Fox Cities Chamber Announces Project Gratitude to Limit the COVID-19 Spread
Campaign will recognize citizens who follow the guidelines to help limit the spread of the virus with gift cards supporting local businesses
In an effort to encourage local residents to follow the recommended guidelines to help limit the spread of the coronavirus, the Fox Cities Chamber is launching a random acts of kindness campaign throughout the month of November.
The campaign, Project Gratitude (sponsored by ThedaCare), will embark on communities throughout the month and will randomly recognize individuals who follow the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 recommended guidelines with a gift card in support of local businesses. The recommended guidelines include:
Practice social distancing (at least six feet between yourself and others)
Wear a mask (cover your mouth and nose when around others)
Avoid crowds and indoor crowded spaces
Wash/sanitize your hands frequently
“While this year has been incredibly challenging for all of us in the Fox Cities region, we want to share our gratitude to those in the community who are doing the right thing to follow the guidelines and limit the spread of the virus,” shared Becky Bartoszek, President/CEO, of the Fox Cities Chamber.
Project Gratitude, sponsored by the support of ThedaCare, will shine a positive light on individuals who make an effort to follow the proper safety guidelines to help limit the spread of COVID-19. The Fox Cities Chamber will visit communities in the region served throughout Outagamie and Calumet Counties along with the northern portion of Winnebago County.
Project Gratitude: Be kind. Follow the guidelines. Limit the spread.
For project updates, please be sure to follow the Fox Cities Chamber on social media especially Facebook (@foxcitieschamber), LinkedIn (@fox-cities-chamber-of-commerce) and Instagram (@foxcitieschmbr).
A primer on what to expect between November 3 and January 20
We are in the home stretch of an election that—like so much in 2020—has been and will continue to be unlike any before it. With an unprecedented tens of millions of Americans expected to vote by mail this year, and with many states prohibiting counting until Election Day, it may be days or even weeks before we know the outcomes.
That’s cause for preparation and patience—but not concern.
Here’s what you need to know about what’s ahead. Read more: U.S. Chamber Election Facts
The Shiawassee Regional Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce Greg Klapko as its new president and CEO. He will take the helm at the chamber Nov. 9.
The Top of Virginia Regional Chamber 2020 Voice of Business
The Top of Virginia Regional Chamber 2020 Voice of Business is available at the Chamber today! Thanks to Cynthia Schneider and the chamber team for their help and direction putting this together!
Top of Virginia Regional Chamber 2020 Voice of Business
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.
For complete and up to date information, please visit the following links:
Reopening your retail store after COVID-19 - A Michigan Retailers Association Guide
Clark Hill’s Resource Guide for Employers Reopening During and After COVID-19
Small Business Disaster Assistance Loan
Michigan Small Business Relief Program
Apply for Unemployment Benefits
Oakland County Health Department
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity
Michigan Local Biz Community Crowdfunding Program
Match on Main program expansion
MI Entrepreneur Resilience Fund
Henry Ford West Bloomfield Community Health COVID-19
A 15-Point Checklist for Reopening Your Business
Oswald Companies Coronavirus Resource Center
NEW! OAKLAND TOGETHER Cultural Institution COVID-19 Support Grant
Lexington Rockbridge County Chamber Collaboration: DHR Survey for Comprehensive Preservation Plan
Main Street Lexington invites you to take a brief on-line survey to capture your ideas and opinions about the current and future state of historic preservation in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Virginia Department of Historic Resources is updating its five-year statewide preservation plan, and your feedback and input will help us shape the plan as we consider a wide range of strategies to identify, evaluate, and protect historic places throughout Virginia.
The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce was recently recognized with a state Excellence Award for a Special Event by the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Executives (KCCE). The Paducah Chamber’s EmpowerHer Conference, held in November 2019, won as top event in the Special Events Category in Group V, which is the category for the largest Chambers in the state.
The annual awards are presented based on size and budget for Chambers and the Paducah Chamber competes in the largest category which includes the chambers in Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green and Northern Kentucky.
Each year, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Executives (KCCE) presents the KCCE Annual Excellence Awards which honors local chambers throughout the Commonwealth in a variety of areas including special events.
The Paducah Chamber hosted its EmpowerHer Conference at the Julian Carroll Convention Center in November 2019. The presenting sponsor was Strawberry Hills Pharmacy. The conference featured keynote speaker Ouita Michel, a successful businesswoman, entrepreneur and Top Chef Celebrity Judge. Michel shared stories about her life in business that has developed into ownership of eight restaurants in Central Kentucky. The day's event also featured an intimate conversation with Michel and Paducah's own Top Chef runner-up and freight house owner Sara Bradley about a variety of topics including the importance of women supporting other women. There were breakout sessions on business and health issues and a group session on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion.
Following the day’s events, participants could add-on a Private Multi-Course Dinner Option featuring creations from Chefs Ouita Michel and Sara Bradley at the freight house.
