OK, I tried this little history lesson below as a possible lead to my BizVoice magazine story on the 2011 Government Leaders of the Year. I was rightfully told that it didn’t work — at least for that purpose. After a second look, I quickly agreed.

But you get it here, with the primary purpose to get you to the full story about Brian Bosma and David Long — and the accomplishments they helped produce in this year’s Indiana General Assembly session.

There are reasons that 49 states (Nebraska being the exception) and many countries operate with bicameral governing bodies. Bicameral simply refers to two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate at the state and congressional levels.

While not delving too far into a history lesson, the Founding Fathers of our country established the House to represent the will of the people. This is exemplified by their smaller districts and two-year election cycle. The Senate, on the other hand, is viewed as much more deliberative, with its members representing larger geographic areas and serving six-year terms.

The two-chamber model provides a checks and balances to the governing system. But the House and Senate – and particularly their leadership – must work together. To do so is progress; to fail in that effort often results in gridlock.

The 2011 Indiana General Assembly session is largely regarded as a tremendous success. Leading the way were the two people at the top – House Speaker Brian Bosma and Senate President Pro Tem David Long.

Check out the full story here and go online to view all the award winner videos.

We like to say here at the Indiana Chamber that we have the biggest and best annual business celebration. Sure I’m a little biased, but I think that was proven to be the case again Thursday night.

Don’t take our word for it. The 1,400-plus attendees certainly seemed to enjoy themselves. Governor Mitch Daniels helped get the ball rolling and the night closed with keynote speaker Terry Bradshaw putting on an excellent show.

There were the three major awards, of course. Congratulations to Business Leader of the Year Jean Wojtowicz, Government Leaders Brian Bosma and David Long, and Community of the Year Kokomo. Check out their video profiles and stay tuned for photos, a video recap of the event and more in the coming days and weeks.

It’s about much more than just the awards. It’s business, community and political leaders coming together and celebrating what makes Indiana great.

It’s only 11 months and 12 days until the 23rd Annual Awards Dinner, which will feature Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein on the 40th anniversary of Watergate and the lessons learned that apply to today’s political world. Join us November 1, 2012 and see for yourself what a great event this is.

The results of our most recent poll question seem to adequately reflect the current state of the Republican race for president — a lot of choices with little consensus.

We asked your favorite on the GOP side. Mitt Romney (33%) and Herman Cain (25% with more than a few of those votes received prior to his recent difficulties) led the way. Third was "other" with Jon Huntsman, none of the above, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and a few others showing up in that category.

Among remaining choices: Ron Paul (11%), Rick Perry (5%) and Michele Bachmann (3%). In other words, it’s still wait and see on how this one will play out in early 2012.

We keep the focus on Washington with our new question. Vote (upper right) on the following:

What would you most like to receive from Washington as an early (or late) holiday present?

• “Do-over” on health care reform
• Moratoirum on new federal regulations
• Simpler tax process
• Solid plan to reduce debt
• Other

If you’re one of the many who is seemingly highly frustrated by the lack of positive activity in Washington, you’re joined by Indiana Congressman Marlin Stutzman. The special guest during Friday’s monthly Indiana Chamber Policy Call, Stutzman expressed the following at different times about his first 10-plus months on the job in D.C.

• "What bothers me is there is no sense of urgency."
• "The federal government is so large, so bureaucratic, so over-reaching. It’s the blanket that is suffocating the economy right now."
• "The government is in the way, and we can’t get it out of the way fast enough."

Stutzman described the competing philosophies of government creating jobs by spending money with the preferred approach for him (and many others) of providing the climate to allow the private sector to be the job creator. He also noted the regulatory hurdles, with more than 3,200 rules passed by "unelected bureaucrats" in 2010 and that number already above 4,000 for this year.

On a more positive note, Stutzman did cite recent legislation that increases the tax credit for hiring veterans and a farm bill proposal (in which he teamed with Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar) that delivers a potential $40 billion in savings over 10 years while still protecting those in the agriculture industry.

Like others, Stutzman hopes for some progress out of the "super committee" dealing with debt and deficit recommendations. He notes that tax reform and simplication is generating interest, but will still be difficult to pass in the partisan environment in Washington.

Check out more about Stutzman and his work. The next Policy Call for Chamber members will be Friday, December 9, with the topic being right-to-work.

Mike Wells, president of REI Investments in Carmel, is not a man who’s averse to hardware. After all, the Indiana Chamber named him as the 2010 Business Leader of the Year (pictured) at last fall’s Annual Awards Dinner (the 2011 production is coming up on November 17 — featuring keynote speaker Terry Bradshaw), and Wells has been selected as a Volunteer of the Year as well for his many contributions. 

But it’s not just his efforts in the Indiana business community that are earning recognition. He was just named as the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis James L. Kittle, Sr. Lifetime Achievement Award winner last week. The YMCA offers:

As President of RE I Investments, Mike enhances the landscape and skyline of Indianapolis. As a volunteer for the Y, he enhances the experience of every Y member through his leadership and vision. Mike is a Past Chair of the Jordan Branch Board of Managers, present member of the YMCA Greater Indianapolis Board of Directors and served as Chair of the Board from 1993-95. He is a YMCA Heritage Club member and serves as Co-chair of the YMCA’s Comprehensive Capital Campaign. Mike has been part of the Y on a global level by participating in the Bicentennial Celebration for the Y in London. Further, as an active early morning exerciser at the Jordan Y, Mike leads by example as we move Indianapolis toward being one of the healthiest communities by 2025.

So congrats to Mr. Wells, truly a champion for progress in the state.

All right, we know there is a great disconnect with high unemployment while thousands of skilled jobs go unfilled due to a lack of qualified applicants. But just how bad is it?

A new report from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute answers that with a "pretty bad." Here’s a short analysis from the State Science & Technology Institute and a link to the 16-page report.

American manufacturing companies cannot fill as many as 600,000 skilled positions — even as unemployment numbers hover at historic levels — according to Boiling Point? The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing, a new report from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute. This annual skills report provides a stark snapshot of the manufacturing sector’s inability to find qualified workers. Approximately 67% of survey respondents attribute the unfilled positions to a shortage of available, qualified workers. Unfilled jobs are mainly in the skilled production category positions (e.g., machinists, operators, craft workers, distributors and technicians).

The report also indicates that this shortage has an impact on the overall competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector. Approximately 64% of respondents report that workforce shortages or skills deficiencies in production roles are having a significant impact on their ability to expand operations or improve productivity.

To resolve these issues long-term, the U.S. must focus on the next generation by developing a skilled workforce that goes beyond the required skills (i.e., a solid math and science base). Respondents indicated that high schools should focus on strengthening students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Anytime we talk about this topic, I have to mention Ready Indiana, the Indiana Chamber’s workforce initiative, and its role in helping connect companies and employees with needed training resources.

The video shoots are in the books; yeah, there is that little thing of compiling, editing, revising and finalizing — but that will all take place quickly and effectively.

BizVoice magazine goes off to the printer this week after a great job from the Chamber team in telling our award winner stories.

In other words, we’re getting close to "play ball" time for the Chamber’s 22nd Annual Awards Dinner. And speaking of (foot)ball, four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Terry Bradshaw will be sure to inform and entertain as the event’s keynote speaker.

There’s still time to get your tickets (more than 1,500 did so last year). It’s November 17 at the JW Marriott. We hope to see you there.