• Economic Forecast Luncheon on January 20 featuring Mickey Levy, chief economist for Bank of America, discussing what to expect from the local, state, national, and international economy in 2009.
• Tech Briefing on March 24 which will feature 8-10 local technology companies that are growing in Winston-Salem.
• State of the Community in August which will feature presentations from the City Manager and key economic development agencies in Winston-Salem, discussing job creation prospects and general outlook for 2009.
• Annual Meeting on October 13 featuring Bill Gibbons, president of Cook Medical Devices in Winston-Salem, one of our growing medical device companies.
• Monthly Small Business Forums from March through December, each focusing on a topic of concern to local small businesses. These seminars help small businesses market, comply with personnel and tax laws, and address key issues that are limiting their growth. These small business forums will be held in City Council Chambers to encourage citizens to come to their local government offices.

By working together in partnership, the City and the Chamber are greatly expanding the number of businesses that can benefit from the information provided during the Chamber programs. More successful businesses that expand will create more jobs which are especially needed at this time. 

The monthly small business programs will be held the first Thursday of each month, beginning March 5 from 3:00 – 4:30 p.m. at City Hall. The tentative schedule of programs is: 

March – Marketing for Small Business

             Presenter: TRP Enterprises, Inc., click here to view the presentation.           

April –  Purchasing with the City of WS /Buy Local, click here to view the presentation. 

             Presenter: City of WS

May –  Inspections & Fire Issues for Businesses

            Presenter: City of WS & Fire Department, click here to view the presentation.

June – The American Recovery Reinvestment Plan, click here to view the presentation.

August – Business Solutions – Thursday August 6, click here to view the presentation.   

October – Survive and Thrive in a Changing Economy

                  Panel Discussion

December – Managing Cost for Small Business

                    Presenter: Ruben Gonzales, City of WS

Monthly Small Business Forums series for 2009 for the March – December time period. Depending on the topics, the forums are attended by 50 – 80 people, generally small to mid-sized business owners and managers. The forums also are publicized by the Chamber through the President’s Letter and through individual invitations which go to more than 3,000 individuals in the Chamber’s email data base. In addition, the forums will be broadcast multiple times each month on City TV 13. While we do not have actual audience numbers for these programs, we do know from anecdotal evidence that these programs are watched consistently by many business people.

For more information contact Sonya Clark sclark@winstonsalem.com or 336-728-9202.