March 29, 2004
Efforts on workers' comp reform paying off . . .
Thanks to efforts of chambers across the state, there’s a real chance for reform in the workers’ comp system before session is out this year. The groundswell of support from the business community has brought reform into the spotlight – and focused legislators on the real need for action. Now we need to keep that momentum going – all the way through June!
The first e-advocacy push for comp reform landed 6391 faxes on legislators’ desks, and sent 1288 to the Governor’s office. Governor Pataki introduced reform legislation at Small Business Day, which should appear in bill form this week. And legislators and staffers continue to talk with us about how many businesses they’ve heard from.
Now comes the hard part: continuing the pressure for workers’ comp reform through the flurry of activity that defines late spring at the Capitol. The buzz around Albany is that a benefit increase is likely to pass. We need to stay on top of this issue and make sure reforms are part of any legislation that makes it to the Governor’s desk.
Remind your members to go through the e-advocacy system, especially if they participated in the first push for reform. This second wave generates totally new letters to lawmakers and the Governor. It’s important that they see this is not a trivial issue that will eventually die down.
Special thanks to the most active chambers in the first push for reform: Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber, Chautauqua County Chamber, Greater Syracuse Chamber, Orange County Chamber, Mohawk Valley Chamber, Greater Binghamton Chamber, MACNY, Chemung County Chamber, and The Otsego County Chamber. Each of these groups had more than 100 hits to their e-advocacy sites. Keep up the good work through this second push for reform!
Register now for chamber financial management 101 . . .
Registration is now underway for ACCE's Regional Education Seminar on chamber financial management, hosted by CANYS and the Greater Syracuse Chamber.
Join Ed McMillan, CPA, CAE, on Wednesday, April 14th, as he leads you through the practical and critical components of successful chamber financial management. The cost of registration is for a full-day (9:00 am–4:00 pm) seminar and includes continental breakfast, networking lunch and course notebook. Participants will also earn 3 credits towards their CCE. Registration is $179 for ACCE and/or CANYS members, and $229 for non-members.
Register online at http://www.acce.org/profdev/regional/loginNY.asp, or call ACCE at 800-394-2223.
38 chambers in 3.5 days . . .
42 people ... 38 chambers ... 10 cities ... two train tickets ... one plane ticket ... and one rental car that was returned with 955 more miles on the odometer. March 9-12 were busy days for CANYS Chairman Kenneth Adams! What began as a simple request to get out and meet with a few chamber executives turned into a sprint from Buffalo to Long Island, with many stops in between.
Tuesday began in Buffalo, with meetings in Buffalo and Cheektowaga. The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is currently working on a number of exciting projects, especially in life sciences research and business development. 13 different chambers in the Western New York Chamber Alliance had a spirited discussion on legislation to address health insurance for small business employees. A quick drive to Rochester brought news from the Rochester Business Alliance that its new Procurement Technical Assistance Center is up, running, and succeeding!
Wednesday began in Watertown with the Greater Watertown North Country Chamber, the St. Lawrence County Chamber, and the Lewis County Chamber. Over breakfast, we heard about plans for the Capital Corridor, a highway linking Ottawa to Washington, D.C. using I-81, and an innovative partnership with E-Bay called the Northern Adirondack Trading Cooperative. A few dozen miles south in Syracuse, we heard about plans for the Greater Fulton Chamber to change its name to the Oswego County Chamber, and got background from the Greater Syracuse Chamber on plans for DestiNY USA and its progress. 58 more clicks on the odometer brought us to Ithaca, and a meeting of Central New York-region chamber executives. The discussion flowed from unemployment rates and housing shortages to the push to bring an Indy Racing League event to Watkins Glen International Speedway. The Seneca County Chamber, the Greater Corning Area Chamber, the Geneva Area Chamber, the Tompkins County Chamber, and the Chemung County Chamber all took part in this afternoon discussion on the shores of Cayuga Lake. Another hour on the road brought us to Binghamton for dinner with the Greater Binghamton Chamber, the Delaware County Chamber and The Otsego County Chamber. Executives traded advice on forming 501(c)6 components to chambers.
A sunny drive to Newburgh woke us up on Thursday. There, the Mid-Hudson chamber executives from the Orange County Chamber, the New Paltz Chamber, the Business Council of Westchester, the Ulster County Chamber, the Warwick Valley Chamber, the Rockland Business Association and the Columbia County Chamber met for lunch to discuss a number of timely topics like health insurance and minimum wage. A dash up to Albany brought a meeting with the Fulton County Regional Chamber, the Montgomery County Chamber, and the Schoharie County Chamber. Highlights of the Tech Valley Chamber Coalition dominated the discussion there. After an evening train ride to New York, Friday morning brought breakfast with the Long Island Association. Housing and technology issues were just a few of the many topics of conversation.
Many thanks to the chambers who participated in these meetings. Hearing first-hand about the issues each locality is dealing with helps CANYS provide better support to chambers and their executives.
Tell us about it . . .
Congratulations to the Southern Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, which was recently re-accredited with three stars by the U.S. Chamber! For more information on accreditation, visit the U.S. Chamber web site at: http://www.uschamber.com/chambers/accreditationrelease.htm
Ellen Daly from the Orange County Chamber of Commerce
needs your help: “We’re looking into the possibility of establishing
some type of ‘Under 40 Businessperson of the Year’ recognition
for the Orange County Chamber. Can any chamber who does this send me information?”
E-mail Ellen at ellend@orangeny.com
Betsy Sherman-Saunders from the Greater Fulton Chamber of Commerce
needs your help: Do you know if there is any research done on Wal-Mart
stores moving into communities? How do the chambers handle the stores?
Are they supportive? Against? Do they "ruin" downtowns like
many claim? How do communities handle Wal-Mart's?” E-mail Betsy
at bsaunder@twcny.rr.com
Frank Ferrando from the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce needs your help: “We're in the process of reviewing our marketing strategies and the committee wants to survey the membership to get a handle on expectations. Would any chambers have samplings of surveys they use to get input from members on what they expect from their chamber memberships?” E-mail Frank at fferrando@geneseeny.com
Got a question you’d like to ask other CANYS members? Job opening in your chamber? Great idea you’d like to share? Send it to maggie.moree@bcnys.org.
