In The Kn
o
w
The Weekly Newsletter of The Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce
August 31, 2018
|
|
Today's Featured Video
Take Time to Feel Grateful for the Small Things
Yes, things could be better, but...
It's incredibly easy and human to focus on the things in our professional and personal lives that aren't right. And it's incredibly easy to ignore the things that are right, which are more often than not, the small things in life. Our video this week is from
The School of Life
YouTube channel, and in it, they explain how focusing on the hot bath, the cup of tea, the sunrise or sunset,can transform your outlook on life.
|
|
|
Two Favorite Chamber Events Coming Up Soon!
First Friday and Coffee & Connections
|
|
First Friday At The Ville
Date:
Friday, September 7, 2018
Time:
5 to 7 p.m.
No charge. No RSVP required. No program or speaker. Just a relaxing end-of-week gathering supporting our local eateries. Come out for a drink, an appetizer or dinner. Start your weekend right and, "Eat, Drink & Be Local" at the Chamber's official "non-event." We'll see YOU at The Ville.
|
|
Coffee and Connections At Froehlich's Classic Corner
Date:
Wednesday, September 12th, 2018
Time:
8 a.m. - 9 a.m.
Cost:
$10 per person; $12 invoiced
To register, click
here
or call the Chamber offices at 740-282-6226.
Please RSVP by September 10th.
Please join us at Froehlich's Classic Corner in downtown Steubenville for Coffee & Connections, a monthly speed-networking event sponsored by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. After a delicious hot breakfast, each attendee gets the opportunity to give a brief "commercial" about their business or organization and distribute business cards, brochures, coupons, or other promotional items. Don't forget to bring your business cards to enter the door prize drawing.
"Member Orientation" will immediately follow at 9:15 a.m., new and old members welcome. Learn about the latest Chamber programs and how to get the most from your dues investment. No charge and you need not attend Coffee & Connections.
|
|
Workshop Series:
Medical Marijuana & Your Drug-Free Workplace Program
Date:
Thursday, September 13th, 2018
Time
: 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Doors will open at 8:15 a.m.
Location:
The Towers Building Community Room - 500 Market Street in downtown Steubenville.
Cost:
$25 per person, which includes a continental breakfast.
To register, click
here
or call the Chamber offices at 740-282-6226.
Ohio House Bill 523 becomes operational in September. This law will make medical marijuana legal under qualifying circumstances and conditions. To give insight into this important decision and provide local businesses with a resource for gathering facts, the Chamber, along with sponsor
Eastern Gateway Community College,
is pleased to host the next in its series of educational workshops presented by
Working Partners
®, an Ohio-based firm specializing in drug-free workplace issues. The 90-minute presentation will raise awareness of business and operational issues from legalization under Ohio House Bill 523, increase understanding of the related drug-free workplace program issues for employers and employees, and review key decisions that need to be made - particularly relating to policy, operations, and employee/supervisor awareness.
Space is limited and reserved on a first-come, first-served basis.
|
|
Ask A Professional
Ohio Provides Continuing "Mini-COBRA" Coverage for Former Small Business Employees
The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) generally provides that certain qualified beneficiaries who lose coverage under an employer-sponsored health plan may elect to continue coverage under the plan in certain situations. COBRA applies only to employers with 20 or more employees. If an employer has fewer than 20 employees, those employees may have continuation coverage rights under state continuation coverage law (sometimes referred to as “mini-COBRA”) rather than COBRA. This article provides an overview of Ohio law on health plan continuation coverage under Ohio’s mini-COBRA provisions.
Q: My employer has fewer than 20 employees and my employment has just been terminated. Am I eligible for health coverage under the Ohio continuation law?
A: To be eligible under the Ohio continuation law, you must have been:
1) continuously insured under a group policy during the three-month period before your employment was terminated;
2) involuntarily terminated for reasons other than gross misconduct; and
3) not covered or eligible for coverage under Medicare, or under other group coverage.
You should check the terms of your former employer’s group insurance coverage to determine what continuation benefits you may be entitled to receive.
Q: How long might my coverage last under the state continuation law?
