Chamber of Commerce Daily News
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Is New Administrative Rule Edict Legal Extortion on Michigan Businesses?
Business Community Pushing Back on Mandatory Labor Peace Agreements
The Grand Rapids Chamber joined with other members of the business community to express strong opposition to marijuana licensure draft rules which require license holders to enter into a "Labor Peace Agreement" with a labor union as a condition of licensure.
The Senate Regulatory Reform Committee took the issue up last Thursday. Chairman Aric Nesbitt said, "The rules amount to extortion of marijuana businesses to enrich unions and increase their membership."
The overutilization of unilateral executive action through administrative rule-making, which bypasses the more transparent and appropriate lawmaking process, is increasingly concerning.
Michigan licenses many types of businesses and professionals. If the administration is able to conjure a labor union agreement requirement out of thin air, what’s to stop them from doing the same for more businesses? This is an important issue for this new industry, but also critical for nearly all businesses who could fall victim to the arbitrary whims of bureaucratic rule making.
Questions? Contact Andy Johnston at andy@grandrapids.org.
Farewell to 2018 IACCE Chamber Executive of the Year Jeff Griffin as Sioux Falls Chamber announces new CEO
A chamber of commerce leader from Illinois will be the next leader of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce.
Jeffrey Griffin was selected as president and CEO following a national search.
“I am honored to be named president of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce,” he said. “Sioux Falls and all of South Dakota are in such an advantageous position with pro-business initiatives, and I am excited to be a part of it.”
Sioux Falls Chamber board chair Bobbi Thury, co-founder of Legacy Law Firm, said the search committee reviewed an excellent pool of candidates.
“We had a number of very talented individuals interested in the position,” she said. “Jeff demonstrated excellent leadership skills, the ability to foster strong relationships with businesses of all sizes and a heart for helping others succeed, all of which made him a great match for our chamber.”
Griffin has served as the president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce and the CEO Council in Peoria since 2014. During his tenure, he led the chamber to double its membership and turned around worrisome financial trends. He is experienced in nonprofit and business development leadership. Griffin holds a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organizational Management. In 2018, he was named the Distinguished Illinois Chamber of Commerce Executive of the Year.
“My wife, Rosy, and I were overwhelmed with the warm welcome we received from the community, and we are looking forward to moving our family to Sioux Falls,” Griffin said.
Griffin will assume his new role Jan. 20. Interim president Dr. Dave Kapaska will remain with the chamber through Jan. 25.
“We are excited to welcome the Griffins to Sioux Falls,” Thury said. “We expect that the chamber, under Jeff’s leadership, will continue to be a successful advocate for our businesses and community for years to come.” Read more: SiouxFalls.Business
Crossroads Regional Chamber: Our New President and CEO: Deann Patena
Deann has served on the chamber board since 2012. Prior to her current position as the Director of Meeting and Event Sales at Fair Oak Farms, Deann was the Director of Sales and Marketing at the Radisson Star Plaza and worked for White Lodging for over 16 years.
Deann has agreed to resign from the chamber board and take on her new role as CEO in the coming weeks.
“I am so excited to have the opportunity to lead this great organization, we have a bright future as we aspire to grow larger and stronger. Being a regional chamber of commerce allows us to have one voice which provides continuity, advocacy, broader networking and assistance with small business support, I am committed to supporting and assisting in your business success”.
Traci Gould Honored as Bullitt County
Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year
Traci Gould has this tagline on each email: Kindness, sprinkle that stuff around like confetti.
The words mirror the work she accomplishes daily as Family Resource Center Coordinator at Shepherdsville Elementary School.
No surprise, then, that Gould was picked as Bullitt County Citizen of the Year during the annual Bullitt County Chamber of Commerce Membership Dinner in October.
“I was surprised and humbled,” Gould said. “What an honor!”
She began at Shepherdsville Elementary as the first Shepherdsville Elementary School FRC in 2006. In 2010, her center was joined with Nichols Elementary for 8 years until 2018 when her center returned to Shepherdsville Elementary only. Gould is in her 14th year as Family Resource Coordinator.
