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

Virtual Town Hall Meeting: COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force Update

Please note: This week's Town Hall will take place on Wednesday rather than Thursday. 

Our guests will be Mark Faanes and Gregg Moore, co-chairs of the recently developed COVID-19 Economic Recovery Task Force.  Mark and Gregg will give an update on what the task force has accomplished so far and the goals and future steps the group has in its plan to ensure an orderly, successful and safe reopening of the Chippewa Valley.  We will also receive an update from a representative of the City-County Health Department on Eau Claire County's current COVID-19 status and how the department plans to collaborate with the task force. 

To learn more and register for the town hall meeting, click here.

Click here for a link to recording of the April 30, 2020 town hall meeting that featured Kurt Bauer, President & CEO of Wisconsin Manufactures & Commerce. To view the attendee chats, click here.
 

Thank you to everyone who registered for or is sponsoring the 35^th annual Business Salutes Eau Claire golf outing originally scheduled for May 18, 2020.  With the Safer at Home order extended to May 26, 2020, we have established a new date of Monday, August 3, 2020. 

All sponsorships and registrations will be carried over to the new date.  There are still opportunities to sponsor this event, including Corporate Sponsor and Putt, Chip & Drive Sponsor.  If you are interested in either of these sponsorship opportunities, please contact Phil Swiler at swiler@eauclairechamber.org

For those interested in playing in the outing, there are currently both afternoon and morning spots available.  Once the afternoon round has sold out, you may still register for the morning round and be placed on a waiting list for the afternoon. 

To register, click here>>
 

Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Pablo Center at the Confluence
Reception: 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Pre-Event Entertainment: 7:00-7:30 p.m.
Program & Awards: 7:30-8:30 p.m.
After Party: 8:30-10:00 p.m.
Cost to Attend: $80

Along with our Title Sponsor, WEAU 13 News, we are excited to announce that Eau What a Night has been rescheduled! 

In the coming months, we will be working with our venue host, Pablo Center at the Confluence, along with our food vendors and other event partners to ensure that all safety precautions and measures are adhered to prior to and during Eau What a Night.  The well-being of our staff, volunteers and attendees is of utmost importance during this event and we appreciate your patience and understanding as we plan for what the evening will look like. 

For those who have registered and/or are sponsoring this event, we thank you and look forward to seeing you on January 27^th.  If you haven’t registered, we appreciate your consideration and hope that you can join us as well. 

Click here for more information and to register>>
 

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.  
 

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Online) Cost to Attend: $35 As more conversations surrounding recovery of COVID-19 are happening in our region, the Chamber is hosting a virtual seminar to help employers get back to work in the most efficient ways possible. Join us for a three-hour virtual seminar while area experts walk you through Human Resources, Marketing and Sales topics. 9:00 -10:30 a.m. - Human Resources                Strategic Workforce Planning, featuring Jim Morgan, MRA – The Management Association                Setting the Stage and Returning Employees to Work, featuring Mindy Dale, Jerilyn Jacobs, David Richie, Bryan Symes and Steve Weld, Weld Riley, S.C.                This Isn’t a Continuous Improvement Project, or Is It?, featuring Tammy Tom-Steinmetz, Talking Results LLC 10:30-11:30 a.m. - Marketing Three Quick Questions That Can Tell You if Your Marketing is on Point or in Need of a Pivot, featuring Lee Heike, Hookd Promotions 11:30-12:00 p.m. - Sales                How Do we Get Sales Again?, featuring Rod Holum, Coulee Tech Registration is $35 per attendee. Registration will close at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 18, 2020. To register, click here>> Please note that there will be more topics to come and times/topics are subject to change.
SBDC to Offer Free Online Cash Flow Seminars For Small Businesses How will you restart your business after the threat posed by the coronavirus is diminished? As part of the local COVID-19 Recovery Task Force efforts related to business financial assistance, the Small Business Development Center and UWEC Continuing Education are offering a free interactive webinar for small business owners. The program is designed to provide tools to help you forecast and plan your business cash flow.  • Recovery After COVID-19: Planning and Managing Cash Flow    Choose one: Tue May 12, 2 p.m. or 6 p.m., or Thu May 14, 2 p.m.       Free online seminar: Click here for details and to register
	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

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.

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.

Join us for an online discussion with our area State Legislators about the Wisconsin government's response to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. They'll also talk about key issues from the 2019-20 legislative session and how the state is positioned going into the rest of this year, including a question and answer opportunity.

Now an online virtual event: Thanks to the Perigon system provided by WIN Technology, you'll be able to participate in this event live from your computer. And since we can't have breakfast together, every paid attendee will receive $10 in Chamber Bucks (good at over 400 local business locations, including many take-out restaurants). It's a way to put part of your registration fee right back into the economy. Your Chamber Bucks will be mailed to you.

Registration closes at 10:00 a.m on Thursday, May 14.  An email address and mailing address is required for each attendee to register. A link to login to this session will be emailed to you at by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 14.

***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. 

To register, click here>>

Applicants Sought for Eau Claire School Board Vacancy

The Eau Claire Board of Education is seeking applicants to fill a vacancy created when Board Member Laurie Klinkhammer resigned last month. The individual selected will serve until the next election in April 2021. Applications are due by May 13. Applicants will also be required to give a 3-minute statement at the May 18 board meeting. Click here for a link to the application and instructions.

Federal Reserve Survey on Business Conditions

Due to ongoing stress related to COVID-19, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis is continuing to gauge the economic effects on businesses across the Ninth District, a region that includes Minnesota, the Dakotas, Montana, parts of Wisconsin, and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. We are partnering with state and local chambers of commerce, economic development associations and other business groups in each state to collect your feedback.

Please take this 5-minute survey to help the Minneapolis Fed better understand business conditions at your firm at this critically important time. All responses are anonymous. This survey will help the Minneapolis Fed and President Neel Kashkari better understand the outbreak’s effect on individual firms as well as local, regional, and state economies more broadly which, in turn, will help the Federal Reserve System shape monetary policy to help businesses weather this economic shock.

We expect to share respondent comments with survey partners, and potentially the public, to better spotlight challenges facing all businesses. To maintain anonymity, please do not include any self-identifying information in any comments. If you get this survey from multiple sources, please respond to the survey only once.

The Minneapolis Fed thanks you for your time and valuable insights. We wish you, your business and community much health and resilience going forward.

Click here to take the Federal Reserve Survey

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101 N. Farwell St. Eau Claire, WI 54703
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