Welcome New Chamber Members!

Brown's Meat Company

Simple Weddings & Photography

891 Yellow Hammer Rd

Troy, TN 38260

Phone: 731-504-0501

Business Representative: Trish Dial

OBION COUNTY NATIONAL GUARD RECRUITING

The National Guard can trace its origins all the way back to 1636 and is now the largest, most versatile, and locally relative branch that the Military has to offer.  I'm Sgt. Bo Pate, and I am the new National Guard Recruiter for Obion County. My job is to not only introduce what the Guard has to offer to highly motivated individuals, but it also consists of being the face of the National Guard within the community and heading up any projects, partnerships, and events that the National Guard can potentially help with and be part of.

What can the National Guard do for your business? The National Guard produces some of the most well trained, professionals within the community, and these individuals only wear the uniform one weekend per month and two weeks during the summer. This means that most of our soldiers are looking for a career to go along with their part time career within the National Guard. The National Guard is also always looking for your employees that want more out of their lives. If your employees join the National Guard, they'll have access to our affordable healthcare, an extra retirement, extra income, unlimited job skills, and a way to pay for their furthered education.  This takes that stress off of employers, and produces a more professional, confident, and stable employee.

What can the National Guard do for your community? The National Guard has a mission to assist its community in any way it can within the boundaries of our command. Whether it be small meetings, large events, or even development classes, the National Guard can bring something to the table. We can supply people to help during events, static displays (Equipment, Signs, etc...), and even hand outs / grab bags for events. The National Guard offers a large list of development classes that can be brought to your organization and taught to a large number of participants to help develop more well rounded individuals within the community.

What can the National Guard do for you? The answer to that is simple. It can change your life. You'll not only be the first line of defense, here at home,  to protect your friends, family, community , and country, but the National Guard will also give YOU the opportunity to better yourself through on the job training, money for furthered education, part time employment, up to $20,000 enlistment bonuses for non prior service enlistments, up to $30,000 enlistment bonuses for prior service enlistments, retirement plan, affordable healthcare, and countless other benefits that come with being a member of The Greatest Team On Earth, The National Guard.

I'm honored to be Recruiting for the National Guard in the same county I was born and raised in, and I'm looking forward to being part of the betterment of our community and working alongside the people that help to keep it going.  If you or someone you know is interested in what your local National Guard can do for your business, community, or YOU,  I can be contacted by call or text at 731-336-0199 or you can reach me on my email at bo.j.pate.mil@mail.mil. 

WHAT IS A CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AMBASSADOR?

As a Chamber of Commerce Ambassador, you are a front line representative for the Obion County Chamber of Commerce at public and Chamber sponsored events/activities. You will assist in the promotion, volunteer support and development of various Chamber sponsored events. As an Ambassador, your dedication, time and efforts are appreciated and highly valued by the Board of Directors, Chamber Staff and Membership during your one year term. You ARE the backbone of the Obion County Chamber of Commerce.

REWARDS OF SERVING AS AN AMBASSADOR:

-Recognition opportunity in the Chamber's monthly publication Commerce

-Recognition at events and internal meetings

-Ambassador of the Year recognition opportunity at Annual Banquet

-Develop new business contacts

WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA AND EXPECTATIONS?

You must be an employee of a current business member in good standing with the Obion County Chamber of Commerce. The signature of your Supervisor on the Ambassador Application form is required showing approval of your active commitment, involvement and of your business's support of this Chamber Ambassador Program. This ensures that the business member is aware of what the Ambassador Committee entails. It is advised that you obtain at least 2 points each month or a total of 24/per year to ensure active status within this program.

You may obtain a point each in any of the following ways:

- Attendance at Ambassador Committee meetings: Please be aware that the standard meeting will be held quarterly at noon throughout the Chamber year at the Obion County Chamber of Commerce office.

- Showing your support by attending ribbon cuttings or ground breaking ceremonies and welcoming the new members.

- Attending (or, volunteering when needed) at any Business Matters, Business After-Hours, Breakfast with the President, Golf Tournament and Annual Banquet as well as any other events hosted by the Obion County Chamber of Commerce.

- Referring prospects to the Membership Director. Credit is given when the business referred becomes a new member.

- Donating auction items or door prizes for Chamber special events, when the need arises. You will personally network for your fellow Obion County Chamber of Commerce members by verbally promoting their goods and services to other members, as well as to potential members and continually provide leads and information about new businesses in the community. Becoming a CHAMBER AMBASSADOR is being committed to conduct in a manner that generates community trust and confidence in the Obion County Chamber of Commerce. You will personally promote high standards, ethics and integrity. 

Ambassador Testimonial

"Being an Ambassador for the Obion County Chamber has been a great testament in my life and career. I have been able to establish lifelong friendships, as well as establish some great benefits for the company I work for. I have been able to network with some of best leaders of our community, which has allowed me to see how they are addressing issues within their businesses and some processes they are using to grow and make their businesses more successful. From being at just one meeting, I happened to speak with someone who told me about a program that I was able to implement at the company I work for. So far, in less than one year, this program has saved the company over $30,000.00! Last but not least, you get to advertise your business while at the meetings and the Chamber helps to promote your business by utilizing their website to reach over 300 members who read the Chamber emails and can see your advertisements and talking points about your company. Overall it is a great experience with great people, all while getting to help mold the community you work and raise your family in." -Dustin McBride, Cox Oil

Obion County Adopts Framework to Drive Economic Growth

Obion County announced today its participation in the ACT Work Ready Communities initiative, a workforce system designed to assist sites and regions in developing their workforce pipeline to provide skilled workers for employers.  Held at the Humboldt Medical Center, the Kick-off Celebration recognized the efforts of the Obion County Work Ready committee and 10 other counties in northwest Tennessee as the first counties in Tennessee to launch the program. 

Obion County has been accepted into the ACT Work Ready Communities Academy, an executive leadership and training program for local officials. The Work Ready Communities framework allows each participating community to quantify and improve the skill levels of its workforce through a standardized workforce skill credential and a robust data infrastructure that help measure, identify, and close skill gaps.

As communities sign up and begin to work toward their certification goals, they will empower:

• Business and industry to identify the foundational skills they need for a productive workforce and easily communicate their needs
• Individuals to understand what skills are required by employers and how to prepare themselves for success
• Policy makers to consistently measure the skills gap at the national, state, and local levels
• Educators with tools and industry-recognized credentials to help close the skills gap
• Economic developers with an on-demand reporting tool to market the quality of the local workforce.

Obion County is one of only 11 counties in the state participating in the 2-year project, all of which are located in northwest Tennessee.  Obion County Mayor Benny McGuire states, "The goal is to have more than 868 people in Obion County certified during the project and to bring on board at least 31 employers supporting ACT WorkKeys Job Profiling and the National Career Readiness Certificate.  As of today we are at 85% of the goals we are set to attain by May 2017.  I'd like to encourage our employer community to support this initiative as we go forward in order to continue to move beyond our goals!"

For more information about Obion County's progress, go to http://workreadycommunities.org/TN/131

For general information on this initiative, go to http://workreadycommunities.org.

For more information on all of ACT's workforce solutions, go to http://act.org/workforce.

The Work Ready Community Initiative is a collaboration of community partners led by the Northwest TN Workforce Board. For more information on the northwest Tennessee ACT Work Ready Community efforts, contact Ginger Powell at 731-784-5221.

TN ECD LAUNCHES SELECT TENNESSEE PROPERTY EVALUATION PROGRAM
  

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced today it has launched the Select Tennessee Property Evaluation Program (PEP). The goal of this new tool is to improve the inventory of industrial sites and buildings in Tennessee by evaluating potential properties and advising counties on where investment may be most beneficial and what steps may be needed to address issues.

"We think of available and developable sites as product on a shelf, and through PEP, we are doubling down our efforts to keep these shelves well-stocked," Commissioner Randy Boyd said. "If there is no product available to sell, businesses aren't going to grow and locate here. PEP will help us make sure our counties have product and are better prepared for economic growth."

Based on the principals of the department's Select Tennessee Site Certification Program and with the assistance of site selection firm Austin Consulting, PEP will benefit counties through emphasizing the importance of and assisting with planning for the future. This includes both readying industrial properties for near-term development as well as creating a pipeline of properties for future development.

"Prepared and available properties are essential for a county to be competitive for industrial recruitment," TNECD Site Development Director Leanne Cox said. "PEP will provide counties with a comprehensive assessment and professional advice to help evaluate properties under consideration for development."

"The Property Evaluation Program allows communities to take a fresh look at their current and potential industrial sites," Austin Consulting Senior Location Consultant Jonathan Gemmen said. "The process provides unbiased feedback on which sites can most quickly be readied to accommodate new industrial investment, as well as which sites offer inherent advantages for industry. Most important, it sets the table for community leaders to develop and implement an industrial real estate strategy for the next decade or longer."

A limited number of counties will be selected each round to participate for free through a competitive application process.  Selection will be based on the ability to demonstrate local need and market demand for industrial properties and also on the county's ability to assemble viable properties with market potential.

For counties selected to participate, the program includes: an educational webinar on the site selection process and PEP; a review and on-site visit by Austin Consulting; and a comprehensive assessment addressing each property's strengths, weaknesses and recommended next steps to improve marketability.

The application process begins with the submission of the Letter of Interest, available here.  Upon receipt of the letter, counties will be provided with the application. Completed applications must be received by August 7 to be considered for the fall 2015 round. Applications received after this date will be considered for the spring 2016 round.

About the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

Tennessee was named 2014 and 2013 "State of the Year" for economic development by Business Facilities magazine. The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development's mission is to develop strategies which help make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. Find us on the web: tnecd.com. Follow us on Twitter: @tnecd. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/tnecd.

Union City High School Ranks in Top 15 Within State