Chamber to recognize commerce ‘excellence’

Nominations are being accepted for the 2005 Excellence in Commerce Awards, sponsored by the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce.

Nominations are due at the chamber office, 734 Vt., by 5 p.m. June 10. The chamber will present five awards in the following categories: Manufacturing/Distribution; Technology; Service; Hospitality/Retail; and, new this year, Small Business.

A sixth award, the Bob Billings Rising Star Award, will go to an emerging company that is less than 5 years old.

Nominees will be judged on a variety of factors, from business stability and growth to professional awards, employee benefits and community involvement, said Heather Ackerly, the chamber’s manager for existing business programs.

Winners of 2004 awards – Prosoco Inc., Pearson Government Solutions (above), Z’s Divine Espresso, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals and The World Company, which owns the Journal-World – are eligible for state business appreciation awards, to be given by the Kansas Department of Commerce during a ceremony June 7 in Kansas City, Kan.

Nomination forms are available from the chamber office or the organization’s Web site, www.lawrencechamber.com.

Workplace

Companies preparing for retirement boom

The aging of America holds an important consequence for U.S. business: the retirement loss of a lot of experienced talent.

More than half of 150 executives surveyed on the topic, 55 percent, said they were very or somewhat concerned about key employees retiring in the next five to 10 years.

Most executives also said their companies were taking steps to compensate for the loss of these people.

The survey was sponsored by Robert Half International Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif.-based staffing service for accounting, finance and IT professionals.

Among the popular initiatives, 59 percent have begun or enhanced succession-planning programs and 45 percent are boosting employee recruitment and retention efforts. More than a third, 35 percent, are turning to mentoring programs and a quarter are asking retirees or future retirees to consider working as consultants or trainers.

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