Now that summer is behind us, students are back in school and our Annual Dinner is put to bed for another year, your chamber is busy planning for fall and beyond.

The Chamber’s Annual Dinner was a huge success and we honored our award winners and scholarship winners.  Congratulations go to:

Tuscan Sun Spa and Salon                     Small Business of the Year
Aspire Uniqueness Boutique               Retailer of the Year
Earl McConnell Jr.                                   Chairman’s Award
Jennifer Weist                                            Presidents Award
Frank Pulice Jr.                                        Rev. Donal “Jack” Squires Lifetime Achievement Award

 Winning college scholarships were Andrew Bonasso, Wittlee Retton, Sarah Stiles, Maleena Gump, and Samantha James. 

The MCCC congratulates all of them for their commitment to Marion County.

Looking ahead, we will plan the opening of the Gateway Connector, the construction of the new WV State Office Complex, construction of the new Advanced Technical Training Center, opening of Allegheny Energy’s new Transmission Headquarters and construction of the new Fairmont Armed Forces Reserve Center.

Your Chamber will keep you updated and informed of all the progress on these projects and new ones to come.

The Marion County Chamber of Commerce would like to express deep sympathy on the passing of Senator Robert C. Byrd. West Virginia is in such a better place because of his dedication and years of service supporting economic development projects. His legacy will live forever throughout our entire state in the infrastructure, technology, aviation, educational, veterans, arts, research, and recreational projects that are here today because of him.

As we move through the summer, we are preparing for the MCCC 57th Annual Dinner. Scheduled for August 11th on the campus of Fairmont State University and Pierpont Community & Technical College, the dinner is also the night that the annual awards and student scholarship are presented. Be on the lookout for your invitation arriving soon.

In other news, the Chamber as partnered with the City of Fairmont, Main Street Fairmont, and Marion County Commission in a series of workshops called “Let’s Get Connected.” With the anticipation of the opening of the Gateway Connector, workshops are being held for business owners on Merchant Street along with residents to discuss ways to enhance and upgrade not only their own properties, but also the public areas. Final workshop is scheduled for July 13th at 8:30 am in the Gear Up facility on Merchant St. The event is free, although reservations must be made by calling the chamber. Breakfast will, once again, be provided by Freedom Bank.

Coach Nick Saban, Marion County native and Alabama head football coach, will be honored by the MCCC, at a reception on Tuesday, May 25th at 3:00 pm in Colebank Hall on the campus of Fairmont State University.  The event, being sponsored by numerous chamber members will be the first of a two-part appearance for Coach Saban that day.

After the chamber reception, at approximately 4:30 pm, Saban will move into the Falcon Center Gym 1, where all of North Central WV has been invited to hear him talk about his most recent National Football Championship and his memories of growing up in Marion County.

Tickets to the Chamber reception are $25.00 each and can be purchased by calling the office at 304 363-0442. A few sponsorships remain at $500.00 which includes 6 tickets, program recognition, and signage. Refreshments will be served during this event.

The public event, at 4:30 pm, is free of charge and we hope to have several of his former Marion County teammates and coaches in attendance.

If the old saying is true that March goes “ out like a lamb”, then whoever wrote it could not have imagined what life in Marion County and at the MCCC will be like over the next two months. In our Chamber world, April will come in like a lion and stay that way for a while. However, it’s exciting and will be lots of fun for our members and the community.

 We are very proud to be honoring Nick Saban, hometown hero who recently won the National College Football Championship coaching his Alabama team to victory. Coach Saban grew up in Monongah, played football in Marion County, and will be the Chamber’s guest of honor at a reception on May 25th at 3:00 pm. Members and their guests are invited to the reception and tickets are $25.00 each as the Coach helps the Chamber raise funds for student scholarships we present each year. Reservations must be made so we can prepare for the food and drink and if any member is interested in sponsoring the event, please let us know. Sponsorships are $500.00 and include 6 tickets along with advertising and signage. After the Chamber reception, Coach Saban will move into the Falcon Center for a community-wide celebration in his honor.

