Chair's Message

BY NICK LAMBROW

I SPENT MUCH of the past year—my first as the State Chamber’s board chair—listening closely to our state’s business owners and leaders. The theme I’ve consistently heard from our business community is that we need to communicate better.

We need to communicate more effectively. We need to clearly communicate our objectives and outline the challenges we face. We need to seek new opportunities to share our stories. And we need to use different tools to get our messages across.

It’s a fundamental issue that requires our careful attention and diligence. It’s a point around which we should all rally this year. Here’s why.

For starters, our audience has changed. When the 2023 legislative session convenes, nine new state lawmakers will take their places in Legislative Hall. Educating these legislators on the issues most important to the business community will be tantamount to our economy’s growth and the state’s ability to thrive now and for years to come.

Many of the issues haven’t changed. We still need to develop a pipeline of talented workers, invest in Delaware’s infrastructure, technological capabilities and workforce training programs, and provide top-notch health care and a safe environment for the state’s residents.

How we communicate our priorities this year will be critical. We’ll have much to talk about in 2023, and we’ll need to stay organized around some persistent challenges. Among them:

• Promoting policies that support job skills training programs that align with the needs of Delaware’s employers and their employees;

• Creating employment opportunities within the building trades, technology, health care, and logistics segments;

• Supporting employer-led diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives;

• Continuing to support legislation that streamlines the state’s permitting process and ensuring projects are completed on time;

• Making it easier for businesses to expand in or relocate to Delaware and create new jobs; and,

• Encouraging our legislators and other elected officials to efficiently and effectively use federal resources to update the state’s infrastructure and invest in other projects that improve residents’ quality of life.

Recent history can serve as our guide. The work done over the past few years to move forward the Ready in 6 legislative agenda is an example of how the business community and state’s lawmakers can work together to enact laws that make Delaware a better place to do business.

I hope you’ll join me in telling our stories in ways that help to spur innovative solutions to the challenges we face. Let’s make the most of the opportunity we have to effectively share our views for what Delaware’s future can be—and the powerful role the business community will play in shaping it.

Nick Lambrow is regional president for M&T Bank in Delaware.