Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/64207
4A Daily News– Wednesday, May 2, 2012 Commerceenterprise business When only about 45 Chamber members showed up for the April 5 General Membership Meeting at the Elks Club, I was concerned that the Chamber's volunteer and staff leadership would not receive enough input from members to commence funding negotia- tions with the City of Red Bluff with clear direction about whether the Cham- ber should be "a breath mint, a candy mint, or both." "Certs" TV com- (Old mercial. There I go dating myself again.) Following our slide presentation & May you live in interesting times unteer and staff leadership to attend to all the missions suggested. By the time you read this, a committee from the Chamber will have commenced negotiations with the City of Red Bluff – at their request – regard- ing the terms of a new agreement for funding the Cham- ber. that evening, comments from the audience reflected divergent points of view. The Chamber should morph into a pure-play visitor attraction and management machine, on one hand. On the other, the Chamber should divorce itself from visitor promotion and become an advocacy and represen- tative trade association for its mem- ber businesses. cated various points between. We distributed simple survey forms at the meeting, asking those attending what level of importance the Chamber should afford to its various missions: Attracting visi- tors to Tehama County, serving vis- itor info needs once they're here, representing members' interests to local governments, supporting "Shop Local," and serving the needs prospective new residents and businesses. Other folks advo- invited to rate each proposed mis- sion with a 1 for least important, a 5 for most. Attendees were every suggested Chamber priority averaged between 3 and 4. Given that tepid net response, the small member numbers at our April meeting, the similarly few respons- es to a Chamber "how are we doing?" survey administered some months ago – but in light of the Chamber's +35% membership growth in the past 2 years – here's how I read the tea leaves: Chamber members want its vol- When the surveys were tallied, On Friday, May 4, Dutch Bros. Coffee loca- tions will host MDA Day, donating all proceeds to the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to curing mus- cular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases by fund- ing worldwide research. The event, which kicks City proposes to fund the Chamber only for specif- ic, measurable activities to promote visitor attrac- tion. Not so onerous a request, when viewed from a dis- tance. One might suppose this would make the Branding project steering committee happy. Maybe it does. But wait; should the Cham- ber be first responsible to the spe- cific visitor promotional and man- agement priorities of the City of Red Bluff, offering Chamber fund- ing as a conditional carrot, or should it more highly value visitor promotional priorities as deter- mined "bottom up" by its members and hundreds of others who support the Branding project -- because those things are "the right things to do?" The One attendee at our April 5 gen- eral membership meeting wrote: " ...Sometimes a Chamber has to take a position opposed to a munic- ipality's decisions in order to serve the Chamber's members. "only" cost $161 average per mem- ber per year to replace the Chamber funding currently provided by the City, freeing the Chamber from obligation to the City to be 100% responsive to its member- ship. several of my own personal musings. Let's see how discussions with the city go. But that's only one of Greg Stevens •New Members - The Corning Chamber of Com- merce is happy to welcome two new members: Zelma's Award and Trophies, 206 Walnut, Red Bluff, 96080. Phone 527-7224. Also Corning Ward — The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints. • The May Madness Corning Car Show is coming up May Madness is here A modern saying assert- ed to be an ancient Chinese curse goes "May you live in interesting times." There's no "May" about it, except the merry spring month at hand. Stay tuned. Greg Stevens is chairman of the board of the Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce. Amazing Finds, Julie Umali, 22660 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff, 917-1138, admin@amazingfind- shome.com New members: Stromer Realty Company, Cindy Allen, Linda McCay and Tom McCay, 671-2770, 591 Colusa Ave., Yuba City, cynthiacul- pallen@yahoo.com Youth-Quake Inc., Bev Spencer Chamber is receiving a subsidy from a governmental entity, sooner or later they're going to have to choose between serving their mem- bers or shutting up about a proposal from the City/County that actually inhibits growth." One alternative to accepting City Funding might be to plan to contin- ue to support tourism as determined by the needs of Chamber members, seeking funding for same from members and entities that most directly and immediately benefit from an influx of visitors. It would If the Coffee seller notes MDA Day ceeds from sales at all Dutch Bros. locations will benefit MDA. Addi- tionally, Dutch Bros. will be giving away MDA stickers. Customers may also make donations at danesdrive.org. The event will run 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. In addition to MDA off ALS Awareness Month, is held annually in honor of company co- founder, Dane Boersma, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2005 and passed away in late 2009. Last year, Dutch Bros. con- tributed a record-break- ing $137,000 to MDA for research and family ser- vices funding. On MDA Day, pro- owner. 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff, 528-0799 Atlas Solar, Martin Vert owner, 2 Buds BBQ, Steve Joiner 1228 Washington St., Red Bluff Three O' Clock Winds Vintage Western Boutique, Erica Franks owner, 645 Antelope Blvd, Ste. 16, Red Bluff, threeoclockwinds@gmail.com A&R Custom Butchering, Rus- sell Praul/Dwayne Casteel owners, 22777 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff, 527-6483 Knick's Family Fun Zone, Car- olyn Knickerbocker owner, 830 Main St., Red Bluff, knicksfamily- funzone@yahoo.com Express Employment Professionals has compiled data identifying top threats that endanger businesses profitability and productivi- ty. Day, Dutch Bros. Coffee reinvests one percent of its annual gross sales back into its local com- munities, and in 2011, the company donated more than $1 million to nonprofit organizations including local food banks, American Cancer Society and Boys & Girls Clubs of America and many other organiza- tions. "We are excited about sharing this information and helping businesses prepare for how these threats can affect them," said