The Chamber Annual Golf Outing is scheduled for Friday, May 7th at Green Hills Country Club. This event has been one of the most popular events the Chamber sponsors throughout the year. Lunch, dinner, green fees, cart rental, snacks, drinks, and giveaways will be a part of the day. Anyone interested in playing in the outing, please contact the Chamber. Right around the corner is Monte Carlo Night scheduled for April 17th at the YWCA in Pleasant Valley. Tickets are available at the chamber for $40.00/couple or $25.00/person and attendees will enjoy a night of fun “Vegas” style games trying to win as much funny money as possible. The more money you win, the more chances you will have for one of the many prizes including an overnight stay and breakfast at the Greenbrier. The evening will begin at 7:00 pm with lots of food, drink and fun. Bring your friends and join us. Tickets are available at the Chamber.

The Chamber took several Marion County seniors to Charleston last week to defend the Charter School Bill in the Senate Education Committee. What a great group of kids…………..you would have been very proud of them. Here are young leaders, of voting age, wanting to make a difference in our state. They have researched and studied this bill and truly believe that public Charter Schools will offer a choice and an alternative to the status quo. Their research shows that WV is only one of a handful of states that don’t allow Charter Schools and the bill, in its current form, would give counties the option opening a new school or converting an existing one to a Charter School. The bill is not a mandate, but an option and that is what these students are fighting for.

Thank you to Senator Roman Prezioso for allowing the students to use his office as a staging area for the day. Seeing young leaders get passionate about government and the legislative process is one of the bright spots of chamber work.

The year has started very quickly for the Marion County Chamber.  Moving the Annual Legislative Breakfast prior to the start of the Legislative Session in Charleston has proved to be a good move.  Over 130 members and guests attended the event on January 8^th and we were able to share our Legislative Agenda with our Delegates and Senators and ask their support on some key projects for Marion County.

Topping our list was the construction of a new WV State Office Complex.  The Chamber is anxious help facilitate plans to demolish the current structure closed in 2009 and begin work on the new facility.  Workers that have been displaced throughout the county deserve to return to one location where they can serve the needs of our residents in a much more efficient manner.

Also included on our list is both the support for Fairmont State University to receive equitable funding from the state and the construction of the new Advanced Technical Training Center in Marion County.  Both of these projects are crucial to the economic growth of our county and we need to stay on top of these issues with our legislators.

Although it is not a state issue, Fairmont General Hospital is working with our Federal Delegation to ensure that they continue to receive the designation of Sole Community Provider.  With this designation comes millions of dollars and the Chamber has enlisted the help of our State Delegation and Governor Manchin to assist with this issue.

The students in both the Youth Leadership Programs and the Senior Forum are hard at work on creating legislation to support Charter Schools.  This concept, allowed in 47 out of 50 U.S states, will be a much debated issue during this Session and we are proud of our students for tackling it.  Through this blog and press releases, the MCCC will keep our members abreast of the success of this legislation.

In other news, we are not sure if many of our members realize that Senator Byrd has inserted an amendment into the U.S. Senate’s final health care reform bill that could have devastating effects on our state.  The amendment deals with black lung benefits and would change the current system to one that would give benefits without the step of obtaining a medical diagnosis and it would be retroactive to 2005.  It is estimated that this change, if enacted by Congress, could add hundreds of millions of dollars to Workers’ Compensation costs in West Virginia and would set us back years.  Worker’s Compensation Reform was a huge win for the business community and we must find ways to make our state more attractive to businesses.  The MCCC feels that coal mines and especially our miners are crucial to the state’s economy and they should be provided with every benefit that is due to them.  A medical diagnosis would ensure that the hard working miners in our state, who are entitled to these benefits, receive them.  There is much more on this issue and I urge all of our members to read everything they can about this amendment because, if passed, will change things in our state.  

 Tina Shaw, President

Hope all of you enjoyed the holidays with family and friends and are ready to begin a new chapter in Marion County’s business community.  The MCCC  would like to wish all members a very Happy New Year and hope that this coming year will bring you growth and prosperity.

Our events committee has been hard at work finalizing details for the year and we will soon have tentative dates that will be posted on this website.  We begin the year with our Legislative Breakfast, scheduled for Friday, January 8^th.  We have made several changes to this event, most importantly, moving it to a date before our legislators return to Charleston for the Session.  This will give us the opportunity to share our important issues with them and ask their support while they are there.  This should be a great event and I hope all of our members know that our elected officials need to hear from them on a regular basis so they can make the right business decisions that will benefit Marion County.

