Jeff Franklin
2015 Chairman of the Board
It is incredible to me that one fourth of my year as Chairman is already in the past. Wow! So…what have we done in the past 90 days besides have one heck of a great time at the Annual Banquet?
For me one of the highlights has to be sitting on the recent investor panel for our Young Entrepreneur Academy student CEOs and being able to provide seed capital, courtesy of our many sponsors, for these great new businesses in the community. From Canyon View Rentals to Perfect Pouches, the quality of the presentations and business plans were astonishing. I have no doubt that these are going to be excellent members of our future workforce and chamber member small businesses in a few short years. Madelyn Swelstad, our youngest student at the age of 11 was selected as our local Saunders Scholar and she will be competing at the regional level for scholarship funds in May. Her company, Mad Lips, is a vertically integrated enterprise that manufactures lip balms with wax from her own bees in flavors that can appeal to many of us like mojito. We wish her well!
The City Council elections which are winding down as the April 7th deadline for returning our ballots approaches have provided us with the opportunity to hear from seven people vying for the five open seats. Three of those seats are uncontested. We still have Voter Guides available for anyone looking for information on the candidates or the ballot issues we are supporting in hopes of improved transportation and broadband infrastructure. I urge all city residents to vote. It matters.
While we are talking about government, I am happy to report that we had an outstanding trip to the State Capitol in early March to meet with state lawmakers and members of the Governor’s administration. An exciting concept shared by Governor Hickenlooper during that trip related to economic development is the possibility of Tax Free Colorado legislation that could benefit communities such as ours that are still struggling to recover from the Recession. The Chamber is supporting such an effort.
Finally, as spring arrives I want to let you know that we will be helping strengthen our organization by inviting businesses to join our association. Your Chamber Board will be one of six teams that will be participating. If you know a business that is interested in joining the Chamber please contact me, your Chairman. I believe strongly in this organization and am not bashful about sharing the benefits of membership…and I want our team to win!
Enjoy spring in the Grand Valley.
Jeff Franklin