This Week at The Chamber
This Week at The Chamber || 03.04.2024
Leadership Agriculture Day. Tuesday our adult and youth leadership programs will learn about agriculture in our region and how it impacts our economy.
Entrepreneurship Coffee. Thursday, March 7 at Neno's Place in Downtown Harrison. Join us to hear the story about Ozark Trailer Manufacturing and Sales and connect with other entrepreneurs and small business owners.
JP&O Ottobock.cares. Ribbon cutting for the new ownership of JP&O. Join us March 7 at 10 AM for this celebration.
Harrison High School Manufacturing Day. Friday morning students from HHS will tour WestRock and Wabash to see the facilities, hear from employees, and learn more about manufacturing jobs and careers right here in Harrison.
This Week at The Chamber || 02.26.2024
Chamber Board Meeting. The monthly gathering of our Chamber board to discuss business and community updates here in the Boone County area.
State of Healthcare Breakfast, Presented by Home Helpers. Thursday morning from 7:30-9:00 AM register and join us at NARMC for breakfast and an update from NARMC and the Arkansas Hospital Association about what's going on in the healthcare world.
Regional Day of Opportunities. Friday we will be at Harrison High School with 50+ businesses and about 1,000 students from around the region to explore careers in our area.
Looking forward. Next week both our leadership classes will enjoy their agriculture focused session, we'll also be in Downtown Harrison at Neno's for our March Entrepreneurship Coffee to hear the story of Ozark Trailers Mfg and Sales - please let us know if you plan to join us!
PLUS. Our guest today is Kim Rosson from North Arkansas Regional Medical Center. Thank you Kim for taking some time to preview the State of Healthcare Breakfast this Thursday morning at NARMC!
This Week at The Chamber || 02.19.2024
Boone County Leadership. This week our leadership program has their government and healthcare day. They will begin the day touring City Hall learning about police and fire services, hear a state of the city with the Mayor, eat lunch with AirEvac, and spend the afternoon with NARMC learning about healthcare.
Work Ready Community. Wilson and AC travel to Conway to learn more about the Work Ready Communities initiatives and what that might look like to bring back to the Harrison region.
Creekside Bike Trail. Wednesday at 4 PM, we'll be cutting the ribbon at the bike trail by the Creekside Community Center. This trail runs parallel to the current walking trail and will allow families to walk and ride together while working on basic mountain biking skills.
Looking Forward. Next week we have a few big events you'll want to plan for. Thursday morning we will be with NARMC for a State of Healthcare Breakfast, presented by Home Helpers. Then Friday there is a "Regional Day of Opportunities" at Harrison High School hosting near 50 businesses and 1,000 students from around the region to explore careers in our area.
PLUS. Our guest today is Kim Loomis with Home Helpers giving a short preview of the State of Healthcare event coming next week. Kim is the Community Liaison with Home Helpers here in Harrison. Thank you Kim and Home Helper for your presenting sponsorship of this State of Healthcare breakfast!
This Week at The Chamber || 02.12.2024
ESO Summit. Wilson and AC spent the first two days of the week in Conway with entrepreneurial support organizations from around the state learning about how to effectively build entrepreneurial ecosystems.
Youth Leadership. Tuesday do use leader ship academy had their résumé workshops and history session. They spent the first part of the morning working on their professional skills and their résumé for a future session with mock interviews. The afternoon with spent the Boone County Heritage Museum. Shout out to Dairy Queen for hosting our students for lunch!
Economics Arkansas. We are planning a summer education session for our educators in partnership with the OUR Cooperative and Economics Arkansas to showcase local manufacturing and continue connecting educators into the business conversation. Will be doing a plan and call with Marsha Masters and Emilee Tucker to set some of the goals and the agenda.
TallGrass Ribbon Cutting. On Thursday, TallGrass Bar & Grill is celebrating the ribbon-cutting of their new expansion of their restaurant. Added seating, more bar, space, and a small stage for live entertainment. Come celebrate the expansion of this business here in Harrison on Thursday at 9:30 AM.
This Week at The Chamber || 02.05.2024
State of K12 Education Breakfast. Presented by Jake Gray, State Farm Insurance. An opportunity for our business, leaders, and community leaders to connect with superintendence from around Boone County schools, to discuss challenges and opportunities in education, and how we are preparing the next generation.
Bergman CTE Showcase. With the OUR co-op we will be at Bergman high school learning about their career and technical education programs, and how they are partnering with businesses in the region to prepare students for success after high school.
Restaurant Owners Roundtable. Part of our quarterly roundtable series, convening restaurant owners to talk about what's going on in their industry.
City Council Presentation. Thursday evening will be at City Council giving the fourth quarter economic development report highlighting activity in our region.
