Save the date for the Annual Washington Fly-In, which will be held Wednesday – Friday, May 13-15.

The format will be similar to last year’s Fly-In with the following planned events:

• A reception with the Arkansas Congressional Delegation’s Chiefs of Staffs
• A breakfast meeting at the Capitol Visitor Center with members of the Arkansas Congressional Delegation
• Meetings with Cabinet officials
• A Thursday evening Rooftop Reception at 101 Constitution Ave. in partnership with the Arkansas State Society
• A Friday morning breakfast with a high-profile member of Capitol Hill

A growing number of local chambers across the state will be joining us.

Registration information will be provided by Feb. 15.

If your company or organization would be interested in helping sponsor this event, please contact Bill Watson at bwatson@arkansasstatechamber.com 0r 501-802-1740.

The State Chamber/AIA will broadcast Leadercast Live 2020 Positive Disruption from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 7 at Ben E. Keith Foods Mid-South, located at 1 Ben E. Keith Way in North Little Rock.

Each year, Leadercast facilitates the largest one-day convergence of leaders in the world by creating an epic leadership experience. Leadercast Live 2020 Positive Disruption will encompass Disturbance, Disorder and Disarrangement. Many think these are negatives in the workplace, but Leadercast Live 2020 will show how disruption is the best way to make positive, lasting changes in your organization and beyond.

The speakers who will take the stage are change-makers. They are trailblazers — people who face big ideas head-on and take their teams to new heights. Learn from these leadership experts how to purposefully interrupt organizational functions to bring new energy, ideas, processes and success to your team.

Tickets for Leadercast Live 2020 Positive Disruption are $89 per person or $80 per person for groups of 10 or more.

To purchase tickets or for more information, click http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07egv57q1yd187d04d&llr=8ggl8cdab or contact Shelley Short at sshort@arkansasstatechamber.com or 501-210-4206.

If your company is interested in helping sponsor this event, contact Bill Watson at bwatson@arkansasstatechamber.com or 501-802-1740.

Save the date for the State Chamber/AIA Annual Legislative Reception, which will be held from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14 under the big tent in our parking lot.

The Annual Legislative Reception provides the opportunity for members of the state’s business community to network and interact one-on-one with state legislators and other elected officials.

We would like to thank and recognize our sponsors:

Presenting – Cox Communications, Stephens Inc., Snyder Environmental and XTO Energy.

Premier – Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas

Host – Arkadelphia Regional Economic Development Alliance, Black Hills Energy, Cross County Chamber/Wynne – Cross County Economic Development Council, Farm Credit Services of Arkansas, Flywheel Energy, Raytheon Corporation and Tyson Foods, Inc.

Supporting – Union Pacific Railroad

If your company or organization is interested in helping sponsor this event, please contact Bill Watson at 501-802-1740 or bwatson@arkansasstatechamber.com.

The Governor’s Quality Award is accepting prospective members for its 2020 Board of Examiners.

Each year, Arkansas companies benefit from employees who train and serve as Governor’s Quality Award examiners. This training and hands-on assessment opportunity is relevant across all industry sectors. The free three-day training prepares individuals to examine the practices of an existing Arkansas business and apply analytical skills through a thorough organizational assessment.

Working with a team, examiners individually and collaboratively review an organization’s application for a Governors Quality Award. As a team, a feedback report is prepared for the organization to use in planning and leadership strategies. Examiners become skilled in identifying best business practices and opportunities for improvement.

The Examiner Training and Assessment Process provides a rich and beneficial professional development experience that creates a benefit for the professional and the employer. The examiner training and the Governor’s Quality Award process aligns with the National Baldrige Award Process.

Examiner Training I for new examiners is March 12, 2020 at the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.  Examiner Training II for all examiners is April 7-8, 2020 at the National Guard Professional Education Center in at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock.  Training is free contingent on individuals serving on a team of examiners.

Click here for an application and additional information about serving as an examiner for 2020 or contact Trish Villines at 501-372-2222 or tvillines@arkansasstatechamber.com. Returning Examiners click here. The Governor’s Quality Award Program is administered by the Arkansas Institute for Performance Excellence, an affiliated program of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.

Together Arkansas, an opioid response initiative developed by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC), was unveiled Wednesday, Nov. 6, at the State Chamber/AIA Annual Meeting at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.

Together Arkansas provides employers with a toolkit of free resources to help them prepare, prevent and respond to the opioid crisis. The online course consists of five modules (13 to 16 minutes per module) that cover legal and operational issues, best practices for drug-testing, developing policies and procedures, how to respond to an employee’s misuse of harmful drugs, where to refer an employee who needs help, and providing options for an employee to return to work.

Opioid-use disorder took 43,400 workers out of Arkansas’s labor force between 1999 and 2015, according to the American Action Forum, and 574 million work hours were lost to substance-use disorder during the same time period.

“Opioid-use disorder is impacting Arkansas employers of every kind – from small operations to large corporations,” said State Chamber/AIA President & CEO Randy Zook. “It is creating daily challenges for employers because it affects their greatest asset: their employees.”

Opioid-use disorder caused $33.5 billion real economic output in lost productivity for Arkansas’s economy between 1999 and 2015, according to the American Action Forum, and seven of 10 human resource officials reported their company felt the effects of substance-use disorder including absenteeism, decreased productivity and safety.

“The opioid epidemic is one of the biggest threats to business and our economy today,” said Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield President and CEO Curtis Barnett. “Providing Arkansas employers with tools to address a problem as pervasive as opioid-use disorder is critical. That’s why Arkansas Blue Cross is supporting the Together Arkansas initiative. Helping employees break the bonds of addiction, get and stay healthy keeps them creative, innovative and productive. And that makes Arkansas strong.”

Seventy-five percent of employers have had an issue with opioids in the workplace, according to a National Safety Council Employer Survey.

“At AFMC, our mission is to improve health care for all Arkansans,” said AFMC President and CEO Ray Hanley. “We hope this toolkit will better equip employers across the state to deal with the issues resulting from employees who may be struggling with opioid or substance abuse.”

Today, Americans are more likely to die of opioid abuse than a car crash, according to the National Safety Council’s Injury Facts.

Ninety-five percent of all overdoses occur in working-age adults between the ages of 18 and 64, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

In Arkansas, opioids take one life every two days and in 2017 there were 194 opioid-related deaths in the state, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) Arkansas Opioid Summary.

To access the Together Arkansas modules or learn more about the initiative, visit www.togetherarkansas.com. For assistance, contact help@togetherarkansas.com.

For More Information on Together Arkansas

Contact:

Shelley Short, Arkansas State Chamber/AIA, 501-944-2028

 Max Greenwood, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, 501-378-2131

 Carol Cassil, AFMC, 501-212-8732 or 501-804-2392

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