Chamber Updates

Upcoming Tourism Events in Cape Girardeau Area Let’s not forget this important part of our local economic development efforts. The tourism industry which includes meetings and conventions, visitors tied to events, and tourists or travelers, is really gaining additional steam in our area. As you may recall, we have talked about the importance of the…

Professional Development and Business Success According to Zig Ziglar, “The only thing worse than training employees and losing them is not training them and keeping them.” Professional development is an important ongoing part of business success. It should permeate all levels of organizations large and small. And while most employers would agree with the importance,…

8 Workforce Development Initiatives at the Cape Chamber Pre-pandemic, we experienced near historic lows in unemployment. Post-pandemic, we see the nature of work shifting.  One thing we know for sure at the Cape Chamber is how challenging it has been and continues to be for our local employers to find quality candidates to fill open…

Evaluating Workforce Needs for Southeast Missouri Questions about a quality labor force in our area are about to get a deeper dive. Certainly workforce needs are an ever evolving situation. And emerging from this pandemic, it will continue to be an important focus of any economy. Several months ago, a group of business people began…

SEMO’s Harrison College of Business Reaccredited An important recent announcement affecting the local business community may have flown under the radar but that certainly doesn’t make it any less important. The Donald L. Harrison College of Business and Computing at Southeast Missouri State University was reaccredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.…

Business Safety Panel Recap First Friday Coffee goers were joined in March by representatives from the Cape Girardeau police and fire departments for a conversation regarding business safety. In case you missed it, here’s a brief recap of what Corporal Richard Couch and Fire Marshall Battalion Chief Greg Hecht shared!   For the full conversation,…

New Job Creation There are several measurements of a strong economy and job creation is the one I get asked about most frequently. Measuring the results of economic development efforts is multi-faceted. We define economic development simply as the increase in capital flow to an area. So, higher wages, capital investment, tourism dollars and new…

Cape County Face-Covering Order Rescinded As you may be aware, the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees held a special session this morning to discuss the fate of the current face-covering order. In summary, the Board voted unanimously to rescind the face-covering order, effective immediately. Though wearing a face-covering is no longer required…

The Importance of the IT Sector This economic sector plays an important part in virtually every aspect of our lives. I’m talking about the information technology sector, or IT. The IT sector is made up of companies producing software, hardware or semiconductor equipment, and companies providing internet or related services. According to numerous sources, these…

It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in, support is key. From networking opportunities to cost saving benefits, the Cape Chamber has been supporting local businesses for over 100 years. If you’re a new business wondering if Chamber membership is worth the investment, here are just a few examples of how the Cape Chamber helps with common small business goals…