This Week at The Chamber || 01.29.2023
Roundtable Week. This week we're convening multiple groups of business leaders in manufacturing and childcare to talk about the economy and challenges and opportunities that we should be aware of at the Chamber.
WIN Book Study. Each Wednesday for the next few weeks we've been invited to join educators from the region in a book study on "Answering Why" ... A workforce education book around the next generation of employees and how to engage them in the workplace. A lot of the educators in this study were also in our WIN Leadership Academy over the last few years. Shoutout Emilee Tucker at the OUR Cooperative for helping organize this book study! If any of our business community would like to attend and be part of the sessions - please let our Chamber team know.
Economic Development Committee. First meeting of the EDC will be on Thursday at 8:30 AM. Our Lead and Inspire Investors are invited to attend to give and hear status updates on the community efforts around the community to advance the economic development mission.
First Friday Entrepreneurship. The first of our monthly gatherings inviting entrepreneurs and small business owners to hear a startup story and connect with others in entrepreneurship. 8 AM at Neighbor's Mill Bakery & Cafe to hear how Neighbor's Mill got it's start and some of the business lessons learned along the way.
This Week at The Chamber || 01.16.2024
Downtown Harrison. Related to the Grant from the Northwest Arkansas Economic Develoment District there is a small group meeting on Wednesday morning to talk about downtown, the history, and how to best interact with the grant and make progress for the future of downtown Harrison.
Holt Memorial Chapel 100 Years. On Thursday, we are celebrating with Holt Memorial Chapel for their 100 year anniversary with a business after hours. Please consider joining us at 4 PM on Thursday afternoon to celebrate, does significant milestones for a local business!
Boone County Broadband Committee. Boone County broadband committee meets again on Friday morning to discuss the public comments that are due for the Arkansas’ Digital Skills and Opportunity Plan (DSO). The DSO plan outlines the state’s vision for empowering Arkansans with the skills, technology, and capacity needed to self-determine success in the 21st-century digital economy. Public comments will be accepted through Thursday, January 25, 2024.
March 12 Annual Meeting Planning. We've been laying the groundwork for a few weeks now with our nominations for our annual awards. On Friday, we meet with Equity Bank our presenting sponsor to talk about more logistics and details ahead of our event in March.
This Week at The Chamber || 01.08.2023
Meet with Pace Industries. Adrielle and Wilson will visit Pace Industries for an update with their local leadership team. Pace Industries is our 4th largest employer.
Youth Leadership Academy. On Tuesday, the YLA students will have their "Finance & Mentor" session. They'll go through a financial simulation with the Boone County Extension Office and then hear from some business and community leaders in the afternoon on a panel and breakout session to discuss mentorship and it's impacts.
Boone County Quorum Court. On Tuesday evening, Wilson will present the Q4 economic development report to the Justices of the Peace at the Boone County Quorum Court.
Regional Career Fair Planning. Wednesday afternoon the Harrison High School Career Coaches are planning and recruiting businesses for the March 1st career fair at Harrison High School. The afternoon of March 1st will be open to other schools in the region to bring their students to meet with the anticipated 50 businesses at the high school. If your business is interested in setting up a booth at the career fair, please let us or the career coaches know soon!
This Week at The Chamber || 01.02.2024
Shop Local Results. This year's shop local campaign resulted in almost $12,000 in local receipts. Thank you to our shoppers who spent their money locally this holiday season - 16 of them were drawn to win prizes donated by our participating businesses. Also, thank you to Westrock Packaging for Christmas boxes, Explore Harrison for their support, and our Chamber Ambassadors who helped to deliver boxes and encourage our community to shop local!
Youth Leadership Planning. January 9 is their Finance and Mentor session. They'll participate in a financial simulation and learn about the importance of mentors for career and life guidance.
Chamber Renewal Season. Over half of our membership renews this month for the 2024 year - we'll continue connecting with members throughout the month as we give and receive updates and plan for the next year!
Downtown Harrison Survey. With the NWAEDD, Harrison was awarded a grant for Downtown Harrison to receive a Strategic Visioning Workshop, 5-Year Strategic Plan, and downtown merchant technical assistance. Please consider participating in the downtown survey to help align the focus of our community's efforts in Downtown Harrison. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DowntownHarrison
This Week at The Chamber || 12.18.2023
Shop Local Program Ends. Boxes and receipts are being picked up today. Winners to be announced on Thursday.
Team Planning. Today we are planning out our calendar of events and programming for 2024. We'll circulate some save the dates for the major events at the start of the new year.
Retirement Celebration for Bob Largent. Bob is officially retiring this week after 4.5 years of leading our Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber Office Closed Friday. In observance of Christmas Eve.
