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Recently, ACCE's Senior Vice President Chris Mead has had the honor of visiting member chambers to share the stories and history of chambers of commerce presented in his book, The Magicians of Main Street. Last Thursday, he was the featured speaker at the Walton Area, Fl., Chamber's annual gala and 90th anniversary event. Today, he travels to his hometown of Chapel Hill to be the keynote speaker at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber's annual meeting.

"Chambers of commerce in the United States have such a rich history on their own, but few know about their integral part of American history," said Mead. "I really enjoy seeing the audiences' reactions of surprise and sometimes delight. These stories can be a motivator for chamber staff and volunteers to think big."

Look for Mead's presentation in your area or the next chamber execs meeting. In February he is slated to speak at Ohio Chamber execs (CCEO), Commerce Lexington, and One Southern Indiana. He will also present this spring at Mid-America Chamber Executives' Annual Conference in South Dakota, MAKO Chamber Conference in Missouri, and the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals' Spring Conference.

The Magicians of Main Street is available on amazon.com. Learn more about the book here.

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It is often said that the key to sticking to your New Year’s resolution is using the buddy system: enlisting a partner to support your journey and report your progress to. In the New Year, chambers of commerce are taking on this role in their communities for members who want to support their employees’ workforce wellness resolutions. Both the Greater Des Moines Partnership and Saratoga (NY) Chamber of Commerce have announced new initiatives to boost the health of their communities in 2015:

• Along with community partners, the Greater Des Moines Partnership has unveiled a new Wellness Toolkit, in an effort to help its small business members make Iowa the healthiest state in the country by 2016. With one year to tackle this goal, the Chamber has created a business-friendly 12-month toolkit.

  According to the press release, “many small business owners like the idea of helping their employees remain healthy, but don’t have enough time, knowledge, or resources to implement a program. The Get Active Wellness Toolkit seeks to remove those barriers by arming small businesses with ‘plug-and-play’ content to help them implement a wellness program within their offices.” 

  Each month in the toolkit represents a different health theme, from fitness to dental health. Each kit contains a poster that lays out wellness tips, facts, and resources. Employers can also download packets that contain more health facts, suggestions for activities to implement in the workplace, and daily health tips that they can email to employees.

  Also found on its wellness homepage, the Partnership has created various fact sheets regarding health and fitness, compiled a directory of resources for wellness in the workplace, and even supports a mobile app that connects members of the Des Moines community who have committed to an active lifestyle.

• The Saratoga (NY) Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Blue Shield of Northeastern NY, is hosting Saratoga’s first-ever Health and Wellness Week from January 5-11. Enlisting the participation of member businesses, the event will showcase many of the health and wellness opportunities available in Saratoga, with the goal of inspiring the community to live healthier in 2015.

  Throughout the week, member businesses will help create buzz and excitement around health and wellness by offering a wide range of workshops, classes, discounts and seminars. These mini-events are designed to help community members explore new health and wellness products and services. Examples include mineral water tours, free fitness classes, mini facials, and cooking classes.

  The Saratoga Health and Wellness Week was the brainchild of the chamber’s new Health and Wellness Committee, which is charged with expanding the chamber’s already expansive initiatives to make Saratoga one of the healthiest communities to live in.

For more information on how chambers are helping create healthier communities:
- Visit the Workplace Wellness and Community Health Chamberpedia Page to learn how chambers support childhood obesity prevention, corporate wellness, and access to healthcare
- Download the Workplace Wellness Communication Briefs to disseminate to members and broader community to explain how businesses can support healthy communities and healthy economies.

Tags: Community Health, Corporate Wellness, Workforce Development