Her goal is to assist families in reaching self-sufficiency and to help give every student, every opportunity, every day, while helping to remove barriers to education.
That means recognition of work is not about her but whom she serves.
“I am glad to help spread awareness of the roles of the Family Resource Youth Services Centers at each of our BCPS schools,” she affirmed. “This is the first full year that each of the BCPS schools have access to a Family Resource or Youth Services Center and FRYSC is grant funded, so each year it is important for our community and legislators to know what we do and why it necessary to student success.”
Whenever Gould sees students succeed and thrive, she knows the center is working
productively.
“I love recognizing those students that give it their all each and every day and encourage them to continue to be the light,” she said. “I love seeing students strive to be significant in the lives of others, mentor others and provide encouragement to others. I love seeing them develop a love for reading and a love for their community. I love seeing them happy and reassured when taking a bag of weekend food home. I love seeing their joy over a new pair of shoes or knitted hats made by our community ladies. I love seeing them go into a new classroom with a bag of school supplies provided by someone in the community that look just like everyone else’s bag of supplies. I am excited to see the playing field leveled for some of our kids that struggle. I love seeing a single mom that has difficulty figuring life out, finally rise above, and be what she wants to be for herself and for her kids.”
One of her favorite moments from this school year was the community book sponsorship.
“I made a random post on my personal Facebook page about how cool it would be to provide a new book to every Shepherdsville Elementary student each month all year long, and that for $10 a student we could do that,” she explained. “Responses started with individuals saying ‘I’ll take one, or I’ll take 2...or 10’ and progressed to small business challenges of 25 or more students and within 8 days of that original post, all 567 of our students were covered and are now receiving a new book each month and are so excited about it! That was so amazing to be a part of! I love hearing ‘Do we get to keep this book forever?’ and ‘Am I the first one to have this book, can I put MY name in it?’ There are some students in our school that did not have books at home until now. Our community
provided someone their very first new book in their home. That’s pretty awesome to think about.”
Resources to assist students overcome barriers to learning often require financial support and that is an area of concern for all FRYSCs.
“The biggest challenge for me this year is lack of grant funding in my center,” Gould affirmed. “What do I do to overcome it? I utilize everything free that I can find and when it isn’t free I ask our community members and businesses for help. I am always so proud to live in this community when our area small businesses and residents of Shepherdsville and Bullitt County step up to the plate EVERY SINGLE TIME. I mean every time. I am never disappointed with their love for the students and their future vision that these kids are the next generation of business owners, leaders, parents, police, fire fighters, real estate agents. They see the value of investing in kids, and it is amazing for these kids to feel supported. Our future police chief, attorneys, or electricians may be in this group of
students. By teaching them that our community wraps around each other and wants to build these kids up, the hope is that they will become contributing members of our society and continue to build our community. We also strive to overcome negative press regarding our community. We are so much more than that!”
Gould wants to continue to provide books to all of her students each month all year long, and will rely on my community to help provide that again in the future.
“I want to build beds again for children without a place to sleep, and school supplies to children without them. I want to continue to partner with our high school in as many ways as we can, to encourage life-long learning and future goals of our students. I want to be a partner in raising future leaders of our community,” she said.
Bullitt County Public Schools has over 13,000 students in grades preschool through 12.
There are 25 school facilities, a certified staff of over 900 and a classified staff of over 800 working to make the district the leader in educational excellence.
The words mirror the work she accomplishes daily as Family Resource Center Coordinator at Shepherdsville Elementary School.
No surprise, then, that Gould was picked as Bullitt County Citizen of the Year during the annual Bullitt County Chamber of Commerce Membership Dinner in October.
“I was surprised and humbled,” Gould said. “What an honor!”
She began at Shepherdsville Elementary as the first Shepherdsville Elementary School FRC in 2006. In 2010, her center was joined with Nichols Elementary for 8 years until 2018 when her center returned to Shepherdsville Elementary only. Gould is in her 14th year as Family Resource Coordinator.
Her goal is to assist families in reaching self-sufficiency and to help give every student, every opportunity, every day, while helping to remove barriers to education.