PLUS a snippet of our conversation with Angela Boyers, the new Superintendent at the Buffalo National River. Full podcast episode to be released in January.
This Week at The Chamber || 12.11.2023
Boone County Leadership Non-Profit Day. Tuesday, our leadership class will learn about some of the non-profit organizations in our community.
Eclipse Meeting at Harrison City Hall. Community leaders are gathering at city hall to discuss the impact of the solar eclipse coming in April, 2024 and what we can be doing to prepare for the influx of visitors to our community.
Business After Hours - Commerce Mall. Join us for a business after hours event at Commerce Mall on Thursday at 4 PM. Last year we celebrated their ribbon cutting on the (mostly) empty building - now it is full of shops and vendors. Join us on Thursday!
Harrison City Council Meeting. The only meeting in December due to the Christmas holiday. Along with business of the council, our former and soon to be retired President/CEO Bob Largent will be recognized for his service in community and economic development for the City of Harrison.
PLUS our conversation with Cheryl Keymer, Chair and Professor of Business and IT at North Arkansas College. Cheryl joins us to preview the Lair~Turner School of Business Ribbon Cutting on Tuesday, December 13th at 3 PM. We also discuss the way Northark includes business and community leaders into the classroom to enhance the educational experience for their students.
This Week at The Chamber || 12.04.2023
Ribbon Cutting with Gold Infusions. Tuesday at 9:30 AM.
Boone County Quorum Court. Tuesday evening the Boone County Quorum Court meets to discuss regular business as well as the 2024 annual budget.
NWAEDD Workforce Board Meeting. The quarterly meeting of the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District's Workforce Board. We'll hear an update and give feedback about workforce initiatives in the region.
Middle School EAST Visit. Wilson visits the Harrison Middle School to guest speak about what's happening in our community and what our Chamber does.
This Week at The Chamber || 11.27.23
Childhood Literacy. We're joining some regional partners for another conversation around early childhood literacy and how we are connecting and removing barriers in our community for access to books and a culture of reading to enhance kindergarten readiness.
Podcast with Angela Boyers. We met a couple of weeks ago with the new superintendent of the Buffalo National River, this week she'll be back to record an introductory podcast and talk about what's happening at the Buffalo.
Entrepreneurship Support Planning. We're serving on a planning committee for an entrepreneurial summit, bringing a Chamber perspective to other entrepreneurship support organizations in the state.
See It and Be It Planning. This Fall the OUR Cooperative and the NWAEDD partnered for an event called "See It and Be It" targeted to high school students who don't plan to go to college. The goal was to help them connect with business and industry partners. In the spring they are prepping those same students with a resume workshop, mock interviews, and real interviews to help them get connected and/or placed in a job right after high school.
This Week at The Chamber || 11.20.2023
Preparations for our Annual Awards. Each year the Chamber recognizes businesses and community leaders for their contributions to our region at the Annual Meeting
Luncheon in March. We’ll begin preparing this week to gather nominations and applications for these awards.
Shop Local. Our shop local campaign is underway - you can find lists and drop offs at locations throughout town. Turn in receipts for more chances to win prizes!
Community Maps. We’ve engaged with a firm to help us develop community maps both digitally and print. This product has been widely popular with real estate agents, title companies, hotels, and the Arkansas Welcome Center. We’re excited to bring it back for its newest edition!
Chamber Offices Closed. Thursday and Friday of this week for Thanksgiving.
This Week at The Chamber || 11.13.23
Board Retreat. Our Chamber board has its annual retreat to recap and plan for the 2024 year. Joined by our Boone County Leadership Institute - the groups will start with an Improv Comedy workshop and learn how the principles of improv are great foundations for building on ideas and thinking on our feet.
Superintendent of Buffalo National River. Wednesday morning we’ll have the opportunity to meet with Angela Boyers, the new Superintendent of BNR.
Downtown Strategies. Wednesday afternoon we’ll join a call with the Northwest Arkansas Economic Development District that has secured grant funding to partner with communities and Downtown Strategies to help energize and provide a plan tailored to Harrison.
Boone County Leadership Fundraiser. Our leadership institute has partnered with Brick Oven to raise money for Sanctuary, Inc. Dine in on Wednesday evening and Brick Oven is donating 10% of sales to Sanctuary.
Plus another clip from our conversation with Kris Anderson, owner of Psych Bike in Harrison, Arkansas.
This Week at The Chamber || 11.6.23
YLA Hospitality & Customer Service. Our Youth Leadership Academy will be learning about hospitality and customer service from local businesses and leaders here in Harrison and then traveling to Big Cedar to learn more about their industry and having a fun mini-retreat at fun mountain.
Matt McKinney - Shelter Insurance. Join us for the ribbon cutting of Matt McKinney, Shelter Insurance on Wednesday at 9:30 AM.