“It was such an inspiring day,” said Chamber President Sandra Wilson, “and we are thrilled to be recognized by KCCE for our first women’s conference and sold-out special dinner at the freight house.”
The Paducah Chamber is the region’s largest business advocacy organization. The Paducah Chamber was twice awarded the Chamber of the Year by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) in 2011 and 2017 and is a 5-Star Accredited Chamber by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Learn more at paducahchamber.org
Glenn Shepard: Why John's Extramarital Affair Could Save You from Career Suicide
To those on the committee, Thank you! It is a thankless effort that receives nothing but unsolicited advice and criticism. This year has been no different. When the Balloon Race committee made the announcement that they were not having a festival on the grounds of Rosalie, some people might have panicked, but others saw opportunity.
You always hear that when a being loses one of its senses, all the others get stronger. That was how Natchez felt this past weekend. We knew it was going to be a balloon event instead of the festival. Balloon Glow Friday and Saturday night and fireworks on Friday night.
For the first time in my lifetime, my city truly came together and created an incredible experience for our visitors as well as locals. Jennie Guido from Monmouth witnessed firsthand: “In Natchez, Balloon Race weekend is almost a religion. If you live here, you don’t leave town that weekend.
If you’re from here, you come home that weekend. This year’s Balloon Races showed why you don’t miss this third weekend in October. It made me proud to be from Natchez and all of the hard work our community put into these three days.”
Haley Stiles, a local bartender, said: “Everyone who crossed my bar was having a great time, the locals were talking about how alive and vibrant downtown was, how great all the venue and bands were, and the tourist all fell in love with our hospitality, our people and our town…It felt good.”
Our town was alive and getting the economic shot in the arm that it desperately needed. Many restaurants and shops’ overall sales were up from last year and the best they have had all year. Live music was all over town, from the bandstand on the bluff, Smoots, Natchez Manor, the Brewery and all free.
We had an art exhibition that would normally be found in major cities, an event that celebrated the four elements, and a town buzzing with visitors.
Ryan Richardson, manager at 100 Main, worked harder than she had ever worked in her 20 years of bartending and brought home double what she made last year. Mike Wagner, owner of The Camp, said his sales were about the same from last year, but they closed an hour early on Friday and Sunday and two hours early on Saturday.
Four operational hours of being closed and still broke even from last year. Natchez Brewing Company saw a significant increase and nearly doubling their sales. Their best day ever was in part because of the location of the Balloon Glow on the north end of the bluff.
The decision to spread the balloons throughout the city was brilliant. It forced visitors and locals to go to different parts of town and to patronize local businesses instead of confined at the grounds of Rosalie and forking over hundreds of dollars to outside vendors. From Pedro’s on U.S. 61 North to the Bellemont Shake Shop on U.S. 61 South, everyone got a piece of the pie.
With the way this year has gone, nobody knew what to expect.
In years past, not much has changed with the layout of the festival. Sometimes things will never change unless they are forced, which a global pandemic will certainly do. Maybe this was the change that was needed.
We have never felt more invested in the Balloon Festival than this year. The assistance of Visit Natchez and the NCPC made most of these events possible. Listen Up Y’all, Community Alliance, the Chamber of Commerce, the Festival of Music, just to name a few, were all instrumental in our successful weekend. Haley Stiles also said, “This year it was all of us that felt responsible for keeping the party going.”
Our city depends on Balloon Festival weekend and the economic impact from this format is undeniable. Thank you to the Balloon Race Committee for everything you do and have done. Thank you for even having an event. And also, thank you, Natchez. You know how to throw one hell of a party.
Sarah Lindsey Laukhuff, event and sales coordinator, The Natchez Grand Hotel & Suites. Read more: Natchez Democrat
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill Friday accused St. Joseph County public health officials of abusing their power by sending area church leaders a letter urging them to suspend in-person worship services until at least March to help slow the novel coronavirus’ growing spread.
County Health Officer Dr. Robert Einterz and Deputy Health Officer Dr. Mark Fox sent an Oct. 13 letter to area faith leaders stating that they, working with the Indiana Department of Health, had analyzed the “exposure histories” of people who had tested positive for the virus over the past six weeks. The analysis, although “not conclusive,” they wrote, revealed five “clusters” associated with attendance at worship services.
In an interview Friday, Fox said the analysis identified services at five specific churches, each attended by five to 10 people who contracted the virus. He declined to identify the churches while noting the letter was a recommendation rather than an “order, mandate or regulation.”
“I think at some level the attorney general was scolding us for not saying ‘please,’” Fox said.
Their Oct. 13 letter asked congregations to “pivot to online or virtual worship formats” but offers to review COVID-19 safety plans for those that opt to continue in-person services.
“However we also will be compelled to respond to any complaints we receive regarding safety concerns identified in any establishments in the county, including churches,” they wrote.