That means recognition of work is not about her but whom she serves.
“I am glad to help spread awareness of the roles of the Family Resource Youth Services Centers at each of our BCPS schools,” she affirmed. “This is the first full year that each of the BCPS schools have access to a Family Resource or Youth Services Center and FRYSC is grant funded, so each year it is important for our community and legislators to know what we do and why it necessary to student success.”
Whenever Gould sees students succeed and thrive, she knows the center is working
productively.
“I love recognizing those students that give it their all each and every day and encourage them to continue to be the light,” she said. “I love seeing students strive to be significant in the lives of others, mentor others and provide encouragement to others. I love seeing them develop a love for reading and a love for their community. I love seeing them happy and reassured when taking a bag of weekend food home. I love seeing their joy over a new pair of shoes or knitted hats made by our community ladies. I love seeing them go into a new classroom with a bag of school supplies provided by someone in the community that look just like everyone else’s bag of supplies. I am excited to see the playing field leveled for some of our kids that struggle. I love seeing a single mom that has difficulty figuring life out, finally rise above, and be what she wants to be for herself and for her kids.”
One of her favorite moments from this school year was the community book sponsorship.
“I made a random post on my personal Facebook page about how cool it would be to provide a new book to every Shepherdsville Elementary student each month all year long, and that for $10 a student we could do that,” she explained. “Responses started with individuals saying ‘I’ll take one, or I’ll take 2...or 10’ and progressed to small business challenges of 25 or more students and within 8 days of that original post, all 567 of our students were covered and are now receiving a new book each month and are so excited about it! That was so amazing to be a part of! I love hearing ‘Do we get to keep this book forever?’ and ‘Am I the first one to have this book, can I put MY name in it?’ There are some students in our school that did not have books at home until now. Our community
provided someone their very first new book in their home. That’s pretty awesome to think about.”
Resources to assist students overcome barriers to learning often require financial support and that is an area of concern for all FRYSCs.
“The biggest challenge for me this year is lack of grant funding in my center,” Gould affirmed. “What do I do to overcome it? I utilize everything free that I can find and when it isn’t free I ask our community members and businesses for help. I am always so proud to live in this community when our area small businesses and residents of Shepherdsville and Bullitt County step up to the plate EVERY SINGLE TIME. I mean every time. I am never disappointed with their love for the students and their future vision that these kids are the next generation of business owners, leaders, parents, police, fire fighters, real estate agents. They see the value of investing in kids, and it is amazing for these kids to feel supported. Our future police chief, attorneys, or electricians may be in this group of
students. By teaching them that our community wraps around each other and wants to build these kids up, the hope is that they will become contributing members of our society and continue to build our community. We also strive to overcome negative press regarding our community. We are so much more than that!”
Gould wants to continue to provide books to all of her students each month all year long, and will rely on my community to help provide that again in the future.
“I want to build beds again for children without a place to sleep, and school supplies to children without them. I want to continue to partner with our high school in as many ways as we can, to encourage life-long learning and future goals of our students. I want to be a partner in raising future leaders of our community,” she said.
Bullitt County Public Schools has over 13,000 students in grades preschool through 12.
There are 25 school facilities, a certified staff of over 900 and a classified staff of over 800 working to make the district the leader in educational excellence.
Hampton Roads Chamber: 2019 Annual Meeting of the Membership
You’ve been patient for the Regional Rebrand Reveal! It is here!
The Hampton Roads Chamber will round out the year with the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Membership. This event will include the regional rebrand results, and a keynote address by the Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly.
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
11:30 to 2:00 pm
WHERE:
Virginia Beach Convention Center
1000 19th St, Virginia Beach, VA 23451
PRICE:
$50.00 Chamber Member
$65.00 Prospective Member
The Hampton Roads Chamber Means Business. We are an impactful advocate, powerful economic partner, inspiring ignitor, and regional collaborator. The Chamber is a vigorous advocate for the economic success of its member businesses, which employ nearly 250,000 men and women in Southeastern Virginia.
