Zanesville-Muskingum Co. Chamber of Commerce
Membership Matters
News from the Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce
 
May 24, 2010

In this Issue:
 

 
  • Health Reform Meeting This Week
  • Volunteers Needed
  • Member News
  • Final Friday Focuses on Foul Play
  • Survey - How Do You Get New Customers?
  • Wage Survey Concludes This Week
  • Broadband Survey Underway 
  • Anthem Health Plan For Members
  • Middle East Trade Show 
 

Health Reform Meeting This Week

 

Join us THIS THURSDAY for this presentation on what business owners and managers should expect now that the federal health care reform bill has become law.  Carrie Haughawout will explain the new law and discuss what businesses should be doing now to take advantage of its provisions and deal with its impacts.  As the law moves into the implementation stage you will want to know about the deadlines, requirements, savings, costs, and more.  There is no cost to attend this presentation.
 
Please RSVP to
kirvin@zmchamber.com or call 455-8282

Thursday, May 27, 10 am to 11:30 am
John McIntire Public Library
Auditorium - Lower Level
220 North Fifth Street, Zanesville, Ohio
 
Presenter:
Carrie Haughawout
Director, Ohio Small Business Council
Ohio Chamber of Commerce

Co-Sponsored by the Muskingum Valley Human Resource Management Association and the Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce
 

Volunteers Needed

 

We need volunteers for a very important project:  The annual Gus Macker Basketball Tournament on June 5 and 6.  This important fundraiser and community event (which is also the largest Gus Macker tournament in Ohio) is in its 14th year, and it's the volunteers that have made it such a long-lasting success.

 

First, we need "Gus Busters" to officiate games, and this "volunteer" job actually pays!  You get $75 per day for working as a Buster, and you can split that in to two half days on Saturday and Sunday if you want.  To be a Buster, contact Dana Matz at 455-8282 or dmatz@zmchamber.com.

 

If refereeing is not your cup of tea, we can still use you for some very important volunteer duties.  These include helping run special event competitions, working in the brackets area, keeping score on the Top Court, and helping set up and tear down basket units.

 

If you are good with a wrench and don't mind getting your hands dirty, then set-up and tear-down are perfect for you.  Set up takes place on Wednesday June 2 and tear down is on Sunday June 6.  Contact Mike Bryan at mbryan@zanesville.law.pro for more information.

 

To help with the tournament brackets or to be a Top Court scorekeeper contact Tom Poorman at tpoorman@zmchamber.com, and to assist with special events contact Beth Chapman at bchapman@genesishcs.org.

 
Member News

 

Join the newest Chamber member, Curves, for their grand re-opening event on Wednesday, May 26th. Curves is holding their ribbon cutting ceremony that is open to all members at 11 am on the 26th.  Curves, owned by Kim Lafferty, is located at 3590 Maple Avenue. 

 

H & W Trucking, Inc., www.handwtrucking.com, recently announced receipt of th U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) HUB Zone designation. Companies meeting specific employment criteria may be designated as SBA HUB Zones, which assists the Federal government in ensuring federal contracting and employment opportunities in underutilized and underemployed regions. H & W Trucking, Inc. has agents around the U.S.A. and they provide truckload, less than truckload, (LTL) and rail service to and from all points in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

 

Final Friday Focuses on Foul Play

 

Join us this Friday, May 28, to hear a presentation by Ron Welch, Assistant Prosecutor for Muskingum County, at the Final Friday Membership and Networking Meeting.  The meeting starts at 8 am and concludes at 9 am.  Welsh will talk about what business owners and managers can do to combat crime within and against their businesses.  And assuming time allows, we will conduct a brief networking exercise so you can promote your business and learn about other area companies.  To RSVP, send an email to Kelly Irvin at kirvin@zmchamber.com and let us know you are coming.  There is no cost to attend for Chamber members.

 
How Do You Get New Customers?

 

The latest monthly business practices survey conducted by the Chamber is taking place now, and we encourage you to participate.  Go to this link - SURVEY - to participate and we will be sure that you share in the results.  Results will also be available at a later date on the Chamber website.  Go here to see the results of previous monthly business practices surveys?

 
Wage Survey Concludes This Week

We are now conducting the 2010 Muskingum County Wage and Benefit Survey, sponsored by the Muskingum Growth Partnership.  All chamber member businesses are invited to participate and because of your unique position as a Muskingum County employer we would like to personally encourage you or a member of your staff to complete the survey online anytime between now and May 30th at www.zmchamber.com. 
 
The information we gather from this survey is vital to our ongoing economic development efforts.  We receive many requests for the Wage and Benefit Survey from both local and prospective businesses and strive to keep the information as current as possible.

Your participation in this survey will ensure that we have a valid and representative sampling of data to be used in producing a final report.  By virtue of your membership in the Chamber, your company will receive free online access to the final report once it is published. Businesses that are not Chamber members will not have free access to the report.

Again, the survey questionnaire can be found online at www.zmchamber.com.  A link on the front page will take you to the survey site.  Please be aware that the survey will be conducted between now and May 30th only.  All of your information will be kept strictly confidential and will not be made available to anyone except as anonymous and cumulative results.
 
This survey is sponsored by the Chamber's Muskingum Growth Partnership, the Zanesville-Muskingum County Port Authority, and the Muskingum Valley Human Resource Management Association, and the data will again be compiled by JK Evans & Associates, LLC.

 

 

Broadband Survey Underway

Connect Ohio is currently conducting a survey regarding broadband service use and needs for Ohio organizations. This valuable feedback will be used to inform broadband providers what they can do to improve broadband business-class services in your area, as well as for educational initiatives planning and Community Anchor Institutions broadband adoption data collection. The online survey is accessible here: http://www.justforenterprise.com/dcafe/viewer/coh/default.aspx?DCAFECode=17

Connect Ohio is a nonprofit, technology-neutral, public-private partnership, funded by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the Ohio Department of Information Technology, that works with telecommunications providers, business and community leaders, information technology companies, researchers, public agencies, libraries and universities in an effort to help extend affordable high-speed Internet service to every Ohioan.

 
Anthem Health Plan for Members

Health insurance can be your largest financial burden. Yet, you recognize the importance of healthy employees. Chamber Plan through Anthem offers health care options for small and mid-size businesses that mirror the benefits large corporations offer. Chamber members receive a discount and have access to over 100 plan designs, including health savings accounts (HSAs), health reimbursement accounts (HRA's) and traditional PPOs. Chamber Plan may not be the most affordable option for every chamber member company, but it might pay off to check and see.  For a quote on Chamber Plan contact your local health insurance broker - they can tell you how the rates compare to what you are paying now.

 
Middle East Trade Show
 
Would you like to sell your products and services in one of the wealthiest regions in the world?  Then why not exhibit in Qatar (the richest country in the world in terms of per-capita income) for a multi-industry trade show on October 12-15?  The exhibition is called  "Made in USA Qatar" and will feature 200 to 300 booths and thousands of buyers from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and elsewhere throughout the oil-rich Persian Gulf region. 

Our chamber is working through our national association, the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, to ensure an excellent experience for chamber-member attendees.  A booth is $3,150 -- a bargain for the market-opening opportunity represented by this show.  A full package that includes airfare to Qatar and five nights' hotel stay there is $6,500. 

Information on the show, including contacts for further questions, is available at this Web site: http://www.madeinusaqatar.com/