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Welcome to the fall | winter chamber magazine. Enjoy this recap of many of the important efforts the Chamber is involved in to improve the community. Please take some time to read through the articles, and reach out to us if you would like to learn more. Our team stands ready to assist.
Catching Up
This has been a different year because of COVID-19, and we know it has been incredibly hard on so many of our businesses. Some difficult days remain, but we see a light at the end of the tunnel with roll-out of a COVID vaccine. This week distribution has begun, and by summer we believe most of our residents will have access, and life as we know it will return to some normalcy.
Top of our agenda now is for Congress to provide a new package of COVID relief for our businesses. I wish we were more optimistic that something might get done before Christmas. It is still hard to tell as the two sides remain far apart. We will keep asking!
Thank You
THANK YOU for your continued belief in the Chamber and the work we do here on your behalf and that of the community. So many of you have made your Chamber membership a priority, and for that we are grateful. For our team, it is a real honor to work on your behalf, and each day our focus is on benefiting our members and on driving the economic recovery.
Throughout the pandemic, we've appreciated the chance to work with so many of you, on a variety of items like access to federal assistance, the development of a safe-reopening plan, and what to do if your employees test positive for the virus. We have met almost daily with our health care providers and the health department to better understand the current challenges and to make sure the voice of the business community was heard.
COVID-19 has caused us to pivot on so many things you have come to rely on from the Chamber, just like you have pivoted in your own business. Thank you for joining us for that journey, and especially for those that have tuned in virtually for our Member Briefings or Networking at Lunch events. If you have not tuned in, I recommend trying one in the New Year. We think you will find it a valuable resource!
We are busy planning our 2021 programming now. Many of our in-person events will be placed on-hold until later in the summer, but we will continue to take advantage of new ways of connecting with you. Watch for updates soon on staples like Salute to Business, the Northwest Bank Chamber Golf Classic, and Third House meetings.
Board
The beginning of the year marks changes in our leadership at the Chamber. I am thrilled to welcome Tim Sexton from the University of Notre Dame as our new board chair. Tim has been a great champion of the Chamber and is anxious to serve. I sat down with Tim for a brief interview. Look for that in the board article. Tim replaces Phil Faccenda, who served the past two years. We're grateful to Phil for his outstanding leadership, especially during this past year. It has been trying at times!
Economic Development
We believe we're well positioned to turn an important corner in 2021, and that communities our size are set to thrive in the post-pandemic world. Our economic development team has been diligently working with some great companies considering the South Bend Region for their expansion project or new location. We, together with our regional and local governmental partners believe we’re poised for a good New Year and look forward to sharing some exciting announcements with you.
As always, please feel free to reach out if we can help in any way. Enjoy the magazine, and I hope we get the chance to see you again soon. Season's greetings and holiday cheer from all of us at the Chamber!
