School Performance Grading Model Reform Needed
Recently, you might have come across the 2022-2023 school grades published by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and featured in the Hickory Daily Record. These grades assign a letter grade to each school in North Carolina referred to as the School Performance Grade (SPG). The grading system, established by the General Assembly in […]
Advocacy@Work: How North Carolina’s Child Care Crisis is Hurting Businesses and Workers: Survey Results from NC Chamber Foundation
The NC Chamber Foundation has released survey results regarding child care issues in North Carolina and it shows that a lack of child care is making it harder for businesses to hire employee’s and grow. Access survey information here. A few survey highlights: The child care crisis is impacting people’s ability to work and increasing the […]
Event Recap for the 2023 Future of Catawba County Summit, Presented by Truist
Yesterday, over 325 community leaders attended and engaged with us at the Future of Catawba County Summit, Presented by Truist. The event was held at the Hickory Metro Convention Center & Visitors Bureau in Hickory, NC. See the video below for an event recap. Click here to see all the event photos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4559JbfA4pc To access a downloadable […]
Advocacy@Work: Governor Cooper Signs Medicaid Expansion into Law
Last Monday, Governor Cooper signed into law Medicaid expansion following passage in both houses of the General Assembly by large, bi-partisan majorities. Prior to expansion, North Carolina had a “coverage gap” between those who were eligible for Medicaid, and those who earned enough to qualify for federal subsidies. As a practical matter, this served […]
2023 Legislative Breakfast
Our Legislative Breakfast was held on January 27, 2023 at Moretz Mills. We welcomed over 135 community and business leaders who were eager to learn more about our Advocacy@Work efforts. Brian Francis, The Chamber of Catawba County’s Advocacy Director, presented our 2023 Legislative priorities ahead of our presenters. At the Legislative Breakfast, we dove deeper and […]
Registration now open for 2023 Legislative Breakfast
Business and community leaders, The Chamber of Catawba County invites you to attend our Legislative Breakfast on January 27th at 74 South at Moretz Mills in Hickory, from 8:00 – 11:00 am. The Chamber’s 2023 Legislative Agenda was crafted by our Advocacy Taskforce with feedback from Shareholders & Investors and approved by the Board of […]
December Advocacy@Work Update
Advocacy Director, Brian Francis, returns with an Advocacy@Work update reviewing our chamber’s advocacy accomplishments and previewing next year’s legislative session. The update includes information about a change in senate leadership and some of the topics where we expect to see legislative action. Brian also mentions the Chamber’s policy guiding principles and legislative agenda. The Chamber’s positions […]
PPP Loan Recipient? North Carolina may owe you money.
In 2020, as the government mandated business closures, many small businesses secured Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) loans from the federal government to maintain the cash flow necessary to pay expenses and keep employees on the payroll. For North Carolina businesses who received a PPP loan, you may be eligible for additional cash due to a […]
Advocacy at Work
To continue to further lean in as the lead advocate for business regarding local, state and federal policy issues impacting business in Catawba County, in 2021, we hired Brian Francis, Founder of Lumin Strategies, as our Advocacy Director. Francis has more than 20 years of experience in communications and public affairs, previous serving as Public […]
Better Health Care. Better Business?
At the Chamber of Catawba County, we aim to serve as the strong pro-business voice, advocating for free enterprise and working alongside local government to ensure a friendly business environment that is needed for all business in Catawba County to grow and sustain. Two major issues impacting business repeatedly rise to the surface of our […]
