Article 1 | Article 2 | Article 3

Showing progress
Chamber effort will help build winning attitude

Flint Journal editorial
March 30, 2008

FLINT, Michigan -- Slowly but surely, things are happening in Genesee County that will produce economic gains over time, but that story hasn't gotten out in a coherent way because of the lack of an effective messenger.

Fortunately, something is being done about this leadership void. A new initiative of the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce will seek to highlight and explain the successes of business groups and other organizations so the community might get a better sense of what progress is being achieved. Minimally, that should create public confidence in the notion that there is a local plan for economic renewal and people carrying it out.

Granted, this will be a challenge for the chamber's Partners for Progress program, as it's not easy for an institution, even a good one like the chamber has become, to communicate like a human being. That's something acknowledged by former Lansing Mayor David Hollister, whose Prima Civitas Foundation worked on the Partners project.

Yet at least the local chamber knows what people want to hear. It's "jobs, jobs, jobs," according to a survey and focus groups held before the launch of the program. While research probably wasn't needed to glean this insight, there are other findings that are useful.

Key is deep support across the county for a three-item agenda: the aforementioned desire for economic development, education and work force training, and continuing efforts to renew downtown Flint.

In all of these areas, there are people and groups toiling on plans and getting results, such as the first student housing under construction at the University of Michigan-Flint and the reshaping of downtown buildings for new businesses and residents. The chamber goal is to highlight and promote a plethora of economic development efforts and achievements under the Partners for Progress umbrella, so the general public might get a full sense of what's going on and regain confidence in the area's future.

"We're focusing our efforts on the positive so the community can believe in itself again," sums up chamber CEO Tim Herman.

That would be no small victory, and one that has to be achieved if Genesee County is to be relevant in a global economy. Losing attitudes don't produce winning teams, and a community down on itself suffers the same consequences.

Sensibly, however, the chamber's Partners program isn't trying to build self-confidence with empty symbolism or psychobabble, but by highlighting concrete assets and accomplishments, things that naturally would bring pride to any town but somehow don't produce those feelings here.
Hollister, who built a national reputation as the architect of Lansing's comeback during a 10-year mayoral stint, has noted that the Flint area has a self-esteem problem, which he suggests is one of the things holding it back.

Partners for Progress should help change that thinking by convincing the broad community not only that it can be better, but also in many ways we already are.

Journal Publisher David C. Sharp is board chairman of the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce.

[top]

Chamber lauds 2007 development, plans for 2008

By Melissa Burden | The Flint Journal
March 28, 2008

FLINT, Michigan -- An announcement on whether investors who want to turn the former Buick City into an intermodal hub will get the go-ahead could come within the next two months, the head of the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce said Thursday.

"It's still in negotiation with General Motors," said Tim Herman, chief executive officer of the chamber. "We're hoping something comes out of that within 60 days."

The chamber has been working for many months with Mid Michigan Global Link, which wants to buy 220 acres on the former Buick City site on Flint's north side and convert it into a rail-to-truck freight facility, bringing a possible 600 new jobs.

The chamber's economic development efforts of 2007 were discussed during the regional chamber's annual meeting Thursday.

Last year, the chamber helped attract four businesses to Genesee County, bringing with them an estimated 129 jobs and creating $600,000 in investment.

It also helped five businesses expand in the county, creating another 54 jobs and retaining 118 jobs. Those companies invested more than $2.8 million.

One was Trialon Corp. in Burton, which added $1 million in high-tech equipment at its Burton testing facility, retaining 30 jobs and adding seven.

The chamber's Procurement Technical Assistance Center helped local businesses secure 127 government contracts worth $16.5 million.

Mark Zale of SBJ Caulk Supplies Inc. in Mundy Township, which supplies items such as sealants and adhesives to the construction industry, said the center helped him become certified to do business with the government.

"Eventually, this could lead up to doing several hundred thousand in business," Zale said.

The chamber also rolled out its new Partners for Progress initiative, which will unite area organizations and businesses when making announcements about jobs, education and downtown development in Genesee County.

The united "good news" promotion effort about Genesee County is intended to help change attitudes and beliefs of people here and across the country, officials said.

"This is a strategy for the future," said Bob Fuller, president of Hubbard Supply Co. Inc. in Flint and a member of the chamber's Regional Leadership Council.

[top]

Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce program,
called 'Partners for Progress,' aims to focus on economic growth

By Ron Fonger | The Flint Journal
March 27, 2008

FLINT, Michigan -- Good news is about to get the red-carpet treatment from the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The organization is expected to launch a program today called Partners for Progress that's designed to consistently focus attention on economic development and other news.

The launch comes after focus groups and a survey of 400 county residents told the chamber people are concerned about economic development issues here.

The need for more "jobs trumped everything ... but (people) didn't identify any particular individual that was leading the effort," said David Hollister, president and chief executive officer of Prima Civitas Foundation, which worked on the project.

The Partners for Progress program could have been used for more than a dozen economic development stories in 2007, chamber representatives said -- serving as a cheerleader for the construction of student housing for the University of Michigan-Flint and construction on downtown office buildings.

"We could have really been out ahead of the game," said Tim Herman, chief executive officer of the chamber. "We're going to (promote) these type of good announcements."

Herman called Partners for Progress one of the chamber's most important new initiatives in 2008 and said it's designed to combat the area's collective low self-esteem.

"We're focusing our efforts on the positive so the community can believe in itself again," he said.

Partners for Progress will be a program of the chamber's Regional Leadership Council, a group of more than 25 members, responsible for identifying issues, responding to needs and providing guidance to the chamber board.

Hollister said the chamber's survey and focus groups also showed:

• Race relations are only perceived to be "fair" but are not a "top-of-the-mind" concern given the state of the county's economy.
• The most pressing concerns facing the county are the economy and jobs. Crime runs a distant second, and many other concerns, such as drug use and health care coverage, are seen by many as fallout from the poor economy.
• While there is a heightened degree of pessimism -- 71 percent believe the county is on the wrong track -- area residents remain hopeful that community and business groups can work together and solve many of the problems facing Flint.

[top]

www.mlive.com