Chamber Magazine

Welcome to our summer issue of chamber magazine where we delve deeper into a variety of topics. We produce the digital magazine twice a year to also complement our other communication pieces such as ChamberWIRE enews, South Bend Region economic development enews and the Behind the Region podcast. Like you, time is flying by, and it’s hard to believe that we’re talking about “back to school” and football season, both of which are just around the corner.

2024 marks the Chamber’s 115th year serving the business community. This milestone is something we are incredibly proud of and one we don’t take lightly. Our purpose is to be that catalyst for economic growth, with the Chamber working alongside partners from the private and public sectors to move the needle on development projects that will bring jobs and economic prosperity to our region. As we always say, we only exist because of you. It’s your investment in time, talent and money that allow us to serve on your behalf. For this issue, we reached out to some of our former board chairs to seek their opinion on what the Chamber’s role should be in the next decade. Their feedback is wonderful to hear, but we also want to hear from you. At the end of that article, we seek your thoughts as well.     

Since we last connected in this format, Amazon Web Services (AWS) made their $11 billion data center announcement, the largest single investment in the state’s history. We are in regular contact with their team assisting in connecting them to data and resources. Commercial construction permits for the first six months of the year have already reached a valuation in excess of $1.1 billion, double from this time last year. It seems like every other week there is a ground breaking or announcement of new development, especially in the area of residential housing.

Speaking of data, we’re excited to partner with Lightcast, a global labor market analytics company, to access data to help site selectors and businesses make decisions. The software scours over 65,000 sources daily, including government agencies, job postings and career profiles. The developer software is ideal for use when we are responding to state leads and perfect for businesses to use for strategic planning and growth potential. The data can help with Talent Intelligence—forecasting future talent needs, identifying talent gaps, and attracting and retaining talent; Recruiting—strategically recruiting workers and analyzing which employers are hiring; Workforce Development—connecting workers with jobs and tracking the success of recruitment and talent management programs; and much more. We use this tool along with our economic impact software and data dashboard to help prospects consider our region based on solid, credible data. If you have a need we can assist you with, please contact Director of Economic Development Alyson Herzig.

Our destination marketing team at Visit South Bend Mishawaka has been working with community and hospitality partners on a St. Joseph County tourism master plan. We look forward to the delivery of these results and plan implementation as another focal point to impact growth in our region in the next decade. This issue showcases one of our important workforce pieces—Educator Externships. The program connects our educators with businesses so they can better understand industry and prepare students for those jobs. We are so grateful to our many business members who take the time to work with the externs. Programs like this along with our INTERN Connect and work-based learning initiatives are helping to strengthen the critical talent pipeline.

Also in this issue, make sure to read the profiles on our Michiana Forty under 40 honorees. Their talent and accomplishments are so impressive and speak to the talent ecosystem that exists in our region. As our area companies continue to add jobs, increasing population, we have added yet another resource to break down barriers. We’ve partnered with Recite Me assistive technology enabling our website visitors to access a wide range of accessibility and language support tools to customize their digital experience.

Again, thank you for your support and confidence in the Chamber. Enjoy the read!

Jeff Rea
President and CEO
South Bend Regional Chamber