During the expansion tour, the CAB members witnessed firsthand the seamless transition from the existing building to the expanded section, while discovering:

• The building is 87 percent completed;
• The role an expanded Convention Center is playing in making Philadelphia a unique meetings destination;
• How an expanded Convention Center will assist in the continued development of the Avenue of the Arts; and most importantly
• How the expanded Convention Center will better serve customer needs.

An expanded Convention Center will:    

• Consist of one million SF of usable space;
• Be 62 percent larger than the current space;
• Now have the ability to host two large conventions simultaneously or larger tradeshows;
• Be the 14th largest in the nation.

The CAB meetings are an opportunity to inform our customers of the new things happening in Philadelphia, and learn from them what is working well and how we can make Philadelphia even better.  We had terrific feedback on the look and feel of the expanded space and everyone is excited for such a great addition to Philadelphia. 

I am also excited to welcome Julie Coker to our team as senior vice president of our convention division, beginning September 7. Many of you know Julie, most recently as the General Manager of the Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing and from more than 20 years with Hyatt.

To see video from the CAB Expansion Tour, click here.

Submitted by:

Jack Ferguson

Incoming President

Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau

More than 1,700 business professionals are expected to attend this event as Gregory discusses the nation’s top priorities. Since joining “Meet the Press” in 2008, Gregory has provided extensive coverage on the latest national issues, including the economy, health care, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Annual Meeting celebrates the Chamber’s membership of 5,000 organizations across 11 counties in three states. President & CEO Rob Wonderling will review the Chamber’s accomplishments from the past year and discuss the top priorities for the coming year.

Also at this breakfast meeting, the regional business community will welcome the new GPCC Chairman of the Board of Directors, William P. Hankowsky, Chairman, President and CEO, Liberty Property Trust, and thank outgoing Chairman, David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation.

For more information on the Annual Meeting, click here.

Ms. Kindlick will initially focus on a grass-roots campaign that aims to create more private sector jobs in the Greater Philadelphia region. To achieve this goal, she will work to enhance the Chamber’s relationships with regional civic groups, non-profit organizations and local constituencies – all in an effort to make Greater Philadelphia a more welcoming environment for business.

“The hiring of Blair Kindlick will allow us to advocate even better on behalf of the entire Chamber membership,” said Rob Wonderling, GPCC President and CEO. “With Blair increasing our community outreach efforts, we are now are in a better position to represent business interests with one voice across all levels of government.”

In addition to managing public outreach programs, Ms. Kindlick will also have an active role on GPCC social media and blog outlets to help broadcast advocacy messages from the Chamber Public Policy department.

“It’s exciting to join the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce in its initiative to create private-sector jobs in our region,” Kindlick said. “I look forward to establishing and strengthening relationships with different community groups and constituencies as we collaborate with the City of Philadelphia to continually improve its business climate.”

Ms. Kindlick brings a wealth of experience with her, having spent the past five years working at the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey, most recently as a special events manager. There, she managed over 150 events, coordinating logistics, speakers and the recruitment of event volunteers. Ms. Kindlick also oversaw social media communication.

Ms. Kindlick is a 2007 graduate of Saint Joseph’s University, where she earned a Bachelor of Sciences in Business Administration.  She volunteers for the University’s Alumni Board of Directors and is active with Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County, NJ. She resides in Philadelphia.

At the Chamber offices in Center City, Schwerdtfeger spread important advice to attendees in the audience on how to efficiently utilize well-known social media sites including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube. “You can have a massive online identity, and work less than your competitors,” Schwerdtfeger revealed.

Here are some of Schwerdtfeger’s tips for each social media outlet:

Twitter

• According to a 2009 study, 40% of tweets are “pointless babble” and 38% are just conversational tidbits between individuals. The result? “It’s not hard to shine in this crowd.”
• Use search.twitter.com to search for any keywords you want and find your target audience on Twitter, and then communicate with them
• Create a helpful value-added document that has to do with your business, like a PDF, to give away for free to increase interest
• You can find people location based, status based, etc. and get a following of exactly your target market

LinkedIn

• People are statistically more than seven times as likely to open an email they received on LinkedIn – knowing that, use it to your advantage
• Join groups that your potential customers and clients are part of to be able to contact them easily; also check out your competitors’ groups to see what they’re doing
• Post your articles in groups for everyone to see
• Write recommendations for people you like that have done good work with you in the past, and expect to receive favorable recommendations in return

Facebook

• Facebook has profiles, groups, and pages. Pages are for businesses
• You don’t even have to be logged in to view pages on Facebook; they’re indexed by Google and easily accessible. Use important keywords about your business in the page title to attract viewers
• Tag people in photos of them interacting with or using your business at events, etc. It will appear on their wall, and their whole network will be able to see it
• “The opportunity with Facebook is to engage your community.”

