The economy has changed business life as we know.  Everyone is looking at different ways of doing business and it seems like more and more people are interested in decisions that are being made in our government.
The Rolla Chamber is organizing Rolla Day at the Capitol for Wednesday, March 11, as a way to showcase what businesses and organizations are in the Rolla community. 
We also encourage everyone to use this opportunity to visit with our legislators and senators about bills that will affect our businesses, organizations and lives. 
They want to hear from you and Rolla Day is the best opportunity to have your voices heard.  We will set up display booths on the 3rd Floor Rotunda between 9 and 10 a.m., and we will be there until 3 p.m.  If you can’t set up a booth, you are welcome to join us individually and represent our community. 
Please call the Chamber office, 364-3577, for more information and to attend.
This Saturday, we invite you and your family to join us at the Missouri S&T Basketball Game as we celebrate Military Appreciation Day. 
The Chamber has admittance tickets on sale for $1, which is a savings of $5. 
The women’s game starts at 5:30 p.m. and the men’s game starts at 7:30.  The Chamber is giving away a Nintendo Wii console as the grand prize during half time of the men’s game. 
Everyone in attendance will be given a raffle ticket for the grand prize drawing.  We hope to have a large community showing at the game, so tell everyone in your network and we hope to see you there.
Our office was notified by the U.S. Small Business Administration warning small businesses not to respond to letters falsely claiming to have been sent by the SBA asking for bank account information in order to qualify them for federal tax rebates.   
The fraudulent letters were sent out with what appears to be an SBA letterhead to small businesses across the country, advising recipients that they may be eligible for a tax rebate under the Economic Stimulus Act, and that SBA is assessing their eligibility for such a rebate. 
The letter asks the small business to provide the name of its bank and account number.   
These letters have not been sent by or authorized by the SBA, and all small businesses are strongly advised not to respond to them. 
The scheme is similar in many ways to e-mail scams often referred to as “phishing” that seek personal data and financial account information that enables another party to access and individual’s bank accounts or to engage in identity theft.  
The SBA is working with the SBA Office of Inspector General to investigate this matter. The Office of Inspector General asks that anyone who receives such a letter report it to the OIG Fraud Line at 1 (800) 767-0385, or e-mail at OIGHotline@sba.gov. 
If your business is not a Chamber member, now is a perfect time for you to join. 
Join today and be a part of something great in the community.  You can reach us at 364-3577 or rollacc@rollachamber.org. 
When you invest in the Chamber, you are making an investment in your community.  Look for the Rolla Chamber on www.facebook.com and www.linkedin.com/in/RollaChamber.
(Stevie Kearse is executive director of the Rolla Area Chamber of Commerce. Her column appears weekly in the Rolla Daily News.)