Chamber heading exclusively "e" with Friday Report
Effective with the June 27 issue of the Friday Report, the biweekly publication will be available exclusively as an e-newsletter.

The move comes as a result of several factors, including the Friday Report's newsletter format lending itself to an e-format, an opportunity to reduce paper usage and postage costs and the flexibility that comes with having an e-newsletter without as much up-front production time.

"More and more newsletters, in the Chamber world and across industries, are moving to exclusive electronic formats," said Paul Jadin, president of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce. "In addition to cost savings, the e-format will allow us to easily and effectively bolster distribution of the Chamber's news, events and offerings."

The e-Friday Report will continue to be distributed 24 times a year.

If you currently receive the hard copy Friday Report, you'll need to sign up for the e-version. Please visit www.titletown.org and click on "Sign up for e-FR" to submit your information to receive the e-FR. You can also opt to receive the Member2Member e-newsletter, which is distributed on weeks opposite the Friday Report.

If someone in your Chamber-member organization who doesn't receive the Friday Report wishes to sign up, he or she is encouraged to visit the Chamber's site to be added to the distribution list as well.

In the coming months, the Chamber also anticipates incorporating a modified design of the e-FR to make it even more user-friendly to read.

If you have questions, please contact Lori Kaye Lodes, (920) 593-3423 or llodes@titletown.org.

Co-op to launch third insurance pool
The Healthy Lifestyles Cooperative (HLC) of Brown County is hosting informational meetings for its third insurance pool on Wednesday, May 21, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the SC Grand.

The meetings will include a welcome and Co-op overview by Phil Hauck, board president, insights from current member CEOs and COOs on how the Co-op works and a Q&A session.

Come to hear proof of how 140 companies came together in a community of purpose:

. Moved 6 percent of employees out of severe risk situations
. Improved health risk assessment results in one year by more than 5 percent. (Typically, you may see a 1 percent improvement year to year. Many of the employers in the HCL have never seen an improvement in scores until now.)
. Spurred the involvement of 58 percent of employees in health and fitness activities that helped to earn them prizes and ultimately impacted those improved HRA scores. (Typically, 10 to 15 percent of employees get involved.)
. Earned single-digit premium increases. For some of the companies in the HLC, this came after years of 15 to 45 percent increases.

To reserve your place at one of the informational meetings, please call (920) 437-8704 or e-mail psren@titletown.org and let us know which meeting you'd like to attend.

Co-op achieves impressive results
The Co-op recently received reports that its membership achieved fitness improvements in 2007 that are significantly above expectations and national averages.

The accomplishments were in two areas:

1. The scores of 1,700 adults who took Health Risk Assessments (HRAs) in both early 2007 and 2008, and participated in Destiny Vitality fitness improvement activities in 2007, improved their HRA scores to 71.7 from 67.5, a rise of 4.3 percentage points. Experts report that each percentage point rise is the equivalent of a 1.8 percent reduction in medical claims. A 1.5 percentage point annual increase by a large group is considered good, according to Leigh Cord, president of Healics, the national organization which processed the Cooperative's HRAs.

2. More than 58% of the Co-op's participants in its insurance-driven Destiny Vitality fitness incentive program achieved ithe first fitness threshold of Silver. A typical organization, Destiny officials indicate, will achieve about one-fourth of that. That performance also allowed the Co-op to achieve an average 8% health insurance rate cap from Destiny Health for 2008.

Ambassador spotlight on Vine  
In January 2006, Doug Vine retired from Wisconsin Public Service. Retirement marked the end of work, but not the end of commitment. For more than eight years, Vine has served as an Ambassador for the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, and he retains this title.

Vine was president of the Ambassador Club when he lived in Antigo, Wis., so he contacted the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce after he moved back to Green Bay. He inquired with WPS and wondered if there was any representation from the company. There was none so he asked to be considered. He then waited until graduating from Leadership Green Bay to become an Ambassador.

There are many parts of the program he enjoys. Vine says he loves to see the new businesses at grand openings and ribbon-cuttings. "The group is great and it is great seeing the one-on-one contacts," he said.

Vine believes that the Ambassadors, working as liaisons within the community, are a definite advantage for both business and community.

