The Chamber made strides in accomplishing many of the strategies outlined in the 2016 Business Plan. Shown below are a few highlights:
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2016 Young Entrepreneurs Academy Participants
Business Retention and Expansion efforts during the quarter included the hosting of a tech industry round-table, visits with three local companies poised for expansion and the hiring of a full-time Business Retention/Expansion Specialist.
- The Chamber partnered with Hilltop Community Resources and the Mesa County Workforce Center to launch KickStart, a program aimed at unemployed 18 to 24 year olds not enrolled in school. To date, over 60 businesses have signed up to be intern sites and 25 individuals have been placed in these work environments.
- The Governmental Affairs Committee re-engaged with lawmakers on a number of issues and took positions on 15 bills as of this printing dealing with issues such as employment, verification, licensing fees for craft brewers, duplicate reporting requirements for employers, local minimum wage ordinances and the operation of drones.
- Forty-five members participated in the annual Grand Junction Days at the State Capitol and four video-conferences with lawmakers took place.
- The imminent implementation of drainage fees that place an inordinate burden on businesses topped the local advocacy efforts in the past 90 days with the Chamber still asking for a valley wide solution and a funding formula that is more fair to the business community.
- Twelve newly minted CEOs competed for $7,200 in seed funding for their companies during a Young Entrepreneurs’ Investor Panel in March and nine high school students participated in a reformatted Hire Me First program aimed at preparing teens for their first jobs.
Click here to download full version of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce April 2016 Newsletter.