played an important role in pulling the community together in the time of crisis. Coon has a “passion for the community,” that has motivated her to become involved. She has been involved with the Heart of Wisconsin chamber since 2006 in various roles and as vice president since January of this year.

The July storms caused significant damage in Wisconsin Rapids, namely wind damage that left trees downed and businesses closed. The city, along with the county and other municipalities, Wisconsin Rapids Waterworks & Lighting Commission, and Alliant Energy worked together to get the city up and running again. According to Coon, over 100 workers came from out of the area and worked in the city for around 10 days.

Coon saw the efforts of those workers and organized a spontaneous luncheon to thank them.

“On that Sunday morning, I drove in to check on our building and saw all the damage,” Coon said. “I reached out to my boss and asked her if she could reach out to our mayor. I then drove up and down Eighth Street and other areas to see who was open and relayed it on Facebook. Then (my co-worker) Steph Schmid and I checked in on over 100 businesses to see if they had power or internet and if they needed anything, and communicated the updates with the community through Facebook. Finally, I reached out to all the areas high schools and had some sports teams help clean up the area, particularly churches, area residents, and a local golf course that was hit hard.

“Thanks to the help of the out of town volunteers, sports teams, and the rest of the community, most of the damage was sorted out in less than a few weeks. The luncheon was held towards the end of the end of the workers time in the Rapids area.  It was great to hear how they felt welcomed here and that they loved our community.”

 Heather Sairs, friend and coworker of Krista, watched the situation unfold. “(Krista) pulled together the luncheon in less than two days and got sponsors from businesses in the community to provide the food for the event.”

Sairs was on vacation, and says she came home to a wreck. “There were lots of trees uprooted, homes damaged, and sidewalks ripped up, but I also saw a community that came together and supported one another.”

In the case of another emergency, Coon advises everyone to get involved by following the Heart of Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce, City of Wisconsin Rapids, County of Wood, Wisconsin Rapids Water Works & Lighting Commission Facebook pages.

“We are here to help. There are lots of emergency plans in place, but we need to make sure we connect the dots between all of them,” she said.

Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce Celebrates 75 Years with an Anniversary Gala on September 19th

The Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1944 and is celebrating 75 years of service to the Dearborn area and southeast Michigan! You are invited to join us for our 75^th Anniversary Gala taking place on Thursday, September 19, 2019 at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.  Enjoy dinner and dancing under the 1939 Douglas DC-3 airplane.  Black tie optional for this once-in-a-lifetime celebration.

We are beyond thrilled to announce Woodward Avenue Records recording artist Ben Sharkey as our night’s entertainment sponsored by Callharbor. Ben infuses his live performances with a hip and sultry fire, bringing his artful swagger with a colorful fusion of old school cool, swinging jazz, soul and contemporary pop. Mr. Sharkey released his second album Mercury Rising in the summer of 2018. The Michigan native has become one of the Motor City’s premiere live entertainers, with hundreds of performances at big house venues such as the Fillmore, Royal Oak Music Theater, and Comerica Park, also playing at jazz hotspots like Cliff Bell’s and a five year and counting residency at the Axis Lounge at the MGM Grand Detroit.

“To enjoy and celebrate our growth we are thrilled to offer this night of cheer!” said Jackie Lovejoy, president of the Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce. “I’m delighted to welcome Ben Sharkey; I’m even more thrilled to be a steward of this great institution!”

Registration for the 75^th Anniversary Gala is only $120 per person. Registration can be completed online at www.DearbornAreaChamber.org or by calling 313-584-6100. Sponsorships are still available! Join us for an elegant plated dinner, drinks & dancing. We also have the museum to ourselves! Non-dancers can explore all the exhibits while the museum is closed to the public.

We are beyond thankful to our event sponsors. Presenting sponsor is Beaumont Health. Our “Sweep You Off Your Feet” Valet Sponsor is Les Stanford Chevrolet. Gold and Champagne Sponsor is Comcast Business. Silver Sponsor is La Fontaine Automotive Group. Diamond Age Sponsor is The Senior Alliance. Entertainment Sponsor is Callharbor. Chamber Pillar Sponsors are Clark Hill PLC, Sean McGraw State Farm Insurance and KLA Laboratories.