WIN Leadership Academy Final Session. Our educators in our leadership academy will have their last session going through a book study and business roundtable discussions about identifying how to best prepare students for life after high school. We’ll be joined by the previous alumni of the program and Marsha Masters from Economics Arkansas and Matuschka Lindo Briggs from the St. Louis Fed to participate in the final session and add perspective for our educators.
Shop Local Begins. Look for Santa’s Shopping list at participating businesses around our community. We encourage our community to shop local this year and enter to
Plus a clip from our conversation with Kris Anderson, owner of Psych Bike in Harrison, Arkansas. Kris and his wife Roni opened the business earlier this summer and is contributing to our vibrant community and the mental health and development of young athletes through the mountain biking team the “Buffalo Riders”.
This Week at The Chamber || 10.30.23
AR Heart Hospital Clinic Ribbon Cutting. Join us at 4 PM on Oct 30th to welcome AR Heart Hospital Clinic to the Chamber of Commerce.
Northark Manufacturing Days. On Nov 2-3 North Arkansas College will be hosting high school students from around the region.
WIN Leadership Academy Session. Our educators in our leadership academy will have their second-to-last session going through a book study and business roundtable discussions about identifying how to best prepare students for life after high school.
Workforce and Early Childhood Education. Bob will be traveling on Thursday to the Arkansas Workforce Best Practices Summit in Little Rock. Wilson will be in Pine Bluff for the Excel by Eight Learning Community Meeting about early childhood education and other resources for communities.
This Week at The Chamber || 10.23.23
Municipality Resource Conference
HR Best Practices Lunch & Learn w/NAHRA
RIbbon Cutting - Richardson Appliance Sales & Service
The Gateway Groundbreaking
This Week at The Chamber || 10.16.23
WIN Field Trips with NARMC Leadership - BCLI Economic Development Day & YLA
Orientation Day Eggs & Issues
Leadercast After Hours
This Week at The Chamber || 10.09.23
Youth Leadership Announcement.
Boone County Economic Update.
City Eclipse Meeting.
Ribbon Cuttings.
This Week at The Chamber || 10.02.23
“See It and Be It” Employer Training. Working with NWAEDD and our education partners in preparation for their 2 summit events (one in NWA and one here at the OUR Cooperative) to introduce students to careers and life skills.
Wilson speaks at FBLA Student Leadership Conference. The district conference for 500 students from 31 area schools is kicking off the school year to motivate students to become more active leaders in their schools and communities.
Ribbon Cutting at NARMC theMed Plaza. The official ribbon cutting ceremony for NARMC’s new medical plaza on Hwy 65 North. Join us Thursday morning at 9:30 AM to learn more and see this new addition to our healthcare facilities in Harrison.
WIN Leadership Academy - Session 2. The 2nd of 5 sessions for our educator leadership program. Thursday’s session will be highly focused on building relationships and increasing communication between our educators and business leaders.
This Week at The Chamber || 09.25.23
BCLI in Little Rock. It’s Retreat Week for Boone County Leadership Institute Class XXXV. The class will visit the Clinton Library, tour the Capitol, experience the challenge of a Ropes Course, and more!
Startup Junkie Education Sessions. Startup Junkie, a valuable resource that provides free business consulting, will conduct Lean Canvas entrepreneurial training with some local educators this week.
KC Insurance Partners Ribbon Cutting. Join us on Thursday, September 28th at 12 PM for the Ribbon Cutting for KC Insurance Partners, 912 Hwy 62 65 N, Harrison, AR.
Harrison School New Addition Ribbon Cutting. Join us on Friday, September 29th at 12 PM for the Ribbon Cutting for the new Concessions and Locker Room Facility at Harrison High School F.S. Garrison Stadium, 1734 W. Burls Way, Harrison, AR.
This Week at The Chamber || 09.18.23
Boone County Resource Council. The quarterly meeting of non-profits in our region
Small Biz Benefits Workshop. Tuesday’s lunch and learn about how to recruit and retain top talent through small business insurance benefits with Armor Insurance. Call or email the Chamber to get signed up for this informational session.
Fraud Seminar with Arvest Bank. Wednesday morning, we’re co-hosting a fraud seminar with Arvest Bank. Learn how to mitigate risk and protect your business and personal accounts by learning about current trends and types of fraud going around.
WIN Leadership Academy. The first session of our Workforce Initiative Network Leadership Academy for educators in our region. These educators will go through a 5-week book study and business roundtable discussions to enhance student employability and career pathways.
Plus. A snippet of our conversation with Steve Bailey at Armor Insurance about how we can retain and recruit top talent at our business by offering employee benefits. Tuesday of this week is lunch and learn to find out if this is a good fit for your business.