Message from the Chamber Board Chair

from 2022-23 Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce

Business Environment Committee

Rob Behunin

I’m sure everyone has seen that T-shirt, or the funny birthday card, or the plaque in the craft store that says, “I’ve been told to act my age, but I don’t know how. I’ve never been this old before.” While we all get the light-hearted gist of this, there is something quite profound about the notion of arriving at a new stage in life, growth and development — a place we have not been before.

I think we are in that place right now.

The drought is growing. The Great Salt Lake is shrinking. Utah Lake is blooming. Housing is tougher. Interest rates are up, and so is inflation — but, hey, speaking of “up,” we are going back to the moon. There’s something to consider about our indomitable spirit as a nation and people.

All that said, one of the things that helps me chart a course is the Utah Valley Chamber. The relationships, personal and business, that I have formed there are truly meaningful. Through the chamber, I get to work with and be mentored by some of the most remarkable, successful, unassuming people I have ever met. They’ve never been on the cover of Time, Forbes, or Newsweek (well, maybe one or two!), but they are truly “diamonds in our own backyard.”

Under the leadership of our Chamber staff, more and more people and businesses are stepping up and joining the Chamber, and they are doing so because the Chamber provides opportunities for us to pool our experiences, incubate and exchange ideas, and take best practices back. Furthermore, the chamber allows us to band together to move our key initiatives forward and help shape the political, economic and social landscapes so our families, businesses and communities can prosper.

While we might be in a place we’ve never been before, I’ll invoke the cliché and say, “There’s no place I’d rather be.”

As you read this magazine and see how the chamber is connecting people, businesses and communities, I am confident you will find the chamber to be a professional, vibrant, well-connected, visionary association that is collaborating with multiple and diverse stakeholders to build a tomorrow where future generations will have opportunities to work, live and play in our beautiful valley.

We will be stronger with you, so we invite you to get to know the Chamber better and to join us.