For more information, please contact the Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce by phone at 313-584-6100. Be sure to follow the Dearborn Area Chamber of Commerce on Facebook at facebook.com/DearbornAreaChamber, on Twitter @DbnAreaChamber and online at www.dearbornareachamber.org for all the latest news and events.



Virginia Peninsula Chamber, Hampton Roads Chamber: Envision 2020 Regional Branding Initiative Survey


Dear Business Leaders,

As a member of one of four regional business organizations — Hampton Roads Business Roundtable, Hampton Roads Chamber, Peninsula Chamber, and CIVIC Leadership Institute — you are invited to participate in the Envision 2020 Regional Branding Initiative Business Leaders Survey.

The Envision 2020 effort (www.envisioning2020.com) is being led by the Hampton Roads Chamber and Reinvent Hampton Roads, and is supported by dozens of leading organizations dedicated to advancing our region. This nine-month, research-intensive initiative is designed to:

• Understand how our key stakeholders (residents, businesses, potential tourists, future business investors, and site selection consultants) perceive our region.
• How competing regions advance their unique brands.  
• How to best advance our own region’s brand, including what we should call ourselves — Hampton Roads, Coastal Virginia, Tidewater or another alternative regional name you may have heard.

This Business Leaders Survey will take 15 to 20 minutes to complete, as it covers a number of critical topics which will ultimately impact our region’s future competitiveness. In addition to the place marketing questions, this survey explores issues related to our region’s business ecosystem, placemaking considerations, and regional economic development efforts. Please consider the time it takes to complete this survey as your investment in advancing our region.

You can stop your survey and come back to it at any time. When you return to your survey link, you will arrive at the next unanswered question. All responses to this survey will be kept strictly confidential. No names, organizations, or identifying information will be linked to any single respondent. All data will be reported in aggregate.

Please note: In the coming weeks, you may be asked to take another survey — the Envision 2020 Regional Residents Survey — which will most likely be promoted by the media and other organizations across the region. The Regional Residents Survey will be a separate survey, which you are welcome to take when it launches in mid-September. For now, however, we’re requesting you focus on and participate in the Regional Business Leaders Survey, linked below.

If you have any questions or any issues when taking the survey, please contact Patrice Lewis at Patrice.Lewis@SIRhq.com.



Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Membership Directory and Business Resource Guide 

 Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Membership Directory and Business Resource Guide is available at the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce today! Thank you to Nikki Anderson and the Chamber team for their help and direction putting this together! 

Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce Membership Directory & Business 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.


Marion Chamber: Upcoming City Council Discussions on Sales Tax/Property Tax & Vision 2020 for Marion

On Tuesday night, the City Council held a special meeting to discuss a 'Vision 2020' proposal for the City of Marion. I attended this meeting and you could tell a lot of thought went into this proposal by Mayor Absher and the City Council. This proposal can be examined at length on the city's website or here: http://cityofmarionil.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Vision2020-CityOfMarion.pdf

One aspect that would affect our members would be an increased sales tax to 9.5% and the removal of the city portion of resident/business property taxes. In talking with Mayor Absher this morning, he would like for business leaders and community members to reach out to him and the council members for additional feedback/comments/suggestions.

If the council opts to move forward with this proposal, it would most likely be discussed on the 9th with a potential vote on September 23rd. October 1 is a deadline date for such tax changes, which explains the timeframe for discussion and decision.

Last night's event had a lot of great discussion about where Marion can go in the future. Please be part of the conversation to advance the progress of Marion and our surrounding community.

Thank you all,

Karen Mullins - Executive Director



WELCOME HOME - The Nation's Premier New Resident Marketing Program for Your Chamber Members 

Welcome Home, the nation's premier new resident marketing program,is a new mover marketing program designed to help get your chamber members' businesses  in front of the most valuable audiences - new residents.

Exclusive to chamber members, the WELCOME HOME program is a remarkable advertising tool, highly visible, targeted and delivered direct to new resident's mailboxes, catching them as they establish new buying habits.

In addition, WELCOME HOME is distributed to local libraries, park districts, municipalities and your local chamber office.

