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    April 14, 2020         The Weekly Newsletter of the Eau Claire Area Chamber of Commerce

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Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce: The Update
FRONT PAGE EDUCATION PROGRAMS & SERVICES ADVOCACY NETWORKING SMALL STREET
JOURNAL

Support Local

 
Front Page  

Upcoming Events

Thursday, April 16, 2020: Chamber Virtual Town Hall Meeting - Wisconsin's COVID-19 Support For Businesses

 

Friday, April 17, 2020: Local Vocal Virtual Event

 

Read the current Small Street Journal for updates and announcements from Chamber members. Please submit your updates to Kaylynn Stahlbusch.

 

Awards & Recognition

Ribbon Cuttings & Groundbreakings

New Members

Please join us in welcoming these new members that have recently joined the Chamber: 

Bright Business Consulting

Midwest Chiropractic Neurology

 

Newsletter Archives

Job Board

 

To post free, unlimited job opportunities, visit the Chamber's Job Board!

 

Member to Member Coupons New Member Referral Program Board of Directors Staff

YPCV

Helpful Links Related to COVID-19:

 

You're invited: Public Virtual Forums to meet Eau Claire School Superintendent Finalists - Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday

The Eau Claire Board of Education is inviting students, families and members of the public to participate in public interview forums this week to meet its three finalists for Superintendent of Schools.

Each forum will be 7:00-8:00 p.m. as follows: Tuesday, April 14: Mr. Michael Johnson, Assistant Superintendent in the South Washington County School District (MN); Wednesday, April 15: Ms. Rosalie Daca, Chief Academic Officer of the Racine Unified School District (WI); and Friday, April 17: Dr. Rev Hillstrom, Director of Educational Equity for Osseo Area Schools (MN). Each session will be done entirely online. The board anticipates making a decision by late April for a July 1 start date.

Links for participation:

Superintendent search page with resumes and other info (ECASD)

Instructions for online participation (ECASD)

 

 

YLEC

   

Leadership Eau Claire™

Accepting Applications for Class of 2021   

Application Deadline is Friday June 5, 2020!

The Chamber is currently accepting applications for its Leadership Eau Claire™ (LEC) Class of 2021. The goal of the program is to enhance participants’ community knowledge and leadership qualities through skill building exercises, activities and educational days. During the nine-month program, participants discuss the issues facing the community, develop the leadership skills necessary to assume leadership roles and are exposed to involvement opportunities in the community. More information is available here on the Chamber’s website and you can download an application here.
 

“Leadership Eau Claire™ has far exceeded my expectations. Through the program I have built lasting relationships with people from various businesses. LEC highlighted many of the good things that Eau Claire has to offer but also helped me understand the issues that our community is facing. More importantly, it opened my eyes to the plethora of volunteer opportunities and emphasized how we all play a role in making Eau Claire a better community.”

– Kallie Robb, Xcel Energy, Class of 2019

An informational online call in meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday April 24, 2020 for anyone seeking more information about the program. Follow this link to register!

If you have questions, contact Casey Schumacher via email (schumacher@eauclairechamber.org) or by phone 715-858-0614.

 

 

This week's Virtual Town Hall Meeting will focus on the State of Wisconsin's response to help businesses navigate COVID-19. Guests include Missy Hughes, Secretary and CEO of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, and Kurt Bauer, President and CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. They'll discuss and answer questions about Gubernatorial orders, legislative action and economic support for businesses and employees. 

To register for the town hall meeting, click here.

Make it a Bring-Your-Own early lunch: As usual, there's no charge to participate, but we encourage you to support a local business by ordering lunch-in to enjoy while you participate in the Virtual Town Hall. Click here for Volume One's list of restaurants open and offering delivery and take out.

Registration closes at 9:00 a.m on Thursday, April 16.  An email address is required to register. A link to login to this session will be emailed to you at 10:30 a.m.on the day of the event.  ***PLEASE NOTE: If you do not receive the email containing the link to log in to the meeting, please be sure to check your spam folder.     

Click here for a link to recording of the April 9, 2020 town hall meeting that featured Lieske Giese, Eau Claire City-County Health Department Director, Deb Marshall, Senior Manager- HR Consulting, Wipfli and Jim Morgan, Vice President at MRA- The Management Association.  To view the attendee chats, click here.

 

 

Business resource grapic

Keeping Up-to-Date on an Ever-Changing Situation

Everyone on your Chamber staff is working from home, but making it our top priority to keep you up to date and bring you the most current and accurate information to help you navigate today's challenges.

Critical Business Updates

  • Continually-updated page of must-know information for businesses, including the latest information on state and federal orders, other resources

Eau Claire Chamber COVID-19 Page

  • Information and links about local businesses, resources and more

Chippewa Valley Business Community COVID-19 Resource

  • A Facebook Group for businesses to post and share information

Eau Claire City-County Health Dept COVID-19 page

 

 

 

With everything happening in the world right now the Eau Claire Chamber wanted to bring you a video series every Wednesday that would highlight how businesses are stepping up and making a positive impact in the midst of all this change and uncertainty. We are proud to have such a wonderful community to call home. 

Go to the Chamber's Facebook page to learn more about these local businesses and what they are doing to make a difference.  

 

 

 
Programs & Services  

 Wage Survey

2020 Western & Central Wisconsin Wage Survey

The survey is distributed the week of March 16, due back by May 15, and is published in mid-July. We are proud to be covering employers from nine chambers of commerce including Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Marshfield, Menomonie, Portage County, Rice Lake, Wausau, and Wisconsin Rapids. Also involved are the local chapters of Society of Human Resource Management in the Chippewa Valley, La Crosse, Wausau and Winona. We need area employers to contribute their data in order to keep the wage survey viable and relevant; data is kept confidential. We have made it easy to participate, so please review the instructions and complete the forms. All documents for survey participation are on the Eau Claire Chamber's website.

There is a minimal cost to receive the report when it is available in mid-July, and chamber, CVSHRM, and Wipfli HR Forum memberships qualify businesses for discounted pricing.

If you have any questions, please contact Danielle Kummer  at (715) 858-0618.

 
 

 
Advocacy  

Sole proprietors and independent contractors now eligible for PPP
For all businesses: Making sense of new federal programs and rules

As of last Friday, businesses that are sole proprietors or independent contractors became eligible to participate in the Paycheck Protection Program, which provides forgivable loans to small businesses for payroll and other critical expenses.

Among the most immediate issues for all businesses is determining which new federal programs are most appropriate for them to consider based upon their particular business and financial situation. Experts advise business owners to start by working with their accountant and financial institution to examine their situation and determine how each program would apply. 

The US Chamber of Commerce has these updated guides for businesses for the following key programs: 
    Coronavirus Emergency Loans (PPP) Small Business Guide and Checklist
   • Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program Guide
   • Employee Retention Tax Credit Guide
   • Temporary Paid Leave and Family Medical Leave Guide


State-focused help: Similarly, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce has released a new Employer Toolkit that includes strategies particular to Wisconsin employers and businesses:
   • WMC COVID-19 Employer Toolkit

Continuing updates from the Chamber

As new information comes out on federal and state programs and resources, must-know information will be added to the Chamber’s Critical Business Updates page.

 

 

 

April 7 Election goes forward; Key local offices decided

After last-minute decisions by the Wisconsin and US Supreme Courts, Tuesday's Wisconsin Spring Election went forward, including a court-ordered requirement that absentee ballots had to be returned or postmarked by April 7 to be valid. Left standing was an earlier court decision that mandated that results could not be released until April 13, giving time for absentee ballots to be received and counted.

The Spring Election included local contests for city council, school board and county board, a CVTC referendum, a state constitutional amendment, and a statewide race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Click here for the latest information on election results

 

 
Networking  

Local Vocal

 

 

 

 

Friday, April 17, 2020
11:30 a.m.

What do you love about the Chippewa Valley? Is it the music? Food? Or all that there is to do in the area?

Join us for this virtual event on Friday April 17th – via Zoom -  to share stories, experiences and favorites that we love in our area. Let’s heighten awareness in our community and spread the local love!

Since this is over a lunch period we encourage you to order takeout or have a local restaurant deliver your lunch and be sure to share who you ordered from.

 

Zoom information: https://zoom.us/j/714552509?pwd=K24rdGFueU9xVlBXQjQ4UXM0dVdtUT09

Meeting ID: 714 552 509
Password: 123720

 

 

 

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101 N. Farwell St. Eau Claire, WI 54703
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