Regional Chamber Hosts 2012 Annual Meeting
Michigan Director of Urban & Metro Initiatives Harvey Hollins Keynotes
(FLINT, MICH – March 28) Today, the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce held its 2012 Annual Meeting at the Riverfront Banquet Center in downtown Flint. The meeting focused on the Regional Chamber’s impact on the Flint-Genesee County region in 2011, as well as future growth.
According to Tim Herman, CEO of the Regional Chamber 2011 was a transformative year for the region.
“Flint and Genesee County are moving forward in dynamic ways and the Regional Chamber is proud to play a critical role,” said Herman. “We are proud to have influenced millions of dollars in investment, worked with local businesses to create and retain jobs, and led the way to new initiatives that will bring economic growth and diversification to the region.”
The Annual Meeting showcased the Regional Chamber’s key results in 2011, including:
- Retention/expansion and attraction efforts resulted in $205 million of total investment and contract value in the region; and as a result, 830 jobs were created and 1,482 jobs were retained.
- Nearly 2,800 students were enrolled in YouthQuest, an after school enrichment program. Five hundred eighty-five students graduated from the TeenQuest leadership and pre-employment training programs.
- Four counties and 33 municipalities collaborated to apply for and receive an I-69 International Corridor Next Michigan Development Corporation, also known as Aerotropolis. The I-69 Corridor offers great potential for new business investment and thousands of jobs.
- Exposed the region to international site selectors to increase potential for new investment.
- Area businesses secured $53,194,524 in government contracts with the assistance of the Regional Chamber’s Procurement and Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).
Harvey Hollins III, Director of Urban and Metropolitan Initiatives delivered the keynote address, which focused on an urban agenda for the State of Michigan. Hollins, the principal advisor to Governor Rick Snyder on matters related to urban and regional economic initiatives, says Flint is one of four cities that will have a focused effort from his office and that the goal is to work with local leaders to compliment efforts already underway. He says the goal is to create a strategic plan that will transcend administrations and strengthen the state’s key urban areas. Brian Larkin, Associate Director of the Office of Urban & Metropolitan Initiatives will be based in Flint. The other cities in the initiative are Detroit, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo.
“The Regional Chamber is poised to facilitate continued economic growth in Flint and Genesee County in 2012,” said John Matonich, President & CEO of Rowe Professional Services and Regional Chamber Chair. “The region’s economic and business environment is getting stronger and we have many great assets that are attractive to investors. This gives me great confidence that we will continue the momentum started in 2011.”
A copy of the Regional Chamber’s Annual Report is available online at www.flintandgenesee.org/annualmeeting. To keep current on Regional Chamber activities throughout the year checkout Inside Business at www.flintandgenesee.org/inside_business.
About the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce
The Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce (www.flintandgenesee.org) is the voice of business and community advocacy in Genesee County. The Regional Chamber is over 100 years old, was established before the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and is a founding member of the United States Chamber of Commerce.
Two words describe the Regional Chamber as it enters its second century of service: collaboration and partnership. It is our goal to work with government, business, education and nonprofit organizations to support the growth and development of the community economically, culturally and socially.