BRIGHT SPOTS - Did you know that the precision machining program is being restarted at Mid East Career and Technology Center to help prepare students for skilled manufacturing careers? 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.

CUSTOMER SERVICE- A live, in person seminar titled "How You Can Create A Customer-Focused Culture In Your Organization" will be held on Friday, September 12 at the John McIntire Library in Zanesville from 9 am to 12 noon. The presenter will be Dave Hamilton, Senior Vice President of Signature Worldwide in Dublin, Ohio. Signature Worldwide delivers sales and customer service training, marketing, and mystery shopping services to both front line personnel and managers in service-based industries. For more information or to make a reservation visit the Chamber website.     

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY - On October 8, 2014, you will have the opportunity to showcase your business, products, services and more in front of Fortune 500 corporations. Representatives will be available to meet in 15-minute sessions and you will be assigned pre-selected matches based on what your company does. The matchmaker event is part of the Great Lakes Business Connection conference in Toledo. For more information visit www.greatlakesbusinessconnection.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA - Here is a concise and informative article called 3 Secrets to Boosting Your Facebook and Marketing Success. Secret 1: Focus on Content. Secret 2: Make Posts Engaging. Secret 3: Pay for Reach. 

DEVELOPMENT MARKETING - As part of our economic development marketing effort, which is funded by the Muskingum Growth Partnership, we regularly recount the community's development successes. Providing tangible examples of real accomplishments is the best way to illustrate our area's ability to achieve progress and support growth. Here and here are examples of direct mail pieces sent out for this purpose. Our target audience is primarily the people who advise and represent companies looking for communities in which to grow - site selection consultants, corporate real estate professionals, and developers. Direct mail, email, and social media are used to spread this good news.

FMLA WEBINAR - The Ohio Chamber is offering a free webinar on the Family and Medical Leave Act. The program is called FMLA 201: Effectively Managing Intermittent FMLA Leave and it is being held on Wednesday August 13 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. For more details or to register visit the Ohio Chamber's HR Academy website.

BOOST SALES - Does your sales effort need an injection of energy and growth? Here's a great article from INC.com called 5 Ways to Supercharge Your Sales Right Away.

HUMAN RESOURCES - The Muskingum Valley Human Resource Management Association's monthly meeting is Wednesday, August 13 at Honey Baked Ham. This months meeting is a networking lunch starting at 12 noon. For more information about attending contact dmatz@zmchamber.com. The association generally meets on the second Wednesday of each month at 8 am at the Chamber offices. Professional development presentations on a variety of human resource management topics are provided. Chamber members are welcome to attend the association's meetings.

GROWTH STRATEGY - An independent, confidential assessment of your business might be just what you need right now to help get to the next level. The Chamber and MCBI have teamed up to bring that service to you. Contact Wendy Edgar at MCBI today to talk about getting your business assessment. And read on for more about the value of business assessments. "If you're like most entrepreneurs, you're moving at a mile a minute. With so much to do to run a successful business, and even more to learn, it can be challenging to find time to develop the key strategies to move your business forward. Even if you did have the time, would you know what projects would move your business forward?" Continue Reading

WHAT'S GOING ON? - Our tourism website, www.visitzanesville.com, has a great calendar of events and it captures many interesting events taking place in our community.  if you are ever wondering what to do with your leisure time, check out the calendar and find some fun things to see and do in Muskingum County. 

GOLF OUTING - Just a few spots remain for teams to enter the annual Chamber-Jaycees Golf Outing on August 22. It starts at 11:30 am at Jaycees Golf Club. Lunch will be served before the event beginning at 10:30 am. The cost per team is $220. Major sponsors are Century National Bank, The Forker Company/Northwestern Mutual, WHIZ Media Group, and Emeritus at North Hills. For more information or to register a team contact Dana Matz at dmatz@zmchamber.com.

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.

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