2020
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LOOKING AHEAD Celebrating 100 Years and more to come
CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
Photo courtesy Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce
ROBIN ROBESON
The chamber’s members and its leaders have never shied away from influencing the future. Right now, we share a collective sense of momentum when it comes to the investments we need to make as a community in order to strengthen our identity and ensure we realize our shared vision of making the Springfield area the most thriving region in the state and in the Midwest. Our civic, state and federal leaders will be empowered to act on larger impactful plans and projects if they have our support. Thankfully, the chamber’s member-driven processes will continue to help us gather input, analyze and arrive at the sound decisions and positions that will result in a stronger job market, a larger workforce and greater investment in the Ozarks region. As we chart a course for the future, we also have to continue focusing on the day-to-day work it takes over the long term to build a business-friendly environment. The results can be incremental and sometimes challenging to communicate. The bottom line is that to strengthen the creation of high-quality, family-supporting jobs here, we have to be a skills-rich region. Better jobs require certain skill sets. The more we can do to equip people with in-demand skills, the more we can build a sustainable trajectory for upward mobility. It empowers people, and it opens up more opportunity for our employers here. I’ve learned about some very successful best practices on our Community Leadership Visits. At the same time, visiting other cities has solidified my resolve that we have the assets, innovation and risk-taking spirit necessary to beat our competition when it comes to recruiting talent to Springfield and increasing our working population. That’s at the heart of our strategy for the future—jobs follow people. We must have the vibrant place that attracts more people which in turn fuels our ability to attract and expand quality jobs in our area. Chamber members have always stepped up to the plate to support the actions that will shape a more prosperous future for all those who live here in the Springfield area. I am proud to call this my home, and I love living and working in the Springfield region. At the start of the next century in the chamber’s legacy of leadership, I know I can count on you to own that pride, and we can work together to take some big steps into what I see as a very bright future.
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