Meet the Staff of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce

In The Know

The Weekly Newsletter of The Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce

February 23, 2018

Today's Featured Video

Are You On the Run This Week and Eating Fast Food?

Here's How You Can Still Eat Healthily at McDonald's

It's been one of those weeks: Your schedule is jam-packed. You're barely getting enough sleep. You feel like you're spinning out of control. And your kitchen has become the fast-food drive-thru. Because of this, you're chastising yourself for not eating more healthily, for not getting enough exercise, etc. But just because you're eating a lot of fast food in a week's time doesn't mean your health or your diet has to be tossed out the car window as your take-out order is being handed in. This video from Business Insider shows how you can eat healthily even at McDonald's. It simply comes down to your choices.

Member Morsels

Remember to visit individual member websites by clicking on the business name or logo.

Ribbon Cutting, Grand Opening & Open House

Thursday, March 1st, 2018

11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Open House: 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

200 Stanton Blvd., Suite 80, Steubenville

Paul Sweeney II of the financial services firm Edward Jones invites the public to join him at a grand reopening celebration. Edward Jones, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in St. Louis, provides financial services in the U.S. and through its affiliate in Canada. Every aspect of the firm's business, from the investments its financial advisors offer to the location of its branch offices, caters to individual investors. The firm's 15,000-plus financial adivsors serve more than seven million clients and care for $1 trillion in assets under management.

For more information, please click here .

The Ohio Valley Cloak & Dagger Company , in partnership with Striplight Theatre , presents "Murder at the Swim Meet," an original melodrama written and directed by Pete Fernbaugh. Featuring Ben Fedoush of Weir High School and Odessa Hores of Brooke High School, along with Bethany Fernbaugh, Emily Hores, Evan Oslund, and Lakin Weaver, "Murder at the Swim Meet" will be performed at The Victorian Hall, which is located at 1801 Pennsylvania Avenue, on Saturday, March 3, 2018, at 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 and should be purchased in advance by calling (304) 479-2636. The price includes dinner, the show, and two drink tickets. Proceeds go to benefit the Weir High School Swim Team.

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Coffee & Connections

Wednesday, March 14th, 2018

8 to 9 a.m.

T he Dove Restaurant

903 State Route 152, Bloomingdale

Price: $10 per person

RSVP by clicking here.

Join us for a delicious hot breakfast and a casual, fun speed networking session. We'll have you in and out in no time.

Did you know the Chamber has an Instagram? Click here and follow to keep up with exciting news and events.

"First Friday"

March 2nd, 2018

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Margaret's Cafe

805 N. 5th Street, Toronto

Join us for "First Friday," the Chamber's new, one-and-only "non-event." Treat yourself to some downtime at the end of a tough work week. Come alone or bring a friend, co-worker, or spouse. Margaret's Cafe will serve as host this month with appetizer specials and great drink specials. So knock off a little early, stop for a quick bite before you head home, or take the night off from cooking and call ahead for take-out.

And there's no need to RSVP - because, you know, it's not really an event. See you there.

2018 Tri-State

Home & Garden Show

Friday, March 23rd through Sunday, March 25th

St. Florian Hall

286 Luray Drive, Wintersville

Exhibitor Price

$350 Chamber Members

$450 Non-Members

Co-sponsored by the Weirton Area Chamber of Commerce , this three-day event is a great opportunity to put your name in front of literally thousands of attendees. Last year, over 4,000 attendees came out to gather information and meet local businesses ranging from home-related products and services to financial institutions, computer, and WiFi services, and more. The Home & Garden Show is a great first-quarter advertising and promotional tool for businesses and organizations of any size or type.

For more information, please contact Rob Vandine at Wheelhouse Creative here . To view or print a full-color home show brochure, please click here.

To RSVP or get more information on any Chamber event, please visit the Chamber website and click on the event you wish to view on the scrolling event calendar. Or print a hard copy by clicking the button below.

March 2018 Chamber Calendar

Around the State. Around the Country.

Up-to-Date Information from the Ohio and United States Chamber of Commerce

Another Reason to Fix Ohio’s Unemployment System—

Federal Budget Proposal May Increase Federal Unemployment Taxes

In the never-ending stream of reasons why Ohio’s broke and broken unemployment insurance (UI) system needs fixed, one more has been added to the list—employers in states with low state UI trust fund balances could face higher federal unemployment taxes (FUTA). In President Trump’s FY 2019 Budget, there is a proposal that would increase FUTA taxes over a ten-year period by about $22 billion. This proposal would mainly target employers in states with low balances in their state’s UI trust fund and require higher UI taxes in those states. Ohio would likely be one of those states due to our UI trust fund levels and the fact that meaningful changes to address problems in the system have not been made.

Ohio’s UI system is based on two taxes. The state unemployment tax (SUTA) and the federal unemployment tax (FUTA). The FUTA is a flat tax that all employers pay on each employee that is a percentage of the first $7,000 in wages.

Read the article in its entirety by clicking here .

Trade Deficit Truths

When U.S. trade data for 2017 is released today, Americans may be subjected to alarmed press accounts about the U.S. trade deficit, and some elected officials will likely join in. In today’s economic debates, the trade balance seems to lie at the center of many people’s concerns.

But it shouldn’t. The trade deficit is a poor measure of whether a particular set of trade policies—or trade agreements—is delivering benefits to the American people.

The vast majority of economists agree that “foreign import barriers and exports subsidies are not the reason for the US trade deficit,” as Martin Feldstein, who chaired President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1982 to 1984, recently wrote. He summarizes:

The real reason is that Americans are spending more than they produce. The overall trade deficit is the result of the saving and investment decisions of US households and businesses. The policies of foreign governments affect only how that deficit is divided among America’s trading partners.

Read the article in its entirety by clicking here .

The Library Link

Great Books About Business With Just A Click

Your link to success begins at the library. Each week in "In The Know,"

The Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County will directly connect

you to a business book or magazine that will inspire, teach, inform, or elevate you, professionally and personally. This week's book is:

Treating People Well:

The Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life

by Lea Berman and Jeremy Bernard

A guide to personal and professional empowerment through civility and social skills, written by two White House Social Secretaries who offer an important fundamental message: everyone is important and everyone deserves to be treated well.

Former White House social secretaries Lea Berman, who worked for George W. and Laura Bush, and Jeremy Bernard, who worked for Michelle and Barack Obama, have written an entertaining and uniquely practical guide to personal and professional success in modern life. Their daily experiences at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue taught them valuable lessons about how to work productively with people from different walks of life and points of view. These Washington insiders share what they've learned through first-person examples of their own glamorous (and sometimes harrowing) moments with celebrities, foreign leaders, and that most unpredictable of animals--the American politician.

View or download the book by clicking here .

Today in History

- February 23, 1945 -

Photographer Joe Rosenthal of the Associated Press snapped this famous photograph on Mount Suribachi in the midst of the Battle for Iwo Jima. This photo of five Marines and one Navy corpsman raising the American flag not only would become the most reproduced photograph in history, but also would earn Rosenthal a Pulitzer Prize. Sadly, three of the six soldiers pictured ended up being killed in combat before the Battle for Iwo Jima concluded in late March 1945. For the full story, please see this article .

- 81% -

The percentage of small and medium businesses who use multiple social media platforms. In case you're still on the fence about the value of social media marketing, it's important to note that there's also a new social media user every 15 seconds.

Source: Statusbrew