Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce

What are the changes? What are the penalties? 
Find out what you must know at this essential forum 

The Affordable Care Act was passed, the Supreme Court made its ruling, and the election sealed the fate of the healthcare reform law. Now, employers need to prepare for the requirements and responsibilities that will soon take effect.

Join us Thursday, March 28, from 8-10 a.m. at the Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce for this informative and practical Healthcare Issue Forum ;covering issues employers will face regarding the Affordable Care Act including:

• The potential changes to employers who already offer health coverage
• The penalties for employers who do not offer health coverage
• How the state health insurance exchange will operate

Take this opportunity to learn what your business will need to do to be prepared for the changes required by the Affordable Care Act.

The industry experts speaking at the forum are:

• Logan Harrison: Chief Deputy Commissioner for Health, Legislative and Public Affairs for the State of Indiana
• Doug Powers: Beckman Lawson, LLP
• Deb Overcash: COO of Fort Wayne Radiology
• Leigh Smith: Senior Vice President at Hylant
• Jon Albright: Compliance Officer for Physicians Health Plan
• Joel Sauer: Sauer Consulting 

Cost for the event is $10 for members and $20 for non-members and includes a continental breakfast and materials. 

Click here for more information and to register. Sponsorship opportunities are still available; please contact Melissa Beber for more information.

Sign up for the March 28 event at fwchamber.org/healthcare!

Ivy Tech Corporate College is bringing Disney Institute to Fort Wayne for a fifth time. “Disney’s Approach to Brand Loyalty” will be Wednesday, April 24, at Ivy Tech’s North Campus Student Life Center (4900 St. Joe Road). It is being sponsored locally by Ivy Tech Corporate College with marketing partners Indiana’s NewsCenter and The Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce.

The full-day “Disney’s Approach to Brand Loyalty” program will give participants an insider’s look at strategies that deliver on an organization’s brand and retain customers for life.  Participants will learn how the vital relationship between customer experiences and how a company’s brand can generate superior bottom-line results.

Program registration is $359 per person prior to March 24 (early-bird registration) or $399 after (regular registration). The price includes all course materials, a continental breakfast and lunch. For more information or to register, go to IvyTech.edu/DisneyInstitute or call (260) 480-4118.

Disney Institute is the global professional training arm of The Walt Disney Company. One of the most recognized names in professional development, Disney Institute travels the world offering engaging seminars, workshops and presentations, as well as fully customized programming. Immersive learning experiences are also offered at Disney destinations in the United States, Europe and Asia, enabling participants to go behind the scenes and see firsthand how business theory drives operational excellence. The Disney Institute client roster includes Fortune 500 companies as well as a wide range of small businesses, non-profits and government agencies.

Ivy Tech Community College is the state's largest public post-secondary institution and the nation's largest singly-accredited statewide community college system.  It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community. 

Officials at Fort Wayne International Airport are pleased to announce that Delta Air Lines will resume seasonal, non-stop service to Minneapolis, Minn. beginning this week at FWA.

“Delta’s service to Minneapolis gives travelers a great one-stop connection for destinations in the western United States,” said Scott Hinderman, Executive Director of Airports. “Delta will certainly benefit from the strong business and leisure travel seasons here in Fort Wayne.”  

The service will operate daily, departing FWA at 7:35 a.m. and arriving to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) at 8:23 a.m. Return service will depart MSP at 7:15 p.m., arriving to FWA at 9:48 p.m.  Delta Air Lines will operate the service using 50-seat CRJ 100/200 aircraft.

For flight availability and fares, visit the Delta Air Lines website at www.delta.com or call Delta Reservations at 1-800-221-1212.

The Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the debut of a new kind of event: Chamber Night! The Chamber's new event combines networking with the excitement of an open house in a previously unseen space.

The first Chamber Night will be held Wednesday, March 20, at The Harrison, on Jefferson Boulevard beside Parkview Field.

This inaugural Chamber Night is hosted by BND Commercial and will be free to Chamber members and their guests. Join The Chamber for a ribbon cutting, tours, appetizers, and a cash bar. Here's the schedule of events:

• 4:30 p.m.: Ribbon cutting on the front steps on Jefferson Boulevard. Guests include Mayor Tom Henry, Chamber President Mike Landram, and representatives of BND Commercial and tenants of The Harrison.
• 5 p.m: Tours of the building begin and will be hosted every 30 minutes with  the last one at 6:30 p.m.
• 5-6:30 p.m.: Appetizers provided by O'Reilly's Irish Bar and Restaurant, with a cash bar at O'Reilly's throughout the night.

