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The Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce promotes economic and community development by providing services and addressing issues important to business.
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(740) 702-2722 | 45 E MAIN ST, CHILLICOTHE, OHIO

Survey: Chamber members say economy not where they want it to be
Less work (available) and more competition is how one chamber member described the biggest challenge facing their business. The response was one of 122 who answered the Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce survey on the economy in late October. Clearly, the mood of chamber members is somber.
Asked if the local economy was headed in the right direction, 64 percent of the 95 business respondents said no. Thats the highest percentage since the chamber began surveying about four years ago. Just three years ago, 80 percent were convinced the local economy was going in the right direction. On the national economy, the negative figure was even higher, at 72 percent.
Are chamber member businesses doing better than a year ago? Surprisingly, 77 percent said business was the same or better than a year ago, the exact same percentage when the survey was taken back in April this year. Its also about the same figure as back in January 2004.
On employee number questions, almost an equal number of businesses said they had more or fewer employees than in April while 67 percent had the same. Only 27 percent said they planned to add employees in the next six months.
For complete survey results: Chamber economic survey
Chamber provides information on safety levy
The Chillicothe Ross Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted to provide information to its members it felt was important for them in making a decision on the citys safety services levy on the Nov. 2 ballot.
The board voted to provide the information in lieu of taking a position on the levy. In a letter to its members, the chamber board said it wanted to get facts and information to all members that it feels are important for members to know when they cast their vote on this very important issue.
It added, The chamber researched the situation of the city because the financial health of the city is of great importance to all citizens, including the business community.
The information provided by the chamber to its members includes facts on the trend in income tax collections and the cost for the safety forces the last five years, the wages paid city employees, their health insurance program, their retirement plans, their paid time off and the union contracts.
By providing this information, the chamber feels its members will be more informed about the issue when they cast their votes on Nov. 2

Allen Elementary School in the Chillicothe Schools district began "The Leader in Me" way of teaching in August when it took advantage of the chamber's offer to help fund the initiative. The FranklinCovey initiative uses the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" of Dr. Stephen Covey.

"The Leader in Me" is transforming the culture in schools all across the United States and the world by using the 7 Habits. Children, starting in kindergarten, learn about taking responsibility for themselves, setting and working toward goals, working as a team and taking initiative. As employers, these are the qualities we value in our employees so this is a chance to get an early start in training our future workers.

SCORE chapter available to help your business
One-on-one counseling from those who have been there and done that is now available to small business owners in the region. And its all free of charge and confidential.