ChamberChoice, a member health insurance program, is off and running and we have had many members call for information.  The Marion County Chamber has partnered with other chambers across the state to offer members numerous choices to their healthcare needs.  Please call the Chamber if you would like to receive more information.

I’d like to welcome our new Board members for 2010.  Elected to serve a three-year term are Barbara DeMary, Executive Director of Region VI Workforce Investment Board; Dr. Thomas Krepel, President, Fairmont State University; Robert Marquardt, CEO, Fairmont General Hospital; Allen Staggers, Corporate Communications, Allegheny Energy; Kimberly Taylor, WesBanco; John Dahlia, Corporate Communications, Global, Science, & Technology;  and Jonathan Rider, Rider Pharmacy and Gifts.  A Board Retreat will be scheduled this month where new members will be given a brief orientation.

Welcome to our new members that have joined in the past couple of months.  They will be listed in the next issue of the Momentum along with their contact information.

As always, please feel free to call us with your suggestions or comments on how we can make your member experience better!

Title: Business After Hours – Greer Industries
Location: Muriale\’s Restaurant, Fairmont
Description: Greer Industries and the MCCC invite all Marion County Chamber members to a Business After Hours. These events are a great way to network with fellow members. The MCCC encourages all members to attend. For more information call (304) 363-0442.
Start Time: 17:00
Date: 2010-01-26
End Time: 19:00

It has been an extremely busy two weeks for our Chamber.  Being part of Teaming to Win, which was held in Fairmont, on its 20^th Anniversary was an exciting experience.  I represented the MCCC on a panel discussion with regional chamber reps to talk about the partnerships that we, as regional chambers, have formed.  There was a very nice crowd and it gave me the opportunity to welcome many visitors to Marion County, along with showcasing the MCCC.  Over 400 people attended the two-day event, with many from other states.  I like to congratulate the Teaming to Win Committee for another successful year and thank Congressman Alan B. Mollohan for taking part in the activities along with attending a leadership breakfast sponsored by the Chamber.

Speaking of events, the MCCC Events Committee has finalized plans for the upcoming Monte Carlo Night, to be held on November 20^th at the Elks Lodge in downtown Fairmont.  Tickets are currently on sale, and I’d like to thank R&E Electric, Time Warner Cable, 94 Rock, Wholesale Carpet, I-79 Honda-Mazda, and Biafore Landscape Development for sponsoring the event.  I think this will be a very exciting evening where we can have lots of fun.  The evening will begin at 6:30 pm with Vegas style table games, entertainment, dining and dancing.  Tickets are $40.00 each and everyone will have the chance to win great prizes, such as 4-night stay at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas (airfare included), 40” Sony LCD TV, Laptop, and much more.  Just call the MCCC for more information.

ChamberChoice is up and running so if you are interested in obtaining more information on our new healthcare initiative, please call us.  – Posted from Tina Shaw, MCCC President

Welcome to the Marion County Chamber of Commerce’s newly designed website.  As you navigate through the site, please don’t hesitate to send us emails on suggestions that you would like to see.

Our thanks go to Angela Jackson-Leedy and Lindsey Wiles from the new PRstore, located in Morgantown.  They have worked very hard in designing the site to our specifications and we are extremely grateful for continued patience and expertise.

We hope that you will enjoy the new features, such as the blog, our new Facebook page and also a LinkedIn connection for the MCCC.  We understand that technology is moving faster that the speed of light these days, so we are trying to catch up!

The MCCC has kicked off a new healthcare initiative called ChamberChoice.  Local agents will be selling healthcare products to members and educating on their healthcare needs.  We hope to save our members money on their healthcare costs; however, it is not a discounted program.  As with many of you, we are watching the national healthcare scene and will be ready to make adjustments and changes as needed.  Member benefits are the key to any successful business and we are very proud to partner with 16 chambers throughout the state of WV to offer ChamberChoice.  If you would like more information, please click on the ChamberChoice tab which will give you additional information.

We have many events planned for the upcoming months, so please check back often for Chamber news.