On Feb. 6 at 8 a.m. at the Toledo Club, the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, alongside the Toledo Small Business Development Center, will hold its first-ever Drivers Ed class. The class, part of a 10-course series, will challenge attendees to step into a new future in both their C-suite and ownership positions, as well as in their companies as a whole. Each class is built with one concept in mind: growth.

​On January 27 Governor Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 7. This legislation requires state licensing agencies to issue licenses or certificates to military members and spouses who already hold a valid license to practice a trade or profession in another state. It also requires agencies to waive any fee otherwise charged for the same license or certificate. The bill will become law in 90 days.
 
The Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce successfully advocated for the inclusion of active duty Guard and Reserve members in the bill. The Toledo Region is home to more than 2,700 Guard and Reserve personnel and it is not uncommon for members to relocate from another state. This bill will make it easier for their spouse to relocate with them and use their skills to contribute to the local economy. 

On Jan. 24, the graduating class of Export Success 2020 began its journey to create export plans, learn how to become masters in exporting abroad and/or fine tune their existing export process. The 10-session course, hosted by the Export Assistance Network at the Small Business Development Center at the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Regional Growth Partnership, is characterized by dedicated student companies and seasoned mentors. Meet some of our mentors and learn how they can assist you in growing your business through exporting overseas:

​At its regular meeting on Tuesday, January 28 at 4:00 p.m., Toledo City Council is expected to hold until its February 11 voting session Ordinance 2-20 which would require additional construction tradespersons to complete examinations and obtain a local license to perform work in the city. A hearing on the ordinance, the second since being introduced, will be on Wednesday, January 29 at 2:00 p.m. The Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes this ordinance due to its potential negative impact on business growth and jobs.

During the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce's 2020 Annual Meeting, participants learned all about The Predictive Index (PI) and how it's used to optimize talent and make teams better from Mike Zani, CEO of PI. The PI team has 17 Reference Profiles that group people by the characteristics they share. How well do you know your Chamber staff? Let's take a look at each Chamber staff member's PI Reference Profile, and what they mean.

By: Bob Savage, Savage Consulting 

This Friday, business members and educators will get together and learn more about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates among our students and what impact that has on our community. As we gear up to learn and get ready to host Randy Gardner, Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, there are a few things about FAFSA you should know:

​Recently the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Center for Regional Development at Bowling Green State University, launched the Toledo Region Data Center (TRDC), bringing a powerful and free-to-access library of resources to the Toledo region.

On Jan. 9, the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP), along with key northwest Ohio-based exporters and future exporters, met at Manhattan's Pub 'n Cheer to discuss the impact exporting abroad can have on local business, what exporting means to the global economy, and how business owners not currently exporting can take advantage of local resources and begin to export abroad.

When the census takes place every 10 years, a great deal of the attention for counting the number of people living in the United States is placed on how many members each state will get in the U.S. House of Representatives. In a similar manner, Ohio and other states use this information in redrawing state House and Senate district lines. Who represents you in Columbus and Washington absolutely matters.

The Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce our new members who joined in December 2019. Remember, it's not too late to make your New Year's Resolution! We'd love to invite nonmembers to join and we hope to see existing members at our exciting upcoming events.