Get your members in front of one of the most valuable audiences: NEW RESIDENTS.

Don't miss this opportunity to promote your member businesses to new residents ON A MONTHLY BASIS, ALL YEAR LONG!

Mailed monthly to new movers from the previous 30 days!

They are new to the neighborhood. They have money to spend. They need your member's businesses and services.

Palatine Area Chamber WELCOME HOME

Town Square Publications  (www.townsquarepublications.com) can help you accomplish your chamber's NEW MOVER publication needs at no expense to the chamber. Please email John Dussman at jdussman@tspubs.com or call (847)-427-4633.

Plymouth Chamber of Commerce celebrates 95th Anniversary with Wednesday open house

Join the Chamber as they celebrate their 95th Anniversary with an Open House on July 24 from 4 - 6 p.m.

For the past 95 years the Plymouth Chamber has supported local businesses and the community.

The Chamber gives thanks to their membership for their dedication to this organization and also to all who have served on the board of directors.


South Mississippi Strong: Bay businesswoman a driving force behind Coast tourism for 40+ years

Nikki Moon has been in the tourism and hospitality business for over 40 years. She is the owner of the Bay Town Inn, President of the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce and President of the Coastal Mississippi Board of Commissioners.

“For 30 years I was with the convention and visitors bureau in New Orleans. It was a fabulous job, but it was a 24-7 job, so I really never had any time to give back," Moon said. “When I found out the Bay Town Inn was for sale, I bought it in February of 2003. It was like a dream come true."While Moon spends most of her time at the Bay Town Inn, a business that she has owned and operated since the early 2000s, her career didn’t start in South Mississippi.

“When I was lucky enough to rebuild and come back to the Bay as one of the first businesses on the beach, I felt like my job was to bring people here, give them a great opportunity, a nice place to go to bed at night, and relax in the mornings with a cup of coffee on the front porch and then go out and shop, see our galleries, and eat in our great restaurants and really become a lover of the Bay," Moon told WLOX.Two and a half years later, that dream come true was completely erased by Hurricane Katrina. Her home and business were destroyed by the catastrophic storm. It was in those weeks and months after the storm that Moon realized what she had to do.

That desire to bring people back inspired her community and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Since then, she has taken on additional responsibilities with her county chamber of commerce and local tourism board.

“She represents everything that says that South Mississippi is strong," said Tish Williams, executive director of the Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. “After Katrina, she was the first person that we saw that gave us hope to come back and rebuild Bay St. Louis and Hancock County." Read more: WLOX

Bullitt County, Ky.: Sustainability, beauty and wildlife

Bullitt County Public Schools was one of five Kentucky organizations to receive the 2019 ENERGY STAR Award by the EPA and U.S. Department of Energy. Last year, the school system saved more than $930,000 in energy costs.

Additionally, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest created a new staff position this year, director of conservation, as it celebrates its 90th anniversary.

This spring, three “Forest Giants” were sculpted by Danish artist Thomas Danbo out of reclaimed wood and have “made for record-breaking attendance at the Forest here in Bullitt County,” said Troy Beam, executive director of Shepherdsville/Bullitt County Tourism.

Tourism generated $96,657,551 in direct tourist spending and supported 1,732 jobs, according to the latest report in 2017. Top attractions include Knobs State Forest and wildlife management area, and the six stops on the Bullitt County Wine & Whiskey Trail (Jim Beam American Stillhouse, Four Roses Warehouse & Bottling and four wineries). Shepherdsville is the trailhead of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail tour.

County Seat: Shepherdsville; Curtis Hockenbury, mayor; shepherdsville.net

Estimated 2019 population: 81,069
No. of households: 29,014
Median household income: $59,917

Bullitt County Chamber of Commerce: Anita Stump, executive director; bullittchamber.org

Bullitt County Economic Development Authority: John Snider, executive director; gobullittky.com
Shepherdsville/Bullitt County Tourism: Troy Beam, executive director; travelbullitt.org
Judge-Executive: Jerry Summers; bullittcountyfc.com
Source: Lane Report

The celebration takes place at the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, 120 North Michigan Street, Plymouth. For more information call 574-936-2323 or email plychamber@plychamber.org

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