A: Your coverage may continue for up to 12 months.
Q: What benefits may be continued under the state continuation law?
A: The continuation coverage requirement covers hospital, surgical and major medical benefits. In addition, continuation coverage must include prescription drugs if this coverage is included in the group coverage. Continuation need not cover dental or vision care.
Q: How do I go about electing continuation coverage?
A: You must apply within the earlier of:
1) 31 days of losing coverage;
2) 10 days from the day your coverage would otherwise end if you received notice of continuation rights before you lost your coverage; or
3) 10 days from the date you received notice about continuation coverage, if you received such notice after you lost your coverage.
This week's contributor is Jeff Criss with
Oklok-Criss Insurance
.
If you or your business would like to contribute to this section of "In The Know," click
here
for submission guidelines.
|
|
Modern Marketing 101:
6 Best Practices for Social Media Marketing
Last week, we looked at how social media marketing is evolving in 2018. With that in mind, let's take a look at ways in which you and your business can boost your branding and marketing amidst those changes.
Rolando Herrera over at Business.com
offers six best practices for your social media marketing strategy, including using Facebook's Dynamic Ads, photos, and customer reviews.
From last week:
Social media marketing used to be primarily about getting more followers for your Facebook page, Twitter account, et al. Those were the good ol' days, however.
As Tereza Litsa over at ClickZ explains
, there's so much more to social media marketing in 2018 than likes and followers, especially in an age when algorithms seemingly change at a whim and users have heightened concerns about security.
If you missed or want to re-read any of our previous Modern Marketing 101 installments, click
here
. We encourage you to print, save, share, and add these articles and resources to your business or organization's social media marketing manual.
|
|
Member Morsels
Remember to visit individual member websites by clicking on the business name or logo.
|
|
 |
There's still time to order your Kiwanis Roses
The Steubenville Kiwanis Club is in the midst of its main fundraiser as members take orders for the annual rose sale, a tradition for more than 50 years.
The price of a box of long-stemmed roses is just $20 which includes local delivery on September 19th to Steubenville, Wintersville, Mingo Junction, Toronto, Richmond, Brilliant, Weirton and Follansbee. The deadline for orders is Tuesday, September 11th. Proceeds from the rose sale benefit local community and youth projects. For more information or to place your order, contact Tom Timmons at 740.314.9574.
|
|
|
|
Dixon Healthcare Center
will be hosting its 1st Annual "Dixon's Klassic Car Cruise" Saturday, September 22nd, 2018, at 135 Reichart Ave. in Wintersville. The first 50 cars will receive a commemorative dash plaque. All proceeds will benefit the residents' activities fund. There will be door prizes, a 50/50 raffle, DJ entertainment, food, and drinks. Registration begins at 11 a.m. Cruise starts at 12 noon. Please call Lita Moore or Rachel Lahita at Dixon Healthcare Center at 740-264-1155. Everyone is welcome!
|
|
|
|
Do you want your Morsel included in "In The Know"?
There's no charge. Just click the button below and fill out the short online form.
Deadline is Wednesday at noon.
|
|
Pet of the Week
The Chamber is pleased to introduce a new feature section for In The Know presented in partnership with the Jefferson County Humane Society. Each week, we'll spotlight a lovable pet in need of adoption, along with a picture and information on how to add them to your family.
This sweet little Jersey gal is looking for a home to call her very own. Oftentimes, we notice her dreaming of nice long walks, with her little legs scampering as she walks in her dream. She imagines what it would feel like to always have a cozy, warm bed. She dreams of what it must feel like to be loved, to be wanted, to be cherished. Help the
Jefferson County Humane Society
find this darling young lady a loving home. Please
call 740-314-5583 for more info.
|
|
Around the State. Around the Country.
Up-to-Date Information from the Ohio and United States Chamber of Commerce
|
|
Ohio Chamber Releases
Updated Free Enterprise Index
Positive Results for Ohio Employers
Despite a nearly eight-week stretch during which the Ohio House of Representatives was without a Speaker and unable to conduct its ordinary business, the first half of 2018 nonetheless saw several important pieces of legislation that impact employers or our state’s business climate advance through the legislative process. Four significant bills even made it all the way to the end of the process, passing both legislative chambers and being signed into law by Gov. John Kasich.
