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Welcome to our Chamber Connection Newsletter!
In an effort to connect our Chamber Members to valuable news, information, and resources each month we will feature a spotlight topic to better connect our community. This month's topic focuses on the importance our Chamber Members including exciting announcements, resources, and more. Next month's topic will feature a focus on the Back-to-School Shop Local Campaign.
June| 2021 | Membership
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In This Month's Issue:
Message From our 2021 Board of Directors Membership & Marketing Chair - Stacie Smith
Welcome to Our New Members for the First Half of 2021!
Big Win for Our Community: 188th Air Wing F35 Project - FSM is FMS!
The Fort Smith Regional Chamber Welcomes Our New VP of Workforce Development, Anita Brackin
The Chamber Loves Celebrating With Our Members
Benefits, Tools, & Resources for Members
Networking Events to Attend in July
Professional Development Sessions
It's a Great Time to Join the Fort Smith Chamber or Increase Your Engagement With Us - Learn How
Upcoming Chamber Connection Newsletters
Stacie Smith
Fort Smith Chamber Board of Directors,
Membership & Marketing Chair
Public Affairs Manager, Summit Utilities
A message from Stacie Smith:
As I reflect on all that has occurred this past year amid a worldwide pandemic, I cannot help but boast how swiftly our Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce “adjusted” its membership programs to virtual platforms for those of us who transitioned to the safe work from home setting.  

Most people may not realize the educational resources that are available from the Chamber. From the comfort of my home office in 2020, I “tuned in” for valuable educational programs via a virtual format to partake in important membership topics such as information and updates on the Payment Protection Program, key employment law issues in a COVID-19 environment, and updates on health insurance options. The Chamber also adapted many of its networking events to a virtual or hybrid models to accommodate members that were unable to meet in person in 2020. 

If you are a people person like me, you will be excited to know the Chamber networking in-person events are back! Chamber networking can be extremely helpful, especially for those who feel out of touch. Join other smart and savvy business community members at Breakfast Club monthly or quarterly the Chamber holds Business-2-Business Luncheons and Business After Hours networking events. Breakfast Club is free to Chamber members to attend and their quarterly events are only $10 per person for Chamber members.  

Are you Hiring? The Chamber has terrific job boards! Members can post their candidate needs and job seekers can easily search available positions specific to our area. It's free with your membership and convenient given it is all in one place. 

And finally, on the heels of the F35 announcement, Fort Smith is booming with economic development opportunities! New businesses will soon be flocking to our area, all of whom need goods and services and where do these transplants seek out resources? That’s right, the Fort Smith Regional Chamber Directory, hence another reason to support your local chamber of commerce and enhance the market audience for your business. 

Let 2021 be your year to not just recover, but to thrive! 
Welcome to Our New Members for the First Half of 2021!
AARC Towing & Recovery
American Freight
American Freight (Hwy 71 South)
Aneisha LeMonier Agency Farmers Insurance
Artistic Air
Beemac - Long John Silvers
BIG Physical Therapy (Barling)
Blue Ember Smokehouse
Boondock's
Cromwell Architects Engineers
Datamax Inc.
Direct Staffing, Inc
Edward Jones - Becky Stout
Holiday Inn Express & Suites
Hytrol Conveyor Company, Inc.
Jeff Beauchamp, Realtor with Sagely & Edwards
Jen's Kitty Rehab
Knockouts Haircuts For Men
M3 Services
Newton's Heating and Air LLC
Park Plaza Properties, LLC
Paschal Air, Plumbing & Electric
Pro Care Innovations
PT's Manor
Ritter Communications
St. John's Episcopal Church
Style Fashion Craft Center
T-Rob Advertsing Graphic Design
The Black Bison Company
The Fort County Affair
The Pride Insurance Agency
Tucker, Duck & Awning Co, Inc.
University Park Place
Urgent Team- Baptist Health Urgent Care
Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux
Big Win for Our Community: 188th Air Wing F35 Project - FSM is FMS!
Fort Smith Named Home to Foreign Military Sales Mission
 
FORT SMITH, Ark. (June 3, 2021) — Fort Smith and Ebbing Air National Guard Base, current home to the 188th Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard, has been named by the United States Air Force as the future location to a long-term pilot training center supporting F-16 and F-35 fighter planes purchased by Singapore, Switzerland and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Ebbing beat out several other possible sites throughout the United States, including Hulman Field, Buckley Air Force Base, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

The announcement has the potential for more than a $1 billion economic impact to the greater Fort Smith region. Over 345 U.S. military personnel would be part of the new site as well as Fort Smith becoming home to an estimated 180+ members of the Singapore unit and around 300 dependents. Training and aircraft from Finland and Poland may also be part of the FMS site in the future.
The Fort Smith Regional Chamber Welcomes Our New VP of Workforce Development, Anita Brackin
Chamber Announces Vice President of Workforce Development

FORT SMITH, Ark. (May 26, 2021) — The Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce has tapped a labor and education expert from Tennessee to fill the workforce development position focused on strengthening ties between educational institutions
and the business community.

Anita Brackin will be joining the Chamber in June to focus on building relationships between schools in the Fort Smith region and employers to better prepare students for careers and meet the needs of the workforce.

The position originally grew from a $1.3 million grant from the Walton Family Foundation for a focus on expanding workforce initiatives in the area. The grant is split equally between the Northwest Arkansas Council and the Fort Smith Chamber and the funds are part of the expanding effort to build a regional infrastructure to develop the talent for a variety of career pathways, including advanced manufacturing, healthcare and information technology jobs.

“We’re pleased to welcome Anita to the community and have someone with her enthusiasm and experience join us in this role,” said Tim Allen, President and CEO of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. “As evident by the recent partnership announcements at the PEAK Innovation Center, business leaders absolutely see the value in the effort and the long-range return on investment for their companies. And education leaders throughout the area are structuring their strategies to help build the workforce we need.”
The Chamber Loves Celebrating With Our Members
1st Choice River Valley Pregnancy Medical Center
4622 Grand Avenue
Fort Smith, AR 72904
American Freight Furniture Hwy 71
8300 Hwy 71 South
Fort Smith, AR 72908
American Freight Furniture Rogers Ave
8819 Rogers Ave, Suite A
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Armstrong Bank Rogers Ave
4102 Rogers Ave
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Community School of Arts
201 North 19th
FORT SMITH, Arkansas 72901
(Future Location Riverfront Dr. Fort Smith)
Fort Smith Board of Realtors
5700 S. Zero Street
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Jen’s Kitty Rehab
3123 Jenny Lind Road
Fort Smith, AR 72901
Knockouts Haircuts for Men
5440 Phoenix Ave, Suite A
Fort Smith, AR 72903
RazorBox Storage
8601 Chad Colley Blvd, Suite 220
Fort Smith, AR 72916
Simmons Prepared Foods Hiring Center
4900 Rogers Ave, Ste 103-D
Ft Smith, AR 72903
Smallcakes Fort Smith
4511 Phoenix Avenue
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Urgent Team - Baptist Health Urgent Care
1910 S Zero St,
Fort Smith, AR 72901
Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux
4304 Phoenix Ave.
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Walmart Neighborhood Market Rogers Ave
4900 Rogers Avenue, Suite 101J
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Benefits, Tools, & Resources for Members
Networking Events to Attend in July
We will host two Breakfast Club networking events in the July! These are great opportunities Chamber members can attend free to grow their professional network and share information on their business services.
Date and Time:
Tuesday Jul 13, 2021
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM CDT

Location:
Heart to Heart Pregnancy Support Center
417 S 16th Street
Fort Smith, AR 72901
Date and Time:
Tuesday Jul 27, 2021
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM CDT

Location:
Landmark Financial
3101 South 70th Street
Fort Smith, AR 72903
Professional Development Sessions
Don't Miss These Opportunities in July from Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center; events to be held at the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce. Click the images below to register!
VIP Leadership - August 4th - August 6th, 9:00 am - 3:30 pm each day.
Most leaders have ascended to their positions because they excelled at a technical skill previously in their career. However, leading people is dramatically different than executing those technical skills. The vast majority of leaders in society have received no formal leadership training yet these roles have an incredible impact on the bottom line of the organization and the lives of the people they lead. VIP offers a comprehensive leadership development process as part of the VIP Way that includes this 3-day leadership training program, a leadership training guide manual and ongoing upward feedback surveys for continuous improvement.

About VIP Leadership Training
VIP Leadership is a 3-day dynamic, “real-world” leadership training session, applicable for all levels of leadership including front-line leaders, emerging leaders and executives that will fully immerse leaders in the VIP Way. The scope of the session is looking at leadership, front-line people and work environment through a different lens and the focus is on the connections between work environment, leadership and bottom-line results. Participants will also learn the specific VIP leadership responsibilities and how to successfully execute them. In this powerful three-day program, leaders leave viewing their roles in a very different light, including how they view the people they lead. This session is led by former Caterpillar executive Jon Harrison and a few of his most trusted colleagues.
It's a Great Time to Join the Fort Smith Chamber or Increase Your Engagement With Us - Learn How
Upcoming Chamber Connection Newsletters
Future Chamber Connection sponsorships available. Contact Dawn Turner at dturner@fortsmithchamber.com to learn more. Reach thousands of subscribers and more through our social media distribution!
July 29, 2021 - Shop Local (Back-to-School Campaign Kick-off)

August 26, 2021 - Education
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