Visit hamptonroadschamber.com
Front Royal Warren County Chamber of Commerce Community Profile & Membership Directory
The Front Royal Warren County Chamber of Commerce Community Profile & Membership Directory is available at the Front Royal Warren County Chamber of Commerce today! Thank you to Niki Foster and Pam Riffle and the Chamber team for their help and direction putting this together!
2019 Front Royal Warren County Community Profile and Membership Directory
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.
Companies can help veterans as they re-enter civilian life, and the Germantown chamber has a program to show them how
After Afghanistan veteran Ruben Velez finished his time with the U.S. Marine Corps in 2014, he worked eight jobs and owned two businesses before he landed the near-perfect job.
The last job, as a project manager at Germantown Iron & Steel Corp., allows him to use his military experience to develop solutions to make the workplace more efficient. "I added structure to the company," said Velez, who lives in Sussex.
But it took a while to get there. After veterans complete their service, he said, they often face mental health challenges, drug and alcohol abuse, poverty and homelessness.
To help companies work with veterans, the Germantown Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber to provide a veteran-ready business program. The program is free and open to the public, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 12, at American Legion Post No. 1, N120 W15932 Freistadt Road and is free for everyone.
Erin Zimdars-Gagnon, communications director of the Wisconsin Veterans Chamber, said her organization can help answer questions about creating veteran-ready workplaces.
'You lose the brotherhood, camaraderie and your focus'
Velez served in the military from 2009-14, after graduating in 2008 from Milwaukee's South Division High School. He said that when he completed his time in the service, he had a week of training about getting back to civilian life.
"But a week is not enough time. They kind of crammed it in you," said Velez. "When I got out, I just winged it."
He wsn't sure initially what kind of job would be best for him and did not always feel comfortable in the companies that hired him.
"When you get out (of the service), you lose the brotherhood, camaraderie and your focus. They say a man without purpose is nothing," he said.
'It just takes a conversation to start'
Germantown Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lynn Grgich said that many companies in Germantown are facing a shortage of employees. "I think there is a need for employees to add veterans in their workplace," she said.
She also said that it is important for veterans to be comfortable in their jobs because they worked hard for the country.
Velez suggested that, as a start toward helping veterans integrate into civilian life and the corporate structure, people learn the difference between Veterans Day and Memorial Day.
Memorial Day is to remember those who died in service, he said. Therefore, he explained, many veterans would not find that as a day to celebrate, considering it a more somber occasion.
"And veterans should get off for Veterans Day," he said.
Among other suggestions, Velez said many veterans who may have PTSD do not like having their backs to people. "I like to work in the corner (with my back to the wall)," he said. Making simple arrangements like that can help veterans feel more comfortable at work, he said.
He added that veterans with PTSD might also prefer to work in a quieter part of the office.
Velez also said it would be helpful for companies to have a veteran representative to help veteran employees. "This would create an open dialogue of what we need," he said.
He said that all veterans are required to get the time off needed to go to their VA appointments. "A lot don't know this," he said.
Zimdars-Gagnon said there are just simple things companies can do to take care of veterans.
"It is not hard. It is just takes a conversation to start," she said. Read more: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Plymouth Chamber of Commerce Community Map
The Plymouth Chamber of Commerce Community Map is available at the New Castle-Henry County Chamber! Thanks to Connie Holzwart and the chamber membership 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.
Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber: Holiday cheer leads week of good news
It’s going to be a sweet Christmas in Brookhaven this year, at least on Dec. 5. That’s when “A Candy Coated Christmas” rolls downtown.
"We’re sticking with the theme, ‘Life is sweet in Brookhaven,’” said Katie Nations, program director of the Brookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce. “McLane Southern has donated candy to be thrown during the parade, so there will be plenty of candy for parade goers.” Santa will be on hand, and Miss Merry Christmas Abby Smith, Miss Hospitality Allie Claire Townsend and Miss Mississippi Mary Margaret Hyer will make appearances. Read more: Daily Leader
Town Square Publications Chamber Membership Directories and Community Profiles: The best in the U.S.
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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
