
Marion Chamber of Commerce Newsletter 060816
Index Business After Hours Program: New Horizons Custom Homes - 6/10 Sponsor the June Luncheon Participate in the 2016 Marion Community Day Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at James Coleman Ministries 2nd annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Summit Important Advisement Regarding Significant Risk to Future Electricity Rates Calendar Send a Member eBlast! Would you like to host a BAH? Space available for your business on the Chamber's digital sign! Calendar HR Roundtable: Peoria Group 06/09/2016 The HR Roundtables will provide groups of human resources professionals an opportunity to exchange ideas, discuss problems, look for solutions, and discuss important issues in the regulatory environment with peers. These roundtable discussions will enhance you and your company! Peoples National Bank - Customer Appreciation Day & Salute to Veterans 06/10/2016 Customer Appreciation & Salute to Veterans on Friday, June 10 from 11am-1pm sponsored by Peoples National Bank. Business After Hours Program: New Horizons Custom Homes 06/10/2016 A Business After Hours Program and Open House will be hosted by New Horizons Custom Homes and Farmers State Bank on Friday, June 10 from 3-6 p.m. at the new model home located at 1704 Felts Drive in the Melmar Estates subdivision in Marion. An open house will also be held on Saturday, June 11 from 1-4 p.m. 2016 Annual Luncheon 06/14/2016 This year's keynote speaker will be Dennis Muilenburg, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Boeing Company. 22nd Annual SIED Conference 06/14/2016 Marion Chamber of Commerce Marketing Committee meeting 06/15/2016 The Marion Chamber of Commerce Marketing Committee meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 8 a.m. at the Chamber office. They're Here! Is your company ready for the New Wage and Hour Regulations? 06/15/2016 This seminar is just in time! The Department of Labor has finally provided the New Overtime Exemption Rules. Businesses will need to analyze ALL of their current exempt employees to assure those individuals are still exempt. What this means is that wage and hour claims are going to continue to grow and be a company's highest risk for litigation. The key is for businesses to get ahead of the game and identify any potential issues now and fix them prior to the regulations going into effect! Business Happy Hour event 06/15/2016 The Marion Chamber of Commerce Business Happy Hour event will be held every third Wednesday each month throughout the year from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at Martini Joe's in Marion. All drinks during the Happy Hour will be 1/2 price for all Marion Chamber of Commerce members. There is no charge to attend. All Marion Chamber of Commerce members are encouraged to attend to unwind, network and share in good company. Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Affairs Committee meeting 06/16/2016 The Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Affairs Committee meeting is held on the third Thurday of each month at 8 a.m. at South Porte Bank. Marion Chamber of Commerce Membership Committee meeting 06/21/2016 The Membership Committee meets on the third Tuesday of each month at noon. The location of the meeting varies. Please call the Marion Chamber of Commerce to join the Membership Committee, inquire about the location of the next meeting or if you have any questions. Start-of-Summer Celebration at Factory Connection 06/22/2016 The Start-of-Summer Celebration at Factory Connection will be held on June 22 from 10am-9pm. Five Essential Things to Look for in Every Contract and Business Transaction to Avoid Litigation 06/22/2016 Does Your business have a lot of contracts? Are you about to enter into an important business transaction? Are you in the process of drawing up a key contract? This presentation can help you avoid legal pitfalls that result in costly litigation. Workers' Compensation Workshop: IL WC Claims... What is an Employer To Do? 06/23/2016 Workers' Compensation claims cost your business money. Learn how to control costs, reduce fraudulent claims and dispel the myths and pitfalls of Illinois workers' compensation with this full day seminar. Find out how to protect yourself with proactive investigation, reporting and claims handling, and get all of your questions answered. Marion Community Day / Banterra Bank Bag Board Tournament 06/24/2016 The Marion Community Day Tailgate will include the Banterra Bank two-person bag board tournament, which will begin at 5 p.m. in the tailgate area. The cost to register a team for the tournament is $40/team. Marion Community Day at Rent One Park 06/24/2016 Marion Community Day at Rent One Park is Friday, June 24. The Southern Illinois Miners will be facing off against the Evansville Otters. Show your community spirit and support for Marion Grad Spree this year by attending the game. Workplace Violence & Bullying Seminar 06/30/2016 Violence in the workplace and bullying need to be a focus of HR departments as they are in the news often. Send a Member eBlast! The Marion Chamber of Commerce is happy to send promotional eBlasts once a week on behalf of members as a member benefit for $50. Slots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. A company may only request a Member eBlast once a month. Click here for the form. Would you like to host a BAH? Have you thought about hosting a Business After Hours event? Schedule yours today! Business After Hours events are usually held on the fourth Thursday of the month, unless the Chamber member has a special need for a different date or calendar conflicts at the Chamber arise. The hours for a Business After Hours event are to be determined by the Chamber member. However, 4:30-6:30 p.m. is recommended. The Business After Hours Program fee is $100. Email director@marionillinois.com, call 997-6311 or fill out this form to schedule your BAH event today! June-July and October-December BAH slots are available! Chamber responsibilities include: Promoting