YouTube

• The biggest category of new content on YouTube is educational material – people are going there to learn. What can they learn about what you have to offer?
• YouTube equipment: a flip digital video recorder or a camcorder with an external microphone is all you need
• “It has to be simple.” Your YouTube video doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be simple and straightforward.
• “The opportunity on YouTube is to leverage rich media.”

Highlighting the key values and ways to use each different social media venue, Schwerdtfeger emphasized that it is smart to incent existing customers to communicate with you over the social channel, because this allows for everyone, their whole network, to see it and find out about your business. You also must continue to update and post quality, interesting content online on a regular basis. “In the beginning,” he said, “it’s slow, but you start building a critical mass, and you’re everywhere [online].”

Schwerdtfeger concluded by elaborating on the significance of today’s cultural revolution. This is the idea that throughout history, people have looked at the source first and the content second… but not anymore. People look at the content first today. So, “the only thing that really matters is: what is your content?”

For more information on Patrick Schwerdtfeger, visit http://www.patrickschwerdtfeger.com/

This campaign has proved a big ROI: since the campaign launched, it has generated $19 million in conventions with only a $130,000 investment.

You can win bragging rights in 2010 by becoming a Bring it Home! Champion this year! Call the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau at 215-636-3300 or visit www.PhiladelphiaUSA.travel/bringithome.

 Submitted by:

Jack Ferguson

Incoming President

Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau

The award, along with a $500 donation to be given to a charity of the recipient’s choice, was presented to Dan Brown, Commercial Insurance Account Executive at Johnson, Kendall & Johnson, Inc. Presented annually to a YPN member who exemplifies the true spirit of volunteerism, recipients are chosen based on the amount of hours spent at YPN volunteer events. Brown attended seven YPN volunteer events and contributed 21 hours of service.

“The great thing about volunteering is that just a little bit of your time and effort can have a profound impact on someone else’s life,” said Brown.  “I strongly believe in giving back to the region in which I live and work. Through volunteering, we can build a better, brighter future for Greater Philadelphia.”

Brown donated the $500 to Chamber member Cradle to Crayons, an organization that aims to provide children up to 12 years of age with basic needs such as clothing, school supplies and toys, free of charge. Johnson, Kendall & Johnson matched 100 percent of the donation.

In addition to his volunteer work with YPN, Brown coaches the St. Dorothy Track team of Drexel Hill, and serves on the Young Friends Committees of Cradles to Crayons and Cora Services. In his current position at Johnson, Kendall & Johnson, he takes pride in helping business owners design policies and risk management procedures to protect company assets. He earned his BA from Shippensburg University in 2004.

The award ceremony took place at YPN’s monthly networking event. Rosemary Turner, president of UPS small package operations in the Chesapeake District, was the guest speaker at the event, and presented the award to Brown.  Brown then presented the $500 award donation and the additional $500 from Johnson, Kendall & Johnson to Joe Spause, Programs & Operations Manager at Cradles to Crayons. 

YPN is a professional development organization that gives young business people the opportunity to build relationships, exchange ideas, and give back to the community. In addition to hosting monthly networking events at some of the region’s premier hot spots, YPN is committed to volunteerism. Last year, YPN’s volunteer activities included working with Greater Philadelphia Cares, McClure Elementary School in North Philadelphia, WorkReady Philadelphia and Variety, The Children’s Charity. YPN members volunteered nearly 485 hours of their time to these organizations.

For more information about YPN or to get involved, visit www.ypnphilly.com.

View photos from the event here.

This is the fourth consecutive year that the Chamber has encouraged Philadelphia companies—from large corporations to small businesses—to change the life of a young person by providing a paid internship.

This summer, 110 businesses, foundations, and nonprofit organizations have offered to either provide or fund paid internship positions. Despite a still-struggling economy, 83 companies are returning participants from last year, representing a 66 percent retention rate.

“For far too many of our region’s ambitious and talented young people, promising careers simply seem out of reach,” said Rob Wonderling, President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. “As stakeholders in the future of this region, it is our responsibility to help change that. Working with employers and our partners in workforce development, we will give the city’s youth the chance to experience a professional environment and earn a paycheck.”

The six-week internship program is part of the WorkReady Philadelphia system of programs, managed by the Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN), which is serving more than 11,000 Philadelphia youth this year through this and other programs. In addition to PYN, other employer recruitment partners include the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Academies and United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

The Chamber has helped to identify more than 3,500 positions over the past three summers. This campaign has been successful because the Chamber’s 5,000 member companies recognized the need of Philadelphia’s young people and responded. In fact, approximately 80 percent of the companies hiring interns this summer are Chamber members.

Mayor Nutter personally contacted business executives to encourage their support of this important program.

“The Chamber has made incredible strides over recent years to increase the number of internships available at businesses throughout the city and region,” said Mayor Nutter. “This opportunity gives teens meaningful work experience, exposes them to potential career opportunities, and helps spark their interest in pursuing higher education—all of which is crucial to positioning Philadelphia for success.”

The benefits of this program are two-fold. Interns help employers grow their businesses by boosting summer productivity and completing important short-term projects. And internships represent a long-term investment in our region’s success because they give young people the tools to become capable future employees.

The Chamber’s corporate partner in this initiative is TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, which hired 25 interns this summer.

“As business leaders, we have the ability—and even more, the responsibility—to help provide the city’s young people with the crucial career enhancement skills and inspiration needed to help them reach their full potential,” said Mike Carbone, Metro Philadelphia President of TD Bank. “That’s why TD Bank is proud to partner with the Chamber to help support this wonderful city where we live, work and do business.”

Each position costs the employer about $1,600, which includes intern salary and program administration for the six-week program. Interns work at least 20 hours per week Monday through Thursday and attend professional development programs off-site on Fridays.

Internships were filled by students who will enter 11th grade or higher in the fall. All students were pre-screened by PYN and interviewed by the prospective employers.

To see a list of this year’s supporters, click here. 

For more information about the Summer Internships program, click here.

Roughly one-fifth of the nation’s gross domestic product is the result of economic activity in the Northeast Megaregion, and Amtrak’s stability is vital to the economic competitiveness of our entire region. As future growth in this area depends on the ability to move people and goods quickly and reliably between the area’s urban centers, it is crucial to ensure that the Amtrak rail network is safe, reliable, and accessible.   The NEC is the only high speed rail line in the nation, hosts dozens of commuter lines, and provides freight access to major ports and industries, moving more than 259 million passengers and 14 million car-miles of freight per year.

Attendees at the recent Cultivating a Creative Workforce event had the unique opportunity to hear from noted actor, director, producer and businessman Robert Redford as he and others commented on the ways in which creativity in both the arts and business can strengthen the community and improve economic development.

In an informal interview setting moderated by Robert Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, Mr. Redford used personal anecdotes and his extensive experience in both arts and business to discuss the importance of cultivating creativity in the workforce.

Mr. Redford used memories of his childhood and early years in the business industry to communicate both his past successes and mistakes in order that everyone might learn from them, and even recounted a story from the third grade that served as a pivotal point in his life. Focusing on their mutual belief that a partnership between arts and business should be strengthened to foster creative achievement, Mr. Redford and Mr. Lynch agreed that art is economically beneficial, can help create a better understanding of ideas, and encourages individuals to think differently.

After remarking on the struggles of entering the business world, his initial difficulties in hiring and employee relations, and the significance of proper supervision, Mr. Redford wrapped up the discussion on a rousing note, stating that when the arts and business communities come together to promote creativity, “I just think some amazing things can happen.”

Attendees also heard from Julie Gebauer, Managing Director at Towers Watson and Mayor Michael A. Nutter of the City of Philadelphia.

The event, which was held at the Philadelphia Theatre Company, was presented by the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, an affiliate of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, in association with Towers Watson.

Chamber president and CEO Rob Wonderling thanks our members and sponsors for a successful and robust 2009-2010 program year.

As Rob mentions, the Chamber held over 140 programs this year, with over 20,000 attendees and 142 sponsors. We have also served as a fierce advocate for sound public policy, reaching 2,000 public officials at the federal, state, regional and local levels, and holding over 150 policy, site consultant and government meetings this year.

With the help of our members and sponsors, we have been able to host timely events throughout the year that have focused on current issues critical to the business community. Some of the new events this year focused on clean tech, cloud computing, diversity, healthcare reform, social media training, the H1N1 virus, and the gubernatorial race.

Also new this year was eBid Connect, an exclusive, members-only benefit that delivers daily email notifications of public sector projects in the Greater Philadelphia region. With over 400 new projects listed each day, these timely alerts include actual project information for bids and RFPs.

We have also grown our social media network, through which our members can continue to connect with each other outside of our events. We currently have 580 Facebook fans and 420 Twitter followers, and have posted 29 YouTube videos this year.

Thank you once again for helping us to make this program year so successful, and we look forward to an even more successful 2010-2011 program year.