I'd rather die than give a speech
Openings are very important and there are many things we can do. One is to state a fact that will draw attention, such as "One out of every person in America has " But do not do what I heard one speaker try in an attempt to be funny. He said" One of every three people is not normal, look left, look right and if they look OK it must be you." See how many people might be offended by such a comment? How much attention will this speaker get the rest of the presentation? Humor can be a great opener but only if it is appropriate, delivered well and is actually funny.

This speaking tip provided by Jim Morrison, professional speaker and trainer, www.jimmorrisonspeaks.com. 

Greater Green Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau name announced
The Packer Country Visitor & Convention Bureau has changed its name to the Greater Green Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The new name more directly specifies the areas represented by the bureau (which includes the Greater Green Bay area, the Oneida Nation, Algoma and Mishicot areas). "Our job is to let people know we have the Packers and so much more, including wonderful natural resources, an active arts and music scene, museums, family-friendly attractions and great outdoor activities. It's all about building a comprehensive brand identity," said Brad Toll, president and CEO, Greater Green Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The name change also dovetails with the Greater Green Bay Branding Initiative that will be announced this fall.

Handling sensitive issues
Question: How do I handle sensitive issues with employees that are not related to their work performance?

Answer: At times there are sensitive issues that come up in a workplace which may or may not be the responsibility of the manager to deal with. For example, an employee might be wearing strong perfume that is making other employees ill. Is this something the manager should get involved in? First of all, whenever possible it is a good idea to have an office policy to cover situations that might arise that affects the office such as dress codes and other behaviors. If a situation is not covered by a policy, ask yourself whether the behavior affects the functioning of the office. If it does, then it is likely the manager's responsibility to do something. Whenever approaching employees do so out of concern and empathy and have specific examples as to how the behavior is disruptive to how the office functions.

This Q&A is provided by the Employee Resource Center, Inc., a local provider of quality employee assistance programs for the benefit of employees and Performance Solutions for organizational needs.


Make Green Bay the official Titletown
ESPN has come up with a contest to find what it calls "TitleTown USA" through fan-generated nominations.  The deadline is Friday, May 16, so get moving and visit proxy.espn.go.com/espn/titletown/index. You'll need to invest a bit of yourself - either submitting an essay or a video (if you have the time and inspiration) on why  Green Bay is deserving of the title.

ESPN's SportsCenter will take a 20-city tour in July to nominated places, starting July 4 in Green Bay.
 

WDNR mercury rule would spike mercury rates
Despite the current legal uncertainties under federal law resulting from recent court rulings on the Environmental Protection Act's Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR), the Wisconsin DNR has proposed a costly Wisconsin-only mercury regulation that would heavily impact electric ratepayers, especially manufacturers.

The WDNR rule would require electric utilities to reduce their mercury emissions 90 percent by 2015 with no emission trading. Alternatively, utilities could "buy" an additional six years of compliance with the mercury regulation in exchange for 90-95% Nitrous Oxide (NOx) and Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) emission reductions by the year 2015.

The Chamber and other business groups contend that the Job Creation Act mandates that an Economic Impact Report be prepared by the WDNR. We join others in supporting adoption of mercury regulations consistent with federal requirements to protect human health and the environment and to ensure Wisconsin businesses are not placed at a competitive disadvantage. We also believe mercury regulations should reflect the limited role that Wisconsin utilities play in mercury deposition. We are concerned that this rule will result in significant increases in industrial electric rates, with little or no incremental public health benefit. We favor the EPA's 70 percent standard and note the EPA finding that regulating beyond the 70 percent level would not result in additional health benefits, but would merely add cost. Check out the proposed rule here: http://dnr.wi.gov/air/pdf/AM3205boardorder.pdf. and typical industry comments from WMC here: http://www.wmc.org/PDFfiles/Comments-Mercury_Rule_May_2008.pdf. 

Wisconsin public school spending
U.S. Census figures released in April showed that Wisconsin spent $10,190 per pupil to operate public schools in 2006. A new report from the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) analyzed these data in greater detail and found that school expenditures here ranked 14th highest among the states and 8.5% above the U.S. average ($9,390). The main reason for the above-average ranking was fringe benefits that exceeded national averages by more than 50%. Wisconsin trailed the U.S. by nearly 40% on spending for instruction other than compensation, for example, on books and supplies.