the event through all of our communications (newsletter, Web site, social media, Monthly Membership Luncheon announcements, etc.) Provide member mailing labels for invitations Chamber member suggestions: Send special invitations to Chamber Members and their customers (must include Chamber logo on printed materials) Provide food and beverages at the event Provide door prizes at the event Make a presentation about your business/organization 2016 Business After Hours Program Schedule: June - New Horizons Homes, 6/10 July- AVAILABLE August - South Porte Bank, 8/25 September - Hire Level, 9/8 October - Banterra Bank, TBD November-December - AVAILABLE Space available for your business on the Chamber's digital sign! The Marion Chamber of Commerce Marketing Committee members worked together to design and coordinate the construction of the new digital and stone outdoor sign at the Chamber office. The Marion Chamber of Commerce makes the electronic sign available for rent to a wide variety of Chamber members, local businesses, organizations, community groups and residents. Ads can be up to 2 lines of text with the typical line containing about 18 characters (including spaces). Ads will be displayed for 15 seconds on a 5 minute loop. We allow for a maximum of 20 ads, which means each ad is live on the board 288 times every day and approximately 8,760 times per month. The sign runs 24/7 so your message gets maximum exposure. For more information or to take advantage of this great opportunity, click here.	Business After Hours Program: New Horizons Custom Homes - 6/10 Sponsor the June Luncheon The Marion Chamber of Commerce is happy to to offer to members the sponsorship opportunity at the Monthly Membership Luncheons, held on the second Tuesday of each month (except for January) for $100. Each Monthly Luncheon will have only one sponsor, and that sponsor is entitled to: a logo in the luncheon invitation opportunity to speak for up to three minutes at the luncheon a table set up by the registration table at the luncheon. The opportunity is limited to one Monthly Luncheon Sponsorship per business per year. 2016 Monthly Membership Luncheon Sponsorship Schedule: June - AVAILABLE July - AVAILABLE August - Illinois Star Centre Mall September - AVAILABLE October - Southern Illinois Waste Container November - US Bank December - AVAILABLE To become a Monthly Membership Luncheon sponsor, email director@marionillinois.com with what month you'd like to sponsor or call the Chamber at (618) 997-6311. Participate in the 2016 Marion Community Day Marion Community Day at Rent One Park is Friday, June 24. The Southern Illinois Miners will be facing off against the Evansville Otters. Show your community spirit and support for Marion Grad Spree this year by attending the game. As a Chamber member, you have access to deals with the Southern Illinois Miners for Community Day, including the following options to participate: Business vendor at Tailgate Party - $50 The Tailgate Party for the Marion Community Day will begin at 4:30 p.m. on the gravel lot of the Rent One Ballpark. To display your business' goods/services at the Tailgate Party, the fee is $50, which includes one parking pass. 12 box tickets and a table on the concourse - $125 Your business will receive 12 box tickets to the game and a display table on the concourse during the game to promote your business and products. Tailgate Party vendor, 12 tickets, concourse table - $175 Your business will receive 12 box tickets to the game, a display table on the concourse to promote your business and products/services during the game and a space to display your business' goods/services at the Marion Community Day Tailgate Party. The Tailgate Party for the Marion Community Day will begin at 4:30 p.m. on the gravel lot of the Rent One Ballpark. Tickets to the game - $8/each Choose this option if you aren't interested in the business vendor space at the Tailgate Party or a table on the concourse to display your business' goods/services. Participate in the Banterra Bank Two-Person Bag Tournament - $40/team The Banterra Bank Bag Tournament would begin at 5 p.m. 50% of registration goes to payouts. The cost to register a team for the tournament is $40/team. Friends/family tailgater at Tailgate Party - Donation to Grad Spree The Tailgate Party for the Marion Community Day will begin at 4:30 p.m. on the gravel lot of the Rent One Ballpark. There is no fee to for a nonbusiness to set up at the Marion Community Day Tailgate Party. We only ask for a donation to Grad Spree. To register for any of the above options, click here. read more... Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at James Coleman Ministries Member Press Releases Summer 2016 Continuing Education Registration Begins! 05/23/2016 Press Release from the Little Egypt Arts Association 05/23/2016 Finding the Right Agent for Your Home Search 05/23/2016 Tino Wallenda to speak at Zion United Church of Christ from the High Wire 05/26/2016 Tino Wallenda, of “The Flying Wallendas” will deliver this message, “Walking the Straight and Narrow,” Lessons in Faith from the High Wire! Monday evening, June 6 at 6:30 PM. Herrin Festa Results 05/27/2016 Happy Memorial Day 05/27/2016 First Mid-Illinois named 2015 Central/SI Community Lender of the Year 05/27/2016 Herrinfesta Italiana Art Competition winners 05/27/2016 Huge crowd turns out to Support The Resort at Walker's Bluff 05/31/2016 Be Top of Mind 💭 06/01/2016 Starting June 11 new Marion businesses will need a Commercial Occupancy Permit 06/02/2016 2nd annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Summit The 2nd annual Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Summit will be held on Friday, August 26 at 11:30 a.m. at Kokopelli. The event will include a buffet-style lunch (cost $15 to Kokopelli), updates by your Legislators, each followed by a Q&A session moderated by a member of your Legislative Affairs Committee, and networking. Deadline to RSVP is August 19. RSVPs are required. The Legislative Affairs Committee meets on the third Thursday of each month at 8 a.m. at South Porte Bank in Marion. The Marion Chamber of Commerce Legislative Affairs Committee serves as a research and advisory committee for the Chamber's Board of Directors. The goals of the Legislative Affairs Committee are to monitor governmental matters that could impact the community or local business, present recommendations to the Chamber's Board of Directors, and to assist in the initiation of the appropriate action. The Legislative Affairs Committee is a non-partisan organization and shall neither endorse candidates for public office nor political parties. Important Advisement Regarding Significant Risk to Future Electricity Rates Dear Chamber members, Just as a reminder, the Southern Illinois Chamber of Commerce Electricity & Natural Gas Buying Group is a real member benefit to those who participate. Those participating from your chamber will realize estimated “real dollar savings” of $30,193 over the upcoming year. Those are dollars that stay in your local economy and are spent over and over again. Important Advisement Regarding Significant Risk to Future Electricity Rates Prepared by Affordable Gas + Electric for Southern Illinois Chamber of Commerce Electricity & Natural Gas Buying Group Two prominent generators of electricity in Illinois recently announced five plant closures that will likely dramatically impact the price of electricity in Southern Illinois. Dynegy, Inc. and Exelon Corp. both announced in separate press releases last week that they will be closing power plants in Illinois. Dynegy will shutter 3 coal-fired power plants in Newton, IL and Baldwin, IL and Exelon will close its nuclear facility in Clinton, IL as well as their nuclear facility in Quad-Cities. Closing dates are planned as early as September 2016 for Newton and October 2016 for one of the two Baldwin generation plants. A second Baldwin unit is scheduled for March 2017. Exelon has announced that Clinton will shut down on June 1, 2017 and Quad Cities on June 1, 2018. Quoting from Q1 2016 Earnings Slides from Exelon, “According to independent analyses by PJM and MISO, there would be a significant increase in electricity prices for Illinois residents and businesses.” A Dynegy press release states that the recent Wood River closure combined with the Newton and Baldwin closures will result in nearly 30% of the power generation capacity in Southern Illinois being lost. OUR VIEW AGE has been monitoring the politics behind these closures for more than two years. Both Dynegy and Exelon claim they are operating these power plants at considerable losses and are not being compensated properly to continue to operate them any longer. Over a year ago, Exelon proposed legislation for subsidies from all Illinois power users to cover the losses of their Clinton, IL nuclear plant. Exelon put their proposed legislation and Clinton closure on hold for one year after a capacity auction In April 2015, yielded results that Dynegy found to be to their liking. Results of that capacity auction (capacity is one of several components of the price of electricity) saw an 800% increase year-over-year. Last month, the annual April capacity auction dropped to a level that both Dynegy and Exelon deemed to be too low to continue operations of their respective coal-fired and nuclear powered electricity generation facilities. The likely impact to residential and commercial customers will be higher electricity rates at a time when the price of the actual commodity component of the price of electricity is still very favorable. Using the car rental industry as an analogy, the number of cars available to rent at Enterprise represents “capacity”. One still has to put “gas” in the car which represents coal, nuclear or natural gas. In this analogy, if Enterprise didn’t have enough cars to rent, they would price that into the overall rate one pays to rent a car. Less supply = Higher Prices. This is what we are going to see happen in Illinois. The actual amount of generation resources available will be significantly less, thus driving one component (capacity) of the price higher by significant levels. At the same time, we are still in a very favorable time to secure the actual “gas” that fires the engine. We believe that Illinois consumers will either see higher prices due to less capacity available; or prices will increase due to subsidies and legislation imposed to keep these power plants producing. Either outcome, in our view, will result in significantly increased electricity rates. At the end of the day, it is nearly impossible to totally protect yourself from these increases. However, AGE believes there are recommendations we can make now to protect your business to the fullest extent possible. RECOMMENDED STRATEGY We believe that all electricity consumers should take advantage of the relatively low price of the “commodity” or “gas for the car” and lock in those prices for as long as suppliers are able to. The specific strategy we have recommended to the participating members of the Southern Illinois Chamber of Commerce Electricity & Natural Gas Buying Group is to lock in a fixed rate extension that will secure rates into June of 2020, thus taking advantage of the current environment of low commodity prices - which are associated with “fueling” the generation plants. Any extension executed now will include today’s capacity rates, which will likely be legislatively changed in the next 18-24 months. Regardless of supplier and contract language, all electricity supply contracts in Illinois allow for adjustments to capacity rates due to changes in law or market structure. As a result, this impact will be felt by everyone when the dust settles on the legislative/regulatory side, but participating members in the Buying Group will realize the long-term benefits of securing the major component of the price of electricity by securing rates now. Rob Wielt Sr. Energy Consultant Cell: (618) 231-4904 Fax: (618) 205-5069
Marion Chamber of Commerce Newsletter - Marion Chamber of Commerce Newsletter 060816