Chamber Updates

Women in Business Women have been in the work force for more than 100 years. While 2019 numbers reflected nearly there were 77 million women in the labor force, representing close to half of the total labor force, January 2020 statistics tell us, right before the pandemic, there were more women on payrolls in the…

Juneteenth Becomes America’s 12th Federal Holiday It is the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. day was established in 1983. Last Thursday, President Biden signed legislation into law making Juneteenth, or June 19th, the 12th federal holiday. Juneteenth recognizes when Union soldiers delivered the news of freedom to slaves in Galveston, Texas…

Missouri Ends Participation in Federal Pandemic-Related Unemployment Insurance In the state of Missouri, it ended at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, June 12. Of course, I am referring to the Governor’s decision to end participation in all federal pandemic-related unemployment insurance programs. In his official press release announcing the decision, the Governor said in his discussions…

Member-to-Member Deals As you know, the Cape Chamber is committed to helping our members lower the cost of doing business. Over the past few years, we have opted into participation in the Chamber Benefits Plan to assist with lower health coverage, offered discounted room rentals and training sessions, and more. We are excited to announce…

City of Cape Releases Updated Hotel/Motel/Restaurant Receipts Report It is important to celebrate meaningful accomplishments. The city of Cape just released the updated hotel/motel/restaurant receipts report, and it tells an amazing story. The last two months of hotel/motel receipts are the second and third highest in history. And the last two months of restaurant receipts…

Legislative Update at First Friday Coffee Last Friday, First Friday Coffee goers were joined by several of our Missouri Legislators – Senator Holly Rehder, Representative Barry Hovis, Representative Wayne Wallingford, and Congressman Jason Smith. Though there were roughly 2,200 bills filed in the legislature this session (71 were passed), the presenters focused on four topics…

Retirement Announcement There is a Time for Everything This is a note to our awesome Chamber membership – past and present. Wanted to take just a few minutes and let you know I have decided this year, 2021, will be my last here at the Chamber. It has been a true honor and privilege to…

Update from First Regular Session of Missouri’s 101st General Assembly The First Regular Session of the 101st General Assembly of the State of Missouri has ended and there are some changes coming that will affect the business community. After several years of efforts, the Wayfair bill passed. Missouri became the last of the 45 states…

Membership Drive Recap Wow! Cape Chamber members, you continue to blow us away! After last week’s Membership Drive, we have so much to be thankful for. Thank you, Ambassadors! We’d like to give a huge shout-out to our amazing team of ambassadors. Including: Pictured from left to right: Adam Wendel, April Creech, Greg Vaughn, Richard…

Acquiring Local Talent While the month of May is known for many things, one of these could be a real benefit for our regional business community. May is the biggest graduation month. In the Cape/Jackson metro we are blessed to have numerous public, private and parochial high schools as well as Southeast Missouri State University.…