Three regional chambers collaboration: Where Opportunity Knox has helped 1,445 veterans find employment opportunities
Where Opportunity Knox, a regional initiative with the goal to connect 10,000 transitioning veterans and/or military spouses to jobs in the Greater Louisville Region by the end of 2017, announced today that 1,445 veterans have been connected to employment opportunities in the first year of the program.
One year ago Kentucky Indiana Exchange (KIX), managed by three regional chambers of commerce including Greater Louisville Inc., the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce and One Southern Indiana, launched the initiative. More than 130 participating employers have signed up to support the initiative.
“One of the advantages of hiring veterans is the key assets they bring to the table, especially soft skills,” said Shana Seng of Monument Chemical Kentucky in Brandenburg, one of Where Opportunity Knox’s newest employer partners. “We chose to participate in Where Opportunity Knox to gain further awareness of veteran skill sets, better understand how it transfers into our organization and increase our veteran outreach and hiring.”
In addition, more than 30 Veteran Network Builders—business professionals who have volunteered to help Veterans build their civilian networks—have been recruited and more than 100 human resource professionals have attended Where Opportunity Knox’s quarterly briefings and tours at Fort Knox.
Virginia Peninsula Chamber event: "We have a zero unemployment rate in cyber right now..."
People, businesses, research and support from Hampton Roads helped make history this summer when an unmanned aerial system was used to deliver medicine to a clinic in rural Wise County in southwest Virginia.
But unfortunately, positive advancements in technology, cybersecurity and unmanned aerial systems, which are commonly known as drones, are often lost in the headlines - if those things make the news at all.
Karen Jackson, Virginia's secretary of technology, challenged attendees at a Peninsula Executive Leadership Forum to help reshape the narrative at all levels about technology and cyber issues. The Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce and Thomas Nelson Community College collaborate to produce the forums.
The FAA-sanctioned Wise County drone delivery event was the first in the nation, and "we got ahead of Amazon," said Jackson, who added that Gov. Terry McAuliffe is completely on board with advancing all aspects of unmanned aerial systems in Virginia. "He's also made the comment that he wants a drone in every home, but he wants it stamped with 'manufactured in Virginia,'" Jackson quipped. Read more: Inside Business
Fox Cities Chamber event: Octoberfest packs downtown Appleton
Appleton’s biggest block party arrived Saturday morning.
The 34th annual Octoberfest celebration ran until 6 p.m. An estimated 100,000 people made their way downtown throughout the day, enjoying live music, food, beverages and family activities.
A sea of people
The day had all the makings for a record-setting Octoberfest.
By mid-afternoon, College Avenue was flooded with people taking in the festivities. Joy Sams, chairwoman of the Octoberfest committee, said early indications had her believing the festival would be seeing record numbers for the fourth straight year.
“I hope the not-for-profit vendors feel the same way. That’s really our may concern, how they’re doing,” she said.
“I’ve had to put my golf cart away at about 10 a.m. in previous years. I’d say it was about 9:30 this year. I was not able to get even across the Avenue, from one sideof the street to the other.”
Chamber assistance: Ocean Springs' Feast of Flavors festival a treat for the senses
The sights, smells and, most importantly, the tastes available at the annual Feast of Flavors festival in Ocean Springs provide an array of delights for those attending.
Hundreds turned out for Saturday's event, which featured not only the local growers who come out every Saturday for the Ocean Springs Fresh Market, but additional vendors who provide samples of foods grown or produced locally.
"It's been wonderful," said Diane Cloughton, who founded the Fresh Market in 2004. "We do these festivals to promote the Fresh Market, but also to promote the chamber of commerce and the city of Ocean Springs. Without the help of the chamber, without the help of the city, we couldn't do these things."
Among the food offerings available for patrons to sample were hot tamales, homemade BBQ sauces and rubs, pimento cheese quesadillas prepared by Chef Danie, and sauteed shitake mushrooms.
Additionally, demonstrations were held throughout the day featuring Chef Alex Perry and his wife, Kumi Omori of Vestige restaurant, Jim DelPrince, a horticulture specialist from Mississippi State University, and pumpkin carving by artist Tracy Williams.
Festival-goers seemed more than pleased. Read more: GulfLive.com
Troy Chamber of Commerce president honored
Troy Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Ara Toupouzian was among the businesses and individuals honored with a Corp! Magazine Michigan Salute to Diversity Award Sept. 10 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Detroit.
According to its website, “Corp! is a print and online business-to-business publication that features success stories, best practices and strategies that CEOs, business owners, executives and managers will find useful and relevant.”
“Corp! honors businesses and business leaders who have displayed significant achievements in diversity within their organizations or in the community,” states its website.
“We are diverse in what we are offering,” Toupouzian said. “We’ve got diversity in our membership. Whatever we plan, we plan with that in mind. I think we do a lot of good work here. I look at it as recognition for the chamber. As the only chamber person that won, it speaks volumes to the work that we do.” Read more: C and G Newspapers
Western DuPage Chamber executive returns to her roots
Patricia Haskins, executive vice president of the Western DuPage Chamber of Commerce, is going full circle.
The native of Southern Illinois has worked more than a dozen years as a suburban chamber executive, and now she is packing up to return to southern Illinois after her retirement last week. I never dreamed I would ever move to the Chicago suburbs," she said.
Haskins was born in Mt. Carmel and raised in nearby Bellmont, both in southern Illinois. She came to the Chicago area in 1985.
After she graduated from Eastern Illinois University, she was a schoolteacher, Youth for Christ leader and then took time off to raise her son, David, who is now an artist and has his "SkyCube" art at the Elmhurst Art Museum. She also has a daughter, Elizabeth, and son-in-law, Sandy, who have five children. Haskins also spent time working as a church secretary, receptionist and an account manager.
Then she decided in 2003 to accept the position of president and CEO of the Warrenville Chamber of Commerce, a job she felt was an accomplishment in itself.
"I feel my greatest accomplishment was going into a field that I knew nothing about and making it a successful chamber for 8 years," Haskins said. Read more: Daily Herald
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