State of the Chamber: A Year of Progress

It was a year that started with new Chamber leadership and ended with a Celebration of Regional Growth recognizing seven organizations that made substantial investments in new facilities, technology and jobs in our region. It was also a year when the worries of economic uncertainty slowly began to give way to cautious optimism.

For the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce (LRCC), 2009 was a year of new vision, innovative initiatives that delivered promising results, unprecedented success in the political and government relations arenas and increased membership involvement in networking events and affinity programs.

For the Lansing Regional Chamber and the region as a whole, it was a year of progress.

At the start of 2009, the Chamber team led by president and CEO Tim Daman and Kristin Beltzer, senior vice president, Government Relations & Public Affairs, laid out an ambitious agenda that emphasized four priority areas: business growth initiatives, government relations, regional cooperation and membership. During the past 12 months, each of those areas has met with considerable success.

Perhaps the most important characteristic of the Chamber's progress in the past year has been an increased emphasis on public/private partnerships that are being leveraged to advance a unified regional vision.

"Even during the challenging times, the Chamber Board had confidence that advocating for the best interests of the region and our membership would bring positive results, and that's exactly what happened," said John Truscott, 2009 LRCC Board Chairman. "It has been rewarding to be part of a team that has delivered on what it set out to do."

The ability to forge effective public and private sector partnerships has resulted in several exciting initiatives in the past year. The Chamber is working with several regional partners to develop an international marketing program to support development and growth surrounding the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University.

The Chamber also worked closely with business and education leaders in the region to launch a public awareness campaign that highlighted the investments and contributions of the region's insurance industry. Insuring Greater Lansing's Future was designed to make the Lansing region more attractive for business investment and further the image of the region as a hub for the insurance sector.

The 2009 local elections gave further evidence to the Lansing Regional Chamber's ability to build a winning team and successfully advocate for a pro business, pro growth agenda. The Lansing Regional Chamber's Political Action Committee (LRC PAC) enjoyed an unprecedented perfect record in candidate endorsements in the November elections. Nine out of nine candidates endorsed by LRC PAC were elected to office in races for Lansing Mayor, Lansing City Council, Lansing Community College Board of Trustees and Lansing Board of Education.

The best part of the Chamber's 2009 success may be in the foundation that has been laid for 2010.

"There's no question that the next year offers many exciting opportunities within the Chamber, the business community and the region," said Vic Verchereau, 2010 LRCC Board Chairman. "There has never been a better time to be part of a Chamber of Commerce that is at the forefront of so many important initiatives."

Among the areas that hold great promise in the coming year are the Procurement Technical Assistance Center, which helps area businesses secure government contracts, Port Lansing and the Foreign Trade Zone at Capital Region International Airport and the 2010 state and local elections, in which the Lansing Regional Chamber will play an active role.

A major emphasis in the coming year will also be placed on delivering the finest in membership programming and services. The Annual Dinner will take place at the beautiful Wharton Center at MSU and offer increased networking opportunities. The 2010 Economic Club series offers an impressive array of speakers. Finally, our new-tiered membership structure offers our members the opportunity to better align Chamber services with their particular needs.

While the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce is proud to celebrate its progress of the past year, we also realize that we must turn our attention to the year ahead. We are committed to working together with our members and our many partners to achieve even greater success and move our region forward.