With lawmakers having now returned home to their districts to begin their campaigns for re-election in November, many of them will justifiably be able to boast on the campaign trail that they have been working effectively to improve Ohio’s economy.
Read the article in its entirety by clicking
here
.
|
|
‘We’re to the Breaking Point:’
New Tariffs Sow Seeds of Fear
Across America’s Heartland
Glen and Patti Hutchinson have been farming the same stretch of fields in Murfeesboro, TN, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville, for three decades. Their son, Will, inherited the agricultural genes and has worked alongside his parents on the farm since he was a child, helping grow soybeans, corn and wheat for sale across the country and around the world. This season, the Hutchinsons have planted about 70 acres of soybeans, among other crops.
That may come back to haunt them.
Will Hutchinson estimates the impact of new tariffs on U.S. goods (like soybeans) exported to China – which were levied in response to the United States’ tariffs on Chinese imports as part of an escalating trade war -- will cost his family more than $20,000 this growing season.
Read the article in its entirety by clicking
here
.
|
|
Check out the latest issue of
Newsline
, the Chamber's quarterly supplement in the Herald-Star!
|
|
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,"
you to a business book or magazine that will inspire, teach, inform, or elevate you, professionally and personally. This week's book is:
Business Etiquette:
Adding the Polish That Builds Profits
by Lydia Ramsey
Lydia Ramsey specializes in business etiquette, professional conduct and customer service. She will help you develop the skills to attract and retain clients through the simple practice of modern manners and the basic principles of courtesy, kindness, and respect.
View or download the book by clicking
here
.
|
|
Today in History
- August 31, 1888 -
A cottage industry of books, films, and independent investigations is born when prostitute Mary Ann Nichols becomes the first known victim of Jack the Ripper. The serial killer would terrorize London throughout the ensuing months, as four more women, all driven to prostitution by the impoverished conditions of London's East End, would be murdered and mutilated. The second victim, Annie Chapman, was murdered on September 8th; the next two, Liz Stride and Kate Eddowes, on September 30th; and Jack the Ripper's fifth and final victim, Mary Kelly, on November 7th.
Although Scotland Yard was able to establish a pattern for each killing, they didn't have the advantage of fingerprinting or blood typing to assist in their investigation. They had received letters that claimed to be from the murderer, but with the exception of two letters, most of these proved to be fakes. The two that weren't fakes contained details about the murders only the police and killer could know. These letters were signed "Jack the Ripper." In 1892, the police officially closed their file on Jack the Ripper, but since then, public interest has only increased and to this day, experts and amateurs alike still speculate about the identity and motives of history's most sensational and serial killer.
For more info on Jack the Ripper, please click
here
.
|
|
- 86% -
The percentage of people who reach their Labor Day destinations by car, while seven percent fly. All in all, 25 percent plan to leave town for the weekend. If you're among those traveling, be careful and have fun!
|
|
Questions about Oil & Gas?
These non-profit organizations are here to help you stay up-to-date on the oil and gas industry
in Jefferson County:
|
|
|
The Chamber offices will be closed on Monday, September 3rd, 2018, in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Our offices will reopen on Tuesday, September 4th, at 9 a.m. We hope you have a safe and relaxing celebration!
|
|
Get The Information You Need - The Chamber Staff Is Here To Help
|
|
|
Joy Grimm
Accounting & Administrative Coordinator
Contact Joy with billing questions, invoicing issues, to update your company information or to register for an event.
Janet McLaughlin
Investor Relations Coordinator
Janet will assist you with utilizing your membership benefits, answering questions about member programming or how to promote your business through the Chamber.
|
|
|
|
Tricia Maple-Damewood
President
Contact Tricia with suggestions, input or feedback on member programming, how to get involved on a committee or special project or with questions or information about anything related to the Chamber.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contact Us
The Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce
630 Market Street
Steubenville, OH 43952
Phone: 740.282.6226
Fax: 740.282.6285
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
