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HOW ARE WE DOING?
BRIGHT SPOTS
Did you know traffic counts on I-70 through the county total as high as 50,000 vehicles per day at some points? Learn about this and other bright spots in our community by visiting our Zanesville & Muskingum County BRIGHT SPOTS website, and check back frequently to see new content.
MEETING ON STATE'S TAX PLAN
Governor Kasich has proposed a budget that includes a series of tax law changes, and an event is being TOMORROW to present the plan. Officials from the State of Ohio will explain the latest proposal to eliminate the income tax for many small businesses and reduce the personal income tax for all Ohioans. Attendees will leave with details about this and other programs the State of Ohio offers to help your business grow. The meeting will take place on Tuesday February 17 from 12 noon to 1 pm at MCBI, 2725 Pinkerton Road in Zanesville. If you plan to attend be sure to RSVP to Julia.Wharton@development.ohio.gov Also, here is a summary of the new tax plan for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION ISSUES
The state's unemployment compensation system is causing concerns for employers, and a state legislator will soon introduce a series of bills to try to fix some of those problems. Business owners and managers will want to become familiar with the issues surrounding the unemployment comp system so that they can help make sure the proposed changes make a difference. Below are some resources to help you get familiar with the system and its weaknesses. Also, we are conducting a very brief survey to get a handle on how the state's unemployment compensation system is affecting your business right now. Please take the survey now and share with us the impact it's having on you as an employer.
How Ohio Has Underfunded Unemployment Compensation
Ohio businesses to see three more years of unemployment tax hikes
Ohio employers face tax hike for debt to feds on jobless benefits
Ohio Unemployment Compensation Guide from Dept. of Job & Family Services
BOARD NOMINATIONS
The following individuals have been nominated to serve three year terms on the Chamber Board of Directors.
David Branch, Muskingum Valley Education Service Center
Scott Durant, Linden Lighting
Mike Bennett, Second Capital Consulting
Pat Denbow, City of Zanesville
Don Mason, Roetzel & Andress
Julie Metzger OhioMeansJobs-Muskingum County
Additional candidates for directors can be nominated by petition bearing the genuine signature of at least 50 qualified members of the Chamber of Commerce. Such petition shall be filed with the Nominating Committee no later than 10 days after the date of this notice. The determination by the Nominating Committee as to the legality of the petition shall be final. If no petition is filed within the designated period the nominations shall be closed and the slate of nominees shall be declared elected at the annual meeting as specified in the Code of Regulations. The Board of Directors is composed of 18 elected directors serving three-year terms, six appointed directors serving one year terms and five ex officio representatives serving in voting and non voting capacities.
NEW MEMBERS
Thank you and welcome to these companies and organizations that joined the Chamber in recent weeks. You can find out more information about them at the online business directory at www.zmchamber.com. They join the more than 650 other Chamber member businesses that are also listed in the online directory.
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La Bella Vita Hair Studio, Lounge and Spa
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Habitat for Humanity of Southeast Ohio
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A New Beginning
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Walls of Books
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Stratos Wealth Partners
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Katie Robinson, Bi-Con Services
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Muddy Misers
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Merit Marketing
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Saunders Machine Works, LLC
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Fringe - The Salon Where Art Meets Hair
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Bush Valley Farm
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KM Lawn Care
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Lifestyle & Weight Management Specialists
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MEMBERS CAN BE ON TV
The Chamber is teaming up again with WHIZ to put together a televised campaign to increase awareness about the chamber's activities and promote membership. This promotion is a perfect opportunity for businesses to increase visibility at a relatively low cost per exposure and associate themselves with an important civic message. Each message will feature seven representatives from participating businesses, and each representative will be featured on-camera voicing one segment of each message. Each segment will also prominently display the representative's company logo on screen. The messages will air a minimum of 120 times during of the six-week campaign tentatively slated to run from March 23 through May 3, and will appear during key viewing time such as Sunrise in Southeastern Ohio, The Today Show, and the WHIZ-TV Reports at 6, 7, and 11, Contact Jenni Masterson at the Chamber at jmasterson@zmchamber.com or by calling 455-8282 for pricing and to reserve a position in the campaign.
FEDERAL REGULATORY CHANGES
According to Inc.com, few areas of legislation instigate as big a stir as health care and employee benefits. Every day, politicians, economic researchers and business owners argue how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) helps and hurts small business profits. With newly proposed changes to the ACA and other employee health benefits currently up for debate on Capitol Hill, small business owners need to tune in and understand how any modifications might impact their bottom line. Read More.
SCREWING UP SALES
Here are three ways you may be screwing up sales before customers even have a chance to really consider your offer. In short, ditch the suspense, don't complicate the cost, and temper your trash talking. Read more from Inc.com.
SPRING BREAK EVENT FOR MEMBERS
This is the Chamber's annual member meeting, where we present the annual ACES Awards and Safety Council Awards, celebrate YOUR successes, pat our community on the back, take a break from routine business meetings, and LAUGH. This year it is scheduled for March 27, and members are sure to find something worthwhile in this positive and entertaining event. Spring Break is sponsored by AT&T, Century National Bank, and the Safety Council.
The program at Spring Break is multidimensional. It includes entertainment, motivation, networking and marketing opportunities, and a celebration of the business community's successes. Let us break it down for you:
Celebrate Successes - The annual ACES Awards are presented to roughly 50 are accompanies and organizations. ACES stands for Awards for Economic and Community Success, and the purpose of the program is to recognize growth and economic investment in the community. Also, we present the annual Safety Council Awards sponsored by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation Spring Break. These awards recognize the very important workplace safety achievements of area employers, which helps encourage safe workplaces, control costs and avoid human injury.
Networking & Marketing - Attending Spring Break puts you in touch with roughly 400 area business people. It's the best attended business event of the year. Also, you can rent an exhibit table if you want additional exposure. This is a great opportunity to set up a display about your company and increase awareness about your products or services. The cost for an exhibit table is just $100, and you will be provided an 8 foot table within the banquet hall. This event is also a great place to bring your customers and clients, employees, and coworkers as your guests.
Entertainment - The entertainment at Spring Break is always excellent, and this year is no different. Jon Petz is renowned motivational speaker and humorist, and he is author of a book titled "Boring Meetings Suck", making him perfect for this event. Jon has been on multiple TV programs, trained for corporations like Honda, IBM and Nationwide, and he was a highly successful sales manager for a major telecommunications company. Jon is, in a word, funny. His presentations are inspiring, humorous, and anything but dull. In fact, Jon's motto is "Bore No More!".
Attitude & Attire - The atmosphere at Spring Break is strict - strictly casual that is! Attendees are encouraged to dress comfortably - no ties - and even sport their shorts and Hawaiian shirts if they like. The event is supposed to be relaxing, rejuvenating and a break from regular business meetings. So you can come planning to laugh out loud as much as you want.
Spring Break will be held on Friday, March 27, 2015. The breakfast buffet and networking begin at 7:00 am. The program begins at about 7:45 am and concludes at about 9 am. The event will be held at the North Terrace Church of Christ, 1420 Brandywine Blvd., in Zanesville, Ohio.
You may make your reservations online at www.zmchamber.com, call 455-8282, or email jmasterson@zmchamber.com. Regular admission is $20 per person, and seat locations are not reserved. Tables sponsorships are available for $300 which includes a RESERVED table for 10 people and your company name on table sign and in event program.
    
  
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