FROM THE PRESIDENT/CEO Welcome to the 2020 Chamber Guide

FROM PRESIDENT & CEO: Jeff Rea Welcome to the 2020 Chamber Guide!

Iwould like to welcome you to the Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce’s annual guide to Southern Berrien County, including the communities we serve such as the City of Niles, the City of Buchanan, Niles Charter Township, Bertrand Township, the Village of Galien, and the Village of Three Oaks. We hope you will enjoy this inside look at our communities and that you will make plans to come see all that southern Berrien County and Southwest Michigan has to offer!

I want to thank our partners at Leader Publications for their assistance in pulling this great guide together. You may know Leader Publications as the voice of the communities we serve, working each day to bring you all of the latest happenings through the Niles Daily Star, the Dowagiac Daily News, the Cassopolis Vigilant, the Edwardsburg Argus, the Leader, Michiana Life, and South Bend Life. If it happens in our region, Leader knows about it and is writing about it.

Now 101 years ago, business leaders in our community came together to launch the Chamber to serve as an advocate for local businesses and the community, to promote and raise the profile of the region, and to drive economic growth within the companies and communities we serve. Today we have grown to more than 300 member businesses across the region.

Though more than 100 years have passed, we remain true to our mission and those core values that founded our organization in the first place. Publications like this one, as well as the work we do each day, is aimed at helping our businesses and communities prosper. We feel like we have made good progress, but much work remains to be done as well.

Southwest Michigan has a lot to offer! If you already live here, I am not telling you anything new. If you are visiting, we hope you will take a little time to explore our communities, visit our downtowns, check out our attractions, and

visit many of the businesses we’ve highlighted here in this guide. Make a day, weekend, or vacation of it, our residents and businesses will certainly show you the hospitality that will make you want to come back.

If you are a business owner or entrepreneur looking for that next opportunity, why not consider this area. Here you will find a diverse, skilled, and abundant workforce, a business-friendly environment, a low cost of living, and one of the better tax climates in the Midwest and Nation. Our team stands ready to help you make that decision and to navigate the path to re-opening right here in our communities.

For more information, start at https://www.greaternileschamber. com/.

Look forward to seeing you soon!

Jeff Rea, President & CEO