Newt Gingrich founded the Center for Health Transformation shortly after leaving Congress. Solving the health care crisis, however, is the most perplexing challenge out there, he says.

Personal responsibility will have to be increased. "No one but you can keep you healthy. … People should have the right to know the price and quality in health care as in anything else."

What can businesses do? "Tell everyone how much you paid for their health insurance. Tell them this is the extra pay you’re not getting."

Obesity is an under-recognized threat. Children should be weighed at least three times a year to identify outliers who are likely candidates for diabetes and other illnesses.

"A fundamental change in culture is needed with obesity," Gingrich says. "We did it with smoking, seat belts and drunk driving. We need to do it again."

An overall approach he recommends is chronic disease management, with focuses on early detection, wellness and prevention.

Gingrich is coming to Indiana on November 6 as keynote speaker at the Indiana Chamber’s 19th Annual Awards Dinner.

A few years ago, I was living in Wyoming and occasionally had to make the 1.5 hour drive to nearby Salt Lake City — and yes, 1.5 hours away warrants the label "nearby" in Wyoming. I would make this drive whenever I had the urge to use an airport, take in a Major League Soccer match, pay homage to the Osmonds, or just enjoy some nightlife. You know, what with Salt Lake’s glowing reputation as a party town.

But during the summer months, I could always count on being greeted by Salt Lake City’s infamous, gray inversion. If you’re unfamiliar with this concept, inversion occurs in cities near mountainous areas where dirty air hovers over the valley due to atmospheric circumstances; it’s better left articulated by Wikipedia than the likes of me. Basically, the pollution becomes trapped near the ground instead of rising into the atmosphere. Not only can it impact your breathing, but it begets a pretty high ick factor that instills a strong desire to shower several times a day or bathe oneself in hand sanitizer.

Segue time: Even though we don’t have that pesky mountain issue to deal with, pollution is still a concern here in our beloved Hoosier state. This is likely why the Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management is sponsoring the 2008 Ozone Knockout June 16-30. Check out this link, which is a letter addressed to our members, for info about how your company can help improve our air quality through voluntary action and maybe even garner some recognition in the process.

Just please remember: Ick factor bad, clear skies good.

After all, what would Donny and Marie do?

“Do you play golf?”  I was enjoying the second week of my internship here at the Chamber when my boss poked his head in and posed the question. An outing was to happen in a few days, and players were being rounded up for the event.

The rest of the week had been a good one, as I was allowed in on some staff meetings, assigned some projects and given some short articles to start working on.  It became increasingly difficult, however, not to notice the perfect summer weather pouring in through the windows. Golf seemed like a very good idea.

Now. Do I play golf? Sure. Do I play golf well? Absolutely not.  As a little guy, I took lessons and eventually developed into a decent player, but for whatever reason I played less and less over the years (college tuition and gasoline might have something to do with it), and my skill seems to have packed up its bags and left at some point.

It’s no secret that golf is a business tool. If you’re in the same boat as me, you might plan on revamping your game, especially considering that 59% of executives say the way a person plays golf is very similar to the way he or she conducts their business affairs, according to a survey by Starwood Hotels.

As for my boss’s pending invitation, I briefly considered hitting the ranges and practicing putts for a few days so I could attend the outing. Then I remembered who the Chamber generally deals with, and my Rocky-esque training montage was quickly replaced by images of state representatives and CEOs getting pelted by my errant drives.

I declined.

It has been a little more than frustrating to see my private school education (at Valparaiso University) being put to use in hard labor warehouse jobs over the previous two summers. I was especially pleased, then, when I was accepted to a summer internship here at the Indiana Chamber. I’ve been offered to share how it’s going, and I hope to post weekly updates throughout the summer (if I’m allowed, and if I manage not to accidentally burn the place down).

Just a week in, I can already tell this experience will be different than what I expected. Sure, I figured the profuse sweating and heavy box-lifting of summers past would be gone, but I had a suspicion it would be replaced by making color copies and decafs with cream and sugar.

This will not be an office barista internship, however. In my first couple days, I’ve written a press release, attended a tax conference, covered a news story, and shadowed what seems to be most of the staff members here.

I was also shown a lot of what the chamber actually does. You might know as little as I did, in which case I’d like to share that through my crash-course, I learned the Indiana Chamber of Commerce …

• Is the fourth largest chamber in the country
• Has earned 38 national and state awards since 1999
• Publishes more than 30 compliance and reference guides
• Offers services to more than 26,000 members from all 92 counties
• Publishes and distributes BizVoice magazine to over 15,000 subscribers

Needless to say, I am excited to work this summer with so many talented people in an organization that has so much success to take pride in — and no heavy boxes to lift.
 

Indiana INTERNnet director Pam Norman recently presented northeast Indiana’s Graduate Retention Program with a check for $10,000. Thanks to the Fort Wayne Chamber for the link.

One of the best resources for a small business owner is access to expertise. Access to FREE advice for an Indiana small business owner from some of Indiana’s most respected issue experts is as cool as me finding a ready-to-use and already refined oil pocket in my backyard in Broad Ripple. In other words, being able to pick up the phone or send a quick e-mail to get your difficult business questions answered at no cost is a big deal and can save you cash. Membership with the Indiana Chamber provides you with this free HELPLINE system. Questions on human resources, OSHA, tax, environmental and workforce development will be answered for you without getting some attorney’s meter running. 
 
Our HR HELPLINE receives the most questions of all of our services. George Raymond is the Indiana Chamber’s VP for Human Resources, Labor Relations and Civil Justice and he’s in charge of the HR HELPLINE and may be reached at graymond@indianachamber.com or (317) 264-6884.
 
This is a tremendous tool for small business owners wearing multiple hats looking to reduce costs, stay in compliance and take advantage of another membership benefit. As for me, I’ll let you know when I can heat my house with that Texas Tea behind my garage.

[youtube]15D3ElV1Jzw[/youtube]

In a speech last summer at the American Enterprise Institute, Newt Gingrich offers anecdotes regarding what works and what doesn’t in a prosperous society. The former Speaker of the House recently penned the new bestseller, Real Change: From the World that Fails to the World that Works.

Gingrich will be the featured speaker at the Indiana Chamber’s upcoming 19th Annual Awards Dinner on November 6 in downtown Indianapolis, shortly after this year’s monumental presidential election.