President Speech from the Annual Meeting
“Retooling Our Economy”
Connecting Business and Opportunity
I read a comment some time ago that said:
“Show me someone who doesn’t dream about the future and I’ll show you someone who doesn’t know where they are going.” I believe that today this quote is apropos as we look at 2010 and beyond because each year of the last decade has required us to shift what we do and how we do it to be able to meet the needs of the shifting global economy.
Over the years the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce has worked very hard at identifying future trends and opportunities and creating resources to provide the business community with an environment that optimizes success.
As we look at our future work in 2010 we will be focusing on identified key industry groups in northeast Ohio and their future workforce development needs, we will look at new healthcare strategies and we will review our local resources that effect our business community and continue to deliver our cadre of traditional Chamber offerings.
We will be providing a strategy this year that’s designed to help our members take advantage of the many opportunities which are occurring because of the retooling of our economy.
State, Regional and Local experts have identified areas of focus for this 2nd decade of the 21st Century that will provide the most opportunities in the future economy. These key areas of focus are: Advanced Energy and Environmental Technology; Aerospace, Propulsion & Power; Food Manufacturing and Agriculture; Bio-Science; Motor Vehicle and Parts Manufacturing; Polymer and Advanced Materials; Logistics, Distribution and Transportation; and Professional Services. These areas of focus require business solutions and opportunities for individuals and organizations to succeed in today’s knowledge based, high tech economy.
Each of these areas will require a competent, qualified workforce to produce world-class products for this future economy. Training new workers and retraining our existing workforce to meet the needs of this future work is an important component for the success of our local business community.
The Chamber has recognized for long time that a competent, qualified workforce is Key to business community success. Through our collaboration in the Lorain County Growth Partnership, the Chamber will be working with our partners the Lorain County Commissioners, Team Lorain County, the Lorain County Community College and the Lorain County Joint Vocational School to identify opportunities that connect workforce training to existing and future business needs. Through the emergence of the Lorain County Growth Partnership as the platform for regional economic development, the Chamber along with its partners in government and education have built strategic initiatives focused on professional development and customized training programs that are designed to meet employers’ demands for a talented workforce. We will use our role as the Chairman of the Workforce Investment Board and
founding member of the Workforce Institute to continue to advance the business communities agenda to create a qualified and flexible workforce to meet the needs of 21st Century companies.
This Growth Partnership business model where all of your company’s training and development needs are met is a flexible process designed to make business success a reality.
Another area of focus for 2010 will be to develop a set of new healthcare strategies. The Chamber in the past has worked on putting together initiatives designed to benefit Chamber members in their ability to access affordable healthcare.
With the changing landscape of healthcare today the Chamber plans on exploring new initiatives that will better meet the needs of our business community and our healthcare providers. It is incumbent that our workforce is healthy and productive and is a part of a company’s comprehensive business plan.
We will also be designing wellness strategies for the business community that can complement their healthcare needs. Obesity, tobacco usage and stress are the most common hazards to health in our workforce today. In addition to the direct harm that these problems cause individual wellness, they also provoke many indirect issues related to healthcare that can attribute to increased cost to the system. We will also be looking into ways to support our local healthcare providers in their attempt to lessen their burden of unpaid medical services. Federal law says hospitals must treat people in need of emergency care, regardless of whether or not those patients can pay for that care. Our local hospitals have provided over $50 million in unpaid healthcare last year. These cost certainly have an impact on the price of healthcare for those of us that pay our premiums and for those
companies that choose to provide healthcare coverage to there employees. The Chamber will be working with our local hospitals to identify alternatives that will abate those cost for our healthcare providers.
The Chamber will also use 2010 as a year to review the resources in Lorain County that support business growth. We will develop strategies to more effectively deliver and create resources that meet the challenges of the 21st Century. The areas of concern will include but not be limited to activities supporting business retention and expansion, entrepreneurship development, economic development networks, strategic planning, local government finance and special studies of socio-economic trends. We will accomplish this work through the collaboration with our partners in the Lorain County Growth Partnership.
The Chamber also will continue to deliver our stable of programs that are designed to provide savings for our member companies. We will also continue to provide a collaborative approach to problem solving and resource development that provides a competitive advantage for our Chamber members.
The Business Relation division, managed by Tammy Cascio, will continue to provide over 45 venues that allow our members opportunities to participate in networking events designed to encourage dialogue and build informal relationships that enable businesses to assist one another in achieving their goals. Networking is an important way the Chamber has found to help build businesses. People do business with people they know.
The Business Development Division, managed by Tony Gallo, will be making your membership investment pay for itself. These benefits have been designed to provide a competitive advantage for our member companies in the global marketplace and have been developed over the years to save our members thousands of dollars annually, and as of last year we provided saving of over $1 million for our member companies. As the business environment changes, the benefits packages will continue to evolve to meet the needs of our member businesses.
The Small Business Division, will have new management of the Small Business Development Center in 2010 through the Lorain County Growth Partnership, and will provide a more seamless small business component for those interested in business success. The SBDC will be linked more formally with GLIDE, the Great Lakes Innovation and Development Enterprise, the premier Edison Technology Incubator in Northeast Ohio that the Lorain County Chamber, the Lorain County Community College and the Lorain County Commissioners, formed in early 2001.
The SBDC will continue to provide support to the business community by providing individual counseling in Strategic Planning, eCounseling, Technical Assistance, Quality-Based Assessments, Information about Federal, State and Local Programs, Loan Packaging Assistance and crisis management. It assists businesses with 500 or fewer employees, and will promote business start-ups and existing small business growth through community outreach and collaboration.
Our Governmental Affairs Division will continue to convene, forums with our elected representatives from local, state, and the federal government at various times during the year to review and discuss Chamber positions on issues affecting the business community in Lorain County. The program also educates and involves Chamber members in the regional, state, and federal legislative process to provide a focus and guidance for advocacy on issues of concern to the Chamber membership.
We believe that strong management by staff and the desire to be prepared for the future and the next wave of opportunities will allow the Chamber to fulfill its mission to “Promote and support the success and growth of the Lorain County Business community”
In conclusion 2010 will be a year of many challenges. We will be watching the national economy and we will be looking for ways to advance the Lorain County business community agenda.
We are hopeful that the capital markets will open and small business lending will once again spur growth and innovation for Lorain County businesses. Please know that the Lorain County Chamber of Commerce and our partners in the Lorain County Growth Partnership are prepared to support your efforts to succeed. We are your partners and we will be looking at evaluating your needs so that we can provide you with the best environment with which to pursue new opportunities.
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