Business briefs
What's new
Robinson Metal recently completed a $4 million, 50,000-square foot addition.

Bellin Health was recently designated a UnitedHealth Premium® Total Joint Replacement Center for quality of care provided.

On April 22, Cellcom activated the first alternative energy cell site in the upper Midwest.

On March 31, The Mail Haus and FILLPROS merged into one mailing and fulfillment company under The Mail Haus name.

Rosemary Garfoot Library, designed by Berners-Schober Associates of Green Bay, received LEED® Certification at a special Earth Day Celebration.

The Oneida Airport Hotel Corporation (OAHC) has purchased the airport Wingate by Wyndham.

New hires/promotions
Tom Wyckoff has recently been promoted to center executive for the Broadview YMCA.

Sue Whitmer has been promoted to director-controller for American Express in Green Bay.

Mike J. Conard has joined the firm of Hawkins, Ash, Baptie & Company, LLP, as a staff accountant and tax preparer.

The Brown County Home Builders Association (BCHBA) recently announced the hire of Courtney Svoboda as marketing, publications and showcase coordinator.

Former ESPN anchor and sports talk host Dan Patrick joined WSCO/AM-1570 The Score's sport talk lineup.

Mead & Hunt promoted John Eskrich, P.E., LEED ® AP, as military facilities department manager. 

Kudos
The Green Bay Gamblers and their fans raised $2,275 for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeastern Wisconsin through the Fan's Choice Player of the Year promotion this past season.

Newsradio 1360, WTAQ, Green Bay earned the first-ever Station of the Year honor, Medium Market Radio, at the annual Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Awards for Excellence Banquet held in Madison Saturday. WTAQ also took first place for Best Morning Show; first, second and third place finishes for Best Use of Audio, Best Sports Report, "If it doesn't fit, this must be it," Station Promotional Announcement, Significant Community Impact, Feature and Spot News.

Kathleen Caylor of Caylor Photography was recently named "Photographer of the Year" by the Wisconsin Professional Photographer's Association, Inc.

Karen Hanop, accounting manager for the Greater Green Bay YMCA, celebrates 40 years of full-time service.

Baylake Wealth Services advisors Brian R. Hartl, Suzanne S. Udoni, and Ryan M. Freitag were recently recognized within the top 100 Broker Rankings by UVEST for February 2008 for total client servicing.

Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. is pleased to announce that Timothy F. Nixon has co-authored Bankruptcy and Financial Restructuring Law 2008.

The Green Bay Coldwell Banker The Real Estate Group office is pleased to announce its March President's Club: Jerry Alderton, CRS, GRI; Jill Simon, Jeff Narges, CRS, GRI; Kim Bahrke, CRS, GRI; Jason Mills, Richard Meyers, ABR, CRS, GRI; Bill Doyle, Mark Reitan, Tony Drevs, ABR, CRS, GRI; Adam Adler, GRI; Royal Shackelford, CRS, GRI; Margaret Krumholz, CRS, GRI; Cynthia Patterson, ABR, CRS; Michael Stedl, GRI; Michael Nemecek, GRI; Jean Bergner, GRI; Julie Anderson, ABR, GRI; and Cindy Rukamp, ABR, CRS, GRI.

WGBA-TV NBC 26 has won three regional Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio-Television News Directors. The station was awarded the Murrows for Investigative Reporting ("Oneida"), Sports Reporting ("Packers Tickets") and Videography ("Get Out Alive"). It tied with WISC-TV in Madison for the most awards in the Television–Small Market category for the region.

Keller, Inc. has been named Wisconsin's ESOP Company of the Year 2008.

SÉURA Inc., a Green Bay manufacturer of award-winning luxury consumer products, had its vanishing LCD television mirrors featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show on Friday, April 25.

Jim Rivett, president of Arketype, has been appointed to The Wisconsin Task Force on Arts and Creativity in Education, which has convened to ensure Wisconsin cultivates the creative workforce and entrepreneurial talent necessary for the state to effectively compete in a 21st century global economy.

For the sixth time in the last nine years, TWEET/GAROT MECHANICAL has received the 2007 Wisconsin Corporate Safety Award from the Wisconsin Council of Safety (WCS) and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD).