Members of the East Valley Chambers of Commerce Alliance (EVCCA) met with East Valley legislators in December to present the annual Legislative Agenda. 

"With the session scheduled to begin in January, legislators are beginning to meet with various committees and leaders as they initiate bills to consider," said Kathy Tilque, President/CEO.  "We felt that meeting with our elected officials now is the perfect time to highlight the business community's priorities."

Tom Dorn of Dorn Policy Group and EVCCA lobbyist, expressed "the EVCCA's expectation is that the Legislature do everything in its power to return this great State to the economic stability and entrepreneurial vitality worthy of its proud heritage during the recent breakfast."

"Arizonans need jobs now," Dorn said. "Arizona businesses need dependable tax policy and restrained government oversight so they can create jobs now in all sectors of our state's economy."

"This is a pivotal year for the legislature," said Tilque. "With a fresh crop of freshman legislators thrown into the mix of a significant budget deficit we can anticipate a long session of difficult discussions and decisions.  Balancing short-term decisions with long-term unintended consequences will be challenging."

In addition to job creation, the EVCCA's priorities include raising the threshold for Business Personal Property Tax exemption; support for Commerce Authority's efforts; increase requirements for ballot initiatives; place a moratorium on designated tax supported funds not used for their original intent; evaluating state employee total compensation packages; opposition of reducing state shared revenues to cities; responsible tax reform; and corrective measures to ensure solvency of the AZ Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

The EVCCA legislative subcommittee will begin meeting weekly in January to wade through the 1,000+ bills anticipated to be introduced and will work with our lobbyists at the Capitol to represent our members throughout the entire session.

Click here to view the EVCCA's Legislative Priorities and Action Agenda.

The EVCCA represents more than 5,800 member firms from the Ahwatukee Foothills, Apache Junction, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Queen Creek, Scottsdale and Tempe Chambers of Commerce.

This past holiday season, the Gilbert Chamber of Commerce once again sponsored the Adopt-A-Senior program to benefit the homebound and/or low-income seniors in Gilbert.

The program was an overwhelming success with the adoption of more than 30 homebound seniors benefiting from the Gilbert Senior Center's Meals on Wheels program and more than 40 seniors living in low-income housing - 74 seniors in all.

In addition, the Chamber received enough contributions to host a holiday party for the seniors living in low-income housing. Amy Thomas of Bruegger's Bagels donated breakfast for more than 60 attendees and contributions from The Little Clinic, Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and other Chamber members allowed the Chamber to give goody bags to each of the residents. The goody bags were accented with holiday cards made by the students at Gilbert Elementary School.

"It was an incredible experience this year with an outpouring of support from our members and the community," said Kathy Tilque, president and CEO of the Chamber. "We were able to far exceed last year's reach which goes to show just what an incredible town Gilbert is."

Monetary contributions totaling $175 were divided into seven $25 Wal-mart gift cards and were used as gifts to seniors who otherwise would not have been adopted.  

Ring In The New Year With Tips For Success

I recently read an article from Entrepreneur Magazine (December 2010) entitled "10 Steps to Small-Business Success in 2011" and thought you may find these tips informative as you begin the New Year. 

Columnist Rosalind Resnick suggests that while the recession may have officially ended, the best predictions come in well under three percent growth. Rather than waiting for the economy to improve, you may want to retool for the economy that exists today.  Here are 10 places to start:

1.    Overhaul your business plan

2.    Double down on what works

3.    Experiment

4.    Fire your D-grade customers

5.    Become an "A" customer

6.    Expand your network

     (take advantage of   your Chamber membership!)

7.    Leverage your brand

8.    Get some credit

9.    Fire up your employees

10.  Team up

If these tips have peaked your interest, you will definitely want to check out the online article at http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217512-1.

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