Business Notebook: Chambers partner in COVID Recovery Plan to 'Reclaim Our Region'

A plan to "kick-start" the area's economy in the weeks and months after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides is being developed by the chambers of commerce in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City along with Cape Area Magnet and Visit Cape (the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau).

"COVID-19 has left significant unforeseen effects on our local community," according to a joint statement issued last week by the five organizations. "While we respect the reality of what we are experiencing as a nation and a world, we also understand the Cape area is the regional hub of Southeast Missouri and we are ready to exert just exactly who and what we are as we begin moving forward."

The statement went on to say "this global pandemic has stripped us of our normalcy and seized our sense of safety. As it's safe to do so, we must get back to our feet and 'Reclaim Our Region.'"

Through the "Reclaim Our Region" initiative, the news release from the chambers, Magnet and Visit Cape said the organizations "will take bold and definitive steps to ensure this community is the best it can be," and "we will do everything we can to support our local business community and its employees."

According to the joint statement from the organizations, a "multistep" plan will be developed over the next two-to-three weeks that will include a timeline for re-energizing the area's economy.

As part of the initiative, the business community is being asked to participate in an online survey from the SEMO Regional Planning Commission about how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting them. The survey is available at www.surveymonkey.com/r/semorpc_business_survey.

P&G donates masks to Cape hospitals and UW

SoutheastHEALTH president Ken Bateman, left, and Han Oh, baby care products manager at Procter & Gamble in Cape Girardeau, pose with 6,000 face masks given to Southeast last week by P&G.Submitted

The Cape Girardeau Procter & Gamble plant donated 12,000 face masks to Saint Francis Medical Center and Southeast Hospital last week to augment the personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies at both hospitals. Masks and other PPE have been in short supply throughout the nation's health care system due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LEFT: Christy Aubuchon, left, plant engineering leader at Procter & Gamble's Cape Girardeau plant, and J.P. Peltier, director of supply chain management, purchasing and receiving at Saint Francis Healthcare System, pose with 6,000 face masks donated last week by P&G to Saint Francis. RIGHT: SoutheastHEALTH president Ken Bateman, left, and Han Oh, baby care products manager at Procter & Gamble in Cape Girardeau, pose with 6,000 face masks given to Southeast last week by P&G.Submitted

Each hospital received 6,000 surgical barrier masks. In addition, P&G contributed 1,000 masks to the United Way of Southeast Missouri. According to Han Oh, P&G's baby care products manager at the Cape Girardeau plant, the company expects to distribute more masks in the coming weeks from P&G's corporate headquarters in Cincinnati.

Broadband providers offering special services during COVID-19 crisis

Missouri's current "stay at home" order is in effect for another two weeks and even after it is lifted, it will take a while, perhaps months, before life in the Show Me State and the rest of the nation returns to something resembling "normal." Most schools are closed for the rest of the academic year and its hard to say how long it will be before many businesses reopen.

Broadband access is more important than ever to help people stay connected during the coronavirus outbreak. Accessibility is critical to meet our needs for education, telemedicine, telecommuting and overall quality of life.

In response to the quarantine, several broadband providers are temporarily offering free internet service, waiving disconnect and late fees, providing access to Wi-Fi hot spots and other measures to help people at home access the services they need.

For a complete list of broadband services in Missouri and the offers they are making available during the pandemic, visit the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) website, health.mo.gov, and enter the keyword "broadband" in the search space.

Marketing firm offers free tool kit for crisis communications

A free crisis communications tool kit, designed to help businesses overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, is available online from BOLD, formerly BOLD Marketing, in Cape Girardeau.

The downloadable tool kit includes outlines of crisis communications plans for customers and employees, along with other resources designed to help businesses large and small cope with issues related to the coronavirus as well as any other obstacles that may come their way.

For more information and to download the tool kit, visit www.getboldmarketing.com.

New riverboat to cruise Mississippi; Cape not on schedule

Viking Cruises, known for its upscale cruises along European and Asian rivers, has announced plans to start cruises on the Mississippi River in the summer of 2022. However, Viking plans to sail past Cape Girardeau without weighing anchor here.

