Chamber Updates May 21, 2020
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Members,
Memorial Day has traditionally been the start of the Summer, and an opportunity to remember our fallen heroes that served our military. Oftentimes, it means going to a parade, a flag raising ceremony, or gathering with friends and family for a backyard BBQ. My great Uncle John was a paratrooper in the 101
st
Airborne and among those who served on D-Day; I’ll post his picture on our Facebook page over the weekend and suggest that you join me in celebrating those in your family and our community that served our country so bravely.
This year, in just three short months, our country has seen over 90,000 deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic and now, hundreds of thousands lives have been lost across the globe. These are sobering numbers. I will suggest that we honor those who have died in the last three months and continue to lift up those healthcare professionals who give of themselves each and every day.
Memorial Day has often given us a chance to have a three-day weekend to travel to a favorite nearby destination. My guess is that there will be far less travel this holiday and potentially the remainder of the summer. As we start to reopen our economy and businesses across our community, many have recognized the risks that exist from direct contact to others that “might” be a carrier or infected by the virus. Some will choose to continue to both social distance and hunker down until they feel safe. This is a natural tendency, and as the governor has said, a strong recommendation, especially for those that are in higher risk categories.
Others have ventured out and heeded the guidelines in order to find some normalcy. Since my newsletter, just two weeks ago, confirmed cases of COVID-19 have increased by nearly 8,000 (up to 28,952) and nearly 600 people have died (up to 1,720) in our state alone. If we have learned anything over the last two months since the state’s Shelter in Place order went into effect, its that life has changed.
At this week's chamber board meeting, David Denny from Tetra Management reminded us about a business and life changing book and movie called
Who Moved My Cheese
; the video can be found
HERE
. It is likely worth 15 minutes of your time to watch, and ask yourself where your business is going at this critical point in time? What will the new “normal” look like, and can you adapt under the circumstances?
From my vantage point, I am seeing businesses and people adapting. Adapting may be the word of the year, as all of us grapple with the challenges in our households and in our respective businesses. Among those adaptations will be how we meet in chamber networking functions. I anticipate announcing plans soon for a Third Thursday event in June. I look forward to new and exciting programs that hope to make a difference in your business lives, and I hope that you’ve found value in our 11 am Friday morning ZOOM forums, which will take a break this week and return next Friday May 29. And while the Hometown Heroes event has taken a back seat to social distancing and 4
th
of July fireworks have been postponed, please note that we as a chamber of commerce and community, WILL find a way to celebrate.
I will be returning to a once per month newsletter beginning Monday June 1 and ask that you take the time to send me a note with an update about your business or a promotion that will allow us to recognize your efforts to pivot during the COVID-19 pandemic. I believe that we will look back on this time with both sorrow for the losses we have experienced, but also a ray of sunshine as we make the necessary decisions to grow stronger because of the circumstance.
Be well and stay safe this Memorial Day weekend. May the rain subside for a brief time so that we can get out and enjoy the sunshine again.
All the best!
Dave Moravec
President, Colerain Chamber of Commerce
309-838-1947
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Responsible Restart Reminders
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The guiding principles of the Responsible RestartOhio plan are protecting the health of employees, customers, and their families, supporting community efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, and responsibly getting Ohio back to work.
"We put this plan together based on all the information we have about how dangerous COVID-19 still is right now, balanced with the fact that it's also dangerous to have people not working," said Governor DeWine. "COVID-19 is still out there. It's still killing people. We're asking Ohioans to be reasonable and rational. Please don't take huge chances, and please use common sense when you go out and where you go out."
Beginning on May 12, 2020,
consumer, retail and services, may reopen if these businesses can meet mandatory safety requirements for customers and employees. The full Responsible RestartOhio plan for consumer, retail and services can be found at
c
oronavirus.ohio.gov/ResponsibleRestartOhio
.
The general safe business practices that all businesses must follow as they reopen are:
- Requiring face coverings for all employees, and recommending them for clients and customers at all times
- Conducting daily health assessments or self-evaluations of employees to determine if they should work
- Maintaining good hygiene at all times such as hand washing and social distancing
- Cleaning and sanitizing workplaces throughout the day and at the close of business or between shifts
- Limiting capacity to meet social distancing guidelines
"I have an obligation as the Governor of Ohio to get people back to work and keep them safe. Opening everything up at once would not be consistent with the obligation to keep people safe," said Governor DeWine. "Our Responsible Restart Ohio plan is the best guarantee that Ohioans will feel safe going to stores and employees will feel safe going to work. I'm optimistic about our future, but we can't be reckless."
CONTINUED CLOSURES:
The following businesses and operations remain closed as of May 15, 2020, as part of Ohio’s plan to prevent the spread of COVID-19:
- K-12 schools.
- Childcare services (permitted to reopen with restrictions on May 31).
- Restaurants and bars dine-in service.
- Carry-out and delivery services are permitted.
- Outdoor dining is permitted.
- Dine-in service permitted on a limited basis beginning tomorrow, May 21st.
- Older adult day care services and senior centers.
- Adult day support or vocational habilitation services in congregate settings.
- Rooming and boarding houses, and workers’ camps.
- Entertainment/recreation/gymnasium sites.
- Includes, but is not limited to:
- All places of public amusement, whether indoors or outdoors, such as:
- Laser tag facilities, roller skating rinks, ice skating rinks, arcades, indoor miniature golf facilities, bowling alleys, indoor trampoline parks, indoor water parks, arcades, and adult and child skill or chance game facilities remain closed.
- Gambling industries. (Horse racing is permitted without spectators May 22.)
- Auditoriums, stadiums, arenas.
- Movie theatres, performance theatres, and concert and music halls.
- Public recreation centers and indoor sports facilities.
- Parades, fairs, festivals, and carnivals.
- Amusement parks, theme parks, outdoor water parks, children's play centers, playgrounds, and funplexes.
- Aquariums, zoos, museums, historical sites, and similar institutions.
- Country clubs and social clubs.
- Spectator sports, recreational sports tournaments and organized recreational sports leagues. (Non-contact and limited-contact sports leagues are permitted to reopen May 26.)
- Health clubs, fitness centers, workout facilities, gyms, and yoga studios (permitted to reopen May 26).
- Swimming pools, whether public or private, except swimming pools for single households. (Public pools and club pools regulated by local health departments are permitted to reopen May 26.)
- Residential and day camps.
- Campgrounds, including recreational camps and recreational vehicle (RV) parks (permitted to reopen May 21).
- Excludes people living in campground RVs with no other viable place of residence.
- Excludes people living in cabins, mobile homes, or other fixed structures that are meant for single families and where preexisting residential activity already has been established. (E.g., for people who have part-time preestablished residences at campgrounds for the summer months.)
For answers to your COVID-19 questions, call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634).
Current Ohio Statistics can be found
here
.
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. If you or a loved one are experiencing anxiety related to the coronavirus pandemic, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call the COVID-19 CareLine at 1-800-720-9616.
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Announcing a NEW relief program for small businesses across Hamilton County
; this could provide your business with $5,000 or $10,000 in grant funding. Details about this program can be accessed
here
, and eligibility requirements are contained below. If you have been unable to find relief in other places, I strongly urge you to look into this program which has $5 Million available.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
In order to be eligible to apply for Grant Funds under the Hamilton County Small Business Relief Program, a business must meet the following criteria:
- Must be a for-profit entity with a location in Hamilton County.
- Have a Federal Taxpayer Identification Number for its type of business and a DUNS number. The business must have a DUNS number prior to being awarded grant funding. A DUNS number can be requested here.
- Have been operational since January of 2019. This can be evidenced, at a minimum, by: a) filing(s) with the Ohio Secretary of State, such as articles of incorporation or other registration documents along with an Ohio Secretary of State Certificate of Good Standing; b) an Ohio vendor’s license; c) Federal Schedule C – Profit or Loss from Business (Sole Proprietorship); or any other documents that demonstrate that the business has been in operation as a for-profit entity since January 2019.
- Have less than $1 million in gross revenue/receipts on an annual basis. This can be evidenced by records such as the business’ 2018 and 2019 federal income tax return or financial statements.
- Must have experienced a decrease in gross revenue/receipts of 35% or more due to COVID-19 when comparing March 1 – April 30, 2019 revenue/receipts to revenue/receipts for March 1 - April 30, 2020. This can be evidenced by financial information/records, including, at a minimum, bank statements.
- UPDATE--- Have 50 or fewer employees or 1099 workers as of March 22, 2020. This can be demonstrated by forms such as 2019 Form W-3 (Transmittal of Wage and Tax Statement) or 2019 Form 1096 (Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns) and payroll reports or checks that evidence number of workers as of March 22, 2020 or statement attesting/certifying that your business has no employees or 1099 workers.
- UPDATE-- Has not received or not been approved for other federal assistance for lost revenue or expenses arising from the pandemic, including Paycheck Protection Program, Emergency Disaster Loan.
- Has not been approved for a business interruption insurance claim as result of COVID-19.
- Business location in Hamilton County, Ohio and the grant funding will be used for expenses for that business. This can be evidenced by records such as a mortgage statement, utility bill, insurance premium statement and property tax bills.
- Must be able to attest that it is in compliance with federal, state, or county and local requirements applicable to its type of business.
- Must be able to must attest that it is current with all federal, state, county and local taxes and fees.
- Must be able to attest that it is in good standing with all applicable government regulations related to building code or property maintenance issues.
- Must be able to attest that it is not a nuisance property for police/fire/EMS calls.
- Must be able to attest that it is not currently in bankruptcy.
Payroll Protection Program Update
Program information can be found
here.
REMINDER: U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched a Save Small Business Fund
to offer short term relief for businesses affected by COVID-19.
The application process has gone live. Each grant is $5,000; this is a great opportunity that could benefit many small businesses here in Colerain. Click on
this link to apply! Share with any businesses owners that you know.
The US Chamber of Commerce has also been publishing new resources and tips every day for small businesses,
from how to effectively manage a team remotely, to mastering social media, to utilizing technology to keep productive at home. Check out
this link to see what other small businesses are doing during this crisis.
Encouragement comes in a Variety of Languages – If you haven’t seen
this video prepared by the Colerain Township, be sure to take 2 minutes and see what a diverse community we live in.
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ZOOM BUSINESS HOURS WITH DAVE – 12:30 pm – 2 pm Wednesdays (May 20 & 27) -
INFO HERE
– Stop by for 5-10 minutes if you can. An opportunity to get to know Dave better, ask a question or just chat for a few minutes about business in Colerain Township.
WEDNESDAY, June 3, 4:45pm at Pebble Creek Golf Club - Chamber of Commerce Golf League. We will begin weekly play on June 3. If you have not yet signed up or would like to do so, please reach out to Dave Moravec at 309-838-1947 or
president@colerainchamber.org . For more information visit
Chamber Golf Details
FRIDAY June 5, 11 am – Networking Event – Life in Colerain During COVID-19 – Topic TBD
TUESDAY, June 9
,
Noon – Women’s Networking Luncheon – We have decided to continue to host this event in a virtual environment rather than have an in-person networking event with social distancing. Sylvia Dwertman from Visiting Angels hosts this event on the second Tuesday each month, and our hope is that we will return to an in-person event soon. This is a chance for the women of our community to gather and share ideas and network. For more information here:
REGISTRATION and ZOOM INSTRUCTIONS
June 10, 8:30 am – Sales Summit Meeting – The Sales Summit concept brings together sales professionals from the business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketplaces to look at sales from a human-to-human perspective (H2H). Sales is a profession and should be looked at this way. Our first meeting had us participating with a group from Illinois. We may be able to meet in person in June; if not we’ll connect via ZOOM with an agenda to follow. Contact Dave Moravec or visit our
Registration Page
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Congratulations to
Colerain Township
for its recent Achievement in Innovation award from the Greater Cincinnati Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration (GCC-ASPA). This award comes as a result of their traffic calming lending bank, which enables governments to share equipment and best practices when redesigning roads to be safer for pedestrians. For the full press release, go
here
.
The Township Board Meeting from May 12 can be viewed
here
:
A special shout out for the support of our local businesses by the Colerain Township staff and Tawanna Molter. The links below will take you to articles highlighting our area businesses, many of which are chamber members. Awesome work Tawanna, thanks for the extra effort!!!
Business spotlight:
To view a full list of our Colerain Chamber Membership, go
here
:
Additional Township Resources for businesses can be found
here
and
here
.
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Colerain Chamber By the Numbers
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New Chamber Members since May 2019 - 51
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Chamber Communication:
- 11 Newsletters since March 13 – (weekly) to view: LINK HERE
- Facebook Posts – Addition of Ana Lu Gehner (Colerain HS & Butler Tech Program)
- 18 – May 2020 (to date)
- 28 – April 2020
- 16 – March 2020
FRIDAY ZOOM Conferences (9) with average attendance of 20 per event
- March 27 – Steve Conn & Township Preparedness
- April 3 – Mike Long – PPP & Stimulus Resources Available
- April 10 – Bill Blessing/Cindy Abrams – State of the State of Ohio
- April 17 – Carrie Pastor, REDI Cincinnati – Stimulus and SBA resources Available
- April 24 – Malia Harper, MD, Tri-Health – Return to work safely – Healthy work environments (Recorded Video)
- May 1 – Caunin/Browne/Bostian – Return to work safely – Human Resources Panel (Recorded Audio)
- May 4 – Brynne Tillman – LinkedIn Tips during Quarantine (Recorded Video)
- May 8 – Ilyce Glink – Economic Outlook – Unemployment & Real Estate Market
- May 15 – Bennett/Wolterman/Fox – Economic Outlook – Personal & Business Finances (Recorded Audio)
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Thank You to Our Sustaining Sponsors
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President Level Sustaining Sponsor
Rumpke Waste & Recycling
Team Level Sustaining Sponsors
Cincinnati Mine Machinery
Kroger
Duke Energy
Mercy Health
Miami Valley Gaming
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