
The outlook into 2020 for the Chamber’s Business Retention & Expansion program is extremely bright. Each week we are out in the community assessing the current business climate and addressing the needs of existing businesses all across the Grand Valley. Local business is the backbone of our community and does so much for our local…

The Chamber led a coalition of four business organizations that pleaded with the Grand Junction City Council not to raise development fees and implement new fees to an extent that could hamper economic development and growth last month. Members of the Grand Junction Area Realtor Association, Housing and Building Association of Western Colorado, Western Colorado…

The Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce won a GOLD level award for its CHAMPIONS of Economic Development EDW 2019, a project in the category of Innovation in Economic Development Week of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The honor was presented at an awards ceremony on Tuesday, October 15 during the IEDC Annual Conference, which…

C.J. Rhyne, Director of Business Retention and Expansion for the Grand Junction Area Chamber, graduated from the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute on October 24, 2019, at the OU EDI Fall session held in Denver, Colorado. OU EDI is an intensive 117-hour certificate program that provides a broad spectrum of advanced education for the…
The Chamber Health Care Survey conducted in October asked main contacts for our members questions about health care coverage and found some interesting information based upon the 100 responses that were received (14% of those polled). Key takeaways included: • 32% of respondents do not offer any sort of health care benefit to their employees…

Manufacturing, the often invisible pillar of our community. A great number of citizens have no general knowledge of the types of industries within their respective communities. They know how many hospitals are in the city limits and can rattle off a few names of the middle schools close to them, but how many core, stable,…
Did you know that the Mesa County Board of Commissioners instituted a program almost four years ago to help encourage new and existing businesses to expand and invest in Mesa County? While it has only recently begun to be utilized, it has the potential to assist in growing businesses and jobs throughout the county. What…

How often have we heard the phase “It takes a village…”? Obviously, the term has been way overused way too often but as I look at the recent economic development efforts in the community, I am reminded that it truly does take a village…a village of aligned individuals and organizations. The recent announcement of the…

As I was thinking about what to write for this Chairman Column it hit me between the eyes…the year is HALF OVER! Heck, soon it will be time to pick the theme for the 2020 Annual Banquet! It might also be time to take a look back at where we’ve come in the past six…
As an organization, we worked hard during the legislative session with lawmakers to try and create a destination sourcing sales tax system that small retailers could actually comply with. The compromise reached is not perfect but does offer some relief. To avoid confusion and the possibility of misinformation about this complex rule that is further…