Lisa Hansen, owner of Red Bluff Express Employment Pro- fessionals. According to Express, the most immediate threats are the inability to innovate, losing a competitive advan- tage, the high cost of reck- less hiring, poor leadership and communication, and regulatory nightmares. "The shift in employ- ment caused by the Great Recession has led to a short- age of talented employees," Hansen said. "Since the economy has started to improve, workers have been looking for better opportu- nities." According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 54 per- cent of companies have reported losing talent during the first half of 2010. The data compiled also suggests companies are starting to feel the pressure of the inability to innovate without high quality work- ers. According to a study by the Aberdeen Group, 83 percent of companies sur- veyed claimed "shortage of talent" as the No. 1 issue their company faced in 2011. this weekend. Friday registration will start at 3 p.m. and the cruise at 5:30 p.m. Starting at the Transportation Center to Houghton Ave. and returning back to Third Street the cruise will continue for as long as you want to cruise. When you are finished cruising park your car and head over to the parking lot next to the chamber for a choice of hamburger or hotdog, with potato salad and baked beans and drink. The meal is included in the entry fee for those who have registered. For all other adults dinner is $6.50 and for kids less than 12 it is $4. The Corning Christian Assistance, (CCA) will bene- fit from the ticket sales of this dinner so help support your local food bank. You'll love the live music by Book Œem Dano performing surfer and other oldies music. executive director, Red Bluff, Youth-quake@att.net, youth- quake.org Saturday the pancake breakfast by the Corning Vol- unteer Firemen will be at the Corning Fire Department from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Cars for the Show and Shine must be parked no later than 10:00 am. Awards presentation will be at 3 pm. There will be live music throughout the day, vendors selling food, craft and retail items from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The low rider hydraulic show is at 10 a.m. The first round for burnout competition begins at 11 a.m. and the finals are at 1 p.m. The 4 X 4 R.T.I. ramp competitions begin at noon, and the 4 X 4 pull at 12:30 p.m. The raffle drawing will take place at the announcement trailer in front of H&R Block from 1-3 p.m. There is a Model Car competition sponsored by H&R Block and if you have a model car you can regis- ter on the day in front of the office. Entry fee is $5. There will be special events taking place throughout the day, such as a tamale eating contest at Sixth and Solano, the Cube Car, Folklorico Dancers and Mariachi bands along Solano Street. The Car Show T-shirts are available at the Chamber and also at PremierWest Bank, US Bank and Rabobank in Corning. The T-shirts sizes run from small to 3X. Small to XL are $16 and 2X and 3X or $18. We also have caps for $16 embroidered with Historic Hwy 99 Logo. having a rummage sale this Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., both days at the club house 902 Marin. • Lucero Olive Oil 2120 Loleta Ave., will be having the Second Annual Spring Bloom Event from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 12. There will be grove tours, wine tasting, food, live music, local vendors, mill tours and olive oil tasting. Everyone is invited. • Rummage Sale - The Maywood Woman‚s Club is Staffing company reveals threats to small businesses employees surveyed by Gallup, 71 percent of employees in most companies are not engaged at work, costing busi- nesses $328 billion every year. "To maintain a A company's talent shortage has also been asso- ciated with disengagement among employees. Of the more than 13 million No Interest option with Regular Monthly Payment or *18 month *9.90% APR with 2.0% Monthly Payments Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date. If the purchase balance is not paid in full within the promotional period. Or if you make a late payment.* 527-5828 Cal. Lic. #233456 *The Visa® credit card is issued by Wells Fargo Financial National Bank. Special terms apply to purchases charged with approved credit at participating merchants until [05-31-2012]. The minimum monthly payment will be the amount that will pay for the purchase in full in equal payments during the promotional period. Interest will be charged to your account from the pur- chase date at the regular APR if the purchase balance is not paid in full within the promotional period or if you make a late pay- ment. For newly opened accounts, the regular APR is [26.59%]. The APR may vary. The APR is given as of [04-01-2012]. If you are charged interest in any billing cycle, the minimum interest charge will be $1.00. If you use the card for cash advances, the cash advance fee is 5% of the amount of the cash advance, but not less than $10.00. Offer expires [05-31-2012]. $5 off competitive advan- tage, companies need to focus on retention, engage- ment and leader- ship," Hansen said. Among the other threats, changing laws and regulations in employment has slowed companies' productivity as well. According to the Small Business Adminis- tration, regulatory agencies enact more than 3,500 new regulations in an average year, and in 2010, 224 major rules were added. Lisa Hansen cialist at Fisher & Phillips. Due to a misunderstanding of employment law, com- panies are putting them- selves at risk of being tar- geted by the IRS. "We have a dedicated "The federal govern- ment estimates that misclassifi- cation of employees as independent contractors will cost the Trea- sury Depart- ment more than $7 billion in lost payroll tax rev- enues during the next 10 years," accord- ing to Michael Royal, a partner and employ- ment law spe- Signature Service® Oil Change 190 S. Main St., Red Bluff 530-527-8264 Jiffy Lube, the Jiffy Lube design mark and Jiffy Lube Signature Service are registered trademarks of Jiffy Lube International, Inc. ©2011 Jiffy Lube International, Inc. and experienced staff to help navigate through these threats and set businesses up to be innovative and competitive in their respected markets," Hansen said. Employment Professionals franchise began operation in 1997 and serves the Tehama and Glenn County areas with temporary help and direct hire employees in a variety of fields. The Red Bluff Express Lisa Hansen owns Express Employment Professionals in Red Bluff. • Sullen 648 Main St. Downtown Red Bluff TATTOO (530) 528-8288 FIRST LOVE Fresh line of Accessories & Clothing • Sailor Jerry New for Spring! • Fox • Metal Mulisha • Sourpuss and more! • Rebel8