But in his own letter dated Friday to Einterz and Fox, Hill, while acknowledging they hadn’t “expressly directed” churches to stop in-person services, wrote that their letter was “plainly designed, at the very least, to chill the right of individuals to congregate in exercise of their religious freedom.”
“Your decision to write a threatening letter despite a ‘not conclusive’ study is a surprising and disappointing abuse of your power as county health officials,” Hill wrote. “Unless you have actual evidence justifying the need to target churches for closure … I advise you to cease from threatening congregations who do not comply with your demands, or my office will be compelled to act.”
Hill posted a press release about the matter on his office web page, including copies of both letters.
A reporter asked Fox about Hill’s letter during Friday’s weekly COVID-19 press conference with South Bend Mayor James Mueller, County Commissioner President Andy Kostielney and South Bend Regional Chamber CEO Jeff Rea. Fox replied that he was “surprised and frankly disappointed.”
“One concern is that, again, it seems to be another example of prioritizing politics over public health,” Fox said. “He accused us of taking a threatening tone in what was actually an even more authoritarian and threatening letter. That’s not the kind of dialogue that we need in order to be successful in our response to COVID in our community or in our state.”
Rea, a former Republican mayor of Mishawaka, said Einterz and Fox have met with bar owners, retail stores, school officials and other groups that could potentially draw gatherings of people as they seek to stem the county’s rising COVID-19 numbers.
“I think what’s funny is about every group we’ve talked to is wondering why they’re being singled out and you’re not talking to anybody else, but the truth is almost every single type of physical gathering, there’s been some kind of conversations,” Rea said. “So the attorney general sort of thought that’s the only thing happening in St. Joseph County and didn’t take into account the other good work that they’re trying to do to help stop the spread.” Read more: South Bend Tribune
Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce names David Wise New Executive Director
The Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce has a new Executive Director in David Wise.
In an announcement that came earlier this week, the Board of Directors chose Wise, who hails from the Quad Cities and is in the process of completing his third Master’s degree in December, this one in Public Administration.
Wise says he’s looking forward to collaborating with the Chamber’s Board, the City of Monmouth and Warren County representatives, and all other organizations and businesses to enhance the progress in Monmouth.
He adds that his vision for him in the role includes, “Engaging with everyone to build on their previous successes in moving Monmouth forward. One goal is to increase the value of a chamber membership. I look forward to organizing and celebrating Monmouth’s newly-born tradition of Christmas on the Square with everyone… those details are soon to follow.”
Wise has a background in historic preservation, urban and regional planning, and public administration. More: WGIL
IACCE Chamber of the Year Jefferson County Chamber Community Guide
The Jefferson County Chamber Community Guide is available at the chamber of commerce today! Thank you to Philip "Mike" Beard and the Chamber team for their help and direction putting this together!
Jefferson County Chamber 2018 Community 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.
Frank J. Kenny: Quick question for you…
Life-long friends?
Who is that person for you?
That connection, that relationship, is precious to you, isn’t it?
What if we discovered a way to bring you connections and relationships like that with chamber industry peers and colleagues from around the world?
With the people that get you, that truly understand you.
ANNOUNCING: Chamber Pros H2H
Chamber Pros H2H is a brand new weekly virtual program for Chamber Pros to do face-to-face, one-on-one, human-to-human relationship building and connecting after gaining a new chamber industry tip or insight!
There is nothing else like this in the chamber industry.
It’s perfect for you and anyone that values learning, connecting and relationship building with peers and colleagues.
Through this new program, you will not only meet great people, you will also discover what is working today at their chamber.
- You will learn and be able to share best practices.
- You will receive and give valuable tips and insights.
- You will be able to ask and answer pressing questions.
These Chamber Pros H2H sessions won’t be recorded.
What happens inside the Chamber Pros H2H stays inside of Chamber Pros H2H.
The system allows you the opportunity to discuss anything that is on your mind, in complete one-on-one privacy.
Note: Chamber Pros H2H isn’t like Zoom. These aren’t Happy-Hours sessions. No breakout rooms. No Zoom fatigue.
Instead, you will have energizing, exciting, valuable one-on-one discussions with people who walk in your shoes.
Chamber Pros H2H is all about connecting excellent Chamber Pros from around the world with colleagues to become mentors, mentees, brainstormers, collaborators, and perhaps even becoming great friends.
We believe Chamber Pros H2H is a game-changer for you and the chamber industry.
Your life changes for the better this week. Join us this Thursday at 1pm eastern for the inaugural session of Chamber Pros H2H.
You’re going to want to be a part of the relationship building (and discover valuable industry tips and strategies). Don’t miss out on this.
Register now (for FREE)!
Limited seating. First come, first serve.
NOTE: You must be using a laptop or desktop computer with a cam and mic to participate. No mobile devices, ipads, phones, etc.
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