Bright Spots - Did you know that the Muskingum Valley Educational Service Center, based  in Zanesville, serves 16 public school districts in 5 counties with training programs and contract services, including operating 27 preschool classrooms and 54 special education and at-risk classrooms?  Learn about this and other bright spots in our community by visiting our This is Zanesville & Muskingum County, Ohio webpage, and check back frequently to see new content.

New Service - Chamber members can now receive an unbiased and confidential  Business Assessment at a dramatically reduced rate.  The evaluation will be conducted by the professionals at the Muskingum County Business Incubator (MCBI).  As a result, you will be provided a set of practical recommendations and suggestions for improving specific aspects of your business. The assessment fee is $99 for chamber members, and it is $135 for non members.  For more information contact Wendy Edgar at MCBI at wedgar@mcbi.info. 

Legislators Speaking - State Senator Troy Balderson and State Representative Brian Hill  are the presenters on Wednesday, June 11 at the monthly meeting of the Muskingum Valley Human Resource Management Association.  The meeting is from 8 am to 9 am.  Chamber members are invited to, but please RSVP to dmatz@zmchamber.com. 

Gitomer on Sales - Sales expert Jeffrey Gitomer's most fundamental sales principle is "Give Value First." In this brief video he discusses the importance of giving away value and expecting nothing in return.

Jantsch on Sales - John Jantsch is a marketing consultant who wrote Duct Tape Selling.  In this free webinar hosted by the Kauffman Foundation, Jantsch focuses on the skills and tools business people need to think and act more like successful marketers. The webinar will be held Wednesday, June 18, at 10 a.m. (CDT). Register for the Webinar 

Digital Resources - Chamber members are busy people and you can't always attend a meeting or event to get value from your membership - and you don't have to!  We offer a package of online resources and business tools that provide easy access to some of our best services.

SBA Export Express Program - This is a federal loan program designed to help finance business activities related to exporting your products.  The Small Business Administration (SBA) has suspended the guaranty fee and on-going fee for loans under $150,000 until September 30, 2014.  Basically, this provides a savings for the small business of the 2% guaranty fee and a savings for the lender of the 52 basis points on-going fee.  For more information, contact Patrick Hayes, International Trade Finance Manager-Eastern U.S., at patrick.hayes@sba.gov or 216-522-4731.

Submit Your Events - If you have an event coming up you should enter it in our online events and meetings calendar at zmchamber.com as a way to promote it.  It's free to members and it's simple to use.  There is a "submit new event" link on the right side of the calendar page. Click it and fill in your details.  You can also find the calendar link at any time on the homepage of zmchamber.com.  Events entered in our online calendar also automatically posted to the Chamber's Facebook page.

 THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS