VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
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J U N E 2 4 , 2 0 1 3 / Y O U R b u s i n e s s - t o - b u s i n e s s w e e k ly SPECIAL FOCUS WOMEN and MINORITY BUSINESS This month, VEGAS INC highlights workplace diversity in the Las Vegas Valley. WATER AGENCY STILL BANKING ON lake mead 'THIRD STRAW' SAM MORRIS networking OPPORTUNITY: Attendees walk the aisles at the Las Vegas Metro Chamber of Commerce's Business Expo, the chamber's biggest event of the year. BUILDING BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS Why joining a chamber of commerce is essential By Paul Delos Santos staff writer T here's a saying in business that to make money, you need to spend money. ¶ Experts say one of the smartest expenses a businessperson can take on is joining a chamber of commerce, which can be one of the best forums to build business relationships. ¶ Southern Nevada has dozens of chambers, and while each caters to a different By Conor Shine staff writer Around 4:30 p.m. on June 11, 2012, a team of a dozen workers toiled 600 feet below the surface of Lake Mead on a project to build a third intake to provide water to the Las Vegas Valley. As a 1,600-ton, 600-foot-long drill bored its way into the rock bed below the lake, several of the workers followed behind, erecting a series of concrete rings to stabilize the newly excavated tunnel that stretched 24 feet across. The 134th of an eventual 2,600 rings had been completed earlier in the day when the swing shift crew began work installing the six segments needed to complete ring 135. As they began retracting the three hydraulic rams that were used to install the ring segments, a loud pop was heard. One of the segments of ring 134 shifted four inches, releasing a jet of pressurized mortar and grout that struck and killed 44-year-old Thomas Albert Turner. Turner's death and the injury of another worker in the accident halted progress on the third intake straw and added a stark human cost to the hundreds of millions of dollars the Southern Nevada Water Authority is spending on a project it says is crucial to ensuring long-term access to see LAKE MEAD, page 17 demographic, they all share a common goal: help businesses grow. ¶ "We all do different things, and all of the things we do are the same," said Scott Muelrath, president of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce. "The chamber of commerce landscape has changed in the INSIDE TODAY NIGHTTIME DOC | P. 7 post-recession era. As an organization, you have to figure out what you're good at and what you're Henderson's Good Night Pediatrics offers after-hours medical care for kids niche is." ¶ Most of the local chambers offer networking events — cocktail mixers, breakfasts or BE WARNED | P. 7 lunch meetings, often with expert speakers. Some provide small business insurance plans while The Culinary Union launches a website to update travelers on contract disputes others help members start companies through business incubator programs. THE LIST | P. 22 see CHAMBERS, page 14 20130624_VI01_F.indd 1 For-profit property management firms 6/20/13 2:13:07 PM