The Harrison, an upscale residential and business complex, is the final phase of the Harrison Square project, a private-public initiative composed of the record-breaking Parkview Field, home of the popular TinCaps minor league baseball team; Courtyard by Marriott hotel; a convenient 900-space parking garage; and the scenic Robert E. Meyers Park.

The Harrison offers 43 beautifully appointed apartments on the third and fourth floors of this contemporary building, each with direct views of either Parkview Field or downtown Fort Wayne. Current tenants include 3 Rivers Federal Credit Union, O'Reilly's Irish Bar & Restaurant, and Carson Boxberger LLP Attorneys at Law.

From the Indiana Department of Workforce Development:

On Friday afternoon, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development received much-needed guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor on how the sequester will affect Federally Extended unemployment. This information is vital to providing long-term unemployed Hoosiers the certainty they need to plan for an already uncertain time.

According to verbal guidance given from the U.S. Department of Labor, Federally Extended benefits will continue unchanged until Saturday, March 30, 2013. Beginning March 31, 2013, states are mandated to begin reducing federally extended weekly benefits by 10.7 percent. If states cannot implement changes by that date, the amount of the reduction will continue to increase as time passes.

States will be required to notify claimants, including post mail, at least 15 days in advance of the upcoming reductions. USDOL also provided guidance that overpayments would not be charged to states or its claimants in most cases.

States will receive $40,000 from the federal government to implementation the effects of sequestration, which includes computer reprogramming, notification and all other associated administrative costs.

USDOL officials also confirmed written guidance will be forwarded to states next week and further clarification will follow.

Indiana appreciates USDOL’s guidance on the implementation of the forthcoming reductions.

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development will release additional information as it becomes available.

On Friday, the Defense Department will likely begin the process to furlough more than 800,000 civilian employees. This will include National Guard military technicians who are unique to the federal workforce because they must be members of the National Guard to qualify for their jobs.

Our Air National Guard base here in Fort Wayne will be forced to furlough 200 guard personnel. This will result in nearly a month's pay to each of those workers. It will also impact training by cutting flying hours by 18 percent. 

The Pentagon long ago exempted uniformed personnel from sequestration to limit the impact of ongoing budget debates on military readiness. But this does not include National Guard military technicians, who will be the only people wearing military uniforms who will be subject to furloughs.

Time remains to prevent this harm to National Guard readiness. Please ask your federal senators and representative to protect National Guard military technicians from furloughs due to sequestration.  

Consider using this letter that The Chamber has posted on our web site as a template for your use (Word doc). We encourage you to send similar letters to our federal delegation regarding the pending impact sequestration will have National Guard readiness.

Contact information for our delegation:

• Sen. Dan Coats contact form: http://www.coats.senate.gov/contact
• Sen. Joe Donnelly contact form: http://www.donnelly.senate.gov/contact.cfm
• Rep. Marlin Stutzman email: William.young@mail.house.gov

We encourage you to add your company's name after your signature. 

Thank you for supporting our local economy by supporting our Guard.

The Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce

What would be the effect of the sequester on Indiana?

This story in The News-Sentinel, "A look at automatic budget cuts in Indiana," is a good roundup:

Military and education would take big hits in Indiana from automatic cuts to the federal budget set to take effect this week, according to a report the White House issued Sunday.

The White House compiled the numbers from federal agencies and its own budget office. The numbers reflect the impact of the cuts this year. Unless Congress acts by Friday, $85 billion in cuts are set to take effect from March-September.

The White House has also prepared this PDF that outlines "Impact of March 1st Cuts on Middle Class Families, Jobs and Economic Security."

Meanwhile, Indiana's senators Dan Coats and Joe Donnelly agree in this story, "Indiana senators on "sequester" solution (WANE TV)," that entitlement program spending needs to be a part of the discussion, which it is not currently.

Customers of Duke Energy, Indiana & Michigan, NIPSCO Electric, IPL, Vectren, IMPA and most other electric companies throughout Indiana are participating in the program.

"We had ours done at my house in December and the energy efficient light bulbs, shower heads and power strip along with the 20 plus page assessment was well worth the 45 minutes the Energizing Indiana staff person was at our house," said Jason Meyer, director of business development at Financial Hope. "He recommended us getting a Quartz heater for our house. We purchased one and have seen a great deal of improvement on our electric bill in January and February."

Click the link here to schedule the free assessment. 

More information on what is included on the assessment for can be found at the Energizing Indiana web site.