Newcastle Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development
The Board of Directors and Staff of the Newcastle Chamber of Commerce would like to thank you for being a stakeholder in the Newcastle Chamber of Commerce. Thanks to your investment we are continuing to bring you additional value.
We would like to wish you a safe and joyous holiday season and new year.
Business Exchange Luncheon
There is NOT a luncheon for the month of December, due to the holidays.
We look forward to seeing you again at the next luncheon on January 13th. Our January meeting will be sponsored by Sooner State Bank and our speakers are scheduled to cover the upcoming legislative session.
If you are interested in sponsoring a luncheon, we still have a few slots available. Please note that a majority of the year has been planned.
Stay Tuned...
Any day now - the community guide will be available for distribution.
Thank you to all of you who contributed to help make this year's production happen.
 
If you missed out on the guide, there is still time to participate in the Community map. This is a GREAT value for your marketing dollars. The last map of 5,000 copies was produced in 2007. This production will be 10,000 copies. If the last map is any indication, you could possibly get a minimum of 3 years worth of marketing dollars for a minimal cost.
Banquet & Auction
March 25
The next banquet meeting will be scheduled for December 29th , Noon at the chamber office. Bring your lunch and let's get this thing ironned out.

The theme of the banquet will be focused around a Caribeean/Jamacian feel.

Want to help out?? If you can come up with a phrase that the banquet committee likes, we will give you a ticket to the banquet.

Remember also to pull your crazy hawaiian/topic shirts out of the back of your closet for the contest at the banquet. Craziest shirt wins!! (people choice)
Small businesses are the backbone to Newcastle's economy. But running a small businesses not always easy. Since 2008, the Newcastle Chamber has been partnering with the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber and BlueCross BlueShield of Oklahoma to offer affordable group health insurance plans to its members. This program, Chamber Choice, is available to members with 2 to 50 employees headquartered in McClain county.

Chamber Choice features:
  • No medical underwriting; coverage is guaranteed for Chamber members that meet contribution and participation requirements.
  • BlueOptions PPO; More in-network choices than any other Oklahoma PPO plan, with 5 deductible options.
  • Blue Optimize PPO: This set of flexible choices includes 3 deductible options.
  • BlueLincs HMO: Coverage available with or without an annual deductible.
  • Prescription drug coverage.
  • Network availability in 50 states.
  • Office visit co-payments.

Since the program's inception in 2001, each annual rate increase has been less than 11 percent. plus, most Chamber Choice health plans are approved for the Oklahoma Employer/Employee Partnership for Insurance Coverage (O-EPIC) program. O-EPIC pays 60% of health plan premiums for eligible employees who work for qualified Oklahoma businesses with 50 employees or less.

 

Click here for rate information and a complete list of approved chamber choice producers.
Please note the following closings of the Chamber Office. Please also note that at anytime the chamber can be contacted, if information is not readily available, the information will be retrieved for you as soon as possible!!
  • December 24  - Christmas Holiday
  • December 31 - New Years Holiday
  • January 3 - January 7 - Institute of Organizational Management
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Did you Know?

Did you know Certificate of Non-Coverage Cards (CNC Cards) are no longer being used in Oklahoma to exclude payments made to independent contractors?

Did you know if a person meets the criteria of "employee" as defined by Oklahoma's workers' compensation law, payments to that individual will be counted as wages on the workers' compensation audit regardless of whether the payments are reported to the Internal

Revenue Service on a Form 1099 or W2?

Did you know that Affidavits of Exempt Status forms presented for exclusion of premium must be evaluated by your workers compensation provider for validity and that they must have been obtained before work was initiated?

Did you know the most important action you can take for an audit is to ensure you keep complete payroll records that document payments with detailed job descriptions and classification of payroll?

Did you know that bonuses paid to employees are included in wages  for which premium is calculated?

Source: Compensator, Quarterly Publication by CompSource Oklahoma