 A message from
Kathy Evert,
Interim Executive Director:
I am quickly settling in and continue to meet, learn and witness so many people working hard to ensure the Seward area continues to be a thriving area for people of all ages. This week I had the chance to tour the Nebraska National Guard Museum and learn about the exhibits and the remainder of the building improvements planned. Transforming a 1950's building to accommodate the kinds of exhibits and uses planned and expected today required great design, vision and collaboration by many. My hat goes off to everyone that has been involved. It is already bringing bus tours to the community and will be an attraction for many, many years.
I have been meeting with individuals, reviewing plans and notes of meetings that have taken place over the past few years and look forward to talking about the future of the area and the Seward Area Chamber of Commerce with you on September 15th. There are eight influences shaping Chambers of Commerce now and over the next decade; they affect all parts of the country and all sizes of communities, some more than others. They are: the nature of belonging and gathering, communications and technology, scarcity and abundance, global impacts, population shift, political and social fragmentation, resource alignment, and catalytic leadership. Many of you know Jim Clifton of Gallup and I quote him from a recent Chamber article: "Every city has strong, caring leaders working on numerous committees and initiatives to fuel their local economic growth. The feat these leaders have to pull off is doubling their entrepreneurial energy by aligning all their local forces." Aligned leadership and alignment is imperative to community advancement. Many Chambers of Commerce are the catalyst for bringing local forces together and initiating and sustaining positive change for their communities. I sense there are people here ready to double their entrepreneurial energy and bring local forces together for positive change in the Seward area. Let's get started!
I encourage you to take a look at these Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota examples and offer them as possible models for the Seward area: Mount Pleasant, Carroll, and Burlington/West Burlington, IA; Aurora, Columbus, North Platte and Wayne, NE, and Vermillion, SD. Each of these communities have combined and aligned forces, unified plans and are moving their communities/areas forward.
Kathy Evert
Study: Nebraska fares well in comparison of excise tax collections
(Tax Foundation) -- According to a new study at TaxFoundation.org, excise taxes are a key source of revenue for state and local governments. "Like general sales taxes, excise taxes are paid on the purchase of an item. But unlike sales taxes, excise taxes are collected on specific types of transactions, not a wide range of general goods. Some of the most common excise taxes include gasoline excise taxes, cigarette taxes, and taxes on the purchase of beer, wine, and liquor." A map by the Foundation compares the amount of excise tax collections per person collected in each state. According to the think tank, Vermont comes in highest in the nation with $1,013 in total state and local excise tax collections per person in fiscal year 2012, followed by Nevada ($882 per person), Minnesota ($817 per person), Connecticut ($811 per person), and Hawaii ($785 per person). "On the low end, Wyoming state and local governments collect the least per capita at $283 per person, followed by Idaho ($292 per person), Georgia ($320 per person), Nebraska ($323 per person), and Arizona and South Carolina (both $330 per person)."
Did You Know?
Combined spending for back to school and college will reach $68 billion this year.
Post Your Jobs for FREE on our Website You can post them yourself by logging into your Chamber Master Account or send to us and we'll post for you. Here is the link on our website where job postings can be found; we'll also promote them on our Facebook and other social media outlets. http://business.sewardne.com/jobs
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Membership Luncheon
Tuesday, September 15, Noon
Lower Level of the Civic Center
We are bringing together as many Chamber members as can join us for lunch at 12:00 noon in the lower level of the Civic Center on Tuesday, September 15th. The topic for this membership luncheon is Chambers of Commerce of the Future. Kathy will share some trends and examples with you and ask for your feedback (yes there will be audience participation!). What do you want from your chamber of commerce; what do you want your chamber of commerce to accomplish in the region. Kathy encourages you to think about what you want the Seward area to look like in 10, 20 years and beyond.
Lunch: Baked Potato Bar including broccoli, chives, butter, sour cream, chili and smoked cheddar cheese sauce. Catered by Nates on the Nine.
Cost: $7 payable at the door
Please RSVP to the Chamber office by end of day, Friday, September 11th. Call 402-643-4189 or email sewcham@sewardne.com.
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| Memorial Hospital Ranked in Top 20 of Nation's Rural Hospitals
Memorial Hospital has been named to the top 20 critical access hospitals (CAHs) in the country by the National Rural Health Association (NRHA). The selection was based on rankings from ten determining factors including quality, outcomes, patient perspectives, financial stability, cost, charge, competitive strength, market size/growth, and population risk. The NHRA also recognized facilities achieving success in specific key indexes of performance. Seward Memorial Hospital was ranked in the Top 20 for Quality among all critical access hospitals in the U.S.
Seward Memorial Hospital will join the other recipient hospitals at a recognition ceremony this Fall, during the NRHA Critical Access Hospital Conference in Kansas City.
Congratulations, Seward Memorial Hospital!
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