According to a company news release, the five-deck, 386-passenger Viking Mississippi, the cruise line's first custom vessel, will debut in August 2022, and will sail between New Orleans and St. Paul, Minnesota. The Viking Mississippi's tentative cruise schedule includes eight-day cruises between St. Louis and St. Paul and between New Orleans and Memphis, Tennessee, and an eight-day round trip cruise from New Orleans to Vicksburg, Mississippi, and back to New Orleans. The Viking Mississippi's sailing schedule will also include a 15-day trip from New Orleans to St. Paul.

None of the Viking Mississippi's itineraries includes a stop in Cape Girardeau; as of now, the ship's only scheduled Missouri stops will be in St. Louis and Hannibal.

"We would definitely want to be a part of this," said Brenda Newbern, executive director of Visit Cape (the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau). Newbern said she plans to contact Viking Cruises, which is headquartered in Los Angeles, to lobby for the addition of Cape Girardeau as a port of call.

Other river cruise ships, including those operated by American Cruise Lines and the American Queen Steamboat Co., routinely stop along the Cape Girardeau riverfront during their passenger cruises up and down the Mississippi.

More information about the Viking Mississippi and Viking's upcoming Mississippi River cruises can be found at www.viking.com.

Hospital receives accreditation

Saint Francis Healthcare System has received The Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Hospital and Home Care Accreditation reflecting the organization's commitment to providing safe and quality patient care.

As part of the accreditation process, Saint Francis underwent an unannounced on-site three-day survey in mid-January, during which a Joint Commission survey team evaluated the hospital's compliance with certification standards, including program management, emergency management, infection prevention and control, medication management, environment of care and other factors. A team of surveyors also visited home care patients and evaluated Saint Francis Home Health for compliance with standards of care related to the needs of patients, including infection prevention and control, leadership and medication management.

Joint Commission standards of care are developed in consultation with health care experts and providers, measurement experts and patients.

Awards and recognitions

Pam Parry

Pam Parry, chairwoman of Southeast Missouri State University's Department of Mass Media, has been named the 2020 winner of the Best Podcast Guest Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication's (AEJMC) podcast "Journalism History."

Parry's "Episode 25: Eisenhower: The Public Relations President" is the top-rated episode of the podcast with more than 400 downloads.

Parry teaches media history at Southeast and frequently promotes the AEJMC podcast to her students, which contributed to her selection as the year's top guest.

She will be recognized with her best guest award during the AEJMC's History Division Awards Gala in August during the association's annual conference.

Chamber notes

A pair of directional signs have been installed near the junction of Interstate 55 and East Main Street in Jackson pointing motorists to several businesses located near the diverging diamond interchange project, which has closed the interstate's southbound exit ramp and northbound ramp onto the interstate at Exit 99.

This directional sign, along East Main Street in Jackson just west of Interstate 55, is one of two new temporary signs that direct motorists to several Jackson businesses near the intersection of Old Orchard Road and East Jackson Boulevard.JAY WOLZ ~ jwolz@semissourian

The signage was created through a partnership among the city of Jackson, the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce and a half-dozen businesses listed on one of the signs directing traffic from East Main Street south on Old Orchard Road toward East Jackson Boulevard (U.S. 61). Liberty Utilities also assisted with the signage.

The interstate ramps at Exit 99 are scheduled to be closed until late this year as part of the bridge replacement and interchange reconstruction project at Exit 99.

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The Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce will host a "virtual" Business After Hours at 5 p.m. Tuesday on the online meeting platform Zoom. A link to the Zoom Business After Hours gathering, including a meeting ID and password, may be found in the chamber's most recent "Monday Morning Memo" online newsletters.

Commercial building permits

Kiefner Brothers Inc. has received a building permit for office space remodeling at KFVS12, 310 Broadway. The estimated cost of the project is $100,000.

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A commercial building permit has been given to Duck's Framing to add a front porch to a commercial building at 1200 N. Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau. The project's estimated cost is $9,500.

Business license application

Bryant Davenport of Jackson has filed a business license application with the City of Cape Girardeau to operate a business called Restorative Construction, 166 LaSalle St. in Cape Girardeau. Restorative Construction, which has been open since January, according to the license application, is a general contracting business focusing on construction and remodeling projects.

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