Helpful Links Related to COVID-19:

• Link to City/County Health Department
   
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
   
• Guidance for Businesses and Employers – CDC
   
• Risk Assessment Guidance – CDC

Chamber to Take Active Leadership Role in Chippewa Valley Economic Recovery Task Force 

On April 21, the Chamber Board of Directors met to review the local response to Governor Evers’ recent orders, including plans for prudently reopening our local economy informed with data from local public health and city officials.  COVID-19 is both a public health and an economic crisis, meaning a carefully balanced approach is critical both to prevent the spread of the disease and to address the devastating impact on many businesses.

After a thorough and wide-ranging discussion, the board reached a strong consensus to take a significant and active role in a new community-wide COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force. The Task Force will be co-chaired by Mark Faanes, retired Partner-in-charge of Wipfli’s Northern Wisconsin Region and a former Chamber Board Chair, and Gregg Moore, former Chair of the Eau Claire County Board, providing strong leadership from both the private and public sectors.

Initially, the Task Force will work within the guidelines and criteria for reopening the economy identified by the White House and the Governor's office. It will be done with a strategic, evidence-based approach specific to our local community, identifying and promoting best practices for each business sector, and consulting with state officials to ensure the economic recovery can begin as soon as prudently possible for our region.

Click here for more complete information, including how you can get involved.

Virtual Town Hall Meeting: WMC's Back to Business Plan

Our guests will be Kurt Bauer, President & CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, and Scott Manley, WMC's Executive Vice President of Government Relations. They will discuss WMC's Back to Business plan, released last week as a proposal to strategically open Wisconsin businesses based on a number of risk factors. Developed with input from a diverse group of stakeholders, including those in business, government and the medical community, the platform uses an algorithm to determine the risk for an individual business based on its NAICS code and county-specific factors including infection rate, population density, and health care capacity/utilization. They will answer questions about the plan and why they think it should be adopted by DHS as part of the state's reopening plans. 

To register for the town hall meeting, click here.

Registration: The Virtual Town Hall is still free to attend, or if you find value in these events, you may choose to pay a nominal voluntary registration fee that will go directly back into the local economy. When you register, you'll have the option of paying a $10 or $20 voluntary registration fee, which you will receive back in Chamber Bucks, which are good at over 400 local business locations. (Your Chamber Bucks will be mailed to you following the Town Hall).

Registration closes at 10:00 a.m on Wednesday, April 29.  An email address is required for each attendee to register. A link to login to this session will be emailed to you at 12:00 p.m.on the day of the event.  

Click here for a link to recording of the April 23, 2020 town hall meeting that featured US Senator Tammy Baldwin, Chamber Board Chair Scott Biederman of Musky Tank & VES Environmental Services, and Eau Claire City Manager Dale Peters. To view the attendee chats, click here.

Getting Back to Work: COVID-19 Recovery Planning Seminar

Request for Proposal
Date TBD, tentatively May 11-15, 2020

DEADLINE for RFPs: Wednesday, April 29, 2020

As more conversations surrounding recovery of COVID-19 are happening in our region, the Chamber is hosting a Getting Back to Work: COVID-19 Recovery Planning virtual seminar in mid-May.

This is a Request for Proposal; if you are an expert in your field and have free content to share with area business owners about recovery of this health emergency, you are invited to submit via email to Kaylynn Stahlbusch at stahlbusch@eauclairechamber.org.

Please include the following information: Business name, expert/presenter name, email/phone, content title and content description.

Email submissions to stahlbusch@eauclairechamber.org by Wednesday, April 29, 2020. 

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.  

The Workforce Connector is a publication of Eau Claire Area Chamber Workforce Initiatives. The information provided is meant to be a resource outlining the Chamber's efforts to help navigate workforce challenges, highlight solutions and provide connections to area Employers.

To subscribe, simply click here to update your Chamber communication preferences. Select the “Workforce” box and click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page.

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

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

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

The Workforce Playbook at www.ecworkforceplaybook.org is a comprehensive directory of the workforce programs available to employers in the Eau Claire area, Western Wisconsin, and state of Wisconsin to help deal with workforce challenges. 

As we look to the near future and “getting back to business” the Playbook is an ideal place to post and plan for upcoming events, programs, services. The Chamber markets this inclusive resource to the membership and community to help solve our local workforce challenges.

Navigate through the site with a convenient directory of workforce categories, programs, and calendar of events. To further define your search you can choose a Target age group
 
•    Programs
•    Events
•    Services
•    Marketing
•    Classrooms
•    Research
•    Internship
•    Grants
•    Externship
•    Apprenticeship
•    Web-based

View items posted or become a regular contributor to the Workforce Playbook, contact Kaylynn Stahlbusch at stahlbusch@eauclairechamber.org to learn more.

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.

Gov. Evers Announces Expanded Opportunities for Certain Nonessential Businesses

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Monday afternoon announced another of what he called a “turn of the dial” in adding allowed operations for nonessential businesses.

Emergency Order #34 goes into effect Wednesday, April 29, at 8:00 a.m. It allows nonessential businesses to do curbside drop-off of goods and animals. This will allow businesses like dog groomers, small engine repair shops, upholstery businesses, and others to safely open. The order also allows outdoor recreational rentals, such as boats, golf carts, kayaks, ATVs, and other similar recreational vehicles. Additionally, automatic or self-service car washes would be able to operate. All of these businesses must operate free of contact with customers by providing payment options online or over the phone, enact proper disinfecting practices, and operations must be able to be performed by one staff member.

The order adds to other business options that were added last week when the Governor’s previous “Safer at Home” order was extended.

To keep you up to date on the latest information regarding COVID-19 orders, as well as business assistance resources, see the Chamber’s Critical Business Updates page:

Critical Business Updates

The Chippewa Valley Alliance Presents:
Trivia Night 2- A Virtual Networking Experience!
Monday, May 4, 2020
4:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/6609156206?pwd=TTM5YVFEU2hrVXlBQU9EeG5aa05XUT09

Meeting ID: 660 915 6206
Password: 1204

It's back for a 2nd run! Join us for the 2nd Trivia Night brought to you by your area Chambers of Commerce with the Chippewa Valley Chamber Alliance! Test your knowledge and Win Prizes! There will be 2 games this time, 10 questions each. The Categories are top secret so you will just have to attend! Skill Level? Beginner to Experienced.

A simple way to have fun, network and play!

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101 N. Farwell